Our Privacy Policy for Kids
Our Privacy Policy for Grown Ups
- About Us
- The Data Protection Officer (DPO)
- Information we collect about You and How we use it
- Cookies [and web browser information]
- What we do with your Information
- What if I don’t provide some or all of the information requested?
- What grounds (legal basis) are we processing the data under?
- Will You be contacted for Marketing Purposes?
- Kids Privacy Assured by PRIVO: COPPA Safe Harbor Certification & GDPRkids™
- Competitions
- Totally Random Questions
- Internal Sharing
- Sharing your Information with Third Parties
- How long we hold your Data for
- Your rights regarding your Personal Information
- Sale of the Business
- Right of complaint to the Regulator for Data Protection
- Links to Third Party Websites
- Updates to this Policy
- Contacting Us
Kids!
www.Beano.com is owned and operated by Beano Studios Limited, and we promise to use our best efforts to keep any details you give us private and secure, and we promise not to collect any personal information on you when you use this website. Our website is for children. Our shop is for adults and parents. When you fill out a ‘contact us’ form to ask us questions it creates an email to the Beano – which means we have your email and name, so we can reply to you BUT once we’ve replied we always make sure to delete your email and name.
We do collect website ‘cookies’ (not actual cookies; we eat those) as they help us understand how you found our website, and what pages you like. We use this information to make the website brilliant for you, and because we always want to make it better and better we use a programme called Google Analytics to understand how people interact with the website. For example, if we notice lots of people watching particular kinds of videos we know to try to make more of those kinds of videos. If we notice people are not watching particular types of videos, we’ll make less of those kinds of videos.
There are data-protection laws that make sure we do everything right, this is called the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018, and we are registered on the Data Protection Public Register (as number ZA206818). Our Data and Analytics Lead will be happy to deal with any questions you have. They can be contacted via our contact us page or by post to Data and Analytics Lead, Beano Studios Limited, 185 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2HS.
The rest of this page is for grown-ups. It tells grown-ups what information about you or your grown up we collect through Beano.com, and how we use this information. Please show this page to your parent or guardian before you use the Beano Site.
Grown Ups
1. About Us
This website (www.Beano.com) is owned and operated by Beano Studios Limited (a limited company registered in England with company number 10054526 with its registered office at 185 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2HS).
Beano Studios is committed to protecting your privacy and maintaining the security of any personal information received from you. We strictly adhere to the requirements of the data protection legislation in the UK, including the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018 and we are registered on the Data Protection Public Register number ZA206818.
2. The Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Due to the type of data we collect and the nature of our business we currently have no legal requirement to have a DPO at Beano Studios. However, our Data and Analytics Lead will be happy to deal with any queries or requests regarding the data we hold about you. They can be contacted via our contact us page, by phone on +44 20 7400 1094 or by post to Data and Analytics Lead, Beano Studios Limited, 185 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2HS.
3. Information we collect about You and How we use it
We do not require your or your child’s personal information to use the Site.
We do not collect sensitive information (also known as special categories of information) about anyone using the site except when you specifically knowingly provide it and have consented to this.
The “contact us” function generates an email to us and gives you/your child the option to give your/their email address. This means we will collect the email address and name associated with the chosen email address, which we commit to delete once we have processed the request or query.
We will also collect any personal information volunteered to us when we are contacted, this will also be deleted once we have processed the request or query.
Competition entries are submitted via email. This means we collect an email address in order to contact the winner and request a parent/guardian email address to request consent from them to send the prize to the winner. Once the competition has concluded all emails and the parent/guardian data will be deleted.
We do collect some information from cookies and similar software which allows us to understand how you arrive on our websites and use and navigate round it. This information is used to help us improve the site. We also store some usage information in Google Analytics.
4. Cookies [and web browser information]
This website uses cookies. For more information about what cookies are, what we use them for and how you can delete them, please read our cookie policy. Currently we do not have the ability to react to do not track being set in the browser.
5. What we do with your Information
We will use your personal information for several purposes including:
- To provide personalised communications
- We may use your or your child’s personal information to respond to a query or report by email. We, and any external moderation company, will delete any content submitted which does not comply with our moderation process (for example, content which includes personal information).
- We will delete your or your child’s email address and other personal information from our records once we have responded to their query, report or submission.
- We will retain an adult’s personal data for the purposes that personal information was provided to us and delete those records once the purpose is achieved. For example, if a query is submitted to us via the contact us page, we will retain the name and email address of the submitter whilst we respond to that query. Once the submitter is satisfied with the response we will delete their data from our systems. This is also applicable for competition winners where we will retain a parent/guardian email and postal address in order to send prizes to winners. This data will be deleted from our systems once receipt of the prize is confirmed.
