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Last Updated: 2 August 2026

PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use personal information through our website and general business interactions, including:

 

  • Website visitors and browsing activity

  • Contact form submissions and general inquiries

  • Newsletter subscribers and marketing contacts

  • Job applicants and recruitment candidates

  • Business development and prospective client contacts

  • Contributors

WHAT THIS POLICY DOES NOT COVER

This Privacy Policy does not govern the processing of data under our consulting engagements with clients. When we provide professional services to clients, data processing is governed by:

 

  • Our Standard Terms and Conditions

  • Master Services Agreements

  • Separate Data Processing Agreements (where applicable)

 

This Privacy Policy does not apply to that processing. If you are a client or working with us on an engagement, please refer to your contract for information about data processing.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Website Visitors

When you visit our website, we may collect:

 

  • Basic usage data (pages viewed, time spent, referring website)

  • Device and browser information

  • IP address and approximate geographic location

  • Cookie data (see below)

Contact and Inquiry Forms

When you contact us or submit an inquiry, this may include:

 

  • Name and email address

  • Company name and job title

  • Phone number (if provided)

  • Any information you include in your message

Newsletter Subscribers

If you subscribe to our newsletter, this may include:

 

  • Email address

  • Consent preferences and subscription date

Job Applications

If you apply to work with us, this may include:

 

  • CV/resume and cover letter

  • Contact details and work history

  • Any information you provide in your application

Business Development Contacts

Through our business development activities, this may include:

 

  • Professional contact information (name, email, company, role)

  • Records of our interactions and communications

  • Information you share about your business needs

Contributors

We maintain repositories on public code-hosting platforms, published under the licence stated in each repository, which may differ from project to project. We also take part in third-party open-source projects, in whatever capacity that takes. If you contribute to one of our repositories, accept a Contributor Licence Agreement (CLA) where one applies, or interact with our personnel through a third-party project we take part in, we may collect and retain: your name, as given in your commits, issues, pull requests or CLA acceptance; your email address, as given in your commit metadata or CLA acceptance; your code-hosting platform username and account identifier; the content of your contributions and communications with us, including code, comments, issues and pull requests; and, where a CLA applies, a record of your CLA acceptance, including the date, time and the mechanism used. Much of this information is already public, because you or the hosting platform published it.

 

Where you have accepted a CLA with us, we process this information because it is necessary for the performance of that CLA, and because we have a legitimate interest in maintaining an accurate, auditable record of who granted us rights in which contribution, and when. Where no CLA applies — including where we are the ones taking part, on a third-party project rather than our own, whatever our role on it — we process this information on the basis of our legitimate interest in matters including collaborating effectively within the wider developer community, maintaining working relationships with fellow participants, and building and supporting the software we work on.

 

Records tied to a CLA are kept for six years after the relevant repository is archived, deleted or otherwise withdrawn from publication, or the CLA is terminated, whichever is later. Other contribution and collaboration records, including those arising from our participation in third-party projects, are kept only for as long as necessary for that collaboration.

 

Your contributions and communications are visible on the code-hosting platform and on any third-party project concerned. Those platforms and projects operate under their own terms and privacy
notices.
 

Your rights under UK GDPR apply to this data, including rights to access, rectify, object to processing, and request erasure.

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

 

  • Website visitors: To understand how our website is used and to improve user experience

  • Contact inquiries: To respond to your questions and provide information about our services

  • Newsletter subscribers: To send you updates, insights, and information about BearingNode (you can unsubscribe at any time)

  • Job applicants: To assess your application and communicate with you about opportunities

  • Business contacts: To develop business relationships, provide information about our services, and explore potential collaborations

  • Contributors: To administer contributions and CLA records, to collaborate on projects we take part in, and for related purposes including promoting our work

 

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

 

  • Legitimate interests (including operating our website, business development, recruitment, promoting our work, and optional information you choose to provide)

  • Consent (where required — for example, newsletter subscriptions)

  • Contractual necessity (responding to service inquiries)

GOVERNING LAW

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

COOKIES AND TRACKING

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Essential cookies are used to enable core website functionality. All other cookies, including analytics cookies, are only set with your consent, which you can manage at any time using our cookie preference tool.

 

  • Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly

  • Analytics cookies: Used only with your consent, to help us understand how visitors use our website

HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

We may share your information with:

 

  • Service providers: Companies that help us operate our website, manage communications, or provide business services (e.g., email platforms, CRM systems, cloud hosting)

  • Professional advisors: Lawyers, accountants, and other professional advisors when necessary

  • Legal requirements: When required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights

 

Where a third party processes personal data on our behalf, we put in place the contract terms required by UK data protection law.

 

Business transfers: If BearingNode is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganisation or sale of assets, personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction or disclosed to parties involved in it. Where personal data will be processed for a materially different purpose following such a transaction, we will provide information about that change in line with the section below on Changes to This Policy.

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

BearingNode operates through a network of contractors and partners, some of which are located outside the United Kingdom.

 

We may process your personal data in those locations.

 

Where required, we rely on recognised transfer mechanisms — such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or equivalent Standard Contractual Clauses with the UK Addendum (Article 46 safeguards), or, where applicable, an adequacy regulation (a separate basis under Article 45). These are standard-form instruments published by the Information Commissioner's Office and available at ico.org.uk.

HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

 

  • Website analytics: For as long as needed for the analysis described above

  • Contact inquiries: For as long as needed to deal with your enquiry and any related matter arising from it

  • Newsletter subscribers: Until you unsubscribe

  • Job applications: For as long as needed to consider your application and any related query or claim, and, where you agree, to consider you for future roles

  • Business contacts: Until you request removal or the relationship becomes inactive

  • Contributors: Where a CLA applies, contribution and CLA acceptance records are kept for six years after the relevant repository is archived, deleted or otherwise withdrawn from publication, or the CLA is terminated, whichever is later. Other contribution and collaboration records, including those from our participation in third-party projects, are kept only for as long as necessary for that collaboration.

 

If you become a client, different retention periods apply under our engagement contracts.

YOUR RIGHTS

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:

 

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you

  • Rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information

  • Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data (right to be forgotten)

  • Restriction: Ask us to limit how we use your information

  • Portability: Receive your data in a portable format

  • Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests

  • Withdraw consent: Withdraw consent for newsletter subscriptions or other consent-based processing; withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdrew it

 

If you wish to exercise any of these rights or have questions about your personal data, please contact us at: contact@bearingnode.com

 

These rights are not absolute and do not apply in all circumstances. Where we cannot comply with a request in whole or in part, we will tell you why.

 

We will respond within one month of receiving your request. Where a request is complex, or where you have made a number of requests, we may extend this by up to two further months; if we do, we will tell you within the first month and explain why. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

DATA SECURITY

We implement technical and organisational measures appropriate to the risk, taking into account the state of the art and the costs of implementation.

 

However, no internet transmission is completely secure.

 

While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmitted online.

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

 

The date of the current version is shown at the top of this page.

 

For significant changes, we may notify you through our website or by email where appropriate.

CONTACT

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:

 

  • Email: contact@bearingnode.com

  • Post: BearingNode Ltd, Office 7, 37-39 Shakespeare Street, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 5AB, United Kingdom

  • Company Number: 15324158

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