Last updated: 30 September 2026
Who we are
chestpain.org.uk is an independent public information website about chest pain and heart attacks. It is run by a private individual in the United Kingdom, who is the data controller for the small amount of personal information described here.
For any privacy question or request, email privacy@chestpain.org.uk. For anything else, email hello@chestpain.org.uk.
What we collect
Things you tell us
Nothing, unless you email us. If you do, we use your email only to reply, and delete it within 12 months unless we need it to deal with a complaint.
Server logs
Like almost every website, our hosting server automatically records basic technical details of each request. These are your IP address, the page asked for, the date and time, your browser type, and the page that linked to us. We use them only to keep the site running and secure, and to see total visitor numbers. They are not used to identify you or combined with other information. Logs are held by our hosting provider for a limited time, normally no more than a few months, and then deleted. The server that hosts this site is located in the United States, so these logs are stored there. See data sent outside the UK.
Our legal basis is legitimate interests. We need these logs to run a working, secure website.
Things that stay on your device
Some features save information in your browser's own storage. This is not sent to us. We can't see it, and you can delete it at any time by clearing your browser data for this site.
| Name | What it's for | How long |
|---|---|---|
| cp-card | Your Heart Card, if you make one: the medicines, allergies and conditions you type in. | Until you delete it |
| cp-now | Emergency Mode's timer and step log, so a refresh doesn't lose them. | Until you close the tab |
| cp-consent | Your cookie choice, so we don't ask on every page. | 12 months, then we ask again |
| cp-theme, cp-voice | Your light or dark setting, and whether Emergency Mode reads aloud. | Until you change them |
| Offline copy | A copy of the site's pages, so it works with no signal. | Updated when the site changes |
These are strictly necessary for features you choose to use, so they don't need your consent under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
Your location, only if you ask
Emergency Mode has a "Where am I?" button. If you tap it and allow location, your phone's approximate position is sent to postcodes.io, a free public postcode service, to find your nearest postcode. It is not sent to us, and nothing happens unless you tap the button.
Cookies and advertising
To keep the site free, it may show adverts provided by Google AdSense. Adverts never appear on Emergency Mode, the Heart Card, the 1-minute check, the CPR page or the easy read page. To avoid getting in the way during an emergency, we also don’t pop up the cookie question on the home page, the “helping someone” page or the translated pages. Adverts only appear there if you’ve already said yes on another page.
When you first visit, we ask whether you're happy with advertising cookies. You have three choices.
- Accept all: Google may show adverts, including personalised adverts, and use cookies to do so.
- Choose: you can allow adverts but turn off personalisation. Google then shows adverts based on the page rather than on you, but still uses cookies to limit repeats, prevent fraud and measure adverts.
- Reject all: no advertising code and no advertising cookies load at all.
You can change your mind at any time using , which is also linked at the bottom of every page.
Our legal basis for advertising cookies is your consent.
How Google uses cookies
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve adverts based on your previous visits to this website or other websites.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve adverts to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising from Google in My Ad Center. You can opt out of some other companies' personalised advertising at youronlinechoices.eu or aboutads.info.
- Read how Google uses information from sites that use its services, and Google's privacy policy.
Google's advertising policies don't allow advertisers to personalise adverts using health conditions. Reading this site doesn't tell advertisers you have a heart problem. If you'd rather not take the chance at all, choose "Reject all".
Advertising cookies Google may set if you accept
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| __gads, __gpi | Google (on this site) | Measure adverts and limit how often you see the same one | 13 months |
| __eoi | Google (on this site) | Security and fraud prevention | 6 months |
| IDE, DSID | doubleclick.net | Personalised adverts and measurement | 13 months |
| test_cookie | doubleclick.net | Checks whether your browser accepts cookies | 15 minutes |
| FCCDCF, FCNEC | Google consent tool, if used | Stores your advertising choices | 13 months |
Google changes its cookies from time to time. Google's own list is the most up to date.
Data sent outside the UK
Our website is hosted on a server in the United States, so the basic server logs described above are stored there by our hosting provider. If you accept advertising cookies, Google may process information about your device, such as your IP address and cookie identifiers, in the United States and elsewhere. Google relies on the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses to protect it.
Links to other websites
We link to the NHS, British Heart Foundation, DVLA and other trusted sites. They have their own privacy policies, and we're not responsible for them.
Children
This site is for the general public and isn't aimed at children. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- ask what personal information we hold about you, and get a copy
- ask us to correct or delete it
- object to or restrict how we use it
- withdraw consent to advertising cookies at any time
Because we don't know who our visitors are, we usually hold nothing that we can link to you. Email privacy@chestpain.org.uk and we'll reply within one month. For information Google holds, use Google's privacy tools.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to put it right first.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we use information, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If the change affects advertising cookies, we'll ask for your consent again.