Privacy and cookies

Who is responsible

KnowChelsea is an independent local guide run by Andrew. For privacy questions, access requests, corrections, or deletion requests, email [email protected].

Information we collect

• Guide usage: pages and places viewed, searches, filters, link clicks, broad device type, referring page, and technical errors. We use this first-party information to maintain the guide and understand which local content is useful.
• Accounts and saved places: if you sign in, our authentication provider supplies your account identifier, email address, and any display name you choose. We associate saved places and owner-claim activity with that account.
• Information you submit: suggestions, corrections, reactions, owner-claim details, contact information, official customer links, and any supporting information you choose to provide.
• Operational information: our hosting and security providers may process IP addresses, request headers, and security signals to deliver the site, prevent abuse, and investigate failures.

Browser storage and cookies

We use first-party browser storage for session security, sign-in, saved interface choices, recent searches, and abuse prevention for submissions. Some storage is necessary to provide a feature you request; optional storage is subject to the choices presented to you where consent is required.

Why we use information

We use information to:

• operate, secure, diagnose, and improve the guide;
• remember features and places you ask us to save;
• review suggestions, corrections, and business-owner claims;
• measure content performance without selling editorial ranking; and
• meet legal obligations and honour privacy choices.

We rely on consent where the law requires it, including for advertising storage and personalised advertising. We use information needed to provide requested features and may rely on legitimate interests for proportionate security, fraud prevention, and service improvement where permitted.

Assistant and plugin requests

When ChatGPT or another assistant calls the public MCP server at /mcp or the places API, we receive the tool query — for example a category, place slug, or coordinates — plus ordinary request metadata used to deliver and secure the site. We do not receive the rest of the conversation or the assistant account. Those requests are treated like other public catalogue reads. We count which tool was called and which assistant app made the request, using the app's declared name, without storing the query itself.

Service providers

We use specialist providers to run the service, including Cloudflare for delivery and security, Clerk for account authentication, Google for advertising and consent messaging, and infrastructure providers that host the application and database. These providers process information under their own terms and privacy commitments. We do not sell personal information, and advertising does not determine the guide's editorial order.

Links to maps, booking services, business websites, Instagram, and other external services take you to those providers. Their privacy practices apply once you leave KnowChelsea.

Retention and security

We keep information only while it remains reasonably necessary for the purposes above, including maintaining accounts, reviewing listing history, measuring recent site performance, preventing repeat abuse, and meeting legal obligations. We restrict access to private owner and account information and use appropriate technical and organisational safeguards.

Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to the use of your personal information, and to withdraw consent. Email [email protected] with the site and account or submission involved so we can respond. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that occurred before withdrawal.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice when the service or its providers change. The date above shows the latest revision. For more about the guide and its editorial approach, visit the About page.