Privacy policy

Data Protection and Privacy

Tinnitus UK complies with and is registered under the Data Protection laws of the United Kingdom (registered as Tinnitus UK, registration number Z9563710) and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (25 May 2018).

We could provide a long description here, as some websites do, of what we do and don’t do with your information, but there would always be something missed. So, to keep it simple:

We take all reasonable care to prevent unauthorised access to your personal data in any form – paper, electronic, whatever. We do not abuse your trust. Any details you provide to Tinnitus UK will not be sold, swapped or given away to anyone or any organisation.

We have to provide some of your information to outsiders in order to do our work, such as the mailing list for Quiet for instance (posting thousands of magazines is best done by a specialist company) or bookings for our training courses etc. Any people or organisations processing this information on behalf of Tinnitus UK securely process your data under agreement with us and are not permitted to pass your information to anyone else. Under the new data privacy regulations, such organisations are considered processors of your personal data and Tinnitus UK retains control of your data.

If you participate in an event organised by an external party or make a donation through a processor like JustGiving, then your information may be passed to us by the processor. We may use this information for marketing purposes but you have the right to unsubscribe or opt out of future communications. Clear information on how to unsubscribe or opt out will be provided within such communications.

If you have any concerns or questions about our policy, please contact us on info@tinnitus.org.uk, call us on 0114 250 9933 or by writing to us at the address below.

Access to information

From 25 May 2018, new laws give you more control over how Tinnitus UK stores and uses your personal data to contact you and deliver information. You can request to view any personal information we may hold for you and request deletion of it if you believe it is no longer relevant or disproportionate. There is no financial charge for this.

The data we collect and how we process it

Tinnitus UK’s work is only possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters and we want our fundraising efforts to be as effective as possible. We store supporters’ personal information on our secure fundraising database and aim to collect as a minimum a supporters’ name and address. This is because we cannot match past or future donations to the same person by name alone and because, should you complete a Gift Aid declaration, HMRC requires full name and address details for a claim to be valid.

We may use information we hold about our supporters and potential supporters to better understand you and your philanthropic priorities so that we can be measured in who we approach for substantial support. We undertake in-house research and may engage third parties to help us identify people who may be able to support us with a larger gift. We may combine the existing information supporters’ have provided with information from publicly available sources. These may include charity websites and annual reviews, corporate websites, public social media accounts, the electoral register and Companies House. We only use reputable sources, where someone would expect their information may be read by the public.

This approach allows us to be more efficient and cost-effective with our resources, and also reduces the risk of someone receiving information that they might find irrelevant, intrusive or even distressing. For instance, there is no point in us writing a letter to someone who has publicly declared that they are solely committed to supporting international development charities.

We’re committed to putting you in control of your data and you’re free at any time to opt out from this activity by emailing info@tinnitus.org.uk, or calling 0114 250 9933.

Legal basis

Applicable law allows personal data to be collected and used if it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate interests or a third party’s legitimate interests (if the processing is fair, balanced and does not unduly impact individuals’ rights). We rely on this ground to process your personal data when it is not practical or appropriate to ask for your consent, and where we are confident that this will not impact your rights. This may include where we undertake research on individuals including before we proactively contact them, and for raising funds for a wide range of activities to support our charitable objectives.

Changes to our privacy policy

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page, updated on our social media channels and, where your contact preferences permit, notified to you by email.

Right to be forgotten

You have the right to withdraw your personal data from further use. There are certain exemptions to this right (to satisfy HMRC guidance on gift aid for example). If your personal data is no longer necessary for the purpose you provided it to us for (e.g. processing your donation or registering you for an event), we will delete it according to your instructions. Contact us on 0114 250 9933 or email info@tinnitus.org.uk if you have any questions.