Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 November 2023

Our mastodon instance (backpacklife.social) has additional information regarding its operation at backpacklife.social/privacy-policy

  1. ABOUT THIS PRIVACY POLICY
    1. The website backpacklife.com (the Site) is operated by WE ARE HERE LIMITED (“we”, “us”, “our”), a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 06830881.
    2. We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with our data protection obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 (the DPA 2018), the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the UK GDPR) and any other applicable UK legislation (together, Data Protection Law).
    3. When you interact with us or use the Site, we act as the data controller of your personal data. This means that we are responsible for processing your personal data and deciding how to use it. This privacy policy explains the types of personal data we may collect about you when you interact with us, why we collect it, what we use it for and what rights you have over that data. Personal data is any information about an identifiable person. Processing is anything we do with your personal data, including using, storing, sharing and deleting it.
    4. This policy was last updated on the date shown at the top. We may change this policy at any time by posting an updated version on the Site and will make reasonable efforts to bring any material changes to your attention. You may wish to check it before using the Site as any changes will be effective from the date that they are made. 
  1. CONTACT INFORMATION
    1. If you have any concerns or would like further information about our use of data or this policy in general, you can contact us at contact@backpacklife.com 
  2. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
    1. We collect, store and use the types of personal data set out in the table at the end of this policy.
  3. HOW WILL WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
    1. We will use your personal data for the purposes set out in the table at the end of this policy.
  4. HOW DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
    1. When we share personal data, we do so in accordance with Data Protection Law. We may share certain personal data, where necessary, with employees, contractors, consultants or advisers, to facilitate sales and for general commercial purposes.

In addition, where necessary, your personal data may be shared:

  1. with parties who provide products or services to us, such as software development, data hosting, user analytics, email services, payment processing, advertising, user notification and feedback functionality, delivery couriers, marketing companies and data insight companies etc.
  2. if the company or business is sold, transferred or integrated with another business, with our advisers, a prospective purchaser, a prospective purchaser’s advisers or the new owner of the company or business to facilitate the process.
  3. We may also provide third parties with aggregated but anonymised information and analytics about our customers. Before we do so we will make sure that it does not identify you.
  4. In some cases when we share personal data, it will involve the transfer of that personal data to countries outside the UK which have different data protection standards to those which apply in the UK.
  5. Where we transfer personal data outside the UK, we will ensure that there are adequate safeguards to protect your privacy rights under Data Protection Law. You can request a copy of the safeguards we have put in place by contacting us using the details in paragraph 2 above. 
  6. THIRD PARTY LINKS
    1. This Site may contain links to other websites over which we have no control. We are not responsible for and do not review or endorse the privacy policies or practices of other websites which you choose to access from this Site. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of those other websites, so you can understand how they collect, use and share your personal information.
  7. YOUR RIGHTS
    1. We respect your rights to privacy and will respond to requests for access or control over information about you in accordance with Data Protection Law. We may require you to verify your identity before we take any action.
    2. Depending on the reason we have your personal data, you have a right to:
      1. access the personal information we hold about you (commonly known as subject access);
      2. request that we correct or complete personal information we hold about you that is inaccurate or incomplete; 
      3. request that we erase your personal information in some circumstances, or object to our processing it as detailed at paragraph 7.5; 
      4. restrict how we use your personal information, in certain circumstances; 
      5. request that we provide you with copies of your personal information in a machine-readable format or transfer it across different services; and
      6. where we have asked for your consent to process your data, to withdraw this consent.
    3. These rights are limited in some situations under Data Protection Law – for example, where we can demonstrate that we are under a legal obligation to process your data.
    4. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in paragraph 2 above.
    5. Your right to object 

You have a right to object to our processing of your personal data and ask us to stop doing so. If we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes (which includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing) and you object to this, we will stop processing your personal data immediately.

