Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 22 April 2025

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF PRIVACY POLICY

M8 Social Ltd (“m8”, “we,” “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the information we collect and to being transparent about the ways in which we collect and process your information, in compliance with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the Data Protection Act 2018 and all other relevant and applicable laws and regulations of the United Kingdom.

This Privacy and Data Protection Policy (“Privacy Policy”) explains how we collect, process and keep your data safe. The Privacy Policy will tell you about your privacy rights, how the law protects you, and informs our employees and staff members of all their obligations and protocols when processing data. 

We may gather and use data from individuals who use or access the www.m8social.com website as well as any other media form, media channel, mobile website or mobile application related, linked, or otherwise connected thereto (collectively, the “Website”). This Privacy Policy applies to personal data processed by us during your visit to the Website. We are not responsible for how third parties collect and use your personal information. 

This Privacy Policy is linked to our general Terms and Conditions. You should read and understand both documents when accessing the Website.

DATA CONTROLLER

As your Data Controller, m8 will determine the purposes for which and the manner in which any Personal Data is processed. Additionally, m8 will be responsible for your personal data as well as compliance with data protection principles.

The contact details of your Data Controller are as follows:

Registered Address: M8 Social Ltd

Unit A, 82 James Carter Road
Mildenhall
Suffolk
IP28 7DE

Contact Email: contact@m8social.com

ICO Registration Number: ZB821562

Any inquiries about your data should be sent to the above email. We cannot guarantee prompt responses if physical mail is your chosen method of communication.

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

While managing our responsibilities as a Data Controller, we have third party providers who will deal with your data on our behalf (“Processors”). The responsibilities described below may be assigned to a processor, or may be taken to apply to the organisation as a whole. The Data Controller and our Processors have the following responsibilities: 

  1. Ensure that all processing of Personal Data is governed by one of the legal bases laid out in the GDPR (see section 2 below for more information on those bases); 

  2. Ensure that Processors authorised to process Personal Data have committed themselves to confidentiality or are under an appropriate statutory obligation of confidentiality; 

  3. Implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk associated with the processing of Personal Data; 

  4. Obtain the prior specific or general authorisation of the Controller before engaging another Processor; 

  5. Assist the Controller in the fulfilment of the Controller's obligation to respond to requests for exercising the data subject's rights; 

  6. Make available to the Controller all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the obligations laid down in the GDPR and allow for and contribute to audits, including inspections, conducted by the Controller or another auditor mandated by the Controller; 

  7. Maintain a record of all categories of processing activities carried out on behalf of a Controller; 

  8. Cooperate, on request, with the supervisory authority in the performance of its tasks; 

  9. Ensure that any person acting under the authority of the Processor who has access to Personal Data does not process Personal Data except on instructions from the Controller; and Notify the Controller without undue delay after becoming aware of a Personal Data Breach.

LEGAL BASIS FOR DATA COLLECTION

“Personal Data” means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data). 

There are several justifiable reasons under the UK GDPR that allow the collection and processing of Personal Data. The main bases we rely upon are the following:  

  • “Consent”: Certain situations allow us to collect your Personal Data, such as when you tick a box that confirms you are happy to receive email newsletters from us, or ‘opt in’ to a service.

  • “Contractual Obligations”: We may require certain information from you in order to fulfil our contractual obligations and provide you with the promised service.

  • “Compliance with legal obligations”: Organisations occasionally have to process data in order to comply with legal regulations and legal & regulatory requirements.

  • “Legitimate Interest”: We might need to collect certain information from you to be able to meet our legitimate interests - this covers aspects that can be reasonably expected as part of running our business, that will not have a material impact on your rights, freedom or interests. Examples could be your address, so that we know where to deliver something to, or your name, so that we have a record of who to contact. When legitimate interest is relied upon, m8 will conduct a Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA) to validate the processing is not considered unfair or infringing on the data protection rights of any individuals we work with.

We collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of Personal Data about you which we have grouped together below. Not all of the following types of data will necessarily be collected from you, but this is the full scope of data that we collect and when we collect it from you: 

  • Marketing and Communications Data: This is your preferences in receiving marketing information and other information from us for our marketing newsletters. It will include your email address.

    • Legal basis: Consent.

  • Technical Data: This is your IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to engage with us. This is used for the purpose of analytics, with your consent, as well as to improve site functionality.

    • Legal basis: Legitimate interest, consent.

During the course of our normal business activities m8 will not collect any special categories of Personal Data according to the UK GDPR. 

We will access and use your personal data only for the purposes for which you have submitted it to us to (a) provide information to you, (b) make contact with you, (c) provide services to you, or (d) maintain the operations and security of the website and services we provide to you. We will not use your personal information for any other purposes, for example for the communication of marketing materials, unless we have your specific consent that permits us to do so.

USES OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We primarily obtain the data from you (including via the devices you use) while visiting the site. If we do not collect Personal Data directly from you, we will also tell you the source of Personal Data and, if applicable, whether it is sourced from publicly available sources. 

When processing your data, we work with service providers who have access to your data. The categories of recipients are as follows: (1) software companies that enable us to provide our services, help us to improve them and/or serve us for marketing purposes (for example, to send newsletters, emails, manage customer contacts or applications); (2) public bodies and administrations to the extent that we are legally obliged to do so; (3) payment service providers; (4) hosting providers; (5) social media platforms; and (6) service companies, such as tax advisors or lawyers.

By using our website and services, you consent to the processing of your personal data by third-party providers for the purposes outlined below:

  • Website Analytics - Provider: Squarespace, Google Analytics

  • Email Communication - Provider: Squarespace, MailChimp

  • Hosting and Infrastructure - Provider: Squarespace

Please note that these third-party providers have their own privacy policies and data protection practices. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies to understand how your personal data may be used by them. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties.

