Privacy Policy
This policy explains what personal data The Overlay (theoverlay.co.uk) collects, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have over it. This site is operated by an individual based in the United Kingdom. If you have questions or want to exercise any of your data rights, email mattgee1981@gmail.com.
1. Data we collect
The Overlay collects very little personal data and does not require you to create an account. The data we do collect falls into two categories:
- Analytics data via Google Analytics 4: pages viewed, time on site, device type, approximate geographic region (country/region level), referring source. Your IP address is briefly used by Google Analytics to derive that region and is then discarded; we never see your raw IP. Analytics fires only after you grant consent via the cookie banner.
- Technical logs kept by our hosting provider (20i) for security and abuse-prevention purposes, connection IPs, timestamps, and the URL accessed. These are retained for up to 30 days and are not joined to your analytics activity.
We do not collect names, email addresses, payment details, or betting account information. The dashboard's selections, history and statistics are public; nothing you do on the page is tied to a personal profile.
2. Why we collect it (lawful basis)
Under UK GDPR, the lawful basis for each category is:
- Analytics, your consent, given via the cookie banner. You can withdraw consent at any time by clicking "Cookie settings" in the footer.
- Server logs, our legitimate interest in keeping the site secure and detecting abuse. We balance this against your privacy by minimising retention and never linking logs to identifiable individuals.
3. Cookies
The Overlay uses the following cookies. Strictly-necessary cookies are set automatically; everything else only runs after you opt in.
| Name | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| vs_cookie_consent | Remembers your cookie choice so we don't re-ask on every visit | 12 months | Strictly necessary |
| vs_research_mode | Remembers whether you have "Race Lab" enabled in the footer | 12 months | Strictly necessary |
| vs_*_open | Remembers whether the Edge Board / Value Plays / Lucky 15 panels are expanded or collapsed | 12 months | Strictly necessary |
| _ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics 4, measures site usage so we know what's working | up to 2 years | Analytics (consent required) |
We do not use advertising cookies or social-media trackers. If we add affiliate links to bookmakers in future, the click itself may set cookies on the bookmaker's site, those are governed by the bookmaker's own privacy policy, not this one. We will update this page before any such links go live.
4. Third parties
- Google Analytics (Google Ireland Ltd), analytics. Google's privacy policy.
- 20i (the hosting provider), server logs. 20i's privacy policy.
- Sporting Life, we fetch racecard and results data from publicly available Sporting Life pages. No personal data is sent to them.
We do not sell, rent, or share data with any other third party.
5. How long we keep it
- Analytics: up to 14 months (Google Analytics 4 default retention).
- Server logs: up to 30 days.
- Cookie consent record: 12 months from your last choice.
6. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Ask us to correct or delete it.
- Object to processing or withdraw consent.
- Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe we've handled your data unlawfully.
Because The Overlay doesn't ask for accounts or personal identifiers, in most cases we hold no data linked to you specifically. If you'd like us to delete your analytics signals, contact mattgee1981@gmail.com with an approximate visit date and we'll honour the request to the extent the data is identifiable.
7. Changes to this policy
If we change how we collect or process data, we'll update this page and bump the "Last updated" date at the top. Material changes will also be flagged in the cookie banner so existing visitors are notified.