Privacy Notice

This privacy notice explains how Thom Aster handles personal data collected in the course of business intelligence and outreach activities.

Who I am

Thom Aster is an independent investigative journalist and intelligence consultant. I operate as a sole trader. My website is thom-aster.com. For data protection queries, contact me via the contact page on this site.

What data I collect

In the course of business intelligence and outreach, I may collect:

• →Business contact information (name, role, corporate email address, company name)
• →Publicly available information from official registers, company filings, and reputable business sources
• →Correspondence history (emails sent and received)
• →Opt-out and suppression records (minimum data needed to honour your preferences)

How I use data

• →To identify relevant business prospects for intelligence and due-diligence services
• →To send relevant, evidence-based business outreach
• →To maintain suppression records so I do not contact people who have objected
• →To improve the relevance and accuracy of my research

Legal basis

I process business contact data under the legitimate interests basis (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR). My legitimate interest is providing business intelligence and due-diligence services to UK corporate professionals. I only contact individuals in their professional capacity at organisations where there is a reasonable expectation of business communication.

Data sharing

I do not sell, rent, or share personal data with third parties for their own purposes. Data may be processed through third-party service providers (email delivery, cloud storage) who act as data processors under my instructions.

Data retention

Business contact data is retained for the duration of the relevant business relationship or campaign, plus a reasonable period thereafter. Suppression records are retained indefinitely to honour opt-out requests. Unengaged prospect data is reviewed after 12 months.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• →Object to processing for direct marketing (this is absolute and will be honoured immediately)
• →Request access to personal data held about you
• →Request rectification or erasure of your data
• →Restrict processing in certain circumstances
• →Data portability where technically feasible

Opting out

Every business email I send includes a simple opt-out instruction. You can also opt out at any time by replying to any message or contacting me via the website. I will suppress your contact details immediately and permanently.

Changes to this notice

This notice may be updated. The latest version will always be published at thom-aster.com/privacy.

Last updated: 23 July 2026