our commitment to your privacy
The Magnetic Collective is an insights-led consultancy with offices in New York, San Francisco and London. It conducts research and strategy worldwide, for companies based all around the globe.
This privacy policy describes how and why we obtain, store and process personal information. This policy applies where we are responsible for deciding how personal information is obtained, used, retained and destroyed, and relates to both clients who use our services and participants who take part in our research initiatives. This policy will be updated from time to time.
definitions
To help you understand certain data privacy language, we have detailed below in plain language some of the definitions which are used in this privacy policy.
Processing of information includes the collection, recording, organization, storage, structuring, erasure and destruction of data. For your security, personal data collected by us will only be processed in accordance with this privacy policy.
Clients and Participants include any potential clients or potential participants who visit our website but are yet to participate in our services, in addition to those who are already working with The Magnetic Collective.
Personal data (personal information) means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual (‘data subject’).
Data Controller means the organization which decides the purposes and method of the processing of personal data.
your information security
We take your privacy and the security of your information seriously and ensure that any information obtained from you is treated as private and confidential. We have physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we obtain and process. Anyone processing personal data on our behalf must do so in accordance with this policy and on the basis that they will adhere to our high standards for data protection and security.
Please be advised, the transmission of information over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of information sent over the internet unless it is securely encrypted. If you need to transfer information to us securely, please contact us to discuss the appropriate way to do this.
information we collect and why
We may collect information from you in the following circumstances:
1. When you visit our website (“Site Data”).
2. If you’re a current or prospective Client:
when you provide us with information, online, in person, or on calls, and in correspondence.
and/or when commissioning us or considering commissioning us to undertake projects on your behalf (“Client Data”).
throughout the course of our project work together, when you may share additional information relevant to that specific workstream
3. If you are a current or prospective research Participant:
when you provide information to us or our agents within the detailed questionnaires (the “Participant Screeners”) sent to your email address or other address which you have provided (“Participant Data”). We may amend the Participant Screeners from time to time and they may contain various data fields including, for example: personal information, children, work, cars, banking, finance, mobile, subscriptions, lifestyle, locations, health, photo ID and contact preferences.
when you participate in projects with us (“Project Participant Data”).
4. If you are a supplier or contractor (Supplier Data):
when you provide information about your services, including contact information, payment details, service information, communications between us.
when you complete procurement questionnaires detailing the security controls in place to ensure any business or personal information we share with you is managed effectively and securely.
website information
During your interaction with The Magnetic Collective, website information such as your browser type and version, location, source of referral, length of visit, pages you view, search queries you make and general use of our website may be obtained. The Magnetic Collective may use this information to analyze access to the website and improve the use of the website.
client information
Client information may include any business information provided to us, confidential or otherwise, by Clients, including correspondence. The Magnetic Collective uses this information to deliver research and consulting services to our clients. We may use this information to contact Clients for marketing and business development purposes, partnership opportunities, or generally to provide newsletters and other updates concerning our business and/or industry.
potential participant information
Participant information may include any of the information submitted to us through the participant screeners or otherwise provided to us by Participants, including in correspondence. The participant screeners will generally provide a socio-economic profile of any participants completing the questionnaires. The Magnetic Collective uses these questionnaires to efficiently assess and identify appropriate individuals to participate in our research studies.
project participant information
Project participant information includes any and all information a research participant provides us within the course of a project. During the course of our research studies, we collect information from many participants; we then synthesize and distill that information and deliver it back to our Client in the form of actionable insights and strategy to further their business goals. The information our Client receives does not contain any personally identifiable information about you, unless you explicitly provide your consent for us to do so.
Any of the above forms of information may be communicated via electronic means, in writing, in a meeting or on the phone.
sensitive data (General Data Protection Regulation - special category data)
On occasion, our work will require some sensitive data to be collected. When this is the case we will ask for your explicit consent to process that sensitive information.
Sensitive information refers to information that 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 and offenses.
personal information of minors
The Magnetic Collective occasionally works with minors to obtain their views for market research purposes. Parental consent will always be obtained prior to i) collecting any personal information relating to a minor and ii) before a minor participates in one of our studies.
how we share information
The Magnetic Collective appoints third parties to work with. They may store personal data on our behalf, or may need to access company records in order to provide services to us. These include cloud storage providers, IT consultants, and professional advisors. We ensure that any third parties we appoint are subject to a contract which contains appropriate security requirements and confidentiality clauses. The Magnetic Collective will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your information will be handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, our obligations, and the obligations of our partners under GDPR and any other relevant data protection legislation.
There are other occasions when we need to share the information we have collected, for example, in the following cases:
1. if we want to sell our business, or our company, we may disclose it to the potential buyer.
2. we can disclose it if we have a legal obligation to do so, or in order to protect other people’s property, safety or rights.
retention of data
The Magnetic Collective has standard retention periods for different categories of information, in accordance with industry best practices, professional rules and regulatory requirements. We ensure that these retention periods are applied in practice. Any personal information that is no longer required will either be archived or deleted in a secure manner. Retention periods for different categories of personal information are based on individual business needs.
The Magnetic Collective understands the difference between permanently deleting a record and archiving it. If a record is archived or stored offline, it will reduce its availability and the risk of misuse or mistake. If it is appropriate to delete a record from a live system, The Magnetic Collective will also delete the record from any back-up of the information on that system, unless there are business reasons to retain back-ups or compensating controls in place.
where we store data - for those based in the EU
The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, stored at and processed at a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. If we transfer data for processing to a country outside of the EEA, we will put in place additional safeguards to protect your personal data based on standard contractual clauses and data protection laws.
links
Our website may, from time to time, contain links to other websites of interest. However, if you use these links to leave our website, we are no longer responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such websites and such websites are not governed by this privacy policy. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy policy applicable to the website in question.
your rights
Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. These include the right to:
• Be informed how we will use your information, how long it is held and who we may share it with.
• Request access to a copy of your personal information.
• Request correction of your personal information.
• Request erasure of your personal information.
• Request restriction of processing your personal information.
• Request transfer of your personal information.
• Object to processing of your personal information.
The Magnetic Collective does not undertake any automated decision making as part of its business practices. If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please email diana@themagneticcollective.com.
how to contact us
If you have any questions or comments about this privacy policy, want to find out more about your rights or obtain a copy of the information we hold about you, please contact us at the addresses below.
If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact the Global Head of Operations who will investigate the matter.
PLEASE CONTACT:
New York
Office: +1 646 376 7033
Diana Tafone, Head of Operations - diana@themagneticcollective.com
If you are based in the EU and are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law you may complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
If you are based in the US, please visit www.USA.gov for more information on your privacy rights.
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Last updated June 2020.