Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, and protect your personal information.
Last updated: 19 February 2026
Overview
Your privacy is important to us
The Irish Bugle ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website bugle.ie and use our services.
Information We Collect
What data we gather and how
Automatically Collected Information
- • Browser type and version
- • Operating system
- • IP address and general location (country/region)
- • Pages visited and time spent on site
- • Referral source
- • Device type and screen resolution
- • Search queries (via Algolia)
Information You Provide
- • Email address (when creating an account or subscribing)
- • Name (when provided voluntarily)
- • Account credentials (securely stored via Firebase)
- • Payment information (processed by Stripe, never stored on our servers)
- • Contact form submissions
Preferences
We store your preferences such as dark/light theme, cookie consent choices, and content preferences to enhance your reading experience. These are stored locally in your browser.
How We Use Your Information
The purposes for data collection
We Use Information To:
- • Provide and improve our news services
- • Authenticate users and manage accounts
- • Process membership subscriptions and payments
- • Send newsletters and updates (with your consent)
- • Analyze website usage to improve user experience (with consent)
- • Improve search results and personalization (with consent)
- • Respond to your inquiries and feedback
- • Ensure website security and prevent fraud
- • Comply with legal obligations
Third-Party Services
External services we use and how they handle your data
Firebase / Google Cloud
We use Firebase and Google Cloud Platform for:
- • Authentication: Secure user login and account management
- • Firestore: User preferences and subscription data
- • Analytics: Website usage statistics (with your consent)
- • Hosting: Website delivery and performance
Privacy: firebase.google.com/support/privacy
Algolia (Search)
We use Algolia for search functionality.
- • Collects: Search queries, clicks, anonymous user IDs (with consent)
- • Purpose: Provide relevant search results, improve search quality
- • Note: Search analytics only enabled with your consent
Privacy: algolia.com/policies/privacy
Stripe (Payments)
We use Stripe for membership payments.
- • Collects: Payment details, billing address (on Stripe's servers)
- • Purpose: Process subscriptions securely
- • Note: We never store card details on our servers
Privacy: stripe.com/privacy
Sanity CMS (Content)
We use Sanity as our content management system.
- • Collects: No user data (content delivery only)
- • Purpose: Serve articles and media content
Privacy: sanity.io/legal/privacy
Social Media Embeds
When you enable Marketing cookies, we may embed content from social media platforms.
- • These platforms may track your activity when embeds are loaded
- • Without consent, embeds show as placeholders with external links
- • YouTube uses privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com)
Data Sharing and Disclosure
When and how we share information
We DO NOT:
- • Sell your personal information to third parties
- • Share your email address with marketers
- • Use your data for purposes other than stated
- • Store payment card details on our servers
We MAY Share Information:
- • With service providers (Firebase, Stripe, Algolia, Sanity)
- • When required by law or legal process
- • To protect our rights and prevent harm
- • In case of business transfer or merger
Your Rights Under GDPR
What you can do with your data
Your Rights Include:
- • Access your personal data
- • Correct inaccurate information
- • Delete your data
- • Restrict processing
- • Data portability
- • Object to processing
- • Withdraw consent at any time
How to Exercise Rights:
- • Email us at legal@bugle.ie
- • Use cookie preferences to manage consent
- • Delete your account in settings
- • We respond within 30 days
- • No fee for most requests
- • Right to complain to DPC
Data Security
How we protect your information
We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.
Technical Measures:
- • SSL/TLS encryption
- • Secure hosting via Firebase/Google Cloud
- • Secure authentication via Firebase Auth
- • PCI-compliant payment processing via Stripe
Organizational Measures:
- • Limited access to personal data
- • Regular security assessments
- • Incident response procedures
- • Data minimization practices
Data Retention
How long we keep your information
We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy:
- • Account data: Until you delete your account
- • Analytics data: Up to 26 months
- • Search analytics: Up to 1 year (with consent)
- • Newsletter subscriptions: Until you unsubscribe
- • Payment records: As required by tax law (typically 7 years)
- • Cookie preferences: Until you clear them or change settings
Questions About Privacy?
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us.
Data Protection Contact:
legal@bugle.ieThe Irish Bugle
Ireland
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission (DPC) if you believe we have not handled your personal data in accordance with data protection law.