Independent Digital News and Media Limited is hereinafter referred to in this Privacy Policy as IDNM. Please note that IDNM may revise this Privacy Policy at any time by posting an update on its website. Please ensure that you check this website from time to time to review the current privacy policy against any preferences you may have indicated. This Privacy Policy was last updated on the date indicated above.
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* External contributors: Terms & conditions for freelancers, bloggers and contributors of user-generated content
* Work experience terms and conditions
* Corrections & Clarifications
The basic principles
By accessing and using the Website you are agreeing to be legally bound by the Legal Terms and Policies and this Privacy Policy. You should therefore also read the Legal Terms and Policies before using the Website.
IDNM is determined to protect your privacy. It is very important to us that you should be able to use and enjoy the Website without having to compromise your privacy unacceptably.
Knowing something about our users is, however, necessary to ensure that our service is continually improved. We need to build an accurate picture of the needs and wishes of our users, and to be able to communicate with you. That enables us to offer a service that is relevant and truly interactive, which is what our users expect. It also helps us to maintain the greatest possible free-to-user access to the Website.
Behavioural advertising: technology now also enables interest based advertising which allows advertisers to customize adverts to your particular interests and is referred to below.
We answer your important questions
"What information do you collect about me?"
We automatically collect some data about our users' browsing actions and patterns. This is aggregate data and does not identify any individual.
We may also ask you to provide personal information on a voluntary basis in order to get a clearer picture of our users. It is then entirely up to you whether you are happy to give us this information.
In the course of entering competitions, promotions and other offers you will be asked to give some details about yourself. You may also choose to e-mail us or make contact with us in other ways. Such contact gives us information about you.
If you have any financial dealings, for instance if you make purchases with our trading partners on co-branded sites, or if you place an order through The Independent Shop, the information you submit will be disclosed to us and to relevant third parties, for example suppliers of goods and services and our web service providers.
"For what purposes do you collect and use my information?"
We use aggregate audience details (where no individual is identifiable) to help us improve our understanding of our users and their preferences. We may use it to assist us in arranging relevant advertising, commercial opportunities and competitions, as well as ensuring the best editorial coverage. It also helps us develop the Website and audit its use.
The information about you as an identifiable individual, including contact details, may be used in the following ways:
* to conduct market research and other surveys.
* to create and draw to your attention editorial material and commercial opportunities that may be of interest to you.
* to be shared with advertisers, trading partners and other commercial entities with whom we have or might have an association. We may also be able to share the information that they obtain about their users.
* to respond to any enquiry you make.
"How private are my details?"
Apart from other companies in the IDNM group, we only share personal information about you with third parties whom we have selected carefully and with whom we have, or may have, a commercial relationship. IDNM complies with the relevant legal requirements and takes all reasonable care to ensure that your information is secure and private and is only seen by responsible third parties. However we cannot be held responsible for the actions of any third party who receives or obtains access to the information, or for any breach of security. We may also disclose your information if required to do so to comply with any laws, regulations, legal proceedings or governmental request - but this will be subject in each case to the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.
If you tell us that you do not want us to use your details, by emailing a request to customerservices@independent.co.uk, then data about your use of the Website would then only form part of aggregated statistics and would not be related to you as an individual.
You can ask to see the information we have about you by emailing a request to customerservices@independent.co.uk.
Use of cookies on a website
In addition to personal information you optionally provide, we may also collect anonymous information about you when you visit the site. The collection of anonymous data via cookies or web beacons allows us to track our own performance - but also allows us to display content which is more personalised, thereby enhancing your experience of the website.
IDNM does its utmost to respect your privacy. Cookies let us monitor our performance and provide a better service, as well as sell advertising space, which we use to stay free of charge to our readers.
To this end, we allow a careful selection of trusted third parties to use cookies and tracking to offer you a more personal experience.
Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but you can change your settings to remove them or prevent your computer from automatically accepting them if you prefer.
By continuing to use the website, you agree to the placement of cookies on your device. If you choose not to receive our cookies, we cannot guarantee that your experience will be as fulfilling as it would otherwise be. For instance, the site won’t be able to recognise your commenter ID, meaning that you won’t be able to leave comments.
For more details on cookies (including how to opt out of cookies issued by third party advertisers) click here.
International transfer of personal data
As you will know, the internet does not recognise national boundaries. Services on the net are accessible globally so collection and transmission of personal data is not always confined to one country. You should be aware that by using the Website and those of our partners or any site we link through to, your personal data may be processed in or transferred to other countries, the USA for example, and you agree to your personal data being transferred or processed in this way.
"What do I do if I am not happy for you to share information about me with others?"
You may not wish us to share personal details about you with third parties outside IDNM, or to use your information in the other ways we have described in this Privacy Policy. You can e-mail customerservices@independent.co.uk at any time to let us know of any objections you may have to how we use or disclose your data in the ways set out in this Privacy Policy. Your personal details may in any event be shared with third party organisations we have contracted to provide services to us, on an agency basis, which include processing data. We may also have to release information (which could include the contents of e-mail communications between any persons) because of a legal requirement on us or pursuant to a court order.
Further information
If you want further information, or wish to communicate with us about this Privacy Policy and your wishes about your personal information, please e-mail us at customerservice@independent.co.uk.
Company and data protection information
The data controller of data on the Website is Independent Digital News and Media Limited, registered in England and Wales under company number 732 0345, whose registered office is at 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5HF, UK. VAT number GB 995 5180 73. Any queries or notices under the Data Protection Act should be addressed to the IT Director at the above address.
This newspaper adheres to the system of self-regulation overseen by the Press Complaints Commission. The PCC takes complaints about the editorial content of publications under the Editor’s Code of Practice, a copy of which can be found at www.pcc.org.uk
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