Privacy policy

Last updated June 23, 2020

Courier Media (“Courier” “us” “we” or “our”) recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy of your personal information. We provide you with this Privacy Notice to explain who we are, how we collect, share, and use personal information, and how you can exercise your privacy and data-related rights. This Privacy Notice applies to any interaction with us, our website, located at couriermedia.com, (our “Site”), email newsletters, subscriptions, media content, our other product offerings, and any other site or service that displays this Privacy Notice (collectively, our “Services”). We recommend that you read this Privacy Notice in full to ensure you are fully informed.

If you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal information, then please contact us using the contact details provided below under the section titled “Question & Concerns.”

1. About Us

Courier is a media brand focused on startup culture and modern business. We’ve been telling insightful and inspiring stories of modern business through print, email, podcasts, events and more since launching in 2013. We provide content through our Site, weekly email newsletters, social media pages, podcasts, and print publications.

Courier is operated by Courier Holdings, Ltd., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a Mailchimp. Courier is headquartered and located in London, United Kingdom.

2. Information We Collect

The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us, your account settings, and your subscription preferences. The personal information we collect broadly falls into the following categories:

Information You Provide to Us. When you interact with us or our Services, you may provide certain personal information to us voluntarily. For example, when you use our Site, sign up for a Courier account, subscribe to or purchase one of our publications, send us an email, or communicate with us in any other way.

This information may include:

• Contact information (such as your name, phone number, email address, postal address);
• Nature of your communication;
• Marketing information (such as your contact preferences) if you sign up for our marketing communications;
• Account credentials when you sign up for an account with us;
• Payment information (such as your credit card number and expiration date, where appropriate) to process a financial transaction you have requested; and
• Any other information you choose to provide to us;

Information We Collect Automatically. In addition to the information you provide to us directly, we automatically collect certain information about your use of our Services. This information may include:

Device information: such as your IP address, browser, device information, unique device identifiers, mobile network information, operating system version, and settings of the device you use to access the Services.

Usage data: such as information about the time and duration of your use of the Services and other information about your interaction with content offered through the Services, and any information stored using cookies, mobile ad identifiers, and similar technologies that we have set on your device.

Location information: such as your computer’s IP address.

We and our service providers (which are third-party companies that work on our behalf) may use cookies and similar technologies to collect this information. In some countries, including the United Kingdom and countries in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), this information may be considered personal information under applicable data protection laws. Our use of cookies and other tracking technologies is discussed in more detail below and in our Cookie Statement available here.

Information We Collect From Other Sources. From time to time, we may obtain information about you from publicly and commercially available sources, as permitted by law, which we may combine with other information we receive from or about you. For example, we may obtain information about you from social media platforms or third-party data providers for our own research and marketing purposes.

Other Information We Collect. We also may collect other information about you, your device, or your use of the Services in ways that we describe to you at the point of collection or otherwise with your consent. You may choose not to provide us with certain types of information but doing so may affect your ability to use some of the Services.

3. Use of Personal Information

We may use the personal information we collect through our Site and in connection with our Services for a range of reasons, including:

• To provide and manage the Services you request. This may include, for example, processing your subscription, setting up your online account, sending you publications or content you have requested or subscribed to, managing event registration and attendance, responding to your questions and providing customer service, and enabling you to participate in features provided by the Services. It also includes providing personalised or relevant content and recommendations to you, including by email, in order to bring you information and content tailored to your interests.
• To contact you. This may include contacting you (including by email, phone, or SMS) with content or information about the Services in connection with your account, online surveys, legal notices, new features, offers, news stories, or marketing information in accordance with your marketing preferences. You may opt out of receiving promotional or marketing emails from us by following the instructions contained in those emails or by contacting us using the contact details provided below under the section titled “Question & Concerns”.
• To maintain and optimize the Site and Services. This may include using information collected to improve the navigation and content, identify any server, IT, or network issues, resolve technical issues, facilitate the security of the Site, and compile aggregated statistics about site usage to better understand the preferences of our Site visitors. We may use information to measure the placement, frequency, and efficacy of our Services or advertising and marketing efforts.
• To better understand our readers and users. We may conduct research on our users’ demographics, interests and behavior based on the information we collect. We do this to better understand and serve our users, and to improve our Services.
• To comply with our legal obligations and protect our rights. This may include using personal information to cooperate with public and government authorities, courts, or regulators, in accordance with our legal obligations under applicable law; enforce compliance with our Terms and Conditions; provide information to representatives and advisors to comply with legal, accounting, or security requirements; protect our rights or as necessary for our legitimate interest in protecting against misuse or abuse of our Site and Services; protect personal property or safety; or pursue remedies available to us, including prosecuting or defending a court, arbitration, or legal proceeding, and limiting our damages, or responding to lawful requests.
• To deliver targeted advertising. This may include using personal information to advertise to you on third party sites, provide personalized information about us on and off our Site, and to provide other personalized content and advertising to you through our Services based on your activities and interests.
• With your consent. We may otherwise use your information with your consent or at your direction.

