Privacy policy
How this site handles personal data, in plain English. It describes what the site actually does.
Who we are
This site, iamnicholasmartin.co.uk, is Nicholas Martin's. It is run by Agile Tech Global Solutions Ltd (agiletechsolutions.co.uk), London, which is the controller of the personal data described here. For anything about your data or privacy, email [email protected]. Our other contact details are on the Agile Tech Solutions website.
The short version
- You can read the whole site without giving us anything. There are no advertising or analytics trackers.
- If you type into the site guide, the Nick AI chat, the prompt-injection lab or a form, that text goes to the service that answers it (named below). Whether we keep it depends on the feature, and each one is listed below.
- To protect the site we look at how visitors behave. Addresses that send repeated vulnerability probes are blocked for 24 hours.
- Our account on X (@ndgmlondon) is run partly by automation that reads public posts and profiles. If you'd rather it left you alone, tell us and we'll exclude your account.
What we collect, and why
Every visit
Requests pass through Cloudflare, which sees your IP address and browser details in order to deliver the site and protect it. Our own server records each request's page, timing and result and the first part of your browser's name. It does not record your IP address for ordinary pages. Why: running and securing the site (legitimate interests).
Security traps and the gatekeeper
Some addresses on the site exist only to catch automated attackers (for example /wp-login.php or /.env). When something requests one, we record the IP address, browser, the address requested and the time. The site's gatekeeper also scores signs of abuse: vulnerability probes, bot behaviour, and attempts to misuse the site guide or lab. It may slow or pause those features for a visitor for an hour. Addresses that send three or more probes within ten minutes are blocked from the whole site for 24 hours. Blocked addresses are deleted when the block ends; other gatekeeper signals are kept for seven days as salted, shortened hashes, never as addresses. Failed sign-ins to the private admin area are recorded with the IP address. Why: security (legitimate interests).
The site guide (the orb)
Your message is sent to Venice AI to write the answer, and to TypeSafe's intent checker (Jev), which screens for misuse first. On our server it is held in memory for up to three hours for the conversation's context, then discarded. It is never written to disk, never added to our knowledge base and never searched for contact details. Once you have used the guide, your browser (not our server) remembers a random ID, the pages you viewed and the topics you asked about, so the guide can welcome you back; press Forget me to wipe it. We count guide events, topics, thumbs up and down, and single words from questions the site couldn't answer (seen only once two different visitors have asked). None of those counts includes your text or identity. More about the guide. Why: providing the guide you chose to use, and improving it (legitimate interests).
The Nick AI chat
Conversations with the Nick AI chat are sent to Venice AI for the answer and stored on our server so the chat keeps its context and we can improve it. Questions it couldn't answer from the blog are logged so we can write about them. If you type an email address or phone number, it is saved as an enquiry alongside contact-form messages, and that conversation may be added to our private knowledge base so we can follow up. Why: providing the chat and responding to enquiries (legitimate interests).
The contact form
We keep what you send (name, email, and optionally company, phone, the service you're interested in and your message) with your IP address, browser and the time. A copy is emailed to Nicholas through Microsoft 365. A hidden field catches spam bots, and those submissions are discarded. Why: replying to you, and taking steps towards working together if you ask (legitimate interests; pre-contract steps).
Music: album feedback and listening stats
If you leave feedback on an album track, we keep the name you choose (or "Anonymous Listener"), your rating and your comments. The album player records listening events (track, play, skip or finish, how long you listened) with your browser type and a short hash of your IP address, so we can see which tracks hold attention. Why: improving the music (legitimate interests).
Games
Game progress is saved only in your browser. Some games ask our server for decisions (for example the city's AI in Grand Theft Access); those requests contain game state only and may be checked by Jev. If you submit a score to the leaderboard, we keep the name you enter and the score. Why: running the games (legitimate interests).
The Simulation
The Simulation keeps a session for each visitor who talks to it: a random device ID your browser generates, your conversation with its AI, your progress, visit times, IP address and browser. Membership is invite-only. For members we also keep an identity handle, a password (stored only as a salted hash), skills and progress, and invite and sign-in times. A cookie keeps members signed in. Why: running the Simulation and keeping membership secure (legitimate interests; for members, the membership you accepted).
