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Privacy Notice

We have organised this Privacy Notice based on the different ways you might interact with our websites and what you might want to know as a result.

1. Who we are and how to contact us

We are Funeral Notices, Bookanad, Marketplacelive, and Family Notices. We are all part of Reach Group, which is made up of Reach plc and its subsidiaries.

Reach plc is the largest national and regional news publisher in the UK with a leading portfolio in Ireland. You can see the list of websites and brands we publish here.

Our address is: One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AP.

The legal "controller" of your personal data for the majority of processing on this site is Reach Group. For questions about how your personal data is used, please contact the office of Reach Group's Data Protection Officer, at dataprotection@reachplc.com , or by writing to 'The Data Protection Team' using the address above.

The "controller" for advertising activities on some of our websites is Proweb. Please see Section 8.2 for further details about Proweb.

2. About this Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice tells you about the kinds of personal data we hold about you, what we do with it, and why.

As a broad summary, we use your personal data:

● To manage and administer your account, when you create one.

● To provide a platform for the general public to post funeral notices, including the ability to interact with active notices, whether to comment, upload additional information, e.g. images and/or videos, or share on social media.

● To provide a platform to funeral directors, enabling them to post funeral notices on our website, with the same features made available (commenting, sharing etc.).

● To provide a platform for the general public to post an announcement, whether for a birthday, a birth, or another special occasion, including the ability to interact with active announcements, whether to comment, upload additional information, e.g. images and/or videos, or share on social media.

● To provide a platform for the general public and trade users, enabling them to post online and/or in-print advertisements and/or notices.

● To communicate with you when you register/sign-up for alerts and notifications.

● To communicate with you when you post a funeral notice, directly or through a funeral director, and/or when you place a tribute or otherwise interact with our website.

● To communicate with you when you post an announcement, an advertisement or a notice using our online booking service.

● To carry out back-office administration and generally run and operate our business, for instance by administering our relationships with suppliers and partner organisations.

● Comply with any applicable law, court order, other judicial process, or the requirements of a regulator.

● Use as otherwise required or permitted by law.

The sections below provide more detailed information on how and why we use your personal data when you interact with us, or have some form of relationship with us.

3. When you browse our websites

3.1. Making our websites work properly, diagnosing problems, and understanding usage

When you browse our websites, we will receive some technical information about the device you are using and about what you look at and interact with, including language, screen size, the features and functions your device supports, and your IP address.

The data is used for system performance, content delivery and security purposes.

When you visit and use our websites, and you have consented to the use of analytics cookies, then the information captured by these cookies will be used to provide us with various reports and metrics on how our websites are used.

We do this for the purpose of making sure that our websites work properly. It also allows us to diagnose problems with them and understand how they are used so we can make improvements.

3.1.1. Our legal basis

We process the personal data captured in our server log files on the basis of our legitimate interest in monitoring our systems, understanding how they are used, fixing problems with them, and for security monitoring and management purposes.

We process the personal data captured by our analytics providers on the basis of your consent, which we ask for through a "cookie banner" which appears when you first visit our website. That message box will reappear from time to time in case you change your mind (typically every thirty days), and on your first visit after we make a significant change.

3.2. On-site advertising

When you browse some of our websites, Marketplacelive and Family Notices, you may encounter website advertisements for different products or services that have some connection to what you are looking at on our websites.

These website advertisements are chosen based on some of the personal data we - and our advertising partners - obtain about the device you are using, and what you are looking at and/or interacting with on those websites.

For further information on how personalised advertising works on our websites, please visit Google's description of how AdSense works here: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/6242051?hl=en-GB.

3.2.1. Our legal basis

We capture your browsing activity on our websites on the basis of your consent, which we ask for through our "cookie banner" and related Consent Management Platform (CMP).

Please see our Cookie Notice for further information or the 'cog' icon at the bottom left of every webpage to manage your consents.

4. Create an account and using our services

In order to use many of our website features you will have to create an account, for example, if you wish to post a funeral notice, upload a tribute to a notice, post an announcement, place an advertisement, or place a notice.

