Privacy Statement

Last updated 03/January/2020

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is enforceable from 25 May 2018, provides new rights to individuals and requires organisations to provide information about their processing in a clear and transparent way. We have published this updated Privacy Statement to take into account new requirements and to explain how we collect, store and use personal data. When we refer to “we”, “us” or “our” in this Statement we mean Opt-4 Ltd.

Opt-4 Ltd is a specialist data protection consultancy, helping organisations to identify their data compliance risks and advise them on how to implement effective and practical privacy solutions. Our company registration number is 5290958. Our VAT registration number is 851 0374 48.

In 2014, Opt-4 founded the Data Protection Network (DPN); an online platform dedicated to providing expert opinion, quality resources and learning materials, to both experts and non-experts in the field of Data Protection and Privacy. The Data Protection Network is a trading name for Opt-4 Ltd.

This Privacy Statement applies to personal data collected by Opt-4 and processed at our registered offices: Opt-4 Ltd, Ashcombe House, 5 The Crescent, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8DY, UK and under contract at the sites of service providers appointed by us. Opt-4 Ltd, as a Data Controller, is committed to protecting the privacy of our clients and subscribers. We endeavour to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (amended) and other relevant legislation. Opt-4 is a member of the Direct Marketing Association UK and abides by its code of practice.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement or would like to contact us about any other matter, please use the following contact information:
Email: info@opt-4.co.uk
Address: Ashcombe House, 5 The Crescent, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8DY
For specific queries about the DPN please email: info@dpnetwork.org.uk

How we collect your personal data

We collect personal data in the following ways:

• When you provide your contact details to us when requesting information about our products or services, either via the telephone, our online enquiry forms or face-to-face
• When you enrol on one of our online courses
• When you register as a member on the Data Protection Network
• When you sign up for our Opt-4 or Data Protection Network email newsletters
• When you register to attend one of our events or webinars
• When you submit an entry to an Award
• Via openly available public sources (e.g. LinkedIn or company websites)
• Online course participant information (e.g. test scores, time and date course taken)

The types of personal data we collect

The personal data we routinely collect includes:

• Full name
• Email address
• Postal address
• Job Title
• Company name
• User name (for members of the DPN)
• Contact details
• Online course participant information (e.g. test scores, time and date course taken)

We do not collect any special categories of personal data, as defined under the GDPR. Our products and services are not aimed at children.

How we use your personal data

We may use your personal data for the following purposes:

Purpose	Lawful basis for processing
To fulfil a query, request for services and/or to administer our services	For the performance of a contract or agreement
To facilitate your attendance at one of our events or webinars, or facilitate access to one of our online courses	For the performance of a contract or agreement
To maintain records of prospective, current and past clients and our suppliers	Our Legitimate Interests, which we have balanced with the interests of our clients, suppliers and business contacts
To contact you to ask if you might be interested in being a guest speaker, sponsoring one of our events or advertising on our sites	Our Legitimate Interests, which we have balanced with the interests of our clients, suppliers and business contacts
To track your use of our websites and interaction with our newsletters. For example, to understand which newsletter content is most popular with our email audience. (Please also see our Cookie Notice below).	Our Legitimate Interests, which we have balanced with the interests of our clients, suppliers and business contacts
To send email newsletters to you, if you have signed up via DPN or Opt-4 websites	Your consent
To fulfil an entry into an Award and to communicate with you about this.	Our Legitimate Interests, which we have balanced with the interests of Award entrants
To send you customer feedback surveys	Our Legitimate Interests, which we have balanced with the your interests. We will always provide an opportunity to opt-out.

About our email newsletters

On the Opt-4 and DPN websites we invite you to opt-in and give your Consent to receive our newsletters. We deploy pixels, via our email service provide Mailchimp, to be able to assess open rates. You can unsubscribe from these at any point by clicking on the unsubscribe link on any email you receive from us. Alternatively, you can unsubscribe by emailing Opt-4: info@opt-4.co.uk or the DPN: info@dpnetwork.org.uk.

Your rights regarding your personal data

You have a number of rights under data protection law, which have been strengthened under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Access: You have the right to access the personal data we may hold about you and the purposes for which we are using it. We may ask for proof of your identity. On receipt of such a request we will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible, at most within one calendar month.
• Rectification: You have the right to request that we amend any personal data which is incorrect or requires updating.
• Erasure: You have the right to request that we delete any personal information pertaining to you. We will assess any deletion request on a case by case basis and will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible, at most within one calendar month. If you have authored any content on the DPN and would like this to be deleted, please let us know.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please use the following contact details:

Email: info@opt-4.co.uk
Address: Ashcombe House, 5 The Crescent, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8DY

If you are concerned about the manner in which we have collected and used your personal data, please contact us using the contact details above – we will do our best to help. If you are unhappy with the way in which we have handled your personal data you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Where we store your personal data

We store and process your personal data at our registered offices at Ashcombe House, 5 The Crescent, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT8 0AA, at other Opt-4 sites in the UK and when working in our client’s office.

How we keep your personal data secure

Opt-4 take the protection of your personal data very seriously and we take appropriate steps to ensure your personal data is stored in a secure environment to prevent any unauthorised access. Opt-4 may use external data service providers to process personal data on our behalf, for example in providing our “GDPR Fundamentals” online course. When we do so we have appropriate agreements in place to protect the data. Any data transfers between external service providers and ourselves are conducted by secure means. Where such service providers are located outside the EEA we have additional contractual arrangements in place.

Sharing of your personal data

We will not share your personal information with any third parties for them to use for their own marketing purposes. We may disclose your personal data if required to do so by law.

How long we store your personal data for

We will only retain personal data for as long as is necessary for the purposes we are using it for. How long we retain data will vary depending on the purposes it is used for. We routinely update our email newsletter lists to ensure those who are not engaged are removed.

External Links

Please remember that if you use a link to go from our websites to another website, or you request a service from a third party, this Privacy Statement will no longer apply once you have left this website. Your browsing and interaction on any other website is subject to that website’s own rules and policies.

Updates to this Statement

We review and update this Statement regularly to take account of changes to our processing and regulatory changes. We encourage you to review it from time to time. If we make any significant changes to this Statement, we will endeavour to communicate this to you where possible.

Cookie Notice

We currently do not use cookies on our Opt-4 website. On the Data Protection Network website we use essential cookies to operate our website and basic aggregated, depersonalised Google Analytics cookies to better understand how visitors use our website and to ensure we continually work to we provide the type of content which our visitors are most interested in. Please note we are currently working on a technical solution to provide you with increased control over our use of cookies.

What is a cookie?

Cookies are text files which contain information about your internet usage that is held in your browser or on your computer’s hard drive. There are different types of cookie: some are essential for the site to operate properly, whereas others are aimed at enhancing and personalising your user experience. Cookies can help us to understand how consumers are interacting with our website, which helps us to improve our site and to deliver a better service to you.

What types of cookies do we use?

We use strictly necessary cookies which are essential to enable you to move around the website and use its features. Without these cookies we cannot provide some of the basic functionalities of our website. We use Google Analytics to track the usage of our websites and your interaction with it. We currently reviewing our use of analytics cookies and will be updating this notice in due course.

How to turn off cookies

You can turn cookies off at any time, by going into your browser settings, however this may have a detrimental effect on your user experience.

For information on how to turn off Google Analytics please see: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

If you are happy to continue letting us use cookies in the ways set out in this Notice, to help us guide our work, then you need not do anything. If you have any concerns about the cookies we use, please contact: info@opt.4.co.uk