Privacy Policy

Who we are

Clerq ("we", "us", "our") is an operator-led AI delivery practice. We build working AI systems inside UK businesses, and we publish practical guides to using AI at work, sold as digital downloads through this website under the imprint "A Clerq Publication". Clerq is a trading name: the business is operated by a sole trader based in London, United Kingdom, not a limited company. That sole trader is the controller of personal data collected through this website.

Trading address: London, United Kingdom.

You can reach us at stephen@aiclerq.com for general enquiries, or at privacy@aiclerq.com for anything about your data. This policy explains how we collect, use and protect that data.

What we collect

Book checkout is currently closed. The purchase and delivery provisions below describe how data will be used when book sales open. Joining the reader list is not a purchase.

When you join the reader list, we collect:

• Your email address
• Which book, if any, you told us you were interested in
• Basic attribution data about how you reached the form: the page you signed up from, the referring site, and any campaign tags in the link

When you send a business enquiry through the enquiry form, we collect your name, your work email address and whatever you choose to tell us about what you need, along with the page the enquiry was sent from and, where you have accepted analytics cookies, the campaign tags that brought you to the site.

When you enter your email to explore the agent workspace example, we receive that email and your interest in implementing agents through the same enquiry service. We use it to respond about your needs; this does not create an account or add you to a mailing list. The workspace uses fictional records. Its configuration choices stay in the current browser tab and are reset when you reload; they are not included in your enquiry.

When you buy a book, payment is handled entirely by Stripe, our payment processor. Your card details go directly to Stripe and never touch our servers. From Stripe we receive the details needed to deliver your order: your email address, the book you bought and the payment status. We keep your email address and the titles you purchased so we can send you your books, re-send them whenever you ask, and handle refunds.

Your books are sent to you as ordinary email attachments. There is no account to create, no password, and no download link that can be shared or that expires.

We also process basic technical data when you use the site, such as your IP address, browser, device, pages requested and security logs. If you accept analytics cookies, we process the analytics data described below.

Purposes and lawful bases

We use personal data only where we have a lawful basis:

• Performance of a contract: to take your payment through Stripe, email you the books you bought, re-send them on request and process refunds.
• Legitimate interests: to send buyers AI at Work Monthly, our own short monthly email about the same subject as the book they bought. UK marketing rules allow this to an existing customer for our own similar products, provided you are offered a simple way to refuse both when we collect your address and in every message - which you are, at checkout and in every issue.
• Consent: to send you launch news, series updates and occasional practical AI-at-work notes where you have joined the reader list - the form states this and submitting it is your opt-in. Also to use non-essential analytics cookies where you accept them. You can unsubscribe or withdraw consent at any time; every email includes an unsubscribe link.
• Legitimate interests: to read and reply to a business enquiry or Renewl interest enquiry you send us, and to keep a proportionate record of that correspondence. What you send in an enquiry is used to respond to it, nothing else - sending an enquiry does not add you to the reader list, the Monthly or any other marketing list. A Renewl interest enquiry is used for a one-off reply about your needs and availability; it does not create an application account.
• Legitimate interests: to operate, secure and improve the website, prevent spam and abuse, keep proportionate business records, and establish or defend legal claims. We balance these interests against your rights.
• Legal obligation: to keep purchase and accounting records where applicable law requires us to do so.

Buying a book signs you up to one thing only: AI at Work Monthly, our own monthly email on the same subject as the book. You can opt out at checkout before we send anything, and every issue carries a one-click unsubscribe; leaving does not affect any book you have bought. The reader list is a different list for people who have not bought, and is a separate optional signup. We do not sell or rent personal data, we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing, and we send no third-party marketing of any kind.

Processors and where data is handled

We use service providers acting on our instructions to operate the website and the store. These include Vercel for website hosting, Stripe for payment processing (Stripe's privacy policy), FormSubmit for reader list and enquiry form delivery (FormSubmit's privacy policy; submissions are relayed to our inbox by email and are not stored by us beyond that inbox), Google Analytics 4 where analytics consent has been given. We share only the data needed for each service.

