Privacy & Cookie Policy

Smile Design Secret is a dental knowledge library. You do not need an account to read it, and we do not ask you for personal details in order to publish guides for you.

We keep two kinds of statistics. The first is a privacy-friendly, cookie-free count of page views that runs for every visitor and cannot identify anyone. The second is Google Analytics, loaded through Google Tag Manager, which does use cookies and therefore only runs if you press Accept.

For the purposes of the UK GDPR and EU GDPR, the data controller is Smile Design Secret, contactable at privacy@smiledesignsecret.com.

1. Privacy-friendly site statistics (always on)

Our hosting platform records a basic, aggregated count of traffic: the pages viewed, the site that referred you, an approximate country, and the general browser, operating system, and device type. This measurement sets no cookies, does not follow you to other websites, and does not build a profile of you. We see totals and trends, never individuals.

2. Google Analytics via Google Tag Manager (only if you accept)

If you accept cookies, we load Google Tag Manager, which in turn loads Google Analytics. This lets us see more detail, such as which guides hold attention and which journeys through the site are confusing. It processes your IP address, device and browser information, the pages you open, and how you arrived. Google acts as our data processor for this.

We run Google Consent Mode v2 with every storage type set to denied by default, and we do not inject the Google Tag Manager script at all until you accept. If you decline, nothing from Google is requested or stored.

3. Your cookie choice

When you accept or decline, we save that answer in your browser’s local storage so the banner does not reappear on every page. It stays on your device and is never sent to us or to anyone else.

4. The newsletter form

The newsletter box on our pages is not yet connected to a mailing provider. Nothing you type into it is transmitted or stored anywhere, and no address is added to any list. If that changes, we will update this policy first and ask for your consent before sending you anything.

5. Security and server logs

Like almost every website, our hosting provider keeps short-lived technical logs of requests, which can include IP addresses. These exist to keep the site online and to defend against abuse, and are not used to analyse your behaviour or to market to you.

Here is everything this site can place on your device. Only the first entry is set before you make a choice, because without it we cannot remember your answer.

You can change your decision whenever you like, and there is no penalty for declining. Nothing on this site is gated behind accepting cookies.

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, and install Google’s opt-out browser add-on to stop Google Analytics across every site you visit.

Consent covers analytics cookies and Google Tag Manager. We ask first, we record your answer, and you can withdraw it at any time without giving a reason.

Legitimate interests covers our cookie-free visitor counts, our server logs, and basic security measures. We rely on this because the data is aggregated or short-lived, the privacy impact is minimal, and we could not responsibly run or protect the site without it.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share data only with the suppliers that make the site work: our hosting and content platform, and, once you have accepted, Google (for Tag Manager and Analytics).

Google may process data on servers outside the UK and the European Economic Area, including in the United States. Those transfers rely on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. If you decline cookies, no data reaches Google at all.

We may also disclose information where the law requires it, or to establish or defend a legal claim.

Aggregated statistics are kept for as long as they remain useful for understanding how the site is used, and they cannot be traced back to you. Google Analytics data is retained according to the retention window set on our Google property, after which Google deletes it. Technical server logs are kept only briefly. Your cookie choice stays on your device until you clear it.

If you are in the UK or the European Economic Area, you have the right to access your personal data, to have it corrected or erased, to restrict or object to how we use it, to receive it in a portable format, and to withdraw consent at any time.

In practice, most of what we hold is anonymous or aggregated, so we often cannot connect it to you even if you ask us to. If you want to exercise a right, email privacy@smiledesignsecret.com and we will respond within one month.

You also have the right to complain to your data protection authority. In the UK that is the Information Commissioner’s Office.

This site is written for adults making decisions about their own dental care. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

If we add a new tool that touches your data, we will update this page and move the “last updated” date above. When a change affects what you previously agreed to, we will ask for your consent again rather than assume it still stands.

Questions about this policy, or about anything we hold, can go to privacy@smiledesignsecret.com. You can also read more about who we are on our About page.

Medical disclaimer: the guides on smiledesignsecret.com are general information, not personal dental or medical advice. Always speak to a qualified dentist about your own circumstances.