Privacy notice & cookie policy
Last updated:
This notice covers the whole of this website, including warranty registrations and fault reports. It explains what personal data we collect, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it and your rights. It also explains the cookies used on this website.
Who we are
This website is run by World Heat Ltd, trading as World Heat Cylinders. We are a company registered in England & Wales, company number 06744323. Our registered office is Unit 4, Tudor Industrial Estate, Ashton Street, Dukinfield, Cheshire, SK16 4RN. We are the controller of the personal data described here. ICO registration number: ZC254273.
Contact us about your data at sales@whcylinders.co.uk, by phone on 0161 343 8610, or by post to the address above.
What we collect and why
Send an enquiry, use a design tool or the pre-plumbed selector
- What we collect
- Name, email and/or phone, company, your message and the tool answers you entered
- Why
- To reply and give you a quotation
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests (answering enquiries you choose to make); steps before a contract at your request
Request a quote
- What we collect
- As above, plus project name, site postcode, products, and any schedule or drawing you upload
- Why
- To prepare a quotation
- Lawful basis
- As above
Register a warranty
- What we collect
- Name, contact details, address, product and serial number, purchase and installation dates, installer details
- Why
- To register and honour your guarantee
- Lawful basis
- Contract (the guarantee); legitimate interests (product safety and recall)
Report a fault
- What we collect
- Your role (homeowner, installer etc.), name, contact details, property address, product details, description, and photos or videos you choose to upload
- Why
- To investigate and fix the fault and, if needed, arrange a visit
- Lawful basis
- Contract or guarantee; legitimate interests (product quality and safety)
Tick the optional product news box
- What we collect
- Your email and the date you agreed
- Why
- To send occasional product news
- Lawful basis
- Consent. Withdraw any time with the unsubscribe link in every email
Use live chat (only if you start it)
- What we collect
- Your messages, and technical data such as IP address and browser
- Why
- To answer your question
- Lawful basis
- Legitimate interests
Accept analytics cookies
- What we collect
- How you use the site (pages, device, approximate location)
- Why
- To improve the site
- Lawful basis
- Consent
If you give us details about someone else (for example your installer), please tell them. We use them only to deal with your registration or fault.
You don’t have to give us any of this. Without contact details we can’t reply, and without product details we can’t register a guarantee. We don’t make decisions about you by automated means alone. Please don’t send us health or other sensitive information.
On the fault report form, photos and videos start uploading to our private storage as soon as you add them, before you press Send, and location details are taken out of photos first. If you don’t send the report, we delete them after 3 days.
Where your enquiry came from. While you browse, your browser notes the page your visit started on, the website or advert that sent you here (including any campaign tags in the link), and the last 10 pages you looked at (see wh-visit in the cookie table). This stays in your browser and is deleted when you close the tab. It is only sent to us if you send one of our forms (quote, quick enquiry, contact or warranty), together with the page and product you were on, and we keep it with your enquiry so we can see which pages, products and adverts lead to enquiries.
Like any website, the servers that host this site also keep short-term technical logs (such as IP address, browser type and the pages requested) so the site can be delivered securely and problems can be investigated.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics 4, a web analytics service provided by Google, to understand how visitors use our website — for example which pages are visited, how long people stay, what device and browser they use, and roughly which country or town they are in — so we can improve the site.
- Google Analytics only runs after you give consent by turning on Analytics (or pressing “Accept all”) in our cookie banner. If you reject it, or ignore the banner, it is not loaded and no analytics cookies are set. We remember your choice for 12 months, then ask again. We also use Google’s “consent mode”, which tells Google’s tag that nothing may be stored until you accept, and advertising storage stays switched off.
- The information is collected under a random identifier rather than your name or contact details, and it is reported to us in aggregate. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. We do not use it to identify individual visitors.
- Google acts as our data processor for this service and may process the data outside the UK, including in the United States, under its standard data processing terms (see who we share it with).
- You can change your mind at any time using the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page. If you withdraw consent, Google Analytics stops running and we delete its cookies from your browser.
You can find out more in Google’s explanation of how Google uses information from sites that use its services (opens in a new tab).
Live chat
Our live chat is provided by Tawk.to, and you chat with members of our own team — not an automated chatbot. The chat software is only loaded when you press “Chat with us”, or if you have turned on “Live chat, maps and tour” in our cookie banner. Until then nothing is loaded from Tawk.to.
