We track Santa, not you
Privacy notice · last updated 13 November 2026
The short version. Follow the Sleigh follows sleighs. If you’re looking at a group’s public page, we don’t know who you are, we don’t set cookies and we don’t follow you around the internet.
We can’t confirm how Santa keeps track of you for his naughty and nice list. That’s a matter for the elves, and you’ll have to take it up with them. (We asked. They just giggled and went back to wrapping.)
Who we are
Follow the Sleigh is run by Defib Ready Limited (registered in England and Wales, company no. 15337003, registered office 4 The Grove, Love Lane, Bodmin, PL31 2BJ). You can reach us at northpole@followthesleigh.com. Yes, the North Pole has email.
If you’re following a sleigh
- We don’t ask for your name, email or location, and we don’t use cookies, adverts or tracking pixels on public pages.
- Like every website, our servers briefly see your device’s IP address to send you the page. Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) uses it to keep the site fast and safe from attacks. We don’t use it to identify you.
- Counting the crowd: so a group can say how many people followed their sleigh, the live map counts viewers using a scrambled version of the IP address (a one-way code that’s different for every sleigh run). The codes are deleted when the run finishes; only the totals are kept.
- Visitor statistics: we use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count page visits and see which pages are popular. It doesn’t use cookies or store anything on your device, and it doesn’t track you across websites.
If you’re in a group using Follow the Sleigh
To run your group’s account we hold:
- Your name and email address, and your role in the group (owner, admin or volunteer), so you can sign in and be invited.
- The sleigh’s position while you’re tracking: GPS location, accuracy, speed and direction, every few seconds, only between pressing Track me and stopping (and never beyond an hour after the run’s end time).
- Your group’s details: routes, runs, stops, logo, welcome message and donation link.
- Payment records for season passes. Card details go straight to Stripe; we never see or store them.
What the public sees: the sleigh’s position only when it is within 500 metres of the route. Positions further away (for example the drive from a volunteer’s home) are saved for the group’s records but never shown publicly. Volunteers’ names are never shown on public pages.
Who decides what: each group decides who to invite and when to track, so for its members’ information the group is in charge (the “controller”) and we look after it for them (the “processor”). For your own sign-in account, and for payments, we are the controller.
Why we use it (the legal bit)
- To provide the service you or your group signed up for (contract).
- To keep it secure and working, prevent abuse and fix problems (our legitimate interests).
- To keep financial records of payments and charity donations (legal obligation).
We don’t sell your information, and we don’t use it for marketing anyone else’s products. We’ll email you about your account: sign-in links, invitations, receipts and pass reminders.
Who helps us
- Cloudflare: hosting, database, maps storage and security.
- Resend: sends our emails.
- Stripe: takes card payments for season passes.
- OpenStreetMap and Protomaps: map data. Mission Control loads map tiles from OpenStreetMap’s servers.
Some of these companies may handle data outside the UK. When they do, it is protected by the UK’s approved safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses).
How long we keep things
- Detailed sleigh positions: until the group deletes the run, and in any case no longer than 12 months after the run.
- Accounts and group details: while the group uses Follow the Sleigh. Ask us and we’ll delete them.
- Payment records: six years, because the taxman says so.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete your information, object to how we use it, or ask us to send it to you. Email northpole@followthesleigh.com. If you’re a group member, you can also ask your group’s admins. If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Children
Follow the Sleigh accounts are for adults running sleigh collections. Children are very welcome to watch the sleigh, and we don’t collect anything about them when they do.
Changes
If we change this notice we’ll update the date at the top, and tell account holders by email if it’s anything important.