Our Privacy Policy: Protecting Your Family’s Data
At Family Link UK, we believe protecting your family’s data online is as important as protecting them from the risks of underage gambling. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information when you use our website, familylink.org.uk. Our commitment to your privacy mirrors our editorial mission: to empower families with the knowledge and tools, like parental controls, for a safer digital environment.
1. The Data We Collect and Why
We collect a minimal amount of data to operate our site and provide you with valuable content on topics such as blocking gambling apps and underage gambling prevention. We never collect more information than is necessary for these purposes.
Information You Voluntarily Provide
This is information you choose to give us, such as when you sign up for our newsletter or contact us. Examples include:
- Your email address for receiving our guides and updates.
- Your name, if you choose to provide it when getting in touch.
- Any queries or details you include in a message to us about parental controls gambling or other concerns.
We use this information solely to respond to you and deliver the services you have requested.
Automatically Collected Information
As you browse our site, we collect anonymised, non-personal data about your visit. This includes your device type, browser, and how you navigate our content—for instance, which articles on protecting children from gambling apps in the UK you find most useful. This helps us improve our website’s structure and relevance.
2. Our Use of Cookies and Tracking
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently and provide information to the site owners.
How We Use Them
We use cookies that are essential for our site to function and analytical cookies to understand site performance. For example, analytical cookies help us see how our guides on tools like the GamStop self-exclusion scheme or implementing device-level family link parental controls are accessed and used, allowing us to create better content.
Managing Cookie Preferences
You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. When you first visit our site, you will be presented with a cookie banner where you can manage your preferences.
3. Analytics and Site Performance
Purpose of Analytics
We use analytics services to understand how our audience interacts with our content. This data is crucial for us to identify which resources—such as our explainers on UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) licensed operators or age verification processes—are most helpful in promoting safer gambling for families.
Anonymised Data
We use Google Analytics 4, configured to respect data privacy with processing in the United Kingdom. This service collects data in an anonymised form; it does not identify individual users or associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. We use this anonymised data to analyse trends and improve our site.
4. Third-Party Services and Data Sharing
We work with a limited number of trusted third-party service providers to operate our website. We never sell, rent, or trade your personal data with advertisers, gambling operators, or any other commercial entities.
Service Providers
Our providers include services like email distribution platforms (e.g., Mailchimp) for our newsletter. These partners are contractually obligated to handle your data securely and only according to our instructions for the specific service they provide.
Legal Disclosures
We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, for example, to comply with a legal obligation or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Family Link UK, our users, or others.
5. Your Data Rights Under UK GDPR
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have important rights regarding your personal data. We are committed to facilitating the exercise of these rights.
Your Key Rights
- The right to access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- The right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- The right to erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
- The right to restrict or object to processing: You can request we limit how we use your data.
- The right to data portability: You can ask for your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
How to Exercise Them
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 7. We will respond to your request in accordance with UK data protection law.
6. How Long We Keep Your Data
Retention Principles
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. For example, we will keep your newsletter subscription data until you choose to unsubscribe.
Data Deletion
We have clear internal retention schedules. Once the retention period expires, personal data is securely deleted or anonymised so it can no longer be associated with you.
7. Contacting Us About Privacy
Our Data Protection Lead
For any questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Lead. We are committed to working with you to resolve any concerns.
How to Lodge a Concern
Please email us at [email protected] with the subject line ‘Privacy Request’ for a faster response. While we hope to resolve any issue directly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
This policy underscores our commitment to transparency and protecting your family’s digital wellbeing, mirroring our mission for safer gambling. By being clear about how we handle data, we aim to build the same trust we encourage in our resources for underage gambling prevention and responsible family gaming.