There are two ways to read Mumsnet. Either you can consent to us serving you targeted advertising, or alternatively you can read ad-free and without advertising tracking cookies enabled by subscribing to Mumsnet Premium. All our subscription revenue goes towards Mumsnet’s campaigning work.
The entirety of Mumsnet is free to access if you consent to us processing your personal data for advertising purposes. That means when you provide us with your personal data, you allow us to improve your experience of our products and services.
You can withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on the ‘Privacy Settings’ in the footer of any page. If you do withdraw your consent, the cookie banner will appear again and you will be asked to choose how you would like to browse Mumsnet.
This policy explains the way that we collect, use and protect your data to support Mumsnet, Gransnet and other Mumsnet products and apps (we will refer to this range of products under the name ‘Mumsnet’ throughout this policy), as well as your choices with regard to your data.
We’ve tried to be as clear as we can be and to avoid unnecessary jargon, while including all the relevant information – but please do email [email protected] if anything doesn’t make sense or needs expanding on. Because, by necessity, this is a long document and because we’re all pressed for time, we've summarised the key points – you can click on each one to get more detailed information. Please do read the whole thing if you can.
The data controller of www.mumsnet.com is Mumsnet Ltd, Studios 15-16, Deane House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, London, NW5 1LB. Adam Stokes is our data protection officer and can be contacted at [email protected] or at The Data Protection Officer, Mumsnet Ltd, Studios 15-16, Deane House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, London, NW5 1LB.
Our aims and duty of care
We recognise our duty of care with regards to your data and will always endeavour to do the right thing with the personal data you choose to share with us, including: not compromising your anonymity; protecting your privacy; storing your data securely and giving you control over your own data.
Our mission at Mumsnet is to help make parents’ lives easier. We believe that securing your data, preserving your anonymity, protecting your privacy and giving you control over your data are an important aspect of that mission.
We believe that employing data and data analytics appropriately can improve the user experience on Mumsnet. Data you give us when filling in forms (when joining, for example or when using the site or our apps) helps us show you more relevant things. It also allows us to see which aspects of the site are popular and well-used, meaning we can improve Mumsnet for everyone.
Your data - how we collect it
We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:
Direct interactions. You may give us your personal information when interacting with our websites and products, filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:
register for our products or services;
create an account on our website;
interact with our Message boards and other Communications channels;
subscribe to our service or publications;
request marketing to be sent to you;
pay for Premium product services;
enter a competition, promotion or survey; or
give us some feedback.
Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. We may also receive Technical Data about you if you visit other websites employing our cookies. Please see the Cookie section below for more information.
Your data - what we collect and why
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (i.e ‘Anonymous Data’).
We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:
Identity Data including username or similar identifier, marital status, title, year of birth and sex.
Contact Data including post code or email address.
Financial Data like your banking details is collected and stored by our payment processor, Stripe, when you sign up for any of our Premium services. (See section ‘Mumsnet Premium Subscription’ below).
Technical Data including device identifiers, internet protocol (IP) addresses, cookie identifiers, beacon identifiers, pixel tags or mobile ad identifiers or similar technology, or other forms of persistent or probabilistic identifiers that can be used to identify a particular consumer or device.
Profile Data includes your username and password, your interests, preferences, onsite comments, feedback and survey responses.
Usage Data includes information about how you use our website, products and services.
Electronic Communications Data in the form of emails and interactions with Chatbots.
Marketing Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.
Family and/or Pregnancy Data including details around your due date and children’s age/sex.
It also goes without saying that any personal information that you choose to include within your posts on Mumsnet Talk will be treated by us as such.
Unless listed above, we do not normally collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (which includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data); however, if you choose to include such information in any of your Talk posts, Mumsnet will treat them as Special Category Information items and follow the UK Information Commissioner's Office guidance on processing such information.
We may also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated Data may be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.
Our lawful basis for processing your information
We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we may use your personal information in the following circumstances:
Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
Where we have your Consent to do so.
Where we need to perform a contract which we have entered into with you.
Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.
We may also use your personal information in the following situations, which are likely to be rare:
Where it is necessary to protect the vital interests of you or another person.
Where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes.
Click here to find out more about the types of lawful basis that we will rely on to process your personal data.
How we use passively collected information
We use information collected passively, as identified above, in aggregate form to build higher quality, more useful Services by performing statistical analyses of the collective characteristics and behaviour of our visitors and users, and by measuring demographics and interests regarding specific areas of the Services. We may provide statistical information based on this data to advertisers, users, and other current and potential business partners. We may also use the aggregate data to inform these third parties as to the number of people who have seen and clicked through links to their sites.
