Privacy Policy
Who we are
solena·guide is an AI-powered travel itinerary and guest experience platform for Cornwall, operated by Finlay Harris trading as Solena Guide ("we", "us", "our").
We have built this platform with privacy genuinely in mind — not as an afterthought. We collect the minimum data needed to make the service work, we do not sell it, and we delete it on a defined schedule.
What we collect and why
| Data | Why we collect it | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Location | To find nearby places and generate a relevant itinerary. This is a place name you enter (e.g. "St Ives") resolved to a town-level coordinate — it identifies a destination, not an individual. | Up to 24 months |
| Interests & trip preferences | To personalise your itinerary (e.g. beaches, food, walking) and to improve our suggestions over time. | Up to 24 months |
| Check-in date | Used for weekly grouping in property analytics. Allows holiday let owners to see seasonal trends without identifying any individual guest. | Up to 24 months |
| Anonymous session ID | A temporary random ID stored in your browser for the duration of your visit. Used to understand how the itinerary tool is used in a single session. Deleted automatically when you close the tab. | Tab session only — never stored by us |
| Email address (if provided) | Used to send your itinerary to yourself. If you opt in separately, we may send occasional updates about solena·guide. You can unsubscribe at any time. | Until you unsubscribe or request deletion |
| Usage events | Anonymous interactions — itinerary viewed, activity tapped, partner link clicked — to understand how the platform is used and improve it. | Up to 24 months |
We do not store IP addresses. These are discarded at our API layer before any data is written to our database. Location data is a place name resolved to a coordinate — for example, "St Ives" becomes a single point representing the town centre. It identifies a destination, not an individual.
Data retention — and why we keep it for 24 months
We keep usage data for up to 24 months. We want to be upfront about why that is longer than the 90-day default you might see elsewhere.
Cornwall tourism is deeply seasonal. The most useful question for improving this platform is: how does this August compare to last August? Are guests using certain features more? Are particular types of trip growing in popularity? A 90-day window cannot answer those questions — by the time the next summer arrives, the previous one is gone.
24 months gives us two full seasonal cycles, which is when patterns become meaningful rather than noise. We think that is a reasonable trade-off, and we wanted to explain it rather than just state it.
What happens at 24 months. Individual records are permanently deleted. Before deletion, we convert them into aggregate counts — for example, "142 itineraries were generated in August 2024." These totals contain no personal data and allow long-range comparisons without retaining anything about individual visits. If we ever extend this period, we will update this policy and notify account holders before doing so.
How the session ID works
When you load solena·guide, your browser generates a random ID — something like a3f7c291-... — and holds it in sessionStorage. This is not a cookie. It cannot be read by us between visits, it is not shared with any third party, and it disappears permanently when you close the tab.
Its only purpose is to link a series of actions within a single visit — for example, to know that the person who generated an itinerary is the same person who later tapped a partner link. This helps us understand how the platform flows, without knowing anything about who you are.
Cookies and local storage
We do not use persistent tracking cookies. If you add personal notes to activities in your itinerary, these are saved in your browser's localStorage — they stay on your device and are never transmitted to us unless you choose to email your itinerary.
We may in future use privacy-respecting analytics tools. If we do, we will update this policy before enabling them.
How your itinerary is generated
To generate your itinerary, your location and interests are processed by a small number of carefully chosen third-party services. We do not share your email address with any of them.
- An AI language model — writes your itinerary based on your preferences and local context
- A mapping and places data provider — identifies points of interest near your location
- A weather data provider — supplies forecast information to tailor outdoor suggestions
- A tidal data provider — supplies tide times for coastal and beach activity sequencing
These services process your request in real time. We select providers with appropriate data processing agreements in place.
Guest pages (holiday let owners)
If you arrive via a guest page link from your holiday let host (e.g. solena.guide/properties/your-cottage), your location is pre-set to the property area — you do not enter a postcode. Your host cannot see your individual activity, the itinerary you generate, or any personal details.
Holiday let owners can view aggregate, anonymised analytics for their property — for example, how many itineraries were generated in a given week. No individual guest data is surfaced to them.
If an owner's account is cancelled or deactivated, guest page access is removed immediately. Any guest who has received a direct link will find that it no longer resolves.
Content you submit (owner accounts)
If you hold a solena·guide owner account, you will submit content to your property page — including welcome messages, recommended places, and property details. By submitting this content, you grant us a licence to store it, display it to your guests, and use it to improve the platform. You retain ownership of what you submit and may request its deletion at any time by closing your account.
Your rights under UK GDPR
You have the right to access, correct, restrict, or request deletion of personal data we hold about you. Because we collect very little identifiable information, we may not always be able to locate a record — but we will always try and will respond within 30 days.
- Right of access — request a copy of data we hold
- Right to rectification — request corrections to inaccurate data
- Right to erasure — request deletion of your data
- Right to restrict processing — ask us to pause use of your data
- Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Right to data portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
Infrastructure and data location
We use reputable, established infrastructure providers to host and operate solena·guide. Your data is stored on servers within the UK or EU. We do not use providers that transfer personal data to jurisdictions without adequate data protection.
We do not sell, rent, or share personal data with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the platform evolves. Material changes will be noted with a revised effective date at the top of this page. Where you have an account, we will notify you by email before significant changes take effect.