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Emma's Diary ICO fine: what data they collect now
What did the ICO fine Emma's Diary for in 2018?
The Information Commissioner's November 2018 political-campaigns report states that Lifecycle Marketing (Mother and Baby) Ltd, trading as Emma's Diary, illegally collected and sold personal information belonging to more than one million people. The ICO issued a £140,000 monetary penalty dated 9 August 2018 for a serious breach of the first principle of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Swipe sideways for the full table
| Fact from the official record | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Lifecycle Marketing (Mother and Baby) Ltd, trading as Emma's Diary |
| Penalty | £140,000 (DPA 1998, first principle) |
| Date | Monetary penalty notice 9 August 2018 |
| How many records | More than one million; BBC reported 1,065,200 sold to Experian Marketing Services |
| Who used the file | Created for the Labour Party to profile new mums before the 2017 general election |
| What each record included (BBC / ICO reporting) | Parent name, home address, whether children under five were present, birth dates of the mother and children |
| What was missing | The privacy policy did not say the data would be used for political marketing or by political parties |
What data does sign-up still ask for now?
Emma's Diary's Data FAQs (checked 10 September 2026) say they collect data so content, offers and freebies can be matched to your life stage. The gift-pack sign-up flow asks how many children you have and for details and an address if you want samples in the post. Club and app registration commonly asks for a due date and children's dates of birth so week-by-week emails and vouchers can unlock.
The Data FAQs do not publish a current partner roster. An older toddler-app privacy page still lists historic brand names and cites the 1998 Act — treat that page as dated. The live document to read is the privacy policy linked from the Data FAQs.
MayTally does not list current Emma's Diary sharing partners. Official records show the 2018 political sale. Today's recipients are whatever the live privacy notice and Preference Centre tick-boxes say on the day you join.
How do I change preferences or stop third-party contact?
- Read the live privacy notice Open emmasdiary.co.uk/privacy-policy from the site footer or the Data FAQs. That page is the current statement, not the 2018 ICO file.
- Use the Preference Centre Data FAQs: on the website, log in, open Profile, then Preference Centre. In the app, open My Profile, tap the i button, then Preferences. That is where third-party and channel options sit.
- Cancel membership if you want suppression Data FAQs say that if you cancel, details are suppressed and Emma's Diary and its third parties should stop contacting you. Suppression is not the same as every copy vanishing from every past partner.
- Use your UK right to object to marketing The ICO's public guide on the right to object says organisations cannot refuse an objection to direct marketing. Contact Emma's Diary first; if needed, complain to the ICO.
Does the 2018 penalty tell me who they share with today?
No. The penalty is about a political sale that the ICO found was not described in the then privacy policy. Lifecycle Marketing said at the time it would not provide data to a political party again. That statement does not map today's brand, coupon or sample partners.
This page is about Emma's Diary only. It is not a Bounty explainer and it is not a generic "baby freebies without birth details" guide.
In shortIn short: £140,000 in 2018 for an undisclosed political sale of more than a million parent records. Sign-up in 2026 still asks for life-stage dates. Use the live notice and Preference Centre; do not treat the ICO file as today's partner list.
Questions parents ask
- Was the fine issued to Emma's Diary or to Labour?
- The ICO fined Lifecycle Marketing (Mother and Baby) Ltd, trading as Emma's Diary. The ICO found the file was sold via Experian for Labour Party use. The published monetary penalty is against the data broker, not a fine figure against the party on that notice.
- Does joining for a gift pack repeat the 2018 political sale?
- The 2018 case is a closed DPA 1998 penalty about that sale. It does not, by itself, describe 2026 sharing. Whether a new account is shared with anyone else is whatever you tick and whatever the live privacy notice says. Read those, then use the Preference Centre.
- Where do I complain if marketing does not stop?
- Object to Emma's Diary in writing using the Preference Centre or [email protected] (the address on its Data FAQs / app policy). The ICO says you should let the organisation handle that complaint first. If you remain unhappy, use the ICO complaint form.
- Is this the same as the Bounty ICO case?
- No. The ICO later fined Bounty (UK) Ltd separately (£400,000 in 2019, listed in a later ICO data-broking report). This page covers Emma's Diary / Lifecycle Marketing only.
Sources
Official pages first. If this page and the official page disagree, the official page wins.
- ICO — Investigation into data analytics in political campaigns (5 November 2018) — checked 10 September 2026
- ICO — Data broking sector investigation (lists the £140,000 Emma's Diary penalty) — checked 10 September 2026
- BBC News — Emma's Diary fined £140,000 over data sale to Labour (9 August 2018) — checked 10 September 2026
- Emma's Diary — Data FAQs — checked 10 September 2026
- Emma's Diary — Privacy policy — checked 10 September 2026
- ICO — The right to object to the use of your information — checked 10 September 2026
This is information, not a guarantee of any payment, and not medical, legal or product-safety advice for your home. Prices and rules change; figures carry the date they were checked. Recall status comes from official records only — a product we cannot find is not a safety all-clear. Tell us if we got a fact wrong.