Last updated · 10 October 2026

Privacy policy

Leading Search List collects information people choose to submit through the agency-review form. This can include names, work email addresses, organisation details, websites and supporting evidence. Brief-builder answers stay in your browser unless you choose direct email delivery.

How information is used

Agency submissions are used to assess corrections and possible inclusion in a future update. Optional reports, proposals, audits, methodologies and case studies help reviewers understand agency services and delivery. Contact details, links and documents are stored for internal review; submitted material is not automatically published. We do not sell submitted personal information.

Website checks and buyer briefs

The website checker sends the public page address you enter to our server, which fetches the page and robots.txt. Public DNS lookups are made through Cloudflare. Page contents and reports are processed for the response and are not saved by this tool. Uploaded HTML is analysed locally in your browser and is not sent to our server.

Brief drafts are saved on your device only when you choose Save draft. You can clear a saved draft in the tool. Audit findings transferred into a brief use temporary session storage. PDF generation and email-app drafts happen on your device. No brief is automatically sent to an agency.

If direct email delivery is enabled and you choose it, your email address and brief are sent to our transactional email provider, Resend, to deliver your message and PDF. Provider delivery logs may retain delivery data. The tool does not add you to a marketing list. It does not save a copy of your brief in our database.

For abuse prevention, live checks and direct email requests increment a daily usage counter and an hourly counter keyed by a daily hash of the connection IP address. Raw IP addresses are not stored in that table. Counter records expire after approximately 25 hours and are deleted on subsequent tool activity. Hosting and security providers may separately process request logs.

Draft answers

Text answers are saved in the visitor’s browser while the form is in progress. Draft answers are not sent to Leading Search List and can be removed by clearing the browser’s site data. Browsers do not retain selected PDF files, so those files must be reattached before submission.

Sharing supporting materials

Submit only material you own or have permission to share. Upload redacted PDFs or provide view-only links, not live client dashboards. Remove personal information, credentials and confidential client information. You can request removal or correction using the privacy-request form below; an agency email address is not required.

Storage and access

Submitted records are stored in the site’s hosted database. Uploaded PDFs are held in private file storage. Both are available only to people responsible for reviewing the directory. We retain records for as long as they remain useful for that purpose, subject to legal and operational requirements.

Site usage and agency referrals

If you allow analytics, we use a private, first-party counter for aggregate page views, visible agency listings, profile and website clicks, comparison selections and form activity. It also counts visits and engaged visits by landing page, broad device category and general source such as direct, organic search or a referring domain. Campaign labels are stored when they are supplied in a link.

The first-party counter does not store IP addresses, personal identifiers, full referring URLs, raw search terms or form contents, and does not set its own analytics cookies. It runs only after the same analytics opt-in as Google Analytics. After consent, a temporary session-storage flag prevents the same browser tab from counting repeated page changes as new visits; it is removed when that tab session ends. Browser Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals are respected. Hosting and security providers may separately process technical request data.

Google Analytics

Our site counter and Google Analytics run only if you choose “Allow analytics”. It uses cookies and similar browser storage to measure visits, traffic sources, page use and actions such as profile visits, comparison use, agency-website clicks, filter changes and form progress. Advertising storage, Google signals and ad personalisation are disabled.

We remember your choice in local storage and a preference cookie, which lasts up to one year. We ask again when that choice expires or the analytics purposes change. The preference cookie records your choice only and does not track visits. It helps retain your choice if local storage is unavailable.

We do not send form answers, contact details or uploaded documents to Google Analytics. You can withdraw permission at any time. Withdrawing stops future collection from this browser and removes the site’s Google Analytics cookies where the browser permits it. Read Google’s privacy policy for information about Google’s processing.

Counts help us understand discovery and whether visitors find enough value to stay or explore; they are not proof of an agency enquiry or sale. Analytics blockers, automated traffic, consent choices and delivery failures can affect totals.

External agency websites

Agency-profile links take visitors to the relevant agency’s website. Information sent after leaving Leading Search List is handled by the receiving organisation rather than Leading Search List.

International visitors and privacy rights

Depending on the law that applies to your information, including the GDPR where applicable, you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction of processing or a portable copy, and may object to processing. Where processing relies on your consent, you may withdraw it. These rights are subject to their applicable conditions. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing.

You can withdraw browser analytics permission using “Change analytics choice” above. For information submitted to the directory, use the form below. We may need proportionate information to verify a request before disclosing or changing records. Where the GDPR applies, requests must normally be handled within one month; any permitted extension must be explained.

You may also lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. See the European data protection authorities. You do not need to submit an agency or agree to analytics to make a privacy request.

Information in a privacy request

We use the email address and details you provide to identify the information concerned, handle your request and keep a record of its handling. Requests are held in the private review system and are not published or used for marketing.