Purposes for which we will use your personal data
We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so.
Do please note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.
Purpose/Activity | Type of data | Lawful Basis for Processing |
To create an Account with us | i. Contact Data ii. Profile Data iii. Technical Data iv. Usage Data | Legitimate Interest |
To post messages on our site | i. Contact Data ii. Profile Data iii. Technical Data iv. Usage Data | Legitimate Interest |
To post messages on our site which contain “Special Category Information” | i. Special Category Information | Consent |
To provide information and services relating to pregnancy and child-development | i. Special Category Information | Consent |
To send you emails that you have requested from us | i. Marketing Data ii. Contact Data | Consent |
To provide you with information about other goods and services we offer that are similar to those that you may have already purchased. | i. Contact Data ii. Usage Data iii. Profile Data | Legitimate Interest |
To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us (including the Website Terms and Conditions and to provide you with the information, products and services that you request from us. | i. Contact Data ii. Identity Data iii. Usage Data iv. Financial Data | Performance of a Contract (See section ‘Mumsnet Premium Subscription’ below) |
To notify you about changes to our service. | i. Contact Data | Comply with a legal obligation |
To ensure that content from our Site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer or mobile device. | i. Technical Data ii. Usage Data iii. Profile Data | Legitimate Interest |
To administer our Site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes. | i. Technical Data ii. Usage Data | Legitimate Interest |
To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so. | i. Technical Data ii. Usage Data | Legitimate Interest |
As part of our efforts to keep our Site safe and secure. | i. Contact Data ii. Profile Data iii. Technical Data iv. Usage Data | Legitimate Interest |
To measure or understand the effectiveness of advertising we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you. | i. Technical Data ii. Usage Data | Consent |
Specific personal data we may collect
We store: IP address, cookies, your device’s unique ID, page browsing history, ads you’ve viewed and clicked, searches you’ve made on site, approximate location, and any enquiries you’ve made. For registered members we also store username, password and email address; discussions you may have with Mumsnet or Gransnet site moderators; and a summary of decisions we’ve taken if we’ve reviewed your use of Mumsnet or Gransnet Talk for any reason. Registered members may also have given us more data on sign up, such as the age of their children, their due date and their interests.
We store your email address to register you and contact you (if you have asked for email newsletters) and we store things such as IP address, cookies and device ID so that our systems recognise you if you return to Mumsnet. We store things such as your device’s reading habits to show you things we think may be of interest to you (eg content or ads). When we look at this information across large numbers of users, it helps us see which parts of Mumsnet are well-used and which aren’t, and this helps us to decide what sort of content and features might be useful to develop. Subject to the permissions you have given us (as described in your permissions and choices below), we may also pass your device's reading habits to selected partners for them to show you things that may be of interest to you (eg content or ads).
We don’t require your name or address when you view Mumsnet content or register with the site, and you can use Mumsnet fully without providing it.
Subject to your permissions and choices, we collect, store and process the data listed in this section.
We store the following data for all users, whether registered or not:
IP address, cookies, device ID – to identify your web browser and device.
Page browsing information – to enable us to show you more relevant things and to understand how people use Mumsnet, so we can improve it.
Within our user database, we assign your internet browser and device a unique 'Identity Number'. Against this identity number we record the topic of the content that your device is viewing or creating – in other words, your device’s 'reading habits'. This helps us understand what you may be interested in so that we can show you things we think may be relevant to you (such as ads or other Mumsnet content). When we look at this information from all users, we can see what is popular and less popular, helping us to develop Mumsnet over time.
We also use Google Analytics to report on page views in aggregate to help us understand usage trends. We do not pass your personal data to Google and your IP address is anonymised before we share this information with Google Analytics. Google uses cookies and can learn about your browsing on Mumsnet and Gransnet to inform Google ads and other Google services, as explained here: https://policies.google.com/privacy/partners
Ads viewed and clicked and searches you’ve made on site – to show you more relevant ads and content in future.
Enquiries you make – we sometimes give you the option of using Mumsnet to enquire about a product or service (such as getting a quote to repair your boiler). This is optional and we only give users this option if we trust the company and think the service might be helpful to you. We will always explicitly ask for your permission before recording or passing this information to that company or to anyone else.
We store the following information for registered members:
Username, password, email address – so that you can log in. If you choose to register to use a Mumsnet product we ask for your email address so that we can create an account for you and check you’re a real person (to prevent ‘bots’ signing up). We won’t send you newsletters or mass email communications that you haven’t asked for, and we don’t sell your email address to anyone else.
