Privacy Policy

Updated: 2nd August 2023

INTRODUCTION

This privacy policy (the Policy) relates to your personal data in connection with your use of and access to our social planning application ‘Gather’ (the Gather App) (currently a web app available at https://app.gather-app.co) as well as our website (available at https://www.gather-app.co) and any related website, subdomain or other software application operated by us (all of this together forming the Platform).  

We are committed to protecting your Information and your right to privacy.  If you have any questions or concerns about our policy, or our practices with regards to your personal information, please contact us at team@gather-app.co.

When you use the Platform, you trust us with your information. We take your privacy very seriously. We want to explain in the clearest way possible what information we collect, how we use it and what rights you have in relation to it. We hope you take some time to read through it carefully, as it is important. If there are any terms in this Policy that you do not agree with, please discontinue use of the Platform.

CHANGES TO THE POLICY OR YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We review the Policy regularly and it is your responsibility to check regularly and determine whether this Policy has changed.  If you do not agree to any change to the Policy then you must immediately stop using the Platform.  In the event we make any significant changes to the Policy we will use our best endeavours to inform you of such changes in advance in writing.

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes  - for example, if you change your email address.

ABOUT US

The Platform is owned and operated by Gather Events Ltd (trading as Gather), a company registered in England and Wales with company number 14666450 whose registered office is situated at 97C, Dalyell Road, London, United Kingdom, SW9 9UR (Gather/we/us/our). Gather is the controller (also known as a data controller) and is responsible for your personal data.  The term “you” refers to the user wishing to access and/or use the Platform. 

Gather is a social planning app. Users who register an account (a Registered User) can organise social gatherings (Gathers) with other Registered Users.

Registered Users can set up groups (Gather Groups) and invite other Registered Users to those Gather Groups. They can also invite a non-Gather user (an External Individual) to Gather Groups through a link via other communication platforms,  for example, by SMS text message. 

When two Registered Users are in the same Gather Group, they can see some limited information about each other, including first name, last name and profile picture. They can also see how other Registered Users in the Gather Group vote on dates for Gathers being organised. 

INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT ABOUT YOU

Personal information you disclose to us

In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us including information such as your name, location of your home and work, and email address.

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when registering and using the Platform, or otherwise contacting us. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions, the choices you make and the products and features you use. When you use the Platform and/or when you otherwise deal with us, we may collect the following information about you (the Information):

  • personal information including your first and last name and a photograph;

  • contact information including your email address and phone number;

  • if you sign up to the Platform through a third-party account or social networking service (such as Facebook, Apple or Google, each a Social Login, we may extract information from your applicable Social Login account (for example your name, email address, photograph, event and activity information and other personal information that your privacy settings on the Social Login account may permit us to access);

  • information about your connections and contacts when you connect with other Registered Users or External Individuals or invite them to attend the events which you organise through the Platform;

  • Information about the location of your home and workplace (which you can choose to share with us) so that we can find convenient locations for the Gathers for your Gather Groups

  • photo, video, documents and other digital media information which you upload from your phone’s gallery (if you give us your explicit consent) or take and upload with your phone’s camera (if you give us your explicit consent)

  • information obtained through our correspondence and monitoring; and

  • other information relevant to services, customer surveys and/or offers.

Information automatically collected

In Short: Some information – such as IP address and/or browser and device characteristics – is collected automatically when you visit the Platform.

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use or navigate the Platform. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use the Platform and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of the Platform, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.

Like many businesses, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies.

Occasionally we may receive information about you from other sources, for example from other users of the Platform who provide your contact details to us when creating or managing their events through the Platform. If so, we will add this information to the Information we already hold about you in order to help us carry out the activities listed below.

Information collected through the Gather website

In Short: We collect certain personal data and use cookies to make our website function securely and to power our website analytics.

This website collects personal data to power our site analytics, including:

  • Information about your browser, network, and device

  • Web pages you visited prior to coming to this website

  • Your IP address

This information may also include details about your use of this website, including:

  • Clicks

  • Internal links

  • Pages visited

  • Scrolling

  • Searches

  • Timestamps

We share this information with Squarespace, our website analytics provider, to learn about site traffic and activity.

This website uses cookies and similar technologies, which are small files or pieces of text that download to a device when a visitor accesses a website or app. For information about viewing the cookies dropped on your device, visit The cookies Squarespace uses.

How do we use your information?

In Short: We process your Information for purposes based on legitimate business interests, the fulfilment of our contract with you, compliance with our legal obligations, and/or your consent.

We use your Information collected via the Platform for a variety of business purposes described below. We process your Information for these purposes in reliance on our legitimate business interests (Business Purposes), in order to enter into or perform a contract with you (Contractual), with your consent (Consent), and/or for compliance with our legal obligations (Legal Obligations). We indicate the specific processing grounds we rely on next to each purpose listed below.

We may process your Information for the following purposes:

  • to operate, administer, maintain, provide, analyse and improve the Platform and the services available through the Platform;

  • to investigate and address any comments, queries or complaints made by you regarding the Platform, and any similar or related comments, queries or complaints from other users;

  • to ensure that content on the Platform is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your device;

  • to conduct research, statistical analysis and behavioural analysis (including anonymising data for these purposes) and to provide insights based on aggregated, anonymous data collected through the research and analysis;

  • to allow you to participate in interactive features on the Platform, including inputting information and providing feedback;

  • to contact you for marketing purposes;

  • to disclose your Information to selected third parties as permitted by this policy;

  • to notify you about changes to the Platform; and

  • to comply with our Legal Obligations, including obligations relating to the protection of your Information.​

Will your information be shared with anyone?