- IP addresses and device identifiers are processed by Google Analytics to enable us to anonymously identify the location of users & establish the number of visits from different countries. More information about the process can be found on Google Analytics’ helpsite. Beano Studios does not view or store IP addresses and this information is not used for the purposes of identifying individuals.
- For analysis and research to improve our services
- We may use, share and disclose information in aggregate (so no individuals are identified) for marketing and strategic development purposes.
6. What if I don’t provide some or all of the information requested?
The impact of this will depend on what information you withhold but the main impacts may be:
- We may not be able to respond fully to requests and queries you may have
- We cannot personalise the service you receive
- We will not be able to limit the volume of advertisements you see.
7. What grounds (legal basis) are we processing the data under?
There are a number of grounds we process your data under. These are;
- Legal – should we be legally required to contact you concerning a product e.g. a product recall
- Legitimate interest – this means the processing is in Beano Studios’ interest. It allows us to improve the services we provide by better understanding how our online provisions are used and which are popular with which groups of individuals
- Consent – where you have given us consent to process your data.
8. Will You be contacted for Marketing Purposes?
We use your personal information to update you about new services by post, email and SMS text message. We will only contact you with your consent. Consent notifications will be clearly displayed at the point of collection of personal information.
We may personalise the message content based on information you provide us with, and your use of Beano Studios websites.
Children will not be contacted for marketing purposes unless we have obtained the correct level of parent consent to do so.
We may display advertisements served by ourselves. These contextual advertisements would be placed without any Personal Information collected, including persistent identifiers.
9. Kids Privacy Assured by PRIVO: COPPA Safe Harbor Certification & GDPRkids™
Beano Studios Limited is a member of the PRIVO Kids Privacy Assured Program (“the Program”) for COPPA Safe Harbor Certification and GDPRkids™. PRIVO is an independent, third-party organization committed to safeguarding children’s personal information collected online.
COPPA Safe Harbor Certification
The Program certification applies to the digital properties listed on the validation page that is viewable by clicking on the PRIVO COPPA certification seal. The certification seal posted on this page indicates Beano Studios Limited has established COPPA compliant privacy practices and has agreed to submit to PRIVO’s oversight and consumer dispute resolution process. If you have questions or concerns about our privacy practices, please contact us via our contact us page. If you have further concerns after you have contacted us, you can contact PRIVO directly at privacy@privo.com.
GDPRkids™ Privacy Assured
The Program applies to the digital properties listed on the validation page that is viewable by clicking on the PRIVO GDPRkids™ Verified Shield. The PRIVO GDPRkids™ Privacy Assured Program supports child directed services known as Information Society Services under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to comply with the requirements of this legislation. It impacts any child directed service in an EU Member State and any service globally that collects and or processes the personal data of children and minors. There is no safe harbor for the GDPR to date, but to ensure this company’s services meet the program requirements, we conduct regular monitoring and consulting.
10. Competitions
In the event of an online competition all email addresses will be deleted once each contest closes.
In order to run our online competitions, we ask for the entrant to send in their answers to play@beano.com with no other personal information. If the entrant has been selected as a winner, we will contact the winner(s) asking for a parent or guardian email address. Once the entrant has given this, we will then contact the parent or guardian to confirm their consent to sending the prize and to confirm delivery details. Once the competition has concluded all email addresses will be deleted from our records. Email addresses will not be used for any other purposes.
11. Totally Random Questions
We occasionally ask our Users questions to gauge their opinions on relevant topics. These questions are called ‘Totally Random Questions(TRQs)’ and are seen randomly by Users within quizzes on our quiz pages.
All information gathered from ‘TRQs’ is anonymous and stored as aggregated data. No personal data is collected or stored in this process and the data collected is not used to profile or target a child as it cannot be linked to an individual. Aggregated and anonymised data may be shared with 3rd parties.
The questions asked via ‘TRQs’ may sometimes be sponsored by 3rd parties so they can better understand the opinions of our audience at an aggregate and anonymised data level. When a TRQ is sponsored it will be very clearly marked as so and all questions are audited and approved by Beano Studios insight professionals before publication. Use of the website does not require any User to respond to TRQ questions and they are completely optional to answer.
In setting TRQs, Beano Studios is seeking to understand the likes, dislikes and trends within its audience base. This is used to inform editorial decisions and to help 3rd party brands improve their propositions. Beano Studios takes data collection and analysis extremely seriously and complies with all relevant GDPR (EU) and COPPA (US) regulations.
12. Internal Sharing
As a Beano enthusiast you may have signed up for a Beano comic subscription for you or your child. The comic is produced by DC Thomson media (our publishing arm) and the website along with other online and offline activities are run by the DC Thomson company known as Beano Studios Ltd. To provide you with a seamless experience it may be necessary to share your personal information between these two organisations. We will only share the information needed to provide you with the services you are using and will not routinely share data we hold about you. We do not build profiles of your or your child’s activities across our company to market to your child.