Discussions that take place over email or via Private Messages between you and Mumsnet or Gransnet moderators – so that we have a record.
A summary of any actions we may have taken with regard to your use of Mumsnet or Gransnet Talk (usually in response to reported posts) – so that we have a record and can moderate fairly.
We also store the following optional data for registered members:
Registration data: facts about you that you choose to provide in the sign-up process, such as your date of birth, sex, whether you are pregnant, whether you have children, their ages and sex, and which email newsletters from us you would like to receive. If you give us this data it helps us to show you more relevant things (for example, sending you emails about pregnancy if you have asked for them). We do not share this information with anyone else. Provision of this data is optional; you can skip this stage.
Permissions to email you, to send you newsletters that you have chosen to receive.
Private Messages that you choose to send other users.
Data that you provide when taking part in surveys, panels, product tests, quizzes or competitions. For these things, we sometimes ask for your name and address (for example to send you a product to test) or other data requested by the competition provider (such as your email address). Before recording or passing this information to another organisation, we will provide the organisation’s data policy and clearly ask for your permission each time.
Children and minors
Mumsnet is designed for use by adults. Our services are intended for individuals aged 18 years and over. We do not knowingly collect, store, or process personal information from anyone under 18.
By creating an account or using our services, you confirm that you are aged 18 or over.
If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from someone under 18, we will delete that information promptly.
Posting on Mumsnet or Gransnet Talk
Of your registration data, only your Mumsnet or Gransnet username is displayed on screen for other users to see – but posts on Mumsnet or Gransnet Talk are visible to anyone on the internet. So when posting, you should bear in mind that any personally identifying details you include in the text or pictures you post could be seen by anyone.
We also provide an anonymised copy of all Talk posts to a handful of carefully chosen organisations so that they can analyse social trends. None of your personal information is ever shared and we remove usernames before sharing this information.
Registered members of Mumsnet or Gransnet can start discussions and add comments, pictures and videos to existing discussions within Mumsnet or Gransnet Talk’s forums under our Terms of Use. This is optional in the sense that it’s up to you whether you post on a Mumsnet product or not; if you do post we always store the contents of those posts. These posts are public, but of your registration data, only your username is displayed on-screen. Your username is picked by you when you join a Mumsnet product; on Mumsnet you can change it at any time in My Account.
Mumsnet or Gransnet forums (with the exception of some topics, like 'Off the beaten track') are visible to search engines. This means that any personal information users choose to share in their posts on a Mumsnet product can be seen widely. We cannot control who sees these posts.
In all your posts across Mumsnet, in personal messages to other users, and in choosing your username, you should be mindful about the possibility that information you choose to disclose could lead to someone working out who you are in ‘real life’. For example, anything that references your real life name, your children’s real names, where you live or your date of birth could make it easy for someone to work out who you are.
Mumsnet and Gransnet are sites for grown-ups and we believe that our users are adults who can decide for themselves what information they choose to share on Mumsnet and Gransnet Talk. That said, if you’re ever worried that you’ve said too much, hit ‘report’ on one of your posts and explain the problem to our moderation team; they will be happy to help if they can.
You should be aware that the moderation team and a small number of other members of staff at Mumsnet and Gransnet have access to your Talk posts and can see that content in combination with your registration data. We restrict the number of staff who have access to this data to the minimum and we constantly review this. You can check your registration data in My Account.
We provide a copy of all Talk posts to a small number of organisations for analysis or to create software analysis tools to analyse brands and sentiment towards topics. Your personal data and username are not included in the copies of posts that we provide to these organisations.
Your permissions and choices
You can change your registration data and your email preferences on Mumsnet at any time on your My Account page. You can also manage your cookie preferences – see the cookies section further down for how to do this, but remember it may affect how well this site works. You can delete your account by going to My Account.
Your registration data
You can change the information that you provided when you registered, including your email address and Mumsnet username, on your My Account page.
If you have signed in using Facebook or Google, you can stop access at any time via your Facebook or Google account settings. If you still wish to post on Mumsnet or Gransnet, you’ll then need to register a username and password via the Registration page.
Your email preferences
You can change which newsletters you receive, or ensure that you do not receive any newsletters from Mumsnet, by going to My Account.
Your posts
If you’re ever worried that you’ve said too much, hit ‘report’ on one of your posts and explain the problem to our site moderation team; they will be happy to help if they can. You can request a retrospective name change – this means that all your previous posts will appear under a different username.