The Website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our Site, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

We share non-Personal Data with third parties. We may share your Personal Data with subcontractors when necessary and with your consent. The sub-contractors are also subject to our confidentiality obligations to use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them and pursuant to our instructions. 

We may also share Personal Data with interested parties in the event that m8 anticipates a change in control or the acquisition of all or part of our business or assets or with interested parties in connection with the licensing of our technology. If m8 is sold or makes a sale or transfer, we may, in our sole discretion, transfer, sell or assign your Personal Data to a third party as part of or in connection with that transaction. Prior to such transfer, you will be provided with the appropriate Article 13/14 notice, and if consent is the lawful basis for processing your data we will contact you to renew this consent. In all other situations your data will still remain protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

You will receive marketing and new content communications from us if you opt into receiving those communications. We may make suggestions and recommendations to you about goods or services that may be of interest to you, but only if we have a reasonable expectation that you would benefit from or be interested in these services in line with the PECR. The lawful basis for this processing is legitimate interest, and a complementary legitimate interest assessment will be conducted when required.

We will only use your Personal Data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us. 

If we need to use your Personal Data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so. 

Please note that we may process your Personal Data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

YOUR RIGHTS

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you may have the right in law to: 

  1. Information, in accordance with Art. 15 UK GDPR, 

  2. Rectification, in accordance with Art. 16 UK GDPR, 

  3. Data erasure ("right to be forgotten"), in accordance with Art. 17 UK GDPR,

  4. Limitation of processing, pursuant to Art. 18 UK GDPR,

  5. Data portability, according to Art. 20 UK GDPR and/or

  6. Objection to the processing, pursuant to Art. 21 UK GDPR. 

To exercise these rights, you can send an email to us at any point at the following email address: contact@m8social.com 

We will handle any request to exercise these rights in accordance with the relevant laws, but please note that these rights may not be absolute. We may refuse or deny a request in accordance with these rules, though where possible you will be informed why this is happening.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your Personal Data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, if your request is clearly unfounded, we could refuse to comply with your request. 

We may also need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure you have the right to access your Personal Data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that Personal Data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

You have the right to object at any time, to the processing of personal data concerning you which is carried out on the basis of Article 6(1)(e) or (f) of the UK GDPR; this also applies to profiling based on these provisions. We will no longer process the personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves the assertion, exercise, or defence of legal claims. 

If your personal data is processed for the purpose of direct marketing, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you for the purpose of such marketing; this also applies to profiling that is related to direct marketing. You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by unsubscribing. Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, we will continue to retain other Personal Data provided to us as a result of interactions with us not related to your marketing preferences.

We are concerned with keeping your data secure and protecting it from inappropriate disclosure. Any Personal Data collected by us is only accessible by a limited number of employees who have special access rights to such systems and are bound by obligations of confidentiality. When we use subcontractors to store your data, we will not relinquish control of your Personal Data or expose it to security risks that would not have arisen had the data remained in our possession. 

However, unfortunately no transmission of data over the internet is guaranteed to be completely secure. It may be possible for third parties not under the control of m8 to intercept or access transmissions or private communications unlawfully. While we strive to protect your Personal Data, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any Personal Data you transmit to us. Any such transmission is done at your own risk. If you believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us at contact@m8social.com

RETENTION OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We store your personal data only as long as it is necessary to achieve the purpose of processing. In most normal cases, we store your data if you have consented to the processing until you revoke your consent. If we need the data to perform a contract, we retain the data for as long as the contractual relationship with you exists. If we use the data on the basis of a legitimate interest, we will retain your data for as long as your interest in deletion or anonymization does not prevail. We maintain a retention policy and schedule to ensure that data is not kept longer than is necessary. 

In addition, data may be stored beyond the outlined periods in certain rare circumstances where data must be kept in order to exercise legal rights or to comply with other legal obligations. In these cases, the data is deleted when a storage or retention period prescribed by law expires.

INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

There is a transfer of data to third countries outside of the United Kingdom and European Economic Area (“EEA”). Information we collect from you could be processed in the United States or other third countries. Some third countries, such as the United States, have not currently received an adequacy decision from the European Union or UK under Article 45 of the GDPR which means that your data may not receive the same level of protection there as it does under the UK GDPR and European GDPR. 

International data transfers are made based on contractual and other guaranteed safeguards provided for by law, which are intended to ensure adequate protection of your data and which you can view on request. We may transfer Personal Data to organisations outside of the UK or EEA in connection with the provision of Services and for the purposes listed above. Where data is transferred outside of the UK or EEA we will do so under standard contractual clauses or binding corporate rules or any other acceptable method that ensures a protection of your data to the standard required within the UK or EEA. 

If your Personal Data is transferred by us outside the UK or EEA in accordance with paragraph above, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that adequate measures are in place to keep your personal data as secure as it is within the UK or EEA and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

We rely on the rules set out in Article 49 of the GDPR or, where applicable, on safeguards pursuant to Article 46 of the GDPR. We, and our Processors, strive to apply appropriate measures to protect the privacy and security of your Personal Data. For this reason, we only process your Personal Data in accordance with the practices described in our Privacy Policy.

NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES AND ACCEPTANCE OF POLICY

We keep our Privacy Policy under review and update this Privacy Policy as and when our processes change. We will place any updates on this webpage. You can see the date this notice was last updated at the top of the page. If we are obliged to inform you of drastic changes, you will receive an email detailing these changes. 

CONTACTING US

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us via email at contact@m8social.com. We will make reasonable efforts to respond to disputes and queries as soon as possible.