4. How We Share Information

We may share and disclose your personal information to the following types of third parties for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. California consumers, please see our California Privacy section, below, for additional detail regarding how we share personal information.

Related Companies. We may share information with our affiliates or related companies such as The Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a Mailchimp. You can learn more about Mailchimp and its privacy practices here.

Service Providers. We share your information with our third-party service providers working on our behalf for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. For example, companies we’ve hired to help us provide and support our Services or assist in protecting and securing our systems and Services and other business-related functions. We use third parties for secure credit card transaction processing, and those third parties collect billing information to process your orders and credit card payments. To learn more about the steps we take to safeguard that data, see the “Security” section of this Privacy Notice. We use Mailchimp for our email communications and marketing. You can learn more about Mailchimp and its privacy practices here.

Third Parties that Provide Content, Advertising, or Functionality. When you use our Services, we and third parties may collect or receive certain information about you and/or your use of the Services, including through the use of cookies and similar technologies in order to provide content, advertising, or functionality. This information may be combined with information collected across different websites, online services, and other linked or associated devices. These third parties may use your information to improve their own services consistent with their own privacy policies. For more information, please see our Cookie Statement available here.

Other Parties in Connection With a Corporate Transaction. We reserve the right to share or transfer any information to a potential buyer (and its agents and advisors) in the case of a sale, merger, consolidation, liquidation, reorganization, or acquisition. In that event, any acquirer will be subject to our obligations under this Privacy Notice including your rights to access and choice.

Other Parties When Required by Law or as Necessary to Protect our Users and Services. We may share your information to comply with any competent law enforcement body, regulatory body, government agency, court or other third party where we believe disclosure is necessary, as a matter of applicable law or regulation, to exercise, establish, or defend our legal rights, or to protect your vital interests or those of any other person.

Otherwise with Your Consent or At Your Direction. We may share information about you with third parties whenever you consent to or direct such sharing.

5. Third-Party Platforms and Websites

Social media platforms and widgets. Our Site includes social media widgets that link to our social media pages. These features may collect information about your IP address and which page you are visiting on our Site, and they may set a cookie to make sure the feature functions properly. Social media features and widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our Site. We also maintain presences on social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Your use of those third party platforms are governed by the privacy policies of the companies that provide them.

Links to third-party websites. The Site may include links to other websites whose privacy practices may differ from ours. If you submit personal information to any of those sites, your information is governed by their privacy policies. Courier is not responsible for the actions of third party sites or companies and their use of information that you provide to them. We encourage you to carefully read the privacy policy of any third party website you visit.

6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files stored on your internet browser. We and our third party partners and analytics service providers use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect and use personal information about you, to maintain and improve the functionality of the Site and Services, and to serve interest-based advertising. For further information about the types of cookies and tracking technologies we use, why, and how you can disable them, please see our Cookie Statement available here.

7. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the country in which you reside, you may have the following data protection rights:

• To access; correct; update; port; delete; restrict or object to our processing of your personal information. You can exercise these rights by emailing privacy@couriermedia.com.
• Similarly, if we have collected and processed your personal information with your consent, then you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
• You can also opt-out of marketing communications we send you at any time.
• We hope that we can satisfy any concerns you have about the way we process your personal information. However, if you have unresolved concerns about our collection and use of your personal information you may also have the right to complain to a data protection authority. For more information, please contact your local data protection authority. Contact details for the UK Information Commissioner’s Office are available here.

We respond to all requests we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws. We may ask you to verify your identity in order to help us respond to your request.

8. Your Choices & Opt-Outs

You can opt out of receiving marketing emails from us at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of our marketing emails.

Also, opt-out requests can be made by emailing us using the contact details provided in the “Questions & Concerns” section below. Please note that some communications (such as service messages, account notifications, billing information) are considered transactional and necessary for subscription management and you will continue to receive these messages unless and until you cancel your subscription.

9. Security

We take appropriate and reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect your personal information. These measures we use are designed to provide a level of security that is appropriate, taking into account the risks involved in the processing and the nature of the personal information.

10. Legal Basis for Processing

If you are based in the UK or the European Economic Area, our legal basis for collecting and using the personal information described in this Privacy Notice will depend on the personal information concerned and the specific context in which we collect it.  We normally process personal information on the following legal bases: (1) with your consent; (2) as necessary to perform a contract with you to provide our Services to you; (3) as necessary for our legitimate interests in providing the Services where those interests do not override your fundamental rights and freedoms related to data privacy; and (4) to comply with our legal obligations.

