How Whizz Kidz keeps your data safe and what it means for you
An update on our website practices
Nothing is more important to us here at Whizz-Kidz than our community. We are here for young wheelchair users. That means keeping everyone safe – young people, their families, volunteers, supporters and visitors – online and in person. So we wanted to update you on how we are keeping you and your data safe on our website and how we look to improve that in the future.
It was recently brought to our attention that some of our privacy and cookie tools weren’t as strong as they could be. This feedback was welcome because while we always strive to comply with UK GDPR (UK General Data Protection Regulation), we are continually looking to learn and improve. In response to this helpful feedback, we have updated our Cookie Policy and taken steps to improve our cookie compliance tool.
Here’s what you need to know about how we look after your information online.
What is GDPR?
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It’s the law that keeps people’s personal information (or data) safe. Any company or organisation like Whizz-Kidz must follow the rules when storing and using information about you. It also keeps organisations from contacting you without your permission.
What is your personal information?
Personal information (or personal data) is any information which describes you or reveals who you are. When you sign up for a website, they will often ask you for information like your name, birthday, or email address. You could also be asked what gender you are, where you live, and your phone number. You have a right to keep this personal information safe and private. (Also known as Data Privacy).
When visiting websites, you will also reveal lots more information about yourself. Data like who you chat with, how long you spend online, what you search for, which videos you like, what links you click on and how long you stay on a website. Some of this information about you is stored and moves around with you as you use the internet in something called a cookie. And they are not the sort with chocolate chips.
What are cookies?
Cookies are pieces of data which websites place on your computer or phone when you visit them. They store information about you; for example, when you go to a different page on a website, it will allow you to stay logged in or remember the way you like to view the website when you revisit it.
Cookies can also be used to see which web pages you visit, allowing advertisers to determine what you are interested in and might want to buy. When you go to a site, the cookie will be used to choose an advert to show you. Cookies are essential for making websites work well and be personalised for you. But they can also be used to alter your experience online. It could be for the benefit of a business or organisation you haven’t had any contact with or have ever heard of.
It’s impossible to tell whether a particular cookie is helping improve your journey online or helping someone else. You must rely on the website you visit to tell you how it uses cookies. Websites do this in their cookie policies, and in a pop-up cookie banner. You can find Whizz-Kidz’s Cookie Policy here: www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/privacy
What are the different types of cookies?
There are many types of cookies, and they are used in different ways. But generally, they can be divided into two types: first-party cookies and third-party cookies.
First-party cookies
First-party cookies always match the domain name of the website you are on. They are only set and used by the website when you visit it. This means they can’t usually be used to track your activity or pass data about you from one site to another. The website owner can collect information from the first-party cookie and use it to change how their site appears to you or which information is displayed. If they want to collect data and use it outside of their website or sell it to others, this must be explained in a site’s privacy or cookie policy.
Third-party cookies
These have many uses, including tracking your activity across different sites. These cookies can pull together the data on where you have visited online, learn what you’re interested in and use it to show you targeted adverts.
How to change your cookie settings
You may have seen the pop-up notice when you visit a new site that alerts you that they use cookies. Thanks to laws we have in place in the UK, websites must get users’ permission before using third-party cookies. You should be given the option to accept, reject or restrict their use.
You can also use a web browser like Safari or Firefox that blocks third-party tracking cookies automatically or install a browser extension for your browser that will stop them.
You can also delete cookies and change the settings in your browser. In Google Chrome, you can turn off cookies like this:
- Open Chrome.
- Click on the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the browser window.
- Select Settings.
- Under Privacy and Security, select Cookies and other site data to see the option to turn them off.
What we’re doing to improve
Here at Whizz-Kidz, we are committed to improving how we manage your data when you visit our website. We are reviewing our existing tools and third-party cookie usage to give everyone in our community the best balance between a website that meets your needs and respects your privacy. In the short term, we will make improvements to our existing cookie compliance tool to stick even more closely to GDPR. We will implement a new, more robust cookie compliance tool in the longer term. This will give you, our website users, more control over your privacy when using Whizz-Kidz’s site.
Our commitment to you
At Whizz-Kidz, we aim to provide a website that is accessible to every user, recognises your needs, keeps your personal data safe and respects your privacy.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions about how Whizz-Kidz look after your data, please get in touch with us at Data.Protection@whizz-kidz.org.uk