Who we are
Flood Checker (“the site”) lets you check which Environment Agency flood zone a postcode or address in England is in, free of charge. There is nothing to buy and no account; you only give us an email address if you ask us to email you a result. This policy explains how we handle information when you use it.
If you have any questions or want to exercise your data rights, contact us at hello@floodchecker.co.uk.
What we collect
Searches you run. When you check a postcode or address we record the search so we can prevent abuse, keep the site working and understand how it's used. This includes the postcode (never the full address you typed), the result (the flood zone found), the council area, your IP address, your approximate location (town and country, derived from your IP by our host), your browser and device (user-agent), the website that referred you and any campaign (UTM) tags on the link you followed, and the date and time.
Emailing yourself a result. If you ask us to email you a check result, we store your email address, the postcode, what the check found, and your IP address and browser, and send that one email. If you also tick the box for tips, we send up to three more emails over the following week about flood risk at that address, and one email when our full flood risk report launches. If you use Tell me when it launches on the report card, we send your result and that one launch email, nothing else. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops all marketing email from us. We record whether each email was delivered, opened or clicked, so we can tell whether they're useful.
We don't ask you to log in and we don't take payments. We do not knowingly collect special-category data.
Cookies & local storage
We use a small number of first-party cookies and browser storage. When you first visit, a cookie notice lets you accept or decline optional analytics. Analytics cookies are only set if you accept; you can change your mind at any time from Cookie settings in the footer.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| fc_consent | Essential | Remembers your analytics choice so our servers can respect it. | 1 year |
| fc.cookie-consent | Essential (local storage) | Remembers whether you accepted or declined analytics. | Until cleared |
| fc_admin | Essential | Keeps a site administrator signed in to the admin area. Never set for normal visitors. | 12 hours |
| _ga, _ga_* | Optional analytics | Set by Google Analytics (only if you accept) to measure how the site is used. IP addresses are anonymised. | Up to 2 years |
| ph_* | Optional analytics | Set by PostHog (only if you accept) to measure how the site is used and capture errors so we can fix them. | Up to 1 year |
Data sources & third parties
To work, the site sends some information to the services below. The first two are public data sources we query on your behalf; the others help us host and operate the site.
| Service | Used for | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Postcodes.io | Turning your postcode into map coordinates and a council area. | The postcode you entered. |
| planning.data.gov.uk | The Environment Agency flood zone data we check. | The coordinates derived from your postcode. |
| Mapbox | Map tiles on the results page, and matching a typed address to its postcode. | Your IP address, the map area viewed, and any address you type into the search box. |
| Google Analytics (Google) | Optional usage analytics — only if you accept cookies. | Anonymised usage data (pages viewed, approximate region). |
| PostHog | Optional usage analytics and error monitoring — only if you accept cookies. | Usage data (pages viewed, clicks, searches run) and technical error details. |
| Supabase | Database that stores the search log and result-email requests, hosted in the EU (Ireland). | The search data and, if you ask for a result by email, the email data described above. |
| Resend | Sending result emails, only if you ask for one. | Your email address and the email's content (your postcode and result). |
| Vercel | Hosting and serving the website. | Standard request data (including IP) needed to deliver pages. |
Some of these providers are based in the United States and process data there under UK-approved safeguards. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.
Legal basis & retention
Under UK data protection law, we rely on legitimate interests to log searches, prevent abuse and keep the site secure and working, and to send a result you ask us to email you. We rely on your consent for optional analytics cookies and for follow-up and launch emails, which you can withdraw at any time with the unsubscribe link.
We keep search logs only as long as needed for these purposes and then delete or anonymise them. We keep a result-email request until you ask us to delete it; if you unsubscribe, we keep your address on a do-not-email list so we never email it again.
Your rights
You have the right to access, correct or delete your personal data, to object to or restrict its processing, and to withdraw consent for analytics at any time. To make a request, email hello@floodchecker.co.uk.
If you are in the UK and are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site evolves. Material changes will be reflected by the “last updated” date at the top of this page. See About for how the checker works.