When you create an account we will collect, at a minimum, your name and email address. In some circumstances, we may also collect your address and your telephone number. We use personal data as part of the account creation process, and to ensure ongoing operation of your account, and access to the services available on our websites.

We use all this personal data to (i) operate your account and to enable you to log in and use our services, (ii) manage and administer your notice, announcement, and/or advertisement, and (iii) provide you with some of the features and functionalities that are reserved for account holders.

Some examples of using the personal data you provide include:

● When creating a local obituary notification on our Funeral Notices website, we use your city/town to ensure that we provide information that is relevant and useful for you.

● When managing a live advertisement, if your advertisement has been successful, you can log in to your account and change the status of the advertisement to closed, ensuring that you no longer receive communications relating to that advertisement.

When you post a notice and/or an announcement and, as part of this post, provide personal data that relates to a living third party, you are responsible for making sure that you have obtained the appropriate permissions for sharing their personal data. For example, uploading a photograph or a video to a notice that contains the image of another person(s).

Some of our services may allow you to upload your own content to our websites, for example any comments, pictures, or videos uploaded as part of an advertisement or a notice. Such content, by the nature of our service, will be visible on the website to other users and the general public.

When creating a new notice or announcement, or interacting with an existing one, please do not provide any personal data which you do not want to be published and accessible by the general public.

4.1. Our legal basis

We process your email address and the other personal data provided during the account creation process so that we may fulfil the contractual obligations owed for the sale of a product/provision of a service, e.g., the posting of an online and/or in-print advertisement and/or notice. This includes the processing of any payment information that is required to facilitate the sale of such products/services.

We process your email address and the other personal data you provide during the account creation process on the basis of your consent for us to provide and operate an account on your behalf.

5. Funeral Notices

5.1. Pay-to-use services

Once you have created an account on Funeral Notices, our products/services will be made available for purchase.

When you purchase a product/service, either online, via our website, or offline, via our call centre, we will use the personal data that you have provided during the account creation process to administer the sale of the product/service you have selected. We may also collect additional personal data in order to enable the sale, including the processing of payment information provided by you during the checkout process.

5.2. Free-to-use services

Some of our Funeral Notice services are made available for free, and may allow you to upload your own content to our websites, for example any comments, pictures, or videos uploaded as part of a tribute. Such content, by the nature of our service, will be visible on the website to other users and the general public.

Once you have created an account, some of our products/services may enable the disclosure of information typically viewed as sensitive, for example providing information about your religious beliefs when dedicating a prayer or a religious notice to a loved one.

When uploading information to our websites, please do not provide any personal data which you do not want to be published. It is also important to note that all comments on active notices will be subject to moderation checks before publication.

When you request either of the above Funeral Notices services and, as part of this service, provide information concerning a living third party, you are responsible for making sure that you have obtained the appropriate permissions for sharing this information. For example, uploading a photograph or a video to a tribute that contains the image of a large number of individuals.

5.3. Notices placed by Funeral Directors

We offer Funeral Directors across the UK the option to use our service, and to post funeral notices for publication on the relevant area of our website.

If you instruct your Funeral Director to post an online funeral notice on our website, then the information that you provide your Funeral Director will be posted on our website.

Once a funeral notice is posted by a Funeral Director on our website, it will be generally accessible on our website, and the information contained within the notice will be handled in accordance with the rest of this Privacy Notice, and with our website Terms and Conditions .

Please note that when collecting information to inform their funeral notice, Funeral Directors will do so as "data controllers". This means that they are responsible for how they handle and use the personal data that they collect from you.

5.4. Our legal basis

We process any personal data that you upload to our websites to deliver notices on the basis of our legitimate interest in operating an online obituary service. Please note that, when uploading content, you are in complete control of what you post.

We process your payment information in order to fulfil contractual obligations owed for the sale of a product/provision of a service, e.g., the posting of an online and/or print funeral notice.

We process any sensitive information you provide regarding your religious beliefs on the condition that, by making a post on a generally accessible website, you have manifestly made the information public.