The prompt-injection lab
What you type is screened by Jev and then sent to Venice AI to play the fictional agent. We keep only anonymous counts (which level, which mode and whether the attack worked), not what you typed. Why: providing the lab (legitimate interests).
Our account on X
Automation on @ndgmlondon reads public posts and profiles about identity security and AI, and uses Jev to decide whether to follow, like or reply. It stores the account handle, public profile details such as a bio snippet and follower count, the post it responded to and the decision. It only works with public information on X. Why: building a relevant professional audience (legitimate interests). You can object at any time: send us your handle and we'll exclude it.
Who else processes it
| Service | What it gets | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fasthosts Internet Ltd (UK) | Everything stored on our server | Hosting |
| Cloudflare | Every request: IP address, browser details | Delivery and protection |
| Venice AI | Text typed into the site guide, the Nick AI chat and the lab | Writing answers |
| TypeSafe (Jev) | Text typed into the site guide and lab; game state; public X posts the automation considers | Intent and decision checks |
| Microsoft 365 | Contact-form messages (notification email) | Getting your message to Nicholas |
| Google Fonts | Your IP address, when your browser loads the site's fonts | Typography |
| X | Follows, likes and replies from @ndgmlondon | Running the account |
Each processes data under its own terms. We don't sell personal data, and we don't share it with anyone else unless the law requires it.
Cookies and browser storage
There are no advertising or analytics cookies. What is stored:
| Name | Where | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
access_token | Cookie | Keeps Nicholas signed in to the private admin area |
simulation_member_token | Cookie | Keeps Simulation members signed in |
nmVisitor | Your browser | The site guide's memory of your visits, after you first use it ("Forget me" deletes it) |
nmGuideState | Your browser, this tab only | The current conversation with the guide |
nmGuide, nmGuideVoice | Your browser | Guide on or off; read replies aloud |
mediaPlayer_* | Your browser | Which track was playing, and where |
| Game saves and Simulation device ID | Your browser | Your progress in the games; recognising your Simulation session |
Cloudflare may set a short-lived security cookie if it needs to check a suspicious request; it doesn't on normal visits.
How long we keep it
Deletion is automatic and runs every day.
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Site guide messages | Up to 3 hours, in memory only |
| Gatekeeper signals / site blocks | 7 days, hashed / until the 24-hour block ends |
| Security-trap and failed sign-in logs, request monitoring | 90 days |
| Nick AI chat conversations and unanswered-question log | 12 months |
| Contact-form messages and chat enquiries | 24 months |
| Album feedback / listening stats | 24 months / 12 months |
| Leaderboard scores | 24 months |
| Simulation sessions and AI conversations | 12 months after your last visit |
| Simulation membership | While you're a member, then 30 days after it ends |
| X automation records | 12 months |
AI and automated decisions
AI writes the answers in the site guide, the chat, the Simulation and the lab. It can be wrong, and the guide only links to pages on this site. The one automated decision that affects you is the gatekeeper's: it can pause the guide, lab or contact form for an hour, or block an address that sends repeated vulnerability probes for 24 hours. Nothing you type can block the site. If you think you were blocked by mistake, email us and we'll lift it. We don't make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on you by automated means, and we don't use what you type to train AI models.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask for a copy of your data, ask us to correct or delete it, object to or restrict how we use it, and ask for it in a portable format. Email [email protected]; we'll reply within one month. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Data held only in your browser (the guide's memory, player position, game saves) never reaches us, so we can't see or delete it, but you can: use "Forget me" in the guide, or clear this site's data in your browser settings.
Children, transfers, changes
Children. The site isn't aimed at under-13s, and we don't knowingly collect their data. If you think we have, tell us and we'll delete it.
Transfers outside the UK. Our server is in the UK. Some services above (Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft, Venice AI, TypeSafe, X) may process data in other countries, including the US, under their own UK data-transfer safeguards.
Changes. When this policy changes we'll update the date at the top and, for significant changes, say so on the site.