Privacy Policy
Last updated: 25 August 2026
This policy explains what personal data Selgovae collects, why, and what rights you have over it. Selgovae is independent of the Open University and does not share your data with the OU.
1. Who is responsible for your data
The data controller is Hoebridge Stables Cottage Ltd (T/A Selgovae), a company registered in Scotland under company number SC604459. Registered office: 3 Montgomerie Terrace, Gattonside, Scotland, TD6 9NT.
Contact for any privacy query: historian@selgovae.com
2. What we collect
| Data | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name, email address | Account creation, subscription, newsletter sign-up | To create your account, deliver content, and (where you've opted in) send updates |
| Payment details | Subscription purchase | Processed directly by Stripe, our payment provider — we do not receive or store full card details ourselves |
| OU module, level, and study details you choose to share | Account setup, tutoring sessions | To tailor guidance and session content to your course |
| Session notes, progress records, and feedback | During and after 1:1 sessions | To provide continuity between sessions and track your progress |
| Files you or we share via a private link | Session materials | Delivered via a password-protected link (Nextcloud), hosted separately from the main site |
| Contact form submissions | When you use a "Contact" form on the site | Processed by Web3Forms and emailed directly to us, to respond to your query |
| Basic technical data (e.g. IP address, browser type) | Any site visit | Security, abuse prevention, and basic site operation — see Cookies below |
3. Our legal basis for processing
- Contract — to set up and run your subscription or book a session, we need your name, email, and course details.
- Legitimate interests — keeping the service secure, preventing abuse, and improving what we offer.
- Consent — for marketing emails or the newsletter, which you can withdraw at any time by unsubscribing.
- Legal obligation — retaining financial records for tax purposes.
4. Who we share data with
We use a small number of service providers to run Selgovae. Each only receives the data it needs to do its job:
- Stripe — payment processing.
- Mailgun — sending newsletters and transactional emails (account confirmations, password resets, magic-link sign-in), processed in the EU.
- Web3Forms — delivering contact-form submissions to us by email.
- Nextcloud — sharing session files and materials via a password-protected link, on infrastructure operated separately from the main site.
- Hetzner — our hosting provider, which runs the server the main site and your account data live on (located in the EU).
We do not sell your data, and we do not share it with the Open University or any other institution.
5. International transfers
Some of the providers above may process data outside the UK, including in the EU and the US. Where that happens, we rely on the UK's data-protection adequacy arrangements (for EU-based processing) or Standard Contractual Clauses and the provider's own certifications (for US-based providers) to keep your data protected to a UK standard.
6. How long we keep your data
We keep account and session data for as long as your account is active, and for a reasonable period afterwards in case you return. Financial records are kept for the period required by UK tax law (currently six years). Newsletter contact details are kept until you unsubscribe.
7. Cookies
The site uses only the cookies needed for it to function — for example, keeping you signed in to your account. We do not currently use third-party advertising or analytics cookies. If that changes, this policy will be updated first.
8. Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Have inaccurate data corrected
- Ask us to delete your data, subject to our legal obligations (e.g. financial records)
- Restrict or object to certain processing
- Receive your data in a portable format
- Withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the basis for processing
To exercise any of these rights, email historian@selgovae.com. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
9. Children's privacy
Selgovae's services are intended for users aged 16 or over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone younger, and any subscription purchase requires the legal capacity to enter a contract.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be flagged to active subscribers, for example by email, before they take effect.
11. Contact
historian@selgovae.com. See also our Terms of Use.