When it loads, Tawk.to receives technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, approximate location and the page you are on, and sets cookies in your browser so a conversation continues as you move between pages. If you start a chat, it also receives the messages you exchange with us. Tawk.to processes this on our behalf so we can answer your questions; our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries you choose to make. See Tawk.to’s privacy policy (opens in a new tab) for how it handles data.
Social media posts on our home page
Our home page shows our recent posts from LinkedIn and X (and Facebook, where we have switched it on), or links to our pages there. Our own server collects the posts and their pictures from those platforms, so viewing them does not send any information about you to LinkedIn, X or Facebook and sets no cookies. If you click through to a post, the platform’s own privacy policy applies from then on.
Where Facebook posts are offered through Facebook’s own page viewer, it is only loaded if you click “Show Facebook posts”, and only for that page view. Facebook then receives technical information such as your IP address and the page you are on, and may set its own cookies, under Meta’s privacy policy (opens in a new tab). If you don’t click, nothing is loaded from Facebook.
Trustpilot reviews
Our pages invite you to review us on Trustpilot, an independent review website. Following the “Review us on Trustpilot” button, or leaving a review, takes you to Trustpilot, whose own privacy policy (opens in a new tab) applies from then on.
The button is Trustpilot’s own, loaded from Trustpilot only if you have turned on Reviews in our cookie banner. Trustpilot then receives technical information such as your IP address and the page you are on, and may set its own cookies. Otherwise nothing is loaded from Trustpilot and the button is a plain link.
Who we share it with
We don’t sell your data. These providers process it for us under contract:
Vercel Inc.
Website hosting and private file storage (uploads)
Where: USA
Neon Inc.
Website database (enquiries, registrations)
Where: USA
Resend Inc.
Sending emails from the website
Where: USA
Tawk.to Inc.
Live chat (only if you open it)
Where: USA
Google LLC / Google Ireland
Analytics (only with consent); maps (only if you choose to show the map)
Where: USA and others
Trustpilot A/S
Review invitation button (only with consent), and reviews you choose to leave
Where: Denmark / EU
Anthropic PBC
Staff tool for suggesting wording on our sponsorship pages; it doesn’t receive enquiry or customer data
Where: USA
Photoroom SAS
Staff tool for editing product photos; no customer data
Where: France
Our IT support and professional advisers
Support and advice, where needed
Where: UK
Inside World Heat, enquiry and registration details are copied into our customer system (CRM), our quotation system and, for fault reports, our quality system (HIVE), so the right team can deal with them.
Some of these providers are based in the USA and may process your data there. For each of them we use the provider’s standard data processing terms. Trustpilot and Photoroom are in the EU, which UK law recognises as protecting personal data adequately.
We may also disclose information if we are required to by law, or to protect our rights, for example in connection with a legal claim.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries that don’t lead to an order2 years from our last contact
- Quotes, orders and customer accounts6 years after the end of the financial year they relate to
- Warranty registrationsThe guarantee period plus 6 years
- Fault reports and photosWhile we deal with the fault and any warranty claim that follows it
- Fault videos12 months, then deleted automatically
- Photos and videos added to a fault report that is never sent3 days, then deleted automatically
- Documents we email you at your request (a record of your email address, what we sent and when)6 years after the end of the financial year we sent it. It is used for nothing else and never for marketing
- Live chat transcripts2 years
- Analytics data2 months (Google Analytics setting)
When a retention period ends, we remove or anonymise the personal details. We keep a record that the item existed, but not who it was about.
Keeping your data secure
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against loss, misuse and unauthorised access. This website is served over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, uploaded files are stored privately, access to personal data is limited to staff and providers who need it, and our systems are protected by passwords and security software.
Your rights
You can ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, to erase it, to restrict or object to how we use it, or to receive it in a portable form. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time (for cookies, use the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page; for product news, the unsubscribe link in every email). We’ll reply within one month. To make a request, contact us using the details above.
Complaints
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your data, please tell us first at sales@whcylinders.co.uk. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it, and tell you the outcome.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint (opens in a new tab) or 0303 123 1113.
Cookie policy
Cookies are small text files that a website saves in your browser. Your browser’s local storage and session storage work in a similar way. We use only what the site needs to work, and the optional items below, only when you turn them on. This website sets no advertising cookies. The lists below are everything we found this site setting when we checked it in a browser (last checked ). “First party” means it is kept on our website’s address; “third party” means on the provider’s own.
Strictly necessary
Always on. The site needs these to remember your choices and keep forms and the staff area working.