If you fail to provide personal data
Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us but we will let you know if this is the case at the time.
Cookies and other tracking technologies
Cookies
We collect data about our website’s visitors using technology such as cookies, device IDs, IP addresses and general location or country. This may include your IP address, information about your browser or operating system and will include your email (only ever in secure ‘hashed’, pseudonymous form).
If you have purchased our Mumsnet Premium Subscription package, this next section will not apply to you. If you accept the use of advertising cookies on our website, then when you use our website and enter your email address on our website (either to log in, or to sign up for a newsletter, or similar), we may share information that we collect from you with trusted partners. This may include your IP address, information about your browser or operating system or your email (only ever in secure ‘hashed’, pseudonymous form). Our partners use this information to create an online identification code to be able to recognise you on your devices. This code may be shared with advertising companies to enable interest-based and targeted advertising, that is more relevant to you. This code does not contain any of your directly identifiable personal data and will not be used to re-identify you. We and the below partners process your data to create this code as joint controllers under data protection law
Most web browsers automatically accept cookies. A cookie is a small, temporary file which a web server sends to your web browser to be stored. Cookies allow Mumsnet to identify your web browser and device if we see it again.
Cookies do not contain your name or other personal details and there are some benefits to you and Mumsnet:
'Information storage and access' cookies allow you to perform certain functions like logging into Mumsnet or Gransnet. Cookies improve your experience of the site. For example, they allow you to log in and post, and allow us to show you discussions you've already read in a different colour, and to display them top-down or bottom-up according to your preference.
Cookies also help us to show you more relevant content and ads. These are formally known as 'Personalisation' cookies, 'Ad selection, delivery, reporting' cookies and 'Content selection, delivery, reporting' cookies. As an example: if we know you’ve read our pregnancy content, we can show you pregnancy-related ads from brands that might be particularly relevant to pregnant women. To help keep the site running, we earn money by showing ads to people who might be interested in them – relevant ads are more likely to be clicked on, and command a higher price. The technology companies that Mumsnet allows to place cookies (known as third-party cookies) on your device are listed in the section in this Privacy Policy called “Where your data is stored”. Some of these technology companies deliver advertising and, as well as delivering ads on Mumsnet, may use your cookies to deliver ads to you on other sites (which is called “retargeting”).
'Measurement' cookies allow us to gather information about how many people visit or use a Mumsnet product, how often, and what they look at while on the site (a process called ‘analytics’). If you visit multiple pages or come back to a Mumsnet product after a break, cookies mean we do not count you as a new visitor. Using cookies like this allows us to compile aggregate statistics about how many users Mumsnet has and how long people use the site for, on average. We share this anonymous information with advertisers. Understanding what’s well-used on Mumsnet means we can create more of what users find useful and less of what they don’t.
SourcePoint is the tool we use to manage and record cookie consent. You can reset your cookie and privacy settings at any time by clicking the ‘Privacy Settings’ link in the site footer.
Alternatively, most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.
Find out how to manage cookies on popular browsers:
To find information relating to other browsers, visit the browser developer's website.
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Other tracking technologies
Many sites use things like web beacons, clear GIFs, page tags and web bugs to understand how people are using them and to target advertising to them. They usually take the form of a small, transparent image that is embedded in a web page or email. They work with cookies and capture data like your IP address, when you viewed the page or email, what device you were using and where you were.
To avoid web beacons and other tracking technologies, you can normally render them ineffective by switching off cookies in your browser. There are also browser add-ons and extensions that specifically block web beacons.
To avoid web beacons in emails, you can turn off images in your email service. Check your email’s Help section to find out how.
Deleting your Mumsnet account
You can delete your account by going to My Account. Alternatively, email us at [email protected] or write to Mumsnet Limited, Studios 15-16, Deane House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, London NW5 1LB. Your Mumsnet posts won’t be deleted, but there will no longer be any personal information associated with them.
Data requests
If you’d like you can ask us to provide details of the personal information we hold about you, under the 2018 EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To request this information, please email us at [email protected] or write to Mumsnet Limited, Studios 15-16, Deane House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, London NW5 1LB.
How long is your data held?
Any personal data you give us, or that we collect when you use a Mumsnet product, will be retained by us for as long as it’s needed to perform its function - including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. There’s no one-size-fits-all time limit, but when determining our retention schedules, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
To give some examples: data provided by members of our Insight panel for that specific purpose is retained for as long as the user remains a member of the panel. Information provided when entering competitions is held for a maximum of three months.
Private Messages are stored for as long as you have an account with us and if you delete your account, your messages will also be deleted.
