This Privacy Policy relates to our use of any personal information we collect from you when you register as a user on the Our Journey website at Our Journey (the "Website"). Please read this Privacy Policy carefully.

This policy should be read alongside, and is in addition to, our cookies policy.

1. Who are we?

In this Privacy Policy, references to “we” or “us” are to The Open University, a UK Higher Education Institution incorporated by Royal Charter in England and Wales. The Open University is the data controller of the personal data you provide to us. Our head office is at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 6AA; for more information, please see www.open.ac.uk.

2. Legal notice

We will only collect and process your personal information in accordance with all applicable data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.

3. What information do we collect about you?

When you register on, and subsequently access the Website, we will collect, store, and use certain personal information that you voluntarily disclose to us including email address, name, and any other information you choose to disclose.

We will also automatically collect IP address, browser type and version, operating system, length of visit, page views, and website navigation, if your browser allows us to.

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website; see our cookies policy for more information.

We will store any information you submit to the Website, which may include any personal information that you voluntarily disclose.

While we will take all reasonable precautions to make sure that other organisations who we deal with have good security practices. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those organisations whose websites may be linked to our service.

4. We use your personal information in the following ways:

We use the information you give to us:

• To provide, maintain, protect, and improve the quality of the Website, including by conducting anonymised market research, and to protect us and our users.
• To provide you with a personalised experience when using the Website.
• To manage your profile account that you hold with us; and
• To comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
• To send you notices and updates about the Website.

Collecting this information is in our legitimate interest of operating the website effectively.

The information is linked to your account and will be used to inform research analysis and reporting and may be analysed further by future research projects. All analysis is depersonalised and will not be linked to your account. These activities are part of our public task of conducting academic research.

We may contact you with relevant communications regarding the Website.

5. Sharing and transferring data.

Your personal data will not be transferred outside the Open University European Economic Area.

If we carry out research and evaluation in partnership with other organisations, then we may transfer anonymised research data to our partners. We will not transfer personally identifying data to other organisations.

6. How long we keep your personal data

We will normally keep your data for as long as necessary to give you access to the Website. If you have not used your account for a period of 24-months, then your account may be classed as dormant or may be deleted.

You may delete your account at any time through the Website. You may also request us to delete your account on your behalf

If your account is deleted, your personal information and any data submitted by you is deleted.

If you contact us, we will generally keep a record of that correspondence for up to 6 months. If your correspondence has a legal implication, we may keep it for six years after the last communication on that issue.

7. What are your rights?

You have the right to:

• Request a copy of the data we hold on you, including any research data submissions
• Ask us to correct or update data we hold
• Object to the processing we carry out
• Ask for the data we hold on you to be deleted
• Ask us to restrict the data that we hold on you

If you have any queries about how your personal data is being handled, or you would like to exercise a right, please contact our Data Protection Officer at data-protection@open.ac.uk; or post to PO Box 497, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AT.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

8. Changes to the privacy policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The date of the most recent revision will appear on this page. If material changes are made to the Privacy Policy, for instance affecting how we would like to use your personal information, we will provide a more prominent notice on the Website and will inform you directly via email.

Last revised: 21 January 2022