Privacy Policy & Data Protection

This privacy policy was last updated on 21st January 2020.

We, AkinTrends.com considers your privacy vital, and our foremost concern is to maintain your trust. We are entirely committed to keeping your details safe.

We provide privacy policy with the intention to aware to acquaint you about the information we collect and how is it used and shared.

When you access our website or any other websites which are managed by our company or by us within our circle, we collect your personal information. We continue to do so if you use any of our products, applications or services (collectively our “Service”).

This document also outlines our approach to compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and all other relevant data-protection legislation.  It also sets forth your privacy rights. Please get familiarized with our privacy policy.

It is crucial that you read this privacy policy along with other policies we publish on specific occasions so that you are entirely aware of why and how we are using your data. This privacy policy supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.

We value your opinions. Should you have any questions or comments related to this privacy policy, please contact us at ask@theasknetwork.com.

We may be updating our privacy policy time after time. If we are going forward with these changes, we will be notifying you before implementing them by posting a notice on our website or sending you a notification.

Data Protection

We have an internal data protection team for you to get in contact with if you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, privacy practices or if you wish to exercise your data rights. The data protection team can be reached by email at ask@theasknetwork.com.

Information we collect and how we use it.
We collect and use your data for a variety of reasons including:

  1. If you register, purchase or subscribe to one of our Services.
  2. We will use your data to carry out our obligation from any contract as our customer as registered into us. We also use your details to provide you with welcome emails which helps you to get the most from our subscription, subscriber-only content and subscriber rewards.If you cancel the subscription with us, we may use your information for direct marketing. We will send you an email for direct marketing. We will only do so with your permission.We will be using your information for only a reasonable time of five months after your relationship with us has ended. To be specific, we will be sending you a short series of emails to remind of the benefits of subscribing with us. You will always have the option to unsubscribe from that kind of communication by following the unsubscribe instructions at the end of each email.
  3. To facilitate registration through social networksWe might collect your social media profile details, if they are publicly available, which includes your name and email address, when you sign up for our services through your social media account.We may import your profile picture and membership status of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter if you set these details to be public. Where we do, we do so in pursuit of our legitimate interest in understanding the demographics of our customers and readers.
  4. To place an advertisementWe may also process your data if you opt to place an advertisement. We only use this information to deliver the advertising service you requested as per our terms and conditions you have accepted.
  5. To deliver marketing, promotions and to conduct research
  6. To receive marketing communicationsWe may send you promotional emails from time to time about features, events, exclusive offers and competitions to the email address you have provided with only your consent.We make you that our marketing is relevant for you by processing your information and customizing the marketing for you. You can stop receiving the marketing communications from our side by unsubscribing to the service by following the instructions provided at the end of each mail.
  7. For competition and promotional purposesWe tend to conduct competitions or similar promotions. In that case, your entry will get shared with the promoter, and this will be specified when you enter. If you win a competition, you will get notified by your contact number that you are the winner and to award the prize. We will be publishing your name on our website and indicate the reward you have won.
  8. To participate in a survey or poll We conduct surveys and polls which helps us to produce genuine feedback from the readers. Your participation is voluntary. You may consent to Landmark Media which contacts you at the provided email address to participate in the research. We do not track and do look at the information. Your opinion and response will be anonymous.After completing a survey or poll, we might ask for your email address for gifting, promotional and competition purposes. Participation is voluntary, and the information provided is stored separately from the details you provide for the survey or poll. The information provided to us is processed only for administrating competition or vote.
  1. To provide with an email newsletterTo all our readers we give access to numerous email newsletters. We will only send only with your explicit consent. We collect and use the information for sending newsletters and is some cases to personalize them. You can opt to unsubscribe by making use of the unsubscribe button at the end of the email.
  1. To share the contentWe provide tools for our readers enabling them to share content to another email address. If anyone shares our content with you, we collect your email address for temporary purposes. We will need only this information only to share content, and we do not store the details.
  1. To recommend content We may use the information to collect about you to suggest and recommend our content. This processing is required to deliver relevant content to our customers. You have the right to object to this processing, and if you wish to do so, please contact us at ask@theasknetwork.com.
  1. To understand how you use our services
  1. To track how you gain access to or read our contentWe collect details relating to your use of our services to get to know how you gained access to and read our content. We use log-in information, cookies and similar technologies, IP addresses (Internet Protocol), device information to log your use of our services, as follows:When you subscribe to one of our services, we track and aggregate non-personal information collected about you through our services with the personal information provided when you will subscribe to us.If we link other data with your personal information, we will treat that related data as personal information for as long as it remains combined.We use this information to evaluate your personal preferences and interests, which under the GDPR may constitute as customer profiling. We do so in pursuit of our legitimate interests which are:
    • To research and improve AkinTrends products, services, and customer communications.
    • To understand which content you find useful or interesting
    • To develop and maintain relationships with our customers and readers
    • To deliver relevant content to our readers
    • To understand the demographics of our customers and readers

    You have the right to object to this processing or change these preferences at any time. If you wish to do so, please contact us at ask@theasknetwork.com.

