The short version: we only collect what we need to reply to you, send you things you've asked for, and understand how the website is used. Your details stay with us — never sold, never rented, never handed to a random marketing list. You can ask to see, change or delete your data at any time by emailing hello@thetmruniverse.com.
1. Who we are
This website (thetmruniverse.com) is The TMR Universe, run by The Menopause Raconteur CIC ("TMR", "we", "us", "our"), a Community Interest Company registered in England and Wales.
- Trading as: The TMR Universe
- Address: The TMR Universe, Bury, Lancashire
- Website: https://thetmruniverse.com/
- Email: hello@thetmruniverse.com
We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it's used. We are responsible for looking after it under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This policy covers our website, our newsletter, our free downloadable guides, our contact and enquiry forms, and the information we collect when you book or attend our workshops, events and speaking engagements. It also covers The Identity Crisis Podcast and Clubhouse events where they're organised through this site.
2. What we collect
We collect personal information in a handful of situations. Here's each one, and what it involves.
When you use the contact form
Your first and last name, email address, your message, and what you're getting in touch about. Optionally: your phone number, organisation and job role. Everything on the form marked "required" is the minimum we need to reply; the rest is up to you.
When you join the newsletter or download a free guide
Your email address, and your name if you give it. If you tick the newsletter box on the contact form, we'll add that email to the list. We also record the date you subscribed and which form you used, so we can prove you asked us to write to you. Our email provider also tells us whether you open our emails or click links in them (see section 6).
When you enquire about or book a workshop, talk or training
Your name, work email, phone number, organisation, role, and details about what you need (dates, audience size, location, budget). If we go ahead, we'll also hold contract, invoicing and correspondence records, and — for in-person delivery — any access or dietary requirements you tell us about so the day runs smoothly.
When you attend an event or Clubhouse session
Your name and contact details for the attendee list, plus anything you tell us when registering. If we photograph or film an event, we'll make that clear at the time and tell you how to opt out of appearing.
When you share your story, guest on the podcast or send a press request
Your name, contact details and whatever you choose to tell us. Stories often include personal and health information — see section 4 for how we treat that.
Automatically, when you browse the site
Technical information such as your IP address (shortened/anonymised in our analytics), browser and device type, the pages you look at, how long you stay, and the site that sent you here. This is collected through cookies and similar technologies, which you can control — see section 5.
Through social media
If you message or tag us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok or YouTube, we'll see your public profile and the content you send. Those platforms have their own privacy policies which apply alongside this one.
3. Why we use it (and our legal basis)
Data protection law says we need a proper reason — a "lawful basis" — for everything we do with your information. Here are ours.
| What we do | Why | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Reply to your message or enquiry | You've asked us something; we'd be rude not to answer | Legitimate interests (responding to you), or taking steps before entering a contract |
| Send you the newsletter, podcast news, event invites and the occasional hormone-fuelled rant | Because you asked to hear from us | Consent — which you can withdraw at any time via the unsubscribe link |
| Send you a free guide you've requested | To deliver what you asked for | Consent / performance of a contract (delivering the guide) |
| Scope, deliver and invoice workshops, talks and training | To run the service you or your employer has booked | Performance of a contract; legal obligation (accounting and tax records) |
| Run events and manage attendee lists | So we know who's coming and can look after you on the day | Performance of a contract; legitimate interests (event safety and administration) |
| Feature your story, quote or podcast appearance | To share real experiences that help other women | Consent (explicit, in writing, before anything is published) |
| Measure how the website is used | To see which pages help people and fix what doesn't | Consent (analytics cookies are only set if you accept them) |
| Keep the website secure and stop spam | To protect the site and the people using it | Legitimate interests (security and fraud prevention) |
| Keep records we're legally required to keep | Company, tax and accounting law say so | Legal obligation |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we've weighed our reasons against your rights and interests and are satisfied they don't override yours. You can ask us for details of that assessment, and you have the right to object (see section 9).
We will never sell your personal information, and we won't send you marketing you haven't signed up for.
4. Health & sensitive information
Menopause is a health topic, and a lot of what people tell us — in messages, in stories, at events, on the podcast — is personal. Information about your health, sex life, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or similar is classed as "special category data" and gets extra protection under the law.
Here's our approach:
- We only hold this kind of information because you've chosen to share it with us. Sharing it counts as your explicit consent for us to use it for the purpose you shared it for (for example, to reply to you, or to consider your story for a podcast episode or blog post).
- We will never publish, quote or reference your story or health details without your separate, explicit written agreement first — and you can ask us to anonymise you, change identifying details, or withdraw entirely.
- We don't use health information for marketing, and we don't segment our newsletter by symptom, condition or anything else you've told us.
- Access is limited to the people who genuinely need it to deal with your request.
- Please don't include more sensitive detail than you're comfortable with. If you'd rather talk than type, ask us for a call.
You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing hello@thetmruniverse.com, and we'll stop using the information and delete it unless we have a legal reason to keep it.
7. Where your data goes
We're based in the UK and that's where we store your information wherever we can. Some of the providers above — notably Mailchimp and Google — are headquartered in the United States and may process data there or in other countries outside the UK.
When that happens, we make sure your information gets the same level of protection it would in the UK by relying on safeguards approved under UK law, such as the UK–US Data Bridge (for providers certified under it), the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. You can ask us for more information about the safeguards in place for any specific transfer.
8. How long we keep it
We only keep your information for as long as we need it for the reason we collected it — and then we delete or anonymise it.
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Contact form messages and general enquiries | Up to 2 years after our last exchange, then deleted |
| Newsletter and free-guide subscriptions | Until you unsubscribe, or after 2 years of no opens or clicks, when we'll remove you. We keep a record that you unsubscribed so we don't accidentally re-add you |
| Workshop, training and speaking bookings (contracts, invoices, correspondence) | 7 years after the end of the financial year, as required for tax and accounting |
| Event attendee lists | Up to 12 months after the event |
| Stories, podcast recordings and published contributions | For as long as the content is published, with your consent. Unpublished submissions are deleted within 12 months if we don't use them |
| Website analytics data | 14 months (Google Analytics default), in aggregated, anonymised form |
If you ask us to delete your information sooner, we will — unless we're legally required to keep it, in which case we'll tell you why.
9. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have real, enforceable rights over your personal information. Here they are, in plain English.
Access
Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and how we're using it.
Correction
Ask us to fix anything that's wrong or incomplete.
Erasure
Ask us to delete your information — the "right to be forgotten".
Restriction
Ask us to pause using your information while a query is sorted out.
Objection
Object to us using your information where we rely on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing — always.
Portability
Get the information you gave us in a machine-readable format to take elsewhere.
Withdraw consent
Change your mind at any time where we rely on your consent. It won't affect anything done before you withdrew it.
Complain
Raise a concern with the ICO, the UK's data protection regulator (see section 14).
To use any of these rights, email hello@thetmruniverse.com with "Data request" in the subject line. It's free, and we'll respond within one month (we can extend this by up to two months for complicated requests, but we'll tell you if so). We may need to check your identity first so we don't hand your information to the wrong person.
To stop newsletter emails, just click unsubscribe at the bottom of any email — no need to write to us, though you're welcome to.
We don't make any decisions about you using automated decision-making or profiling that would have a legal or similarly significant effect on you.
10. Keeping it safe
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from being lost, misused, accessed without permission, altered or disclosed. That includes an encrypted (HTTPS) connection across the site, secure and access-controlled accounts with two-factor authentication where available, reputable providers with their own strong security standards, and limiting access to the people who need it.
No system is completely bulletproof, and sending information over the internet always carries some risk. If we ever discover a breach that's likely to put your rights at risk, we'll tell you and the ICO without undue delay, as the law requires.
11. Children
This website, our newsletter and our events are aimed at adults. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you think a child has given us their details, please email us and we'll delete them promptly.
12. Links to other sites
We link out to other websites, social platforms, podcast apps and booksellers. We're not responsible for how they handle your data, and this policy doesn't cover them. Please read their own privacy policies before handing over any information.
13. Changes to this policy
We'll update this policy from time to time — when we start using a new tool, when the law changes, or when we simply find a clearer way to say something. The "last updated" date at the top tells you when it was last changed. If we make a significant change to how we use your information, we'll flag it on the website and, where we have your email, let you know directly.
14. Contact & complaints
Questions, requests or worries about your data? Email hello@thetmruniverse.com or write to us at The TMR Universe, Bury, Lancashire. A real human will reply — usually within 48 hours during the working week, coffee permitting.
If you're not happy with how we've handled your information or your request, you have the right to complain to the UK regulator:
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
We'd really appreciate the chance to put things right first, though — so please do come to us before going to the ICO.