This privacy notice covers personal information collected via University of Aberdeen web services under abdn.ac.uk.
We use your information to:
- enable us to supply you with goods, services and information you have requested through the University website; for example, as part of a course application process; registering for an event, or by contacting members of University staff
- ensure that content from the website is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your device
- administer, support, improve and develop the University website via analytics. Please see the Analytics section below for more information.
The University also manages various University of Aberdeen social media accounts. Please see the section on Social Media below.
Our legal basis for collecting your information
The relevant legal basis will be given in the relevant privacy notice, as the legal basis under UK GDPR can change, depending on why we are collecting your personal information. Please refer to the appropriate privacy notice.
Storing your information
Our webservers are based in the UK, however we also collect personal data via a number of third parties including GeckoEngage, Blackbaud's NetCommunity, Freshservice, Microsoft 365 and others. Where a third party has been used to collect personal information, your information may be stored outside the UK. We have agreements in place with such third parties to safeguard your information and to ensure it is only used for the purposes for which it has been collected.
Information we gather via our website is securely transmitted. Once we have received your information, we use strict procedures and security features to prevent unauthorised access.
How long your information is kept
How long we keep your information depends on the purpose for which it was supplied. Please refer to the relevant privacy notice that will explain how long your personal data will be retained.
Disclosing Information
We will not share, sell or distribute any of the information you provide to us without your consent, except where disclosure is:
- necessary to enforce our rights, including under our website Terms and Conditions of use
- necessary to enforce our rights under any other Terms and Conditions (link) of use or Terms and Conditions of sale of the University or any of its Schools or Directorates.
- required or permitted by law
Ways in which we collect your data
The University's webservers can collect and store any of the following information when a user requests a page via their browser:
- The date and time of connection
- Identification of the files requested
- Whether the request was successful
- The size (in bytes) sent in response
- The referring page (where the user came from), as supplied by the user's browser
- The software used to access the server, as supplied by the user's browser
- The user's Internet protocol (IP) address
Information gathered is used for system administration, identifying broken links, and for producing usage statistics. Logged information is available is 6 months before it is removed.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by the web server via your browser and may be used to collect information to help identify you and prepare customised pages for you. Cookies may remain on your computer either for the duration of the session or indefinitely. You can configure most standard web browsers to refuse cookies. Cookies we use include:
- Strictly Necessary - Strictly necessary cookies are required for the website to work safely and properly in your browser. You can disable these cookies in your browser settings.
- Functional - These are used to remember settings in relation to your use of this website. For example, whether you have seen a pop-up message so that you don't see it every time you visit the website. Such cookies are only used for this specific purpose, and do not contain any personal information.
- Performance - These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don't collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works.
- Social Media Cookies - On some pages we embed content or feeds from e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, YouTube. These external services may place cookies on your device.
- Marketing Cookies - Marketing cookies are used to show you relevant adverts on other websites based on your use of this website.
Users of the University website may accept or reject cookies using the cookie control service where available and/or by using their browser's privacy settings. For further information on how to do this and to see a list of cookies used on our website, please refer to our Cookies webpage.
When you leave our website or click on links that lead to external websites, we are unable to control what cookies are set: you will need to set your cookie preferences for these sites as well.
Web Beacons and Similar Technologies
In certain contexts, the University uses web beacons and similar technologies for marketing purposes. These technologies (also known as "pixel tags", "tracking pixels" or "clear GIFs") retain information in the browser through local objects or storage. Their purpose is to identify users of the site and their behaviour. Information collected may be shared with authorised third-party providers.
Beacons or similar technologies may work in conjunction with cookies and can operate across multiple different web browsers. In some instances, these may not be fully controlled by the browser and may require management directly through installed applications or the device itself.
Third party services
The University also uses certain third-party services on its website. Examples include the NetCommunity service from Blackbaud and Hireserve for recruitment
These services do not log any personal information, unless volunteered by the user.
Analytics
The University use the Analytics service from Google. This service does not collect any personal information.
Examples of information collected by third parties include:
- the Internet Protocol (IP) address
- computer and connection information such as browser type and version, operating system, and platform
- Uniform Resource Locator (URL) click stream data, including date and time, and content viewed or searched for on the site
Web forms
You may occasionally be asked to provide personal information to gain access to specific services. The processing and retention of this information will be explained at the point of collection.
Social Media
The University uses numerous social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Where personal data is collected using these tools it will be processed in accordance with the provider's privacy policy/notice. You may wish to set cookie preferences directly with these services.
On some webpages we embed content or feeds from social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and YouTube. These services may place cookies on your device.
We also use a social media management tool to analyse data and manage content. Please see Brandwatch privacy policy for information on how they process personal data.
Online transactions
All payment transactions will be encrypted.
Areas of the website that process online transactions make use of - and transfer data to - third party software and service providers. All third-party software and service providers that we use are compliant with the relevant Payment Card Industry standards.
Chat
We also collect your personal information if you choose to engage with any of our chat functions.
- Freshservice for the IT Service Desk
- Futr for Recruitment and Enquiries
- Mibew Messenger for student curriculum support
Storing your preferences
We also store certain preferences you have using the site.
When you interact with the website you will be able to set how you want to view some content or whether you would like to permit personalised advertising for courses and open days or see content from companies outside the University. This will be either through the cookie consent banner or from consent requests for specific content on individual pages. These preferences will be stored for a short time.
Queries about how your data is processed can be addressed to the Information Governance Team at dpa@abdn.ac.uk and you can also contact the Information Commission (ICO) for guidance or to raise concern.
For more information about your rights, please visit Your Privacy.