This Privacy Policy describes how IELTSBeacon.com collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you visit our website or use our services. We take your privacy seriously and are committed to transparency about our data practices.
Last updated
This policy was last updated on 14 October 2026. Significant changes will be communicated through a notice on this page and via email to registered users. Who we are
IELTSBeacon.com is an independent online resource for IELTS exam preparation. We are not affiliated with IDP, the British Council, Cambridge Assessment English, or any other official IELTS test provider. For questions about this policy, you can reach us through our contact page.Information we collect
We collect different types of information depending on how you interact with our website. The categories of information are:Automatic
Information collected automatically
When you visit our site, certain information is collected automatically including your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, time spent on each page, and referring website.Voluntary
Information you provide
When you sign up for free access, complete a contact form, or use any interactive feature, we collect the information you voluntarily provide such as your name, email address, and any messages you send us.Cookies
Cookies and tracking
IELTSBeacon uses cookies for sign-in, account security, practice tests, and first-party visit attribution. Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity run when pages load and may use analytics cookies to recognize a browser across pages and visits. Browser settings or extensions may block these scripts or cookies.Analytics
Usage analytics
We use Google Analytics 4 to measure page views, events, sessions, and traffic sources, and Microsoft Clarity to measure interactions such as clicks and scrolling and to provide session recordings where available. These services may receive page URLs, referrers, browser and device details, interaction data, and your IP address when your browser connects to them. Analytics cookies can help connect activity across pages and visits. Browser settings, extensions, and provider restrictions can limit measurement. IELTSBeacon does not use Meta Pixel, Meta Conversions API, or advertising cookies for this site.How we use your information
The information we collect is used for the following specific purposes:- To provide our services. Delivering the free study guides, practice tests and resources you request from our site.
- To communicate with you. Sending you the email updates you signed up for, responding to your enquiries, and notifying you about service changes.
- To improve our content. Understanding which pages are most useful helps us decide what to improve and create next.
- To ensure security. Protecting our site from spam, abuse and security threats.
- To comply with legal obligations. Meeting our legal obligations under applicable data protection laws.
Email communications
If you sign up for our free access programme, you consent to receiving emails from IELTSBeacon. These include study tips, new content notifications, and updates about our services. We use Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) to manage email communications. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email we send. Unsubscribing removes you from our mailing list immediately. We will never sell, rent, or share your email address with third parties for their own marketing purposes.Cookies we use
Necessary cookies. WordPress and IELTSBeacon use cookies required for sign-in, account security, and requested practice-test functions. IELTSBeacon also uses a first-party attribution cookie to associate visits and signup sources.
Analytics cookies. Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity may set cookies to measure activity across pages and visits.
Advertising cookies. We do not use Meta advertising tracking or advertising cookies on this site.
Third-party services we use
Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity help us measure visits and improve the website. Their tags run when pages load, and they may use analytics cookies and receive the information described in “Usage analytics.” We also use Brevo for the account and email services described elsewhere in this policy, and our hosting provider to operate and secure the site.
Your rights
Depending on your location, you may have specific rights regarding your personal information. These include:- Right to access. You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Right to correction. If any information we hold is inaccurate, you can ask us to correct it.
- Right to deletion. You can request that we delete your personal information from our records.
- Right to object. You can object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing.
- Right to data portability. You can request your data in a portable format for transfer to another service.
- Right to withdraw consent. Where we process data based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
GDPR and UK GDPR compliance
If you are located in the European Union or United Kingdom, our processing of your personal data is governed by the GDPR and UK GDPR respectively. We process your data on the basis of legitimate interest, consent, or contractual necessity depending on the specific processing activity. Data security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. These measures include:- SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our servers
- Secure password hashing for any account credentials
- Regular security updates to our website software and plugins
- Limited access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
- Regular backups stored securely
Data retention
The IELTSBeacon Google Analytics 4 property is currently set to retain event-level and user-level data for 14 months, with retention reset on new user activity. This setting does not set a single expiry date for all aggregate reports. Microsoft Clarity currently documents 30-day retention for session playback and longer periods for some aggregate, sampled, or saved information. We retain server logs for security and troubleshooting according to our hosting settings. Account information, practice history, contact records, and backups follow their own retention needs.