We regularly review the data held by Mumsnet’s different teams and delete information that is no longer needed. All the data we hold is stored securely and only accessible to authorised staff members, who have regular data training. In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal data are available in our retention policy which you can request from us by contacting our Data Protection Officer at [email protected].
Signing in with Facebook or Google
You can choose to log in to Mumsnet using Facebook or Google, or Gransnet using Google. When you do this, Facebook or Google will know you’ve logged in to Mumsnet or Gransnet. By logging in via Facebook or Google you grant us access to your Facebook or Google registered email address. We do not use (and cannot obtain) your Friends list and we do not ask for or receive any data that Facebook holds on you.
If you choose to join a Mumsnet product you are asked to create a username and password. If you prefer, you can log in using Facebook or Google instead, meaning you don’t have to create and remember another password.
If you log in via Facebook or Google you will grant us access to your Facebook or Google registered email address only. We do not use (and cannot obtain) your Friends list and we do not ask for or receive other Facebook data. By default, the Facebook login process says it requires access to your Public Profile, but we do not store or use that data. However, if you choose this option, Facebook and Google will know that you have logged in to Mumsnet or Gransnet. We do not know whether Facebook or Google use this data (for example to make ads more relevant) but it is quite likely.
You may stop access at any time via your Facebook or Google account settings. If you want to carry on being able to post on Mumsnet or Gransnet you will then need to register a username and password.
Who do we share your data with?
Technical infrastructure and other service providers
Your data is stored by our web server hosting providers: DSC Limited, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and our email service provider: Sendinblue.
The following companies store your cookies on our behalf. We do not share personal data (such as your name or email address) with these companies.
Tag management
Tags are lines of code that run on sites and apps. Mumsnet uses tag management software to run code that connects to third-party technology companies. These third-party technology companies deliver Social Log-In, Advertising and Analytics.
Google Tag Manager
Social log-in
These companies allow you to use your social media account to log in to Mumsnet and Gransnet. This is optional when you join Mumsnet. If you choose to log in via Google or Facebook, those companies will know that you have logged in to Mumsnet.
Facebook Connect
Google
Competitions, surveys, quizzes, events and product tests
We use third parties to collect data for insight activity and competitions that we run. These are the companies we may use:
Survey Monkey
Wufoo
Riddle
Research partners
The contents of users’ posts provide important insights into the opinions and concerns of women and parents, and Mumsnet is regularly asked by students, academics and research organisations if they can use this information for research purposes. Because our site is publicly available, we can’t stop third parties accessing posts for their own purposes. If we receive a formal request that we consider to be reasonable and in keeping with our mission to make parents’ lives easier, we may agree to provide the organisation in question with a dedicated feed of our posts. When this happens, we only supply the third party with information that they could access from our public site and never personal information like your email address or location.
Advertising
The third-party companies below help us to deliver advertising. These companies mainly use cookies to select and deliver advertisements and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such advertisements. This will include using collected information about your interests in order to select ads for you, processing data about what advertisements were shown, how often they are shown, when and where they are shown, and whether you took any action related to the advertisement, including for example clicking an ad or making a purchase.
We use the following third-party company to help deliver advertising across Mumsnet:
Google Ad Manager
GAM is the ad server we use to display advertising around our sites and on our apps and also allows us to segment users into categories based on their browsing behaviour across the web and third-party data. Google Ad Manager will classify user interests eg pregnancy, health, food, etc. This is then used to show users relevant advertising.
Google Publisher Tags and Media Trust monitor and block bad ads, for example, ads that are fraudulent or contain malware.
Carambola and Insticator are third-party companies we use to deliver advertising.
SourcePoint is the tool we use to manage and record cookie consent.
We use SourcePoint as a recognition tool; when you enter your email address on our website (either to log in, or to sign up to a newsletter, or similar) we may share personal or other information that we collect from you, such as your email (in hashed, pseudonymous form), IP address, or information about your browser or operating system, with our partner SourcePoint. and its group companies, acting as joint controllers. SourcePoint uses this information to create an online identification code for the purpose of recognising you on your devices. This code does not contain any of your identifiable personal data and will not be used by SourcePoint to re-identify you. We place this code in our first party cookie or use a SourcePoint cookie and allow it to be used for online and cross-channel advertising. It may be shared with our advertising partners and other third party advertising companies globally for the purpose of enabling interest-based content or targeted advertising throughout your online experience (e.g. web, email, connected devices, and in-app, etc). You have the right to withdraw your consent or opt-out to the