    We log technical information that your browser sends us, as well as information about the use of our website and services. It may include including a history of the pages viewed, articles, content, and products searched for, and page interaction information, and any phone number used to call our customer service number.

    We may log information related to the type of mobile device used, including unique mobile identifies and mobile network information. We also track how our mobile applications are used including but not limited to traffic data, location data, and weblogs.

    We use cookies and similar technologies to facilitate our Services in the retrieving of your user preferences; to personalize your visits; for the operation of our website; to collect statistical information about our visitors for analytical purposes; to simplify any sign-in procedures; to customize content and ads and to provide social media features. We use some of the information you provide to personalize your experience with us as you use our Services. For more information on the use of cookies and similar technologies, please see our Cookie Policy.

  2. To measure the effectiveness of our email communicationsWe use such tools to determine whether you’ve opened our email communication or clicked the link contained in an email. Collecting information this way allows us to gather statistics about the usage and effectiveness of our services and products, including our direct marketing communications and email newsletters, to our legitimate interest.
  3. To support our advertising servicesThird-party vendors like Google displays advertising on our Services. Some of the ads you see are targeted based on interests that inferred from the type of content you view when visiting our site. This type of behavioral advertising is targeted towards groups of users in an anonymous and aggregated manner as opposed to you as an individual. Such online advertising helps to support the content, products, and services we provide.Third-party vendors and we use first-party cookies and third-party cookies together to inform, optimize and serve ads based on your browsing activities and interests. Any information we disclose to advertisers and advertising networks is non-personally identifiable.Advertising networks may use cookies, and similar technologies to track you for measuring the effectiveness of the ads they serve, detect fraudulent traffic, or to create a browsing profile that is used to deliver more relevant ads.
  4. To apply for a job with usIf you apply for a job within The Ask Network, you may provide us with specific personal information about yourself. We will use this information for processing and responding to your application, to assess your suitability as a potential candidate and for current and future career opportunities.
  5. To attend one of our eventsWe host many events throughout the year. These include breakfast briefings, live content events, live lectures, podcast recordings, training, conferences, and seminars. If you register for one of our initiatives, we will collect personal information from you. We will use your information for submitting your information for the program, process your payment and provide you with information and services associated with the event.In some cases, we make audio or video recordings of these events, and we may record information about you as a consequence. We will always inform you if the program is to get recorded so that you can choose not to participate if wish. Registration for our events is voluntary. Once you register, however, we process your personal information as per the terms and conditions of that specific event and on the legal processing ground of contract.
  6. To correspond with youIf you correspond with us, we will use your contact information to respond to your inquiry. We process this information in pursuit of our legitimate interests to develop and maintain relationships with our customers and readers.
  7. To manage ordinary business requirementsWe may use your data to manage everyday business needs, including for internal purposes such as auditing, data analysis, troubleshooting, accounting, providing customer service, technical support and fraud prevention. Our legitimate interest is the effective management of our business.
  8. To verify your identification
  9. To exercise your data rights, we need to collect additional personal information from you to verify your identity and to process your request.
  10. When you provide professional services to us You need to provide us with your personal information if you wish to provide professional services to us. We will process this information so we can administer, manage and pay for the relevant services that you offer and as per the terms and conditions of our contract.
  11. Anonymous information we process We process data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual, and therefore it is unable to use it reasonably for identifying or contacting you.  Aggregated and anonymous data is considered non-personal information for this privacy policy.
  12. The legal basis for processing your information We collect your information for various purposes and rely on some different legal bases to use your personal information.
  13. To enter into and perform a contract with you We use your personal information for carrying out our obligations that come from any contracts entered into between you and us or to take the necessary steps at your request before entering into an agreement with us including
    • To provide you with the subscription, services or products you have requested
    • To process your payment information
    • To authenticate and verify your account
    • To provide customer and technical support
    • To administer competitions or similar promotions
    • To provide our recruitment services to you when requested
    • To pay for the professional services you may provide to us
    • To send important notices such as communications relating to payment, delivery services, changes to our terms, conditions, and policies and to notify you about changes to our service
    • To keep you informed of the benefits of your subscription
    • To deliver exclusive content and benefits to our subscribers

    With your consent, which you can withdraw at any time

    We will, in certain circumstances, rely on your explicit consent to process your personal information. Where we do, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. In most circumstances, you can withdraw your consent by following the unsubscribe instructions included at the end of each email communication from us. You can also contact us at ask@theasknetwork.com, and we will be happy to facilitate your request.

