Cookie and analytics update — 11 September 2026
Analytics and advertising have separate optional choices. Neither is loaded before you choose. If enabled, Google Analytics measures page use and can set first-party analytics cookies. We do not send calculator entries, complaint text, account numbers or email addresses to Analytics. The tools run in your browser.
Advertising code, including configured third-party banner scripts, loads only after advertising consent. AdSense additionally requires a valid signal from a Google-certified consent platform. Verification meta tags do not track you and are always in page source. A missing advertising consent platform can therefore leave ads unavailable even after you opt in.
Your choices are stored in your browser for up to 180 days under bd-consent-v2. Use Cookie settings in the footer to change them. Withdrawing consent reloads the page to stop active optional scripts and removes accessible first-party Google Analytics cookies; we cannot erase third-party cookies set on another domain. Clearing your browser’s site data removes stored choices. You can still use every calculator after rejecting optional cookies.
Privacy Policy
Last updated:13 September 2026
This policy explains what BillDecoded collects, why, and what you can do about it. It is written to be read rather than to be long. If anything here is unclear, ask us at hello@billdecoded.co.uk.
Who we are
BillDecoded publishes free information about UK household energy billing at billdecoded.co.uk. For the purposes of UK data protection law we are the data controller for the personal data described below. Contact: hello@billdecoded.co.uk, or through the contact page.
What we collect, and why
| What | When | Why | Lawful basis | Kept for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email address, plus the date, your IP address and browser user-agent | Only if you subscribe to the email list | To send the list you asked for, and to stop the form being abused | Consent | Until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it |
| Name, email address, topic and message, plus IP address and date | Only if you use the contact form | To read and reply to your message | Legitimate interests — responding to someone who contacted us | Up to 24 months, then deleted |
| Standard web server logs: IP address, page requested, timestamp, user-agent, referrer | Every visit | Security, abuse prevention and diagnosing faults | Legitimate interests — keeping the site working and secure | As long as our hosting provider retains them, typically a few weeks |
| Advertising identifiers and cookies set by Google and its partners | When ads are served | To display advertising, cap how often you see an ad, and measure it | Consent where required — see Advertising below | Set by Google, not by us |
What we never ask for and never want
- Your energy account number, meter serial number or MPAN/MPRN
- Your supplier login details
- Bank details, card details or any payment information
- Copies of your bills
Everything on this site is designed so you can do the work yourself with your own documents. If you send us any of the above by mistake, we will delete it and tell you we have.
Advertising
This site carries advertising, which is how it stays free. We use Google AdSense.
- Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on this site.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and other sites on the internet.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising from many other vendors at aboutads.info/choices or, in the UK and Europe, at youronlinechoices.com.
- Third-party vendors and ad networks may also serve ads on this site and may use cookies or similar technologies of their own. We do not control those cookies.
If you are in the UK or the European Economic Area, you will be asked for consent before non-essential advertising cookies are used, and you can change that choice at any time. Full detail is in the cookie policy.
We do not use affiliate links in our guidance. Where a guide links to Ofgem, Citizens Advice, the Energy Ombudsman or a supplier, that link earns us nothing. See the editorial policy.
Analytics
Google Analytics is optional and starts only after you allow analytics. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools separately provide aggregated search-performance reports; they do not require the Analytics tag.
Who we share data with
We do not sell personal data and we do not share it for anyone else's marketing. Data is handled by:
- Our hosting provider, which stores the site and its server logs.
- Google, for advertising, as described above.
We may also disclose information where we are legally required to.
International transfers
Google and other advertising providers may process data outside the UK under their published safeguards. Our hosting provider processes contact and subscription records to operate the site. Contact us for information about providers and any applicable transfer safeguards.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Rectify it if it is wrong
- Erase it — and for the email list, this is immediate on request
- Restrict or object to our processing of it
- Portability — receive it in a machine-readable format
- Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing that already happened
To exercise any of these, email hello@billdecoded.co.uk or use the contact form. We will respond within one month. There is no charge.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS. The email list and contact messages are stored on the server behind access controls and are not published anywhere. No system is perfectly secure, which is a large part of why we ask you not to send account numbers or financial details.
Children
This site is aimed at adults responsible for household energy bills. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has given us personal data, tell us and we will delete it.
Links to other sites
Our guides link to Ofgem, Citizens Advice, the Energy Ombudsman, GOV.UK and others because those are the sources. We are not responsible for their privacy practices — read their policies when you get there.
Changes to this policy
The policy was updated on 13 September 2026 to explain optional Google Analytics, separate consent choices and how to withdraw them.