The posting of a funeral notice, by a Funeral Director, is always performed based on the instructions that are provided to individual Funeral Directors by the families of the deceased, and in accordance with the performance of the contract that you have entered into with the Funeral Director.

6. When we communicate with you by email

6.1. Service emails

When you create an account, we will send the occasional service email, notifying you of a relevant change to the service.

If you made a purchase through our website, these emails may also include any communications that are necessary for the management and administration of any contractual obligations owed.

6.2. Marketing emails

When you create an account, and provide us with your contact details, we will ask if you wish to receive marketing communications from us, and from the wider Reach plc group of companies.

If you agree, then we may send occasional offers and promotions to the email address that you provided. You can unsubscribe from these emails at any time.

6.3. Alerts and notifications

When you sign up to receive alerts/notifications on our website, and provide your email address, we will use that email address to communicate with you for the purpose of the notification.

For example, if you sign up for local obituary notifications, then we will use the email address you provide to send you these notifications.

6.4. Tracking technologies

For some of the above emails, we use tracking technologies that enable us to see that you have opened an email. These tracking technologies will only be used if you choose to allow your email program to load the images in our emails. We use this information to inform the content of future communications, and to understand if you are interested in receiving them.

6.5. Our legal basis

6.5.1. Service emails

We will send service emails to you, notifying you of relevant updates or changes to our services, on the basis of our legitimate interests or, in some circumstances, in order to meet our contractual obligations to you.

6.5.2. Marketing emails, alerts and notifications

We send these emails on the basis of your consent, which can be withdrawn at any time. The easiest way to do that is to click on the "unsubscribe" link which you will find at the bottom of every email.

6.5.3. Tracking technologies

We record the opening of emails on the basis of your consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time either by configuring your email client not to load images, or by unsubscribing from the relevant email.

7. Retaining your data

As a general principle, we will only retain your personal data for as long as it is necessary. More information on particular retention periods is provided below.

7.1. Website data

Our analytics providers will keep the information they gather from our websites in line with their own privacy notices, which you can access through our 'cookie banner' and Consent Management Platform (see the 'cog icon' at the bottom left of every webpage).

Data collected through the use of Google Analytics will be retained for 26 months.

7.2. Account data

Bookanad

When you make a booking through our bookanad website, we will keep your account active for as long as you continue to use it, and it will remain active until you request its deletion, or an inactive period of 7 years has elapsed.

Funeral Notices, Family Notices, and Marketplacelive

When you register for a new account on Funeral Notices, Family Notices, and Marketplacelive, we will keep your account active for as long as you continue to use it, and it will remain active until you request its deletion - see Section 14.3. of this Notice for further information on your right to erase personal data.

If you have made a purchase, we will keep a record of your transactions for a period of 7 years post-transaction.

7.3. Funeral Notice data

All funeral notices, posted by Funeral Directors and the general public, will remain accessible on our website indefinitely, so that the passing of a loved one may remain remembered forever. This will include any tributes posted on a funeral notice, and all other related services, for example remembrances.

If you have any questions regarding the retention of your personal data, please contact us using the details provided in this Privacy Notice.

8. Sharing your personal data with third parties

We will only share your personal data with a third party if there is an appropriate contract in place that binds that third party to act in accordance with our instructions.

Further information regarding the third parties that we share your personal data with is detailed below.

8.1. Google

We use the information logged by Google Analytics to help us to spot problems with our digital services, such as page errors or slow loading times, as well as understanding usage patterns and watching for security problems.

Google also uses the data that it gathers for other purposes, which you can read about in Google's Privacy Policy.

Proweb - see below - also use Google's AdSense to manage the advertisements that are displayed on some of our sites.

8.2. Proweb

We use a third-party provider called Proweb to handle the technical aspects of operating an account on our behalf, managing bookings made through Bookanad, and administering our email lists. In order to provide us with this service, they will process the personal data that you provide when you create an account and place a booking, in addition to other information that is captured from your use of our website.