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| wh-analytics-consent | World Heat (first party) | Cookie | Remembers your cookie choices (Analytics, Functional and Reviews, each on or off), so we don’t ask on every page. | 12 months |
| wh-mode | World Heat (first party) | Cookie | Remembers whether you chose domestic or commercial products, so the site shows you the right range. Only set when you choose. | 90 days |
| wh-fault-draft | World Heat (first party) | Session storage | Keeps your fault-report answers if the page reloads. Deleted when the report is sent. | Until you close the tab |
| wh_staff (__Host-wh_staff) | World Heat (first party) | Cookie | Keeps World Heat staff signed in to the staff area. Never set for other visitors. | 14 days |
| wh-library-basket | World Heat (first party) | Session storage | Remembers the documents a member of staff has picked in the staff library. Never set for other visitors. | Until you close the tab |
| wh-pdfs-last-publish-ms, wh-photo-processing | World Heat (first party) | Local storage | Remember settings in the staff area. Never set for other visitors. | Until cleared in the browser |
Analytics
Off unless you turn on Analytics in the cookie banner.
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics (first party) | Cookie | Tells one visitor from another, with a random number, so we can count visits. | 2 years (most browsers cut this to 400 days) |
| _ga_<ID> | Google Analytics (first party) | Cookie | Keeps track of your current visit. | 2 years (most browsers cut this to 400 days) |
| wh-visit | World Heat (first party) | Session storage | The page your visit started on, the website or advert that sent you (with any campaign tags or Google Ads click reference) and the last 10 pages you viewed. Only sent to us with a form you send, so we can see which pages lead to enquiries. | Until you close the tab |
| wh-lead | World Heat (first party) | Session storage | The kind of form you sent (no personal details), so Google Analytics can count it on the thank-you page. Deleted there. | Until the thank-you page, or you close the tab |
| wh-lead-ok | World Heat (first party) | Cookie | Confirms to the thank-you page that your form really arrived, so it is counted once. Deleted when used. | 10 minutes |
Functional
Off unless you turn on “Live chat, maps and tour” in the cookie banner, or press “Chat with us”, “Show map” or “Show the virtual tour” (which loads that one service).
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TawkConnectionTime, twk_idm_key | Tawk.to (live chat) (first party) | Cookie | Keep the live chat connected as you move between pages. | Until you close the browser |
| twk_uuid_<ID>, __tawkuuid | Tawk.to (live chat) (first party) | Cookie | Recognise you as the same chat visitor, so a conversation can carry on. | 6 months |
| twk_* | Tawk.to (live chat) (first party) | Local storage | Hold the chat window’s state and messages in your browser. | Until cleared in the browser |
| twk_* | Tawk.to (live chat) (first party) | Session storage | Hold the chat window’s state for this visit. | Until you close the tab |
| Tawk.to’s own cookies | Tawk.to (live chat) (third party) | Cookies or storage | Run the live chat, on Tawk.to’s own domain. | See Tawk.to’s privacy policy |
| None found | Google Maps (third party) | Cookies or storage | Shows our location map. None were set when we checked; Google may set its own (for example NID) on google.com, especially if you are signed in to Google. | See Google’s privacy policy |
| None found | TourMkr (virtual tour) (third party) | Cookies or storage | Shows the virtual factory tour. None were set when we checked. | See TourMkr’s privacy policy |
Reviews
Off unless you turn on Reviews in the cookie banner. Until then the button is a plain link to Trustpilot.
| Name | Provider | Type | Purpose | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None found | Trustpilot (third party) | Cookies or storage | Shows the “Review us on Trustpilot” button. None were set when we checked; Trustpilot may set its own on trustpilot.com. | See Trustpilot’s privacy policy |
Facebook’s page viewer is only loaded if you press “Show Facebook posts”, and Facebook may then set its own cookies under Meta’s policy (see social media posts).
Managing cookies
Use our cookie banner to accept all, reject all or choose: Analytics, “Live chat, maps and tour” (Functional) and Reviews are each off until you turn them on. Change your choice at any time with the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page; turning a category off deletes what it left on our website’s address. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings — the site will still work if you do. To opt out of Google Analytics on all websites, you can install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on (opens in a new tab).
Without your consent, the Google Map on our contact page, our virtual factory tour (TourMkr) and the live chat (Tawk.to) only load when you press “Show map”, “Show the virtual tour” or “Chat with us”. The provider then receives technical information such as your IP address, under its own privacy and cookie policies.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time, for example if the law or the way we use personal data changes. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated at the top.
Contact us if you have any questions.