If you have questions or need further information concerning the legal bases on which we collect and use your personal information, please contact us using the contact details provided in the “Questions & Concerns” section below.

11. International Transfers

Courier is located in the United Kingdom. Personal information we collect may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United Kingdom or any other country in which we or our related companies, affiliates, or processors maintain facilities. We will ensure that any transfers of personal information outside the United Kingdom are subject to appropriate safeguards. If you would like further information or have questions, please contact us at privacy@couriermedia.com.

12. California Privacy

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) provides California consumers (as defined by the CCPA) with specific rights regarding their personal information. California consumers have the right to request that businesses subject to the CCPA disclose certain information about their collection, use, and sharing of your California personal information over the past 12 months. A description of the categories of information we collect and the categories of sources we collect information from can be found under the section above headed “Information We Collect.” Additionally, a description of the purposes for our use of personal information can be found in the section above headed “Use of Personal Information.”

Under the CCPA, California consumers may also ask a business to disclose specific pieces of personal information that the business has collected about the consumer. If the business sells personal information, California consumers have a right to opt-out of that sale. Finally, a business cannot discriminate against California consumers for exercising a CCPA right.

In addition, California consumers have the right to ask such businesses to delete personal information collected from California consumers, subject to certain exceptions as required or permitted by applicable law.

Please direct any such rights requests or additional questions that you may have regarding this Privacy Notice to privacy@couriermedia.com. If you choose to make a request, you may authorize an agent to make such a request on your behalf.  We will seek to verify your identity and your agent’s authority when we receive an individual rights request from you or on your behalf to ensure the security of your personal information. Generally, we will match information that you provide to us with information stored in our systems to verify your identity, so we may need to collect additional personal information to verify your identity and complete your request.

Under the CCPA, California consumers may also ask us for details about how we collect, use, and share your personal information.  You may also request to receive the specific pieces of personal information that we have collected about you.

Courier does not, and does not intend to, sell personal information (as “sale” is defined by the CCPA) and we do not have actual knowledge that we sell the personal information of consumers under 16 years old. The CCPA currently exempts personal information reflecting a written or verbal business-to-business communication (“B2B Personal Information”) from certain of the law’s requirements, and also currently exempts personal information collected and used about a natural person acting as a business’s employee or contractor (“Personnel Information”). The rights described in this section may not apply to B2B Personal Information or Personnel Information.

Consistent with California law, if you choose to exercise your applicable CCPA rights, we won’t charge you different prices or provide you with a different quality of services. If we ever offer a financial incentive or product enhancement that is contingent upon you providing your personal information, we will not do so unless the benefits to you are reasonably related to the value of the personal information that you provide to us. Over the past 12 months, we have disclosed the following categories of personal information for our business purposes to the following categories of recipients:

• Contact Information, Professional Information, Communication History (disclosed to our related companies, affiliates, and service provider vendors such as those described above in the section titled “How We Share Information”).
• Payment information (disclosed to payment processors).
• Device information, usage data, and location information (may be disclosed to related companies, affiliates, IT support vendors and advertising and analytics providers as described above in the section titled “How We Share Information”).

13. Do Not Track

Certain laws require us to indicate whether we honor “Do Not Track” settings in your browser. Courier adheres to the standards set out in this Privacy Notice and does not monitor or follow any Do Not Track browser requests.

14. Retention of Data

We retain personal information for as long as we need it for a legitimate business or legal need to do so. Our retention periods will vary depending on the type of data involved, but, generally, we refer to these criteria in order to determine retention period:

• Whether we have a legal or contractual need to retain the data.
• Whether the data is necessary to provide our Services or the Site.
• Whether the data is necessary to carry out a transaction you have requested.

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it.

15. Changes to this Policy

We may modify this Privacy Notice at any time. The most recent version of the Privacy Notice is reflected by the date located at the top of this Privacy Notice. All updates and amendments are effective immediately upon notice, which we may give by any reasonable means, including, but not limited to, by posting a revised version of this Privacy Notice or other notice on the Site.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Notice often to stay informed of changes that may affect you.

16. Questions & Concerns

If you have any questions or comments, or if you have a concern about the way in which we collect and process your personal information, please email us at privacy@couriermedia.com. You may also contact us by postal mail.

Courier Media 211 Hackney Road London, E2 8NA United Kingdom privacy@couriermedia.com

For the purposes of UK and EU data protection legislation, Courier Holdings Ltd. d/b/a Courier Media is the controller of your personal information.