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Privacy Policy

Introduction

1.1 Important information and who we are

Welcome to Contend Inc’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy (“Privacy Policy”).

At Contend Inc (“we”, “us”, or “our”) we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and Personal Data in compliance with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the Data Protection Act 2018 and all other mandatory laws and regulations of the United Kingdom.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, process and keep your data safe. The Privacy Policy will tell you about your privacy rights, how the law protects you, and inform our employees and staff members of all their obligations and protocols when processing data.

The individuals from which we may gather and use data can include:

  • Customers
  • Suppliers
  • Business contacts
  • Employees/Staff Members
  • Third parties connected to your customers

and any other people that the organisation has a relationship with or may need to contact.

This Privacy Policy applies to all our employees, contractors and staff members and all Personal Data processed at any time by us.

1.2 Your Data Controller and Data Protection Officer

Contend Inc is your Data Controller and responsible for your Personal Data.

We have appointed a data protection officer (“DPO”) who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights surrounding your Personal Data please contact the DPO using the details set out below:

Full name: Michael Stych
Email address: support@contend.legal

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority 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.

1.3 Processing data on behalf of a controller and processors’ responsibility to you

In discharging our responsibilities as a Data Controller we have employees and contractors who will deal with your data on our behalf (known as “Processors”). Therefore, the responsibilities described below may be assigned to an individual, or may be taken to apply to the organisation as a whole. The Data Controller and our Processors have the following responsibilities:

  • Ensure that all processing of Personal Data is governed by one of the legal bases laid out in the GDPR (see 2.2 below for more information on those bases);
  • Ensure that Processors authorised to process Personal Data have committed themselves to confidentiality or are under an appropriate statutory obligation of confidentiality;
  • Implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk associated with the processing of Personal Data;
  • Obtain the prior specific or general authorisation of the Controller before engaging another Processor;
  • Assist the Controller in the fulfilment of the Controller’s obligation to respond to requests for exercising the data subject’s rights;
  • Make available to the Controller all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the obligations laid down in the GDPR and allow for and contribute to audits, including inspections, conducted by the Controller or another auditor mandated by the Controller;
  • Maintain a record of all categories of processing activities carried out on behalf of a Controller;
  • Cooperate, on request, with the supervisory authority in the performance of its tasks;
  • Ensure that any person acting under the authority of the Processor who has access to Personal Data does not process Personal Data except on instructions from the Controller;
  • Notify the Controller without undue delay after becoming aware of a Personal Data Breach;
  • Designate a data protection officer where required by the GDPR, publish their details and communicate them to the supervisory authority; and
  • Support the data protection officer in performing their tasks by providing resources necessary to carry out those tasks and access to Personal Data and processing operations, and to maintain their expert knowledge;

Legal basis for data collection

2.1 Types of data / privacy policy scope

“Personal Data” 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 below. Not all of the following types of data will necessarily be collected from you but this is the full scope of data that we collect and when we collect it from you:

  • Profile/Identity Data: This is data relating to your first name, last name, gender, date of birth.
  • Contact Data: This is data relating to your phone number, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers.
  • Marketing and Communications Data: This is your preferences in receiving marketing information and other information from us.
  • Billing Data: This is information relating to your debit and credit card information such as the name attached to your payment details and your billing address.
  • Financial Data: These are your banking details e.g. your account number and sort code.
  • Transactional Data: This is information of details and records of all payments you have made for our services or products.
  • Technical Data: This is your IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to engage with us.
  • Customer Support Data: This includes feedback and survey responses.
  • Usage Data: information about how you use our website, products and services.
  • Employer’s data: details of your employer/ex-employer and personal data of staff and other individuals connected to your employer
  • Your data: any data that you upload or submit to the Contend platform, including the contents of any documents uploaded
  • Any other correspondence: any correspondence or any other information that you choose to send to us at Contend, whether by email, through our inbuilt online chat service, or otherwise
  • Anonymised data which does not identify you: for example, the times and dates of your use of the Contend platform, your operating system and internet browser, the clicks taken to reach the Contend platform and your computer’s IP address

We also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as seeing what percentage of users continue to use the Contend platform following a set timeframe after the initial sign-up. 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. 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 may also aggregate data to enable research or analysis so that we can better understand and serve you and others. For example, we may conduct research on your demographics and usage. Although this aggregated data may be based in part on Personal Data, it does not identify you personally. We may share this type of anonymous data with others, including service providers, our affiliates, agents and current and prospective business partners.

For the purposes of our business we also collect what is known under the GDPR as special categories of Personal Data. We collect the following types of special Personal Data:

  • Political Data: Information about race, or ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and political opinions
  • Health Data: Information about health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records
  • Information about criminal convictions and offences

In order to collect this special kind of data we need enhanced legal justifications beyond the ordinary legal justifications under the GDPR. We explain which justifications we rely on in paragraph 2.2 below.

