Privacy Policy

Public Map (PM) is committed to looking after personal data that are made available to us when you visit the Public Map Platform (PMP) or sign up and create a user account. We will do this in accordance with data protection and privacy laws. This policy outlines what information we retain, how we use it and what your rights are. It is split into the following sections:

  1. What is personal data?
  2. Who is responsible for the data you provide to PM?
  3. What personal data do PM process and what do we use it for?
  4. Service providers and partners
  5. Legal basis for processing your personal data
  6. Sharing your personal data
  7. How long do we keep your personal data?
  8. Your rights
  9. Cookies and web statistics
  10. Contact details

Please note: This policy applies to data we process in accordance with accessing and using PMP. It does not necessarily apply to our research data (this is, data collected from participants in a PM project or engagement activity and which may appear on PMP). Research participants with queries about this data should contact PM in the first instance, who will put them in touch with the relevant project team.

1. What are personal data?

'Personal data' relate to a living individual who can be identified from those data, either directly, or by combining these data with additional information. The processing of such data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which was introduced in 2018.

2. Who is responsible for the data you provide to PM?

Public Map is a collaborative venture between the universities of Bangor, Cambridge, Cardiff, and Wrexham https://publicmap.org/en. PMP is hosted by Cardiff University on behalf of all parties, therefore Cardiff University is the Data Controller for personal data collected as a result of these activities. This means that Cardiff University is responsible for deciding how these data are processed and for what purposes.

Public Map acts as a Data Processor, meaning that Public Map undertakes the day-to-day processing of these data.

3. What personal data do PM process and what do we use it for?

PM may ask you to provide some information about yourself if you wish to access our services on PMP. This may involve creating a user-account on PMP. Personal data we may store and process include:

  • Biographical information consisting of your name and title;
  • Contact details, including email address;
  • Basic information of why and how you plan to use PMP;
  • Your research interests;
  • Your language preferences (Welsh / English)

This information will be used by PM to administer services you have signed up for. We may also use it to derive information for reporting purposes. If your data are used for reporting purposes they will be used in an aggregated form and your personal data will be removed.

PM will make sure all personal data are processed in accordance with the GDPR.

4. Service providers and partners

PM use a range of third party service providers to help us provide you with a better service. These are listed below.

  • We use Online Surveys to process questionnaire surveys, such as to obtain feedback on your experience of PMP. Users are not required to provide personal data if they do not wish. You can review Online Survey's privacy policy to find out how they manage user data.
  • We use Google Analytics data in an aggregated form to help improve PMP. You can review Google Analytics' privacy policy to find out how they manage personal data. You can opt out from Google Analytics tracking via your browser privacy settings or by using Google's browser add-on.

5. Legal basis for processing your personal data

Personal data obtained after 25th May 2018 will be processed on the basis of your explicit consent. By creating a user account, you are providing us with consent to process your data for the purposes outlined in Section 3. You have the right to object to this processing at any time (see Section 8).

6.Sharing your personal data

While PMP is hosted at Cardiff University it may occasionally be necessary to share your personal data within PM's partner institutions (outlined in Section 2). Data will only be shared for the purposes outlined in Section 3 and will be processed in compliance with GDPR to ensure your data are secure and well maintained.

PM do not sell or otherwise transfer personal data to any third parties, aside from those listed in Section 4, without your consent, or unless this is permitted by law.

7. How long do we keep your personal data?

Your personal data will be held for the duration of PM's research funding, or a maximum of 7 years from your last engagement with PMP. You may request that your personal data are destroyed at any time (see Section 8).

Even if we delete your personal data it may persist on backup or archival media for an additional period of time for legal or regulatory reasons or for legitimate and lawful business purposes.

8. Your rights

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

  • The right to request a copy of your personal data that PM holds about you;
  • The right to request that PM corrects any personal data if it is found to be
    • inaccurate or out of date;
  • The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for
    • PM to retain such data;
  • The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time;
  • The right to request that the data controller provide the data subject with his/her
    • personal data and where possible, to transmit that data directly to another data controller, (known as the right to data portability), where applicable;
  • The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your
    • personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;
  • The right to object to the processing of personal data, (where applicable);
  • The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office.

9. Cookies and web statistics

Cookies are used to compile general (not personal) site usage statistics. Cookies are not used to capture or store personal information for any other purpose.

PMP uses hosted web analytics software. These are hosted services provided and managed by a third party company. PM's supplier of hosted web analytics is Google.

The information is used for the purpose of evaluating use of our website, improving the users' experience of our website and compiling reports on website activity.

10. Contact details

If you have any queries with the content of this page, or wish to exercise any of the rights listed in Section 8, please contact wiserd@cardiff.ac.uk.