Privacy Policy – Critical Thinking

Effective: 01 July 2020

In this Privacy Policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refers to ‘Critical Thinking’ web site.

This privacy policy sets out how Critical Thinking web site (ct.ifthen.co.uk) uses and protects any information that you provide.

1. What Information We Collect About You and How We Use It

1.1 Account and Profile Information

You will have to create an account to use this web site. You will need to provide us with some personal data so that we can provide our services to you. This includes your name (for example, “John Doe”), a username (for example, johnxdoe), a password, and an email address. No personal details will be visible to other  users. Your username is fixed but you can change your name, password and email address.

Whilst using Critical Thinking web site, the following information may be collected (but not made public):

• Internet Protocol (IP) address
• Geographical location
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Referral source
• Length of visit, page views, website navigation and any other related browsing activity

1.2 Contact Information

We use your contact information, such as your email address, to enable certain account features. For example, for login verification, to reset password, and to notify you of membership expiry. You can unsubscribe from email expiry notifications.

If you email us, we will keep the content of your message, your email address, and your contact information to respond to your request.

1.3 Private Messages and Non-Public Communications

The website does not allow private messages.

1.4 Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of data that is stored on your computer or mobile device. Like many websites, we use cookies and similar technologies to collect additional website usage data.

We use cookies for the following purposes

1.4.1 Authentication: We use cookies to identify you when you visit our website.

1.4.2 Status: We use cookies to help us to determine if you are logged into our website.

1.4.3 Security: We use cookies as an element of the security measures used to protect user accounts, including preventing fraudulent use of login credentials, and to protect our website and services generally.

Cookies used by our service providers

1.4.4 Our service providers use cookies and those cookies may be stored on your computer when you visit our website.

1.4.5 We may use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google’s privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/ .

1.5 Log Data

We receive information when you view content on, or otherwise interact with, our website, which we refer to as “Log Data,” even if you have not created an account. When you visit our website, sign in, interact with our email notifications, we may receive information about you. This Log Data includes information such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, the referring web page, pages visited, location, your mobile carrier, device information (including device and application IDs), search terms, and cookie information. We use Log Data to operate our services and ensure their secure, reliable, and robust performance.

2. Information We Share and Disclose

2.1 How we Share Information we Collect

Although nothing is available to the public, you should be aware that data is recorded regarding your progress through the lessons in the course. This data, and your user details, may remain even after you terminate your account. To request removal of your information from the website, please contact us.

2.2 Sharing with Third Parties

2.2.1 Service Providers: We share information with third parties that help us operate, provide, improve, integrate, customize, support and market our services. We work with third-party service providers to provide website and application development, hosting, maintenance, backup, storage, virtual infrastructure, payment processing, analysis and other services for us, which may require them to access or use information about you. If a service provider needs to access information about you to perform services on our behalf, they do so under close instruction from us, including policies and procedures designed to protect your information.

Our administrators may choose to add new functionality or change the behaviour of the website by installing third party apps. Doing so may give third-party apps access to your account and information about you like your name and email address, and any content you choose to use in connection with those apps e.g. PayPal. Third-party app policies and procedures are not controlled by us, and this privacy policy does not cover how third-party apps use your information. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of third parties before connecting to or using their applications or services to learn more about their privacy and information handling practices. If you object to information about you being shared with these third parties, please contact us and let us know as soon as possible. Below are the third party services we use, or may use, on our website:

• Akismet (by Automattic Inc.) – Spam fighting service that protects millions of WordPress sites. Automattic Privacy Policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/
• reCAPTCHA (by Google)  – Protects internet users from spam and abuse wherever they go. Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
• PayPal – enables financial transactions. Privacy Policy https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full

2.2.2 Links to Third Party Sites: Our website may include links that direct you to other websites or services whose privacy practices may differ from ours. If you submit information to any of those third party sites, your information is governed by their privacy policies, not this one. We encourage you to carefully read the privacy policy of any website you visit.

2.2.3 Social Media Widgets: We do not use Social Media Widgets.

2.2.4 Third-Party Widgets: We do not use Third Party Widgets – no links to ‘Twitter’, ‘Facebook’ etc.

2.3 Law, Harm, and the Public Interest

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Privacy Policy or controls we may otherwise offer to you, we may preserve, use, or disclose your personal data if we believe that it is reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; to protect the safety of any person; to protect the safety or integrity of our platform, including to help prevent spam, abuse, or malicious actors on our services, or to explain why we have removed content or accounts from our services; to address fraud, security, or technical issues; or to protect our rights or property or the rights or property of those who use our services. However, nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit any legal defences or objections that you may have to a third party’s, including a government’s, request to disclose your personal data.

2.4 Non-Personal Information

We may share or disclose non-personal data, such as aggregated information like the website statistics (online users, visitors, current viewers of a topic, etc…), the number of people who clicked on a particular link (number of topic views) or voted on a poll in a topic (even if only one did).

3. How to Access and Control your Information

3.1 Accessing or Rectifying Your Personal Data

You have the right to request a copy of your information,or to object to our use of your information. If you have registered an account on our website, we provide you with tools and account settings to access, correct, delete, or modify the personal data you provided to us and associated with your account. You can request for downloading your account information, including the scores you achieved as you progressed through the course. You also can request correction, deletion, or modification of your personal data.

Your request and choices may be limited in certain cases: for example, if fulfilling your request would reveal information about another person, or if you ask to delete information which we or your administrator are permitted by law or have compelling legitimate interests to keep. Where you have asked us to share data with third parties, for example, by installing third-party apps, you will need to contact those third-party service providers directly to have your information deleted or otherwise restricted.

3.2 Deletion of Your Personal Data

You can request for your account deletion. This will include personal data, created content, logs, etc… Cookies should be deleted from your side. Almost all browsers have an option to delete cookies.

3.3 Restrict Processing

3.3.1 Request that we stop using your information: In some cases, you may ask us to stop accessing, storing, using and otherwise processing your information where you believe we don’t have the appropriate rights to do so. For example, if you believe a community account was created for you without your permission or you are no longer an active user, you can request that we delete your account (contact us). Where you gave us consent to use your information for a limited purpose, you can contact us to withdraw that consent, but this will not affect any processing that has already taken place at the time. When you make such requests, we may need time to investigate and facilitate your request. If there is delay or dispute as to whether we have the right to continue using your information, we will restrict any further use of your information until the request is honoured or the dispute is resolved.

3.4 Data Portability

Data portability is the ability to obtain some of your information in a format you can keep in your devices or share with other communities. Depending on the context, this applies to some, but not all, of your information. Should you request it, we will provide you with an electronic file of your basic account information and the scores you achieved as you progressed through the course.

4. How we Store and Secure Information we Collect

We use data hosting service providers to host the information we collect, and we use technical measures to secure your data. While we implement safeguards designed to protect your information, no security system is impenetrable and due to the inherent nature of the Internet, we cannot guarantee that data, during transmission through the Internet or while stored on our systems or otherwise in our care, is absolutely safe from intrusion by others.

5. Children and Our Website

Our website is not directed at children, and you may not use our services if you are under the age of 16. You must also be old enough to consent to the processing of your personal data in your country (in some countries we may allow your parent or guardian to do so on your behalf).

6. Online Privacy Policy Only

This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.

7. Your Consent to this Policy

By using our site, you consent to our Privacy Policy.

8. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the ‘Effective’ date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us.