2.2 The legal basis for collecting that data

There are a number of justifiable reasons under the GDPR that allow collection and processing of Personal Data. The main avenues we rely on are:

  • “Consent”: Certain situations allow us to collect your Personal Data, such as when you tick a box that confirms you are happy to receive email newsletters from us, or ‘opt in’ to a service.
  • “Contractual Obligations”: We may require certain information from you in order to fulfil our contractual obligations and provide you with the promised service.
  • “Legal Compliance”: We’re required by law to collect and process certain types of data, such as fraudulent activity or other illegal actions.
  • “Legitimate Interest”: We might need to collect certain information from you to be able to meet our legitimate interests – this covers aspects that can be reasonably expected as part of running our business, that will not have a material impact on your rights, freedom or interests. Examples could be your address, so that we know where to deliver something to, or your name, so that we have a record of who to contact moving forwards.

For the special categories of data that we collect, the enhanced legal justification we rely on is:

(a) the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of such Personal Data for one or more specified purposes (“Explicit Consent”)

3.1 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 our Data Protection Officer.

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.

Your rights and how you are protected by us

4.1  What control do I have over Contend Inc’s use of my personal data?

Your account information will be protected by a password for your privacy and security. You need to prevent unauthorized access to your account and personal information by selecting and protecting your password appropriately and limiting access to your computer or device and by signing off after you have finished accessing your account.

You will need to contact us if you would like to delete your account.

4.2  How does Contend Inc protect customers’ personal data?

We are concerned with keeping your data secure and protecting it from inappropriate disclosure. We implement a variety of security measures to ensure the security of your Personal Data on our systems, including ensuring our databases are secure and that information is deleted from our databases where it is no longer necessary to hold that data. Any Personal Data collected by us is only accessible by a limited number of employees and vetted contractors who have special access rights to such systems and are bound by obligations of confidentiality. If and when we use subcontractors to store your data, we will not relinquish control of your Personal Data or expose it to security risks that would not have arisen had the data remained in our possession. However, unfortunately no transmission of data over the internet is guaranteed to be completely secure. It may be possible for third parties not under the control of Contend Inc to intercept or access transmissions or private communications unlawfully. While we strive to protect your Personal Data, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any Personal Data you transmit to us. Any such transmission is done at your own risk. If you believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us.

4.3  Opting out of marketing promotions

You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by contacting us at any time.

Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, we will continue to retain other Personal Data provided to us as a result of interactions with us not related to your marketing preferences.

4.4  How to request your data and the process for obtaining it

You will not have to pay a fee to access your Personal Data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, if your request is clearly unfounded, we could refuse to comply with your request.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure you have the 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.

Your data and third parties

5.1  Will we share your data with third parties?

We may share non-Personal Data with third parties. We may share your Personal Data with subcontractors (only when necessary and with your consent) or affiliates (subject to confidentiality obligations to use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them and pursuant to our instructions).

We may also share Personal Data with interested parties in the event that Contend Inc anticipates a change in control or the acquisition of all or part of our business or assets or with interested parties in connection with the licensing of our technology.

If Contend Inc is sold or makes a sale or transfer, we may, in our sole discretion, transfer, sell or assign your Personal Data to a third party as part of or in connection with that transaction. Upon such transfer, the Privacy Policy of the acquiring entity may govern the further use of your Personal Data. In all other situations your data will still remain protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy (as amended from time to time).

We may share your Personal Data at any time if required for legal reasons or in order to enforce our terms or this Privacy Policy.

5.2  Third-party links

This Site 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 Site, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

How long will we retain your data for?

We will only retain your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for. We may retain your Personal Data for a longer period than usual in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

Age limit for our users

You must not use Contend Inc unless you are aged 16 or older. If you are under 16 and you access Contend Inc by lying about your age, you must immediately stop using Contend Inc.

This website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children.

International transfer of data

Your information may be stored and processed in the US or other countries or jurisdictions outside the US where Contend Inc has facilities. We are currently storing data in the EU and Canada and so, by using Contend Inc, you are permitting and consenting to the transfer of information, including Personal Data, outside of the US.

Notification of changes and acceptance of policy

We keep our Privacy Policy under review and will place any updates on this webpage. By using Contend, you consent to the collection and use of data by us as set out in this Privacy Policy. Continued access or use of Contend will constitute your express acceptance of any modifications to this Privacy Policy.

Interpretation

All uses of the word “including” mean “including but not limited to” and the enumerated examples are not intended to in any way limit the term which they serve to illustrate. Any email addresses set out in this policy may be used solely for the purpose for which they are stated to be provided, and any unrelated correspondence will be ignored. Unless otherwise required by law, we reserve the right to not respond to emails, even if they relate to a legitimate subject matter for which we have provided an email address. As a matter of common sense, you are more likely to get a reply if your request or question is polite, reasonable and there is no relatively obvious other way to deal with or answer your concern or question (e.g. FAQs, other areas of our website etc.).

Our staff are not authorised to contract on behalf of Contend Inc, waive rights or make representations (whether contractual or otherwise). If anything contained in an email from a Contend Inc address contradicts anything in this policy, our terms or any official public announcement on our website, or is inconsistent with or amounts to a waiver of any Contend Inc rights, the email content will be read down to grant precedence to the latter. The only exception to this is genuine correspondence expressed to be from the Contend Inc legal department or the Directors of Contend Inc.

Terms of use

Please also see our Terms of Use which set out the terms, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing your use of Contend Inc.