When providing these services, they act as our "data processor", meaning that they are bound by law and contract to keep your data safe, and to do only what we tell them to do with it.

On two of our websites, Marketplacelive and Family Notices, Proweb manages the online advertisements that are displayed on-site. These advertisements will be personalised to you, based on your use of the site, if you have accepted the placement of advertising cookies on-site. For this activity, Proweb will be acting as a data controller; their Privacy Notice can be accessed here: Proweb Privacy Statement .

Further information about on-site advertising can be found in Section 3.2 above, and in our Cookie Notice.

8.3. Donatis

We use a third-party provider called Donatis to manage all of the charitable donations made through our Funeral Notices website. Please note that Donatis are a "data controller", therefore, all on-site donations will be processed in accordance with their own Privacy Notice , and Terms and Conditions.

When you write a message to accompany your donation, this message will be posted as a tribute on the funeral notice and, once the donation period has closed, this message will be shared with the Funeral Director that posted the notice, so that they may share all of the donation messages with the family of the deceased. If, when writing a message, you choose to make it private then, once the donation period has closed, this message will be shared with the Funeral Director and the family. A private message will not be posted on our website.

When you make a donation, and select Gift Aid, we will share some personal data with the relevant charity. This will include your name, email address, and donation amount. This information enables the chosen charity to avail of the UK Government's tax relief program, meaning that they receive more of your donation than they otherwise would.

Please note that Gift Aid is only available to UK tax residents; further information regarding Gift Aid can be found here.

8.4. Marketplacelive

When you decide to place an advertisement on Marketplace Live, through our Bookanad website, the information that you have provided will be shared with Marketplace Live, so that the publication and administration of your advertisement may be effectively managed.

8.5. InYourArea

When you elect to place a notice on the InYourArea website, through our Bookanad website, the information that you have provided when creating an account, and a notice, will be shared with InYourArea so that they may manage and administer your online post.

For information about how InYourArea will handle your personal data, please see their own published Privacy Notice .

8.6. Payment processors

We use third party payment processors to handle payments made through our websites. These third party payment processors may act as both a "data controller", meaning that they define why and how to process the payment information you provide, and a "data processor", meaning that they act in accordance with our specific instructions when processing your transactional data.

For further information regarding the third party payment processors that we use, please contact us using the details provided in this Notice.

8.7. Ancestry

Ancestry is a sponsor of our Funeral Notices website. A link to their website can be found on the sponsorship icon visible on all funeral notices.

Please note that by clicking on the ancestry sponsorship area of the funeral notice page, you will be taken to Ancestry's own website, where an automatic search will be performed on the name of the deceased. This search will be performed based on the URL that you have visited Ancestry from.

We do not share any of your personal data with Ancestry; however, if you register for an Ancestry account, after following a link within a notice, Ancestry will be able to identify that you came from our website.

8.8. AddThis (Oracle)

We have installed a tool called AddThis, provided by Oracle, on various pages of our websites. This tool provides you with the ability to share a notice on social media platforms of your choice.

When you interact with the AddThis tool, and decide to share a notice on social media, AddThis will collect some personal data from your interaction.

AddThis collects your personal data as a "data controller", meaning that they will use it for their own purposes. Further information on how AddThis uses personal data can be found in their Privacy Policy.

9. Sharing your personal data internationally

In general, the third parties that we work with will process your personal data within the UK and the EEA. However, there may be some instances when your personal data is transferred outside of these locations.

For any of these transfers, we, or the third party, have implemented the required safeguards to ensure that the standards of protection that apply to your personal data are maintained. An example safeguard is standard agreements that have been approved by the relevant authorities.

10. Further sharing of your data

We will disclose your personal data and cooperate with appropriate bodies and authorities in good faith where we are required to by law, a court order, a regulatory authority, or otherwise, including with the police, trading standards, regulatory authorities, other relevant authorities, or credit reference agencies.