Some providers may process data outside the United Kingdom. Where UK data protection law requires it, we rely on an adequacy regulation or approved contractual safeguards and associated risk assessments. You can ask for more information about the relevant safeguards by emailing privacy@aiclerq.com.

Calendar bookings

Where calendar booking is available, the calendar on our booking page loads only after you select Show available times. You can use the email enquiry form instead. The calendar is provided by Calendly, which receives technical connection data when loaded and the booking details you enter, such as your name, email address and chosen time. Clerq uses the booking details to arrange and respond to your introductory call, not to add you to a marketing list. Please omit confidential records.

We do not automatically pass your saved automation plan, calculator results, enquiry-form values or page query to Calendly. Calendly has its own cookie controls and privacy notice. Booking details are handled through Calendly and Stephen's connected calendar; the email alternative uses our existing enquiry service.

Website fonts

The site uses fonts already installed on your device. It does not request fonts from Google Fonts.

Renewl enquiries and contract uploads

This policy covers Renewl access enquiries made on this website. The enquiry does not create an app account or accept contract uploads. Do not send contract text or confidential supplier information through the form. Before uploading contracts to the separate app, review its terms and data-handling information, including the services involved in processing your documents.

How long we keep data

We keep purchase records - your email address and the titles you bought - for as long as needed to re-send your books on request and to meet our legal obligations, such as accounting and tax record-keeping. AI at Work Monthly and reader list data are kept until you unsubscribe, after which we may keep a minimal suppression record so we can respect your choice. Unsubscribing from the Monthly does not delete your purchase record, because we still need it to re-send your books if you ask.

Analytics, payment and hosting providers may apply their own documented retention periods, described in their policies linked above.

Your rights

Under the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Ask us to restrict how we use your data
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
• Receive certain data in a portable format
• Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting earlier lawful processing

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exemptions. To exercise one, email privacy@aiclerq.com. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern first.

Cookies and analytics

We use a single web analytics tool to understand which pages of our site are read, so we can prioritise what to publish next. Clerq does not add advertising trackers or retargeting pixels to these pages. If you choose to load the separate Calendly booking service, its own cookie controls and privacy notice apply, as described above. After you choose to load the calendar, we use Calendly's embedded booking script. With analytics consent, we record when that calendar reports a completed booking, using only the provider name and Clerq page. Names, contact details and Calendly event or invitee identifiers are not sent to Google Analytics.

Analytics are off by default. The Google Analytics script loads only after you accept analytics cookies. If you reject or leave the notice unanswered, we do not load it or store campaign attribution. Scrolling, continued browsing and inactivity never count as consent. Our analytics configuration uses the published page address without query strings or fragments and sends no referring-page address. After consent, we also keep a fixed source category for the session, such as Google, an AI assistant, another referring site or direct/unknown. We send that category and fixed source/medium labels to analytics, not the referring address or arbitrary campaign text. Local previews do not send analytics data. It is an approximate source hint, not proof of where a visitor first found us. Campaign labels used with forms are restricted to short labels, and referring addresses are reduced to the website origin. Withdrawing consent disables analytics collection and clears our analytics cookies and attribution storage. You can change your mind at any time using the Cookie settings control at the foot of any page, which clears your choice and brings the banner back.

When analytics are enabled, Google Analytics 4 provides information including pages viewed, approximate location, device type and browser. Google may process technical connection data to provide this service, as described in the processors and international transfers section above.

Each form submission includes a reference and its purpose so we can distinguish enquiries from reader-list requests in the existing provider record. With analytics consent, we also attach the fixed source category. We do not send form contents or that submission reference to Google Analytics. A form click or return page is not treated as confirmed delivery.

The reader list and enquiry forms use FormSubmit, including anti-spam measures such as a hidden honeypot and, where triggered, a CAPTCHA challenge. These measures protect the forms and do not give FormSubmit permission to use a submission for its own marketing.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Clerq develops. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Where required, we will provide additional notice or seek fresh consent.

Contact

For any privacy-related questions, email privacy@aiclerq.com.