Privacy policy

The UK General Data Protection Regulation and the UK Data Protection Act 2018 (https://www.gov.uk/data-protection) together determine how, when and why any organisation can process personal data.

Personal data is any information that can identify a living individual. These laws exist to ensure that your data is managed safely and used responsibly. They also provide you with certain rights in respect of your data and create a responsibility on us to provide you with certain information.

What data we collect

We collect information about how you use StatsUserNetwork to help us improve the site and make sure it is meeting the needs of its users.

We collect information on personal information collected in the account creation process, as well as user profile. This includes:

username
email
first and last name
organisation
profile image
phone number
address
self introduction, expertise and interests

All information except the email address will be visible to registered users. Only administrators can see the email address.

We also collect information on what you have participated in. For example:

posts
comments
events
videos
uploading visualisations
datasets
the pages you visit
how long you spend on each page
when you last logged in
the length of time spent on StatsUserNetwork
what you interact with while you are visiting StatsUserNetwork
questions, queries or feedback you leave, including your username/name and profile image
our contact with you
your Internet Protocol (IP) address

We also use cookies. Full information on what these collect can be found in our cookies information.

For information on your duties in protecting data, please read our acceptable use policy. In short, any data you post, amend or delete as a user is your responsibility, it is not under the control of the ONS and is outside of the scope of GDPR policies.

Why we need your data

We need your data:

to gather feedback to make sure the site is meeting the needs of users; this includes contacting you for user research
to make improvements to StatsUserNetwork to enhance your user journey
to monitor use of the site and identify any security threats
for daily running of the site, for example, to reply to your posts and to invite you to events
to contact you about issues on your account or updates
to answer any queries or questions

Our legal basis for processing your data

Processing your data is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is a statutory body, meaning we were created by legislation, specifically the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, with the objective of promoting and safeguarding the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good. All our collection and use of data comes from powers that can be found in that Act or other UK legislation. For information, you can access the full list of the legislation we use (https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/datastrategy/r…).

What we do with your data

The data we collect may be shared with our technology suppliers, for example, our hosting provider to fix technical issues.

We will not:

sell or rent your data to third parties
share data with third parties for marketing purposes

We will only retain your access log data for as long as is necessary to fulfill obligations specified in this policy or until you delete your account. Your posts will remain, unless you request they are deleted or you delete them yourself.

Where your data are processed and stored

The ONS is the data controller of any personal data you provide for your account management. We design, build and run our systems to make sure that your data are as safe as possible at all stages, both while they are processed and when they are stored.

All personal data is stored on StatsUserNetwork through Code Enigma. You can read Code Enigma's privacy policy (https://www.codeenigma.com/legal). In short, they only hold the data they need to provide the service, as specified above in what data we collect.

How we protect your data and keep it secure

We are committed to doing all that we can to keep your data secure. We have set up systems and processes to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure of your data – for example, we protect your data using varying levels of encryption.

We also make sure that any third parties that we deal with keep all personal data they process on our behalf secure.

Links to and from other websites

StatsUserNetwork content may contain links to other sites. The ONS is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

If you come to StatsUserNetwork from another website, we may receive personal information from the other website. You should read the privacy policy of the website you came from to find out more about this.

Your rights as a data subject

As a data subject, which means someone whose personal data we hold, you have rights available to you under data protection legislation. The ONS’ use of a “public task” legal basis does not impact your rights as a data subject. If you want us to stop processing your personal data, for example by removing you from a contact list, please let the respective database owner know.

If you wish to exercise any other rights or cannot get hold of a database owner, then please contact our Data Protection Officer at: DPO@Statistics.gov.uk

Your rights are as follows:

you have the right to be informed about the personal data we hold about you
you have the right to request access to the data we hold about you
you have the right to amend any wrong or inaccurate data we may hold about you
you have the right to object to your personal data being processed
you have the right, in some circumstances, to request that we erase any personal data we may hold about you
you have the right, in some circumstances, to request that we process your data on a restricted basis
you have the right not to be subject to an automated decision-making process

Further information on the rights available to you, and the circumstances under which you can exercise them, is available from the Information Commissioner(https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/ind…)

If you have requests about how your data is used, data access or any of your rights, contact DPO@Statistics.gov.uk.

Compliance requirements are set out in the UK Data Protection Act 2018. You can find further information about your rights and how to exercise them from the Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/ind…)

Changes to this policy

We may change this privacy policy. In that case, the “last updated” date at the top of this page will also change. Any changes to this privacy policy will apply to you and your data immediately. If you do not agree with them, you can opt-out by closing your account.

If these changes affect how your personal data are processed, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.

Report a security vulnerability

Please see our vulnerability disclosure policy (https://www.ons.gov.uk/help/vulnerabilitydisclosurepolicy) for information on how to report a vulnerability at HackerOne.

Contact us

If your query is general to StatsUserNetwork, you may contact us at statsusernet@ons.gov.uk

Contact the Data Protection Officer (DPO) if you:

have a question about anything in this privacy notice
think that your personal data have been misused or mishandled
DPO@statistics.gov.uk
Telephone: 0845 601 3034

Data Protection Officer
Office for National Statistics
Segensworth Road
Titchfield
Fareham
Hampshire
PO15 5RR

Complaints

If you have a complaint about data protection or the way your personal data is being handled that you feel we can resolve, you may contact us at statsusernet@ons.gov.uk or our DPO at DPO@statistics.gov.uk .

If you consider that your personal data has been seriously misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator.

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Last updated 7 January 2025