If our processing of your personal data is in the public interest or pursuant to our legitimate interests and you object to this, we will stop processing your personal data unless we have compelling reasons which override your interests, or our use of your personal data is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

  1. We hope that we can satisfy any queries you may have about the way we process your data. However, if you have unresolved concerns you also have the right to complain to data protection authorities (in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office). You can call the ICO on 0303 123 1113 or go to their website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/).
  2. DATA RETENTION
    1. Your personal data will only be kept for as long as necessary for our purposes. Specific retention periods are set out in the table at the end of this policy.
    2. At the end of the specified retention periods, your personal data will either be securely destroyed or anonymised, unless we are required to keep it to comply with our legal obligations.
  3. DATA PROTECTION PRINCIPLES
    1. We process your personal data in accordance with the following principles:
      1. we process your personal data lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way; 
      2. we collect your personal data for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes; any further processing we do is compatible with the original purposes for which we collected it;
      3. we only process personal data that is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it is processed; 
      4. we take reasonable steps to ensure that all personal data is accurate and kept up to date where necessary;
      5. we do not store personal data in a form that identifies you for any longer than is necessary for the purposes of our processing; and
      6. we process personal data securely and in a way that protects against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. 
    2. When we ask for your personal data we will tell you whether you are required by law or contract to provide it, and what will happen if you do not provide the data.  
    3. Any request for consent to the processing of your personal data will be made directly to you and will include information about why we require the personal data and what will be done with it.
  4. WHAT IS OUR LAWFUL BASIS FOR PROCESSING?
    1. We will only process personal data when we have a lawful basis for doing that processing. The table at the end of this policy sets out the lawful basis we rely on for each type of data we process.
    2. We will choose one of the lawful bases in the UK GDPR to justify how we use your personal data. These are:
      1. Consent: You have given consent to the processing of your personal data for one or more specific purposes. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, as detailed in paragraph 7.2.
      2. Contract: The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
      3. Legal obligation: We need to process your personal data to comply with a legal obligation.
      4. Vital interests: The processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of you or another person.
      5. Public interest: Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of some official authority.
      6. Legitimate interests: Processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by us or someone else, except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms requiring the protection of your personal data.

TABLE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION WE USE

The table below sets out detailed information about the types of personal information we collect, our purposes for processing, the basis for processing and the retention period for the personal data.

Category of personal data
Purpose of processing
Lawful basis for processing
Retention period
Name and contact detailsTo deliver your purchases to you      To send you order updates      For fraud prevention and detection      To contact you with information, newsletters and marketing materials about our products and services     Performance of contract
Compliance with legal obligation
Consent
For three years since you gave consent, or until you withdraw consent if earlier     
Payment informationTo take payments and give refunds      For fraud prevention and detection     Performance of contract
Compliance with legal obligation
For three years since you last logged on to the Site     
Saved items in online shopping basketTo sell products and services to you     Performance of contractUntil you complete your order or for seven days after the item is saved     
Purchase historyTo provide customer service support and handle returns      To find out what products you like     Performance of contract
Consent
For three years since you gave consent, or until you withdraw consent if earlier.     
Browser, device and Site usage informationTo improve the site      To protect the Site against fraud      To set default options for you, such as language and currency     Performance of contract
Legitimate interest in maintaining our Site
For three years since you last logged on to the Site     
Information from linked accountsTo enable you to log on to the Site simply without having to create a specific account     Legitimate interest in providing high quality customer serviceFor three years since you last logged on to the Site     
Responses to surveys, competitions and promotionsTo run the survey, competition or promotion     Performance of contract
Legitimate interest in administering and/or improving our products and services generally
For six years     
Customer comments and product reviewsTo improve our products and services      Where relevant, to establish, exercise or defend legal claims     Performance of contract
Legitimate interest in dealing with complaints or claims and improving our products and/or services generally
For six years     
Information generated in the course of the use of our products and servicesFor internal research and development purposes      To improve and test the features and functions of our Site     Performance of contract
Legitimate interest in maintaining our Site and improving our products and/or services generally
For four years     
Information collected through cookies and similar technologiesTo conduct and store Site usage analytics, statistical and trend analysis and market research      To generate customer profiles to facilitate marketing initiatives     
ConsentFor three years since you gave consent, or until you withdraw consent if earlier     
LocationPhotos and other content submitted to the site may contain information about the users location at the time of taking.ConsentUntil the user requests removal