Where permitted by applicable laws, where you interact with us, we may monitor, record, and retain all associated data, correspondence, and communications, such as written letters, telephone call recordings, emails, text messages, social media messages, in person meetings and any other communications. We will do this to, (i) comply with our legal and regulatory obligations (ii), prevent, or detect crime (iii), maintain appropriate evidential records (iv), protect the security of our communications systems and (v) for training and quality purposes. Where necessary, we will also use your personal data to defend ourselves from any legal claims brought by you in connection with the provision of our products and services.

We will also use personal data to manage and administer our business generally.

We may also share personal data to facilitate the sale of one or more parts of our business, including if we are approached by a potential buyer or the restructuring of one or more parts of our business and with auditing organisations such as the Audit Bureau of Circulation.

11. Working at an organisation that we do business with

For all of our customers and other organisations we do business with, we will have the business contact details of the people we work with at those organisations, and we will use them to manage and administer our relationship with that organisation. We do this on the basis of our legitimate interest in managing and administering those relationships.

We keep the details of our contacts at organisations we do business with for as long as we continue to have a business relationship, and for a period thereafter for business development purposes and in case of issues or disputes.

12. Advertising as a company that we do business with

When you place an ad, e.g. as a funeral director, we will collect your name and contact details, your postcode, your payment information, and of course the content of your ad. We will use that information to publish and administer your ad, and to communicate with you about it. The content of your ad will be published and therefore accessible to the public. We do this on the basis that it is necessary to fulfil the contract agreed with you when you place your ad.

We will retain the contact details of private individuals for up to 7 years from the point of last interaction, and trade contact details for as long as we have a business purpose.

Your ad itself will be retained indefinitely, on the basis of our legitimate interest, in order to maintain our archive and back issues services.

14. Your rights and how to exercise them

The law gives you certain rights over your personal data. To exercise these rights please contact our data protection team on dataprotection@reachplc.com.

Depending on your request, we may ask you to prove your identity to us first, in order to make sure that someone isn't impersonating you.

Some restrictions apply to your rights, generally designed to protect the rights of others, or to ensure that we can comply with the law. If we decline all or part of your request, we will tell you that we are doing so, and explain our reasons.

14.1. Your right of access

You have the right to access the personal data we hold about you. There are a few exceptions to that right, designed to protect the rights of other people.

14.2. Your right to rectification

If we hold personal data about you that is factually inaccurate (for example, we have spelled your name wrong) then you have the right to have it corrected. This right does not extend to matters of opinion; for example, moderation decisions we might make about content that you post on our website.

14.3. Your right to erasure

You may have the right to have some or all of your personal data deleted, when it is no longer needed, or if we don't have a legal basis to continue using it.

14.4. Your right to withdraw your consent

If we're relying on your consent to use your personal data (for example, to send you marketing communications) then you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

For email communications, you can do this by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the message.

14.5. Your right to object to what we do with your personal data

If we are relying on our "legitimate interest" to use your personal data, then you have the right to object to what we are doing, and we must stop unless we can show that there is a compelling and legitimate reason to continue, or what we are doing relates to a legal claim.

14.6. Your right to restrict what we do with your personal data

In certain circumstances, you have the right to restrict our use of your personal data to simply storing it and using it only for legal claims, protecting the rights of others, and matters of important public interest.

14.7. Your right to portability

You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you which you have provided to a controller in a portable electronic format, or have it transmitted to another controller, where processing is based upon consent, or contract, and is undertaken by automated means.

15. How to complain

If you have a complaint or disagree with a decision we have made, we ask that you discuss it with us first by contacting our data protection team at dataprotection@reachplc.com or via the address given at the top of this Privacy Notice.

You also have the right to complain to your data protection supervisory authority; in the UK this is the Information Commissioner's Office:

The ICO's contact information is:

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK95AF.

ICO website: https://ico.org.uk.

Helpline Number: 0303 123 1113.

If you are based in another EU country, you can find the details of your local supervising authority here.

16. Privacy Notice last updated: 05/09/2022

We may update this Privacy Notice from time-to-time by posting a new version on our websites.

You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes; if we make any material changes, we may also notify of these by email.