13. Sharing your Information with Third Parties
We may from time to time provide your or your child’s personal information to third parties for the purposes providing our services. The third-party providers who help us provide our services include service providers who assist us with hosting the Site or our marketing campaigns. They do not decide what is done with your data and only process it on our behalf. These third parties may be located outside the European Economic Area (EEA); however, we only use providers that provide adequate protection for your information.
When transferring any personal information outside of the EEA we only do so under one of the legally recognised transfer mechanisms for ensuring the data is safeguarded. These are:
- The country in question has been deemed safe for data transfer by the European Commission. Also known as an adequacy finding
- The contract for data processing contains the standard contractual clauses laid down by the European Commission to safeguard the transfer of personal data
- Binding corporate rules – this is where a large company’s own internal processes for international data transfer have been signed-off and agreed by the European Commission as safeguarding the data
- If the data is going to the USA it can be safely transferred to a company that is certified under the EU-US Privacy Shield
- Appropriate certification schemes.
We work with the following third-party providers to support the operation of the Site and provide a better experience. These third-party providers do not share children’s personal information with any other providers.
For more information please refer to these third-party providers’ privacy polices as listed below.
Third-party Provider Privacy Policies
We use Google Analytics and Hotjar to help analyze your use of the website:
JW Player is a video platform that we use to display videos on our website:
Our site is powered by WordPress VIP. WordPress VIP uses Jetpack and New Relic to provide statistical data about your use of the website and diagnose performance issues:
We will not provide your data to other third parties for marketing purposes unless you are an adult and have specifically consented to this when you first provided your data to us. You are entitled to withhold this consent and opt out from receiving such third-party communications at any time by not giving your consent on the form (paper or web) that collects your details. You can also update these options by contacting us via our contact us page or by post to Data and Analytics Lead, Beano Studios Limited, 185 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2HS.
14. How long we hold your Data for
We retain anonymised information, gathered for analytical purposes, indefinitely.
Data collected by us through the contact us page is deleted as soon as the query raised is resolved. Competition entries are kept whilst the competition remains open. Once the competition has concluded and prizes are confirmed to be received, all data collected during the competition is deleted.
15. Your rights regarding your Personal Information
Under the Data Protection law, you have a number of rights with respect to your personal information which are:
Correcting your Information
- You are entitled to have your personal information updated to ensure it is up-to-date and accurate.
Withdrawing Consent
- You have the right to withdraw your consent to any processing that is currently being done under your consent, e.g. marketing.
- Obtaining a copy of your Information
- You are entitled to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Deleting your information
- You can request that we delete personal information in certain circumstances. These will be specific to each case.
Data Portability
- You are entitled to have us transfer to another controller the personal information that you have provided us with.
Restricting Processing
- You can request a restriction on the processing of your data in some limited circumstances. Examples are concerns over data accuracy or we are no longer required to hold your data but you have requested its retention by us to aid you in a legal matter.
Right to object to processing
- You are entitled to request that we stop processing your data for marketing purposes and in other limited circumstances such as asking us not to process your data by wholly automated means or not to analyse your information for targeted content etc. (also known as profiling).
You can action any of these rights by contacting your normal customer service department or by contacting us by via our contact us page or by post to Data and Analytics Lead, Beano Studios Limited, 185 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2HS.
16. Sale of the Business
Should all or part of the Beano Studios business be sold to or taken over by another organisation, your personal information may move to that other organisation as part of the sale or takeover agreement. The new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this Privacy Policy, be permitted to use your personal information for the purposes for which it was supplied by you. Your rights regarding your personal information, as laid out above in section 16, will remain unaffected.
17. Right of complaint to the Regulator for Data Protection
The data protection laws in the UK are regulated and enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Each individual has the right to raise a concern/complaint to the ICO if they have any concerns about how their personal information and/or privacy is treated. You can do this via:
- The ICO’s website – follow the links or have an online “live chat”
- Call the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113
- Email casework@ico.org.uk
- Postal address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
18. Links to Third Party Websites
Our website may contain links to other websites belonging to third parties which are not covered by this privacy policy. If you want to click through to a third-party website, please make sure that you read the privacy policy for that website.
19. Updates to this Policy
We may update this Policy at any time without notice. We will tell you that we have updated the policy by posting an announcement on the website. By continuing to use the website after we have posted a notice informing you of an update, you accept the changes to this Policy.
20. Contacting Us
If you have any questions about privacy, or wish to update your details or action any of your other data rights at any time, please contact us via our contact us page, by phone on +44 20 7400 1094, email us at hello@beano.com or by post to Data and Analytics Lead, Beano Studios Limited, 185 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2HS.
Privacy statement updated August 2021.