  14. To comply with our legal obligationsWe may be needed to process your personal information to comply with certain legal obligations to which we are subject, including:
      • If you have exercised one of your data rights, we will retain a copy of all correspondence to demonstrate our compliance with data-protection legislation
      • If you have exercised one of your data rights and ask us not to contact you by email at a particular email address, we will need to retain a copy of that email address to comply with your no-contact request.
      • To carry out our statutory audit
  15. Processing based on our legitimate interestsWe process your personal information for specific purposes which are in our legitimate interests and enable us to enhance the services that we provide, but which we also believed to be benefited by our customers. We will always ensure there is a fair balance between our legitimate interests and our customers’ fundamental right and freedoms.We process personal information for the following legitimate business purposes:
    • To manage our everyday business needs and for internal purposes such as auditing, data analysis, troubleshooting, accounting, providing customer service, technical support and fraud prevention
    • To provide you with a more personalized experience, such as making content recommendations
    • Understanding which content you find useful or interesting
    • To support our advertising services
    • To determine the effectiveness of promotional campaigns, email campaigns, and advertising
    • To research and improve AkinTrends products, services, and customer communications
    • To ensure content from our site and mobile applications which are presented effectively for you and your device
    • To develop and maintain relationships with our customers and readers
    • To protect you against fraud and to detect, prevent, investigate security or technical issues to ensure our Services are secure
    • To protect the rights, property, and safety of Landmark Media or the rights, property or safety of our employees or others
    • To understand the demographics of our customers and readers
    • To send direct marketing to our subscribers or former subscribers.
  16. When and how your information gets shared:Within our groupWe may share your personal information with members of our group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company, and its subsidiaries may use it in a manner that is consistent with this privacy policy.With third parties

    We may share your personal information with third parties for some reasons as outlined below. We do not sell your personal information to anyone and only share it with third parties who are facilitating the delivery or for the fulfillment of our services and are working on our behalf. We contractually require that our suppliers protect such information from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure.

    Third-party service providers

    We may share your personal information with third-party service providers who perform services and functions at our supervision and on our behalfs such as our accountants, IT service providers, printers, payment providers, lawyers, providers of security and administration services and other business advisers.Third-party service partners
    We provide certain services and run promotions in conjunction with third parties, and we may share your personal information if the requested service gets fulfilled by them.

    Third-party advertisers

    We disclose non-personally identifiable anonymous information to third-party advertisers to help them reach the kind of audience they want to target. We share summary aggregate reports for our advertisers to measure the effectiveness of the ads they have served. These advertising parties may combine the information we send with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services.

    Independent auditors
    We may share your data with a third-party auditing organization (ABC) for our legitimate interests to verify aggregated statistics about circulation and usage of our products or to review our policies, processes, and procedures for compliance with relevant standards.

    Social networking sites

    Our website and mobile applications use interfaces with social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. If you choose to like or share information from our sites through these services, you should review the privacy policy of that service.

    If you are a member of a social media site and logged in, the interfaces configured on our Services allow the social media site to connect your site visit and browsing behavior to the personal data held on your social media site.

    Landmark Media can use this information on an aggregate basis to place ads that will of your interests on these social media sites. These practices get governed by the privacy statements of these social networking sites, and you are advised to review these separately.

  17. Data storage and retentionWe will retain your personal information as needed to fulfill the purposes which needed collecting these data. We will preserve and use your personal information no longer than it is necessary to comply with our business and legal obligations. Where we enter into a legal contract with you, we will hold your personal information for seven years from the date of completion of this contract by reference to the statute of limitation for a legal claim under contract.
  18. Your data rightsYou have several rights under data-protection law about how we use your personal information. You have the right, free of charge, to:
    • Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. We’ve made it easy for you to do so – you need to fill out an online Data Access Request form to initiate the process. Before we can provide you with any data, we need to verify your identity and may need to gather some additional information to clarify the scope of your request.
    • Rectify any inaccurate personal information we hold about you
    • Withdraw your consent where we have relied upon your approval to process your information
    • Erase the personal information we hold about you subject to certain exceptions
    • If technically feasible, have your personal information transmitted to another data controller in a machine-readable format at your request
    • Restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
    • Object to our use of your personal information for our legitimate interests, for profiling and direct marketing purposes
    • Not be subject to a decision which is based solely on automated processing where that decision produces a legal effect on you or otherwise significantly affects you. We do not make automated decisions of this nature
    • Complain along with the appropriate data-protection authority if you have concerns about how we process your data

These rights are in some circumstances limited by data-protection legislation. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at ask@theasknetwork.com. We will take measures to verify your identity which we will do by the reference of copies for acceptable identification documentation supplied by you.

We will endeavor to respond to your request within a month.  If we are unable to deal with your appeal within a month, we may extend this period by a further two months, and we will contact you and explain why.

Consequences of not providing information

When we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you as a customer, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the conditions we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us, but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.