PRIVACY POLICY

uSOWN Ltd

Introduction

Welcome to uSOWN Ltd’s privacy policy.

We understand that your privacy is important and that you care how your personal data is used and shared. We respect the privacy of everyone who visits and website and purchases our products.

We are committed to respecting, securing and protecting your privacy and private data. We are also committed to being transparent about what we collect from you and how we use it.

This privacy notice provides you with information about what personal data we collect, and how we use your data, how we ensure your privacy is maintained and your legal rights relating to your personal data.

1. Important information and who we are

Purpose of this privacy policy

This privacy policy aims to give you information on how Usown collects and processes your personal data. This privacy policy applies to both our Apps and our websites www.qwotsafe.com and www.qwotread.com and includes the QwOT and QwOTRead Apps.

In this policy the term “User” is the person using the app to supply information to the Customer. The “Customer” is the processor of information supplied by the User.

QwOT App may be used by children aged 13 and over who are legally able to provide their consent to our collection of data relating to children. We have aimed to make our Terms and our Privacy Notice as child-friendly as possible, so that everybody who uses our Apps is able to understand how we protect their personal data. Where our products and services are used by children under 13, we rely on legitimate interests (as defined in Clause 10) as our lawful basis for processing their data, but we take extra care to safeguard such data and ensure it is processed strictly in accordance with UK law.

It is important that you read this privacy policy together with any other privacy policy or fair processing policy we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data.

Controller

When a User scans a QwOT Code and their encrypted data is captured by QwOTRead, both uSOWN and the Customer will have access to the User Data and become both a data Controller and Data Processor responsible for the User’s personal data.

uSOWN does not have any control over how our Customer (or Venue as defined in the User Terms and Conditions) processes a User’s personal data, save that the Customer has provided a warranty when it registered and subscribed to our service that it shall:

1. not process User Data other than as permitted to use our services or in any way that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy and all relevant Data Protection Legislation;
2. not retain User Data for longer than is permitted under our Terms and Conditions and as described in this Privacy Policy.

Contact details

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact our data privacy manager in the following ways:

• Website – contact
• Post – uSOWN Limited, 18 North End, Bedale, North Yorkshire, DL8 1AB

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Changes to the privacy policy and your duty to inform us of changes

We keep our privacy policy under regular review. This version was last updated on 7 April 2021. We may change this privacy notice from time to time (for example, if the law changes). Any changes will be immediately posted on our site. We recommend you check the privacy notice regularly to remain up to date.

It is important that the personal data, as a Customer, that we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.

Third-party links

Usown’s website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

2. The data we collect about you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
• Contact Data includes billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Financial Data includes bank account and payment card details.
• Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us.
• Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.
• Profile Data includes your username and password, purchases or orders made by you, your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses.
• Usage Data includes information about how you use our website, products and services.
• Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.

We also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated Data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy policy.

We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data).

We do not collect any information about criminal convictions or offences.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

3. How is your personal data collected?

We use different methods to collect data from and about you when you use the Website, download our Apps or scan a QwOT Code, including through:

• Direct interactions. You give us your Identity, and Contact Data by registering and subscribing on our Website (Customers) or scanning a QwOT Code (Users).
• Automated technology or interactions. As you interact with our website and apps, we will automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies and other similar technologies. Please see below for further details about our use of cookies.
• Third parties and publicly available sources. We will receive personal data about you from various third parties and public sources as set out below:
  • Technical Data from the following parties:
    • analytics providers such as Google based outside the UK;
    • advertising networks such as Facebook, based inside or outside the UK; and
    • search information providers such as Google based inside or outside the UK.
  • Contact, Financial and Transaction Data from providers of technical, payment and delivery services such as Experian, Paypal based inside or outside the UK.
  • Identity and Contact Data from data brokers or aggregators based inside the UK.
  • Identity and Contact Data from publicly available sources such as Companies House and the Electoral Register based inside the UK.

4. How we use your personal data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to (A “Lawful Basis”, as set out in the Glossary). Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Where you have given us clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose;
• Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you;
• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests;
• Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.

Generally, we rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data and we will get your consent before you can download and start using our QwOT apps. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us.

Purposes for which we will use your personal data

We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.

Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

Marketing

We may publish and circulate marketing materials which describe QwOT and its functions, including aggregate figures relating to the use of QwOT and the benefits it has brought to our Customers and Users (for use by us as a marketing tool). Any reference to our Customers or Users will be anonymous and there will be no disclosure of any data or information which could lead to any single User or Customer being identified without first obtaining the Customer’s or User’s express permission to do so.

Opting out

You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by contacting us at any time. Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a service we provide or other transaction.

Cookies

Like many other websites, ours uses cookies. Cookies are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer or device and stored on your computer or device to allow a website to recognise you when you visit. They help us collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns but should not contain personal data (other than the cookie itself, which is defined as personal data under GDPR).

All cookies used by and on our website are used in accordance with the current cookie law.

Before cookies are placed on your computer or device you will be shown a pop-up requesting your consent to set such cookies as detailed below. By giving us your consent, you are allowing us to provide the best possible experience of our website. You may refuse consent to cookies; however, certain parts of our website may then not function correctly. You can alter your browser settings to refuse all cookies.

There are four types of cookies:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies – These are essential to make a website work and provide features you’ve asked for. Generally, these are used to provide shopping baskets and similar. Without these cookies the website may not work as intended.

• Performance Cookies – These collect anonymous information about users for the purposes of tracking the performance of a website. Common uses include well-known analytics tools such as Google Analytics.

• Targeting/Advertising Cookies – These are similar to performance cookies. However, they are used to track users’ behaviour and that information is then used on a “per user” basis to advertise products/services on the basis of the behavioural information collected.

• Functionality Cookies – These are used to remember automatically the choices that users have made in order to improve their experience on the website; for example, selecting desired layout or language.

Please see our cookie declaration here for a full list of the cookies used on our website.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

5. Disclosures of your personal data

We may share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table above.

• External Third Parties, as set out in the Glossary to this Privacy Policy.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

6. International transfers

We do not transfer your personal data outside the UK.

7. Data security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

8. Data retention

How long will you use my personal data for?

We will only retain User data for 21 days, from the date you supply it to the Customer (when a QwOT Code is scanned), after which it will be destroyed irretrievably. We consider this is the period reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation or audit in respect to our relationship with you.

We may retain Customer Data for a period of 3 years to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any contractual, legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see below for further information.

In some circumstances we will anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

9. Your legal rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data:

• Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
• Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
• Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
• Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.
• Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios:
  • If you want us to establish the data’s accuracy.
  • Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it.
  • Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
  • You have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
• Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
• Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.

No fee usually required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Time limit to respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

10. Glossary

LAWFUL BASIS

Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us.

Performance of Contract means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.

Comply with a legal obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to.

THIRD PARTIES

External Third Parties

• Service providers acting as processors, who provide IT, hosting, network support, database and storage facilities, system administration, back-up;
• Professional advisers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers based in the UK who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance or accounting services.
• HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities based in the United Kingdom who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances.
• Stripe Inc, a payments company based in Dublin.