Last updated: October 2026
Who we are
Legend on the Bench is a registered charity based in the United Kingdom, dedicated to suicide prevention through the installation of informative benches in public spaces across the UK and Ireland.
For the purposes of data protection law, Legend on the Bench is the data controller. If you have any questions about how we handle your personal data, please contact us at info@legend-on-the-bench.co.uk.
What information we collect
We may collect the following types of personal information:
Information you give us directly
When you contact us via our website contact form, email, or social media, we may collect your name, email address, phone number (if provided), and the content of your message. When you make a donation, our third-party payment providers (such as JustGiving or PayPal) will collect your payment details — we do not store payment card information ourselves.
Information collected automatically
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect technical information including your IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, and time spent on the site. This information is collected through cookies and similar technologies (see the Cookies section below).
Information from QR codes
Our benches feature QR codes that link to crisis support information on this website. When you scan a QR code and visit our site, we do not track or identify individual QR code scans. We may collect anonymous, aggregated statistics about page visits to help us understand how our benches are being used, but this data cannot be linked to any individual person.
How we use your information
We use personal information for the following purposes:
To respond to your enquiries and provide you with the information or support you have requested. To process donations and issue Gift Aid declarations where applicable. To send you updates about our work, events, and campaigns (only where you have given us consent to do so). To improve our website and understand how visitors use it. To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations as a registered charity.
Our legal basis for processing
Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases to process your personal data:
Consent — where you have given us clear consent to contact you for marketing purposes or to process specific data. You can withdraw consent at any time by contacting us. Legitimate interests — where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests as a charity (such as improving our services and understanding how our website is used), provided these interests do not override your rights. Legal obligation — where we need to process your data to comply with the law (such as maintaining financial records for charity reporting). Contract — where processing is necessary to fulfil a commitment to you (such as processing a bench sponsorship).
How we share your information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your data with trusted third-party service providers who help us operate our website and charity, including our website hosting provider (SiteGround), payment processors (JustGiving, PayPal), email service providers, and analytics services. These providers are only permitted to use your data for the specific purposes we instruct them and are required to protect your information.
We may also disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to a valid request from a law enforcement or regulatory authority.
How we protect your information
We take the security of your personal data seriously. Our website uses SSL encryption to protect data transmitted between your browser and our servers. We limit access to personal data to those individuals who need it to carry out their roles within the charity. We regularly review our data handling practices to ensure they remain appropriate.
While we take all reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
How long we keep your information
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. Contact form submissions are retained for up to 12 months unless an ongoing relationship exists. Donation records are retained for 7 years in accordance with charity accounting requirements. Website analytics data is retained in anonymised form.
When personal data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to help the site function properly and to understand how visitors use it.
Essential cookies are necessary for the website to work correctly (such as remembering your preferences). These cannot be disabled. Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting anonymous information. We use this data to improve our site and services.
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or delete existing ones. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of some parts of our website.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data. Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances. Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to limit how we use your data. Right to data portability — you can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format. Right to object — you can object to our processing of your data in certain circumstances, including direct marketing. Rights related to automated decision-making — we do not carry out automated decision-making or profiling.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@legend-on-the-bench.co.uk. We will respond to your request within one month.
Children's privacy
Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.
Links to other websites
Our website contains links to third-party websites, including crisis support services, partner organisations, and donation platforms. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.
Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
How to contact us or make a complaint
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us at info@legend-on-the-bench.co.uk.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's supervisory authority for data protection. You can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.