Privacy policy

Updated October 2026. UK GDPR compliant.

Effective date: 23 October 2026.

What we collect

We try to collect as little as possible.

  • When you visit any page: we record the page URL, time, and a SHA-256 hash of your IP address so we can count unique daily visitors and prevent abuse. The plain IP is never stored.
  • When you submit a report: we store the report content, an IP hash, and a timestamp.
  • When you ask to be notified by email: we store your email address and the surgery or area you asked about. We send one email when that surgery starts accepting patients and a weekly round up of nearby practices that are taking patients, until you unsubscribe using the link in any email.
  • When a dental practice uses the practice panel: we store the name, role, work email and (if given) phone number of the person who claims the listing, the details and corrections they send, and a record of what we approved. Signing in sets one cookie, fd_practice, only on the /practice pages: it keeps you signed in for up to 30 days, is strictly necessary for the panel and is not used for anything else. We use these details only to manage that listing and to reply to the practice. If a practice adds its team, the names, roles and GDC numbers it sends are shown on its listing; GDC numbers are public on the GDC register.
  • When you message us on WhatsApp: our website stores your WhatsApp number (or the ID WhatsApp gives us instead), when you last wrote, and the surgeries you asked to be alerted about. It does not store the text of your messages; your question is answered automatically. The conversation itself stays in our WhatsApp Business account, like any WhatsApp chat, and we delete it on request. Reply STOP at any time to end alerts. Messages travel through WhatsApp, which Meta runs under its own terms and privacy policy.

The finddentist app

  • No account, no tracking: the iPhone app has no sign in and no advertising or analytics trackers. The Google services named below apply to this website only.
  • Location: the app uses your location to centre the map. To list the practices near that map point, and to plan a route when you ask for one, it sends the point to this website. For routes our server asks OSRM (run by FOSSGIS) or Transitous, which see the start and end points but not who you are. No name, account or device ID goes with these requests.
  • On your phone: saved practices, waiting lists you track, recent searches and the last map view stay on your phone. To recheck saved practices the app sends only their public practice numbers, and app alerts are notifications made on your phone.
  • Reports and Sorty: reports sent from the app are handled like reports on the website (above). Questions you type to Sorty, on the website, in the app or on WhatsApp, are read by a language model we run on our own computer so Sorty understands them, then answered from our own data. They are not stored and never sent to an AI company.

What we share

We do not sell or share personal data. Notification emails and WhatsApp messages come from us directly; we do not pass your email address or number to third parties.

Anonymous usage data may be shared with Google (via Google Analytics) and Google AdSense for ad delivery and analytics. You can opt out using a browser extension or via Google Ad Settings.

Cookies

We use a small number of cookies:

  • Strictly necessary: none beyond what your browser sets itself.
  • Analytics: Google Analytics may set _ga and _gid cookies. Lifetime: up to 2 years.
  • Advertising: Google AdSense may set NID and IDE cookies for personalised ads.

Your rights (UK GDPR)

You can ask us to:

  • Show you what data we hold about you
  • Correct anything that's wrong
  • Delete your data
  • Stop processing it

Email hello@finddentist.co.uk with your request. We respond within 30 days.

NHS data attribution

Practice information is sourced from the NHS Directory of Healthcare Services. finddentist.co.uk is not affiliated with the NHS or NHS England.

Complaints

If you're not happy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.