In Short: We only share information to comply with Legal Obligations, to protect your rights,  fulfil our business obligations to you or with your Consent.

We only share and disclose your Information in the following situations:

  • Compliance with Legal Obligations. We may disclose your Information where we are legally required to do so in order to comply with applicable law, governmental requests, a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process, such as in response to a court order or a subpoena (including in response to public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements).

  • Vital Interests. We may disclose your Information where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding potential violations of our policies, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person and illegal activities, or as evidence in litigation in which we are involved.

  • Third-Party Service Providers. We may share your Information with third-party vendors, service providers, contractors or agents who perform services and require access to such information to do that work. Examples include: data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, customer service and marketing efforts. They will only have access to your Information to the extent that they need to perform those services. They are required to keep your Information confidential and may not use it other than as we ask them to and always in accordance with this Policy.

  • Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your Information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.

  • Business Partners. Provided you have given us Consent to do so we may share your Information with our business partners to offer you certain products, services or promotions.

  • With your Consent. We may disclose your Information for any other purpose with your Consent.

  • Other Registered Users. We’ll disclose your first name, last name and photograph to other Registered Users with whom you are in a Gather Group.

We may disclose aggregated, anonymous information (i.e. information from which you cannot be personally identified), or insights based on such anonymous information, to selected third parties, including (without limitation) analytics and search engine providers to assist us in the improvement and optimisation of the Platform. In such circumstances we do not disclose any information which can identify you personally.

Is your information transferred internationally?

In Short: We may transfer, store, and process your Information in countries other than your own but will take all reasonable steps to ensure it is protected.

Whenever we transfer your Information outside of the UK, we will take all reasonable measures that we can to protect your Information in accordance with this Policy and applicable law.  To the extent that any transfer requires approved safeguards are in place (for example if transferring outside of the European Economic Area that the EU model contract clauses or if to the USA that the entity it is transferred to is EU/US Privacy Shield registered) we will ensure these measures are in place.

Third-party websites

In Short: We are not responsible for the safety of any information that you share with third-party providers who feature or advertise, but are not affiliated with, the Platform.

The Platform may feature links to third-party websites or contain advertisements from third parties that are not affiliated with us and which may link to other websites, online services or mobile applications. We cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of data you provide to any third parties. Any data collected by third parties is not covered by this Policy. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of any third parties, including other websites, services or applications that may be linked to or from the Platform. You should review the policies of such third parties and contact them directly to respond to your questions.

How long do we keep your information?

In Short: We keep your Information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Policy unless otherwise required by law.

We will only keep your Information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting or other legal requirements).

When we have no ongoing Business Purpose to process your Information, we will either delete or anonymize it, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your Information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your Information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

How do we keep your information safe?

In Short: We aim to protect your Information through a system of organisational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, please also remember that we cannot guarantee that the internet itself is 100% secure. Although we will do our best to protect your Information, transmission of personal information to and from the Platform is at your own risk. You should only access our services within a secure environment.

Do we collect information from minors?

In Short: We take steps to ensure that the Platform are only used by those over 12 years of age and we do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 12 years of age.

We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 12 years of age. By using the Platform, you represent that you are at least 12 years of age. If we learn that personal information from users less than 12 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we have collected from children under age 12, please contact us at team@gather-app.co.

Your Consent to processing

You will be required to give Consent to certain processing activities before we can process your Information. Where applicable, we will seek Consent from you when you first submit Information to or through the Platform.

If you have previously given your Consent you may freely withdraw such Consent at any time. You can do this by emailing team@gather-app.co.

If you withdraw your Consent, and if we do not have another legal basis for processing your Information, then we will stop processing your Information. If we do have another legal basis for processing your Information, then we may continue to do so subject to your legal rights.

Please note that if we need to process your Information in order for you to use the Platform and you object or do not provide Consent to us processing your Information, the Platform will not be available to you.

Marketing and opting out

If you have given Consent to marketing we may contact you about our products, services, promotions and special offers.  If you no longer wish to receive such information you can withdraw your Consent at any time by sending an email to team@gather-app.co or unsubscribing from the communications.

Account Information

You may at any time review or change the information in your account. You may change your details on your My Profile tab in the Gather App. 

If you wish to terminate your account you must click on the “Delete Account” button on the My Profile tab in the Gather App.  Some information may be retained in our files to prevent fraud, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our Terms of Service and/or comply with legal requirements.

What are your privacy rights?

In Short: You have certain rights in respect of your Information.

You have certain rights under applicable data protection laws. These may include the right (i) to request access and obtain a copy of your Information, (ii) to request rectification or erasure of your Information; (iii) to restrict the processing of your Information; and (iv) if applicable, to data portability. In certain circumstances, you may also have the right to object to the processing of your Information. To make any requests, please contact us at team@gather-app.co. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

We may need to request specific information from you to help confirm your identity and ensure your  right to access your Information (or to exercise any of your other rights).  This is a security measure to ensure that your Information is not disclosed to a person who does not have the right to receive it.  We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up your response.

If we are relying on Consent to process your Information, you have the right to withdraw your Consent at any time. Please note however that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal.

ACCESSIBILITY

This Policy aims to provide you with all relevant details about how we process your Information in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language. If you have any difficulty in reading or understanding this Policy, or if you would like this Policy in another format (for example audio, large print or braille), please get in touch with us.

CONTACT US

We welcome your feedback and questions on this Policy. If you wish to contact us please email us at team@gather-app.co.

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (the ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (https://ico.org.uk/concerns/). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please do contact us in the first instance.