Privacy policy

This policy (together with our terms of use (http://www.ox.ac.uk/legal) and any other documents referred to in it) describes how we collect and use your personal data during your use of the History of Science Museum website (https://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk) in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and implementing national legislation.

A   Who is using your personal data?

The University of Oxford* is the “data controller" for the information that we collect when you visit the website. This means that we decide how to use it and are responsible for looking after it in accordance with the GDPR.

Access to your personal data within the University will be provided to those staff who need to view it as part of their work in connection with the operation of the website. It will also be shared with the third parties described in Section E.

Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. We may update this policy at any time.

By visiting our site you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.

B   Glossary

Where we refer in this policy to your ‘personal data’, we mean any recorded information that is about you and from which you can be identified. It does not include data where your identity has been removed (anonymous data).

Where we refer to the ‘processing’ of your personal data, we mean anything that we do with that information, including collection, use, storage, disclosure or retention.

C   Types of data we collect about you

We will automatically collect, store, and use the following categories of data when you browse and search our site, if you have consented to our use of cookies:

• technical information, for example, the type of device (and its unique device identifier) you use to access our site, the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your device to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system, mobile network information and platform; and

• information about your visit to our site including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL), clickstream to, through and from the website (including date and time), pages you viewed, page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page.

D   How we use your data   

We process your data for purposes arising from your use of the website, for example, to ensure that we understand who uses our site and how our site is used and to improve our site and ensure it is secure. This processing occurs because it is necessary to meet our legitimate interests in operating and improving the website, analysing its use, and ensuring its security.

We will only use your data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another related reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will seek your consent to use it for that new purpose.

E   Sharing your data with third parties

We may share your data with third parties who provide services on our behalf, such as for administrative purposes. All our third-party service providers are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your data in line with our policies. We do not allow them to use your data for their own purposes. We permit them to process your data only for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

We may also share your personal data with third parties if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our site terms of use or to protect the rights, property or safety of our site, our users, and others. Where your data is shared with third parties, we will seek to share the minimum amount necessary.

F   Where we store or use your data

We may store data collected by the website manually or electronically. The data is stored on our secure servers and/or in our premises within the UK.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to the website and any transmission is at your own risk.

G   Third party websites

Our site contains links to and from various third party websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

H   Retaining your data

We will only retain your data for as long as we need it to fulfil our purposes, including any relating to legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

I   Your rights

Information on your rights in relation to your personal data are explained here (http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/councilsec/compliance/gdpr/individualrights/). 

J   Cookies

Our site uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our site. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our site and also allows us to improve our site. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them see our Cookie policy (https://oxfordmosaic.web.ox.ac.uk/platform-privacy).

K   Changes to this policy

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.

L   Contact

If you wish to raise any queries or concerns about this privacy policy please contact us at data.protection@glam.ox.ac.uk or Data protection, Clarendon Building, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BG.

*The University’s legal title is the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford.