Effective date: 11 May 2026
This Privacy Policy explains, in plain language, what personal data we may collect when you use WhoCalled.org.uk, why we use it, and what choices you have. The site is designed to let people look up unfamiliar UK phone numbers, read community reports, and submit their own experience. We try to collect only the information we need to keep that service running, secure, and manageable.
What we may collect
Depending on how you use the site, we may process information such as your IP address, browser or device information, session identifiers, search activity, contact form submissions, and any report text or moderation request you choose to send to us. If you submit a public report, the content you write may be displayed on the site.
We may also keep basic technical logs to help detect abuse, rate-limit automated behaviour, investigate suspicious activity, and maintain the stability of the service.
How we use this information
- to operate the number lookup and reporting features;
- to reduce spam, fraud, scraping, and automated abuse;
- to review moderation requests and user enquiries;
- to understand how the site is being used and improve its usefulness;
- to comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.
Cookies and similar technologies
The site may use cookies or similar local storage mechanisms for basic session handling, security checks, abuse prevention, and limited site functionality. Some third-party services, such as analytics or advertising providers, may also use cookies depending on how the site is configured at the time you visit.
You can usually manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking all cookies may affect how some parts of the site behave.
Legal bases for processing
Where UK data protection law applies, we generally rely on legitimate interests to operate, secure, and improve the service, and on consent where that is required for a specific feature or technology. If you voluntarily submit content through a form, we also process that information in order to respond to your request or provide the service you asked for.
Public reports and user responsibility
Please do not include unnecessary personal data in public reports. A useful comment describes the call. It does not publish private names, addresses, account details, or other sensitive information. We may remove or edit submissions that contain material we do not think should remain public.
Data sharing
We do not sell your personal data in the ordinary sense of that phrase. We may share data with service providers that help us host, secure, analyse, or operate the site, and we may disclose information where we are legally required to do so or where disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect the service, other users, or the public.
Retention
We keep data for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including moderation, fraud prevention, security, record-keeping, and legal compliance. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information involved.
Your rights
Depending on your location and the circumstances, you may have rights to request access to personal data, correction of inaccurate data, deletion, restriction, objection, and complaint to a supervisory authority such as the ICO. Those rights are not absolute, but we take them seriously.
Contact
For privacy-related questions or requests, please use the contact page and clearly mark your enquiry as a privacy request. We may need enough information to confirm what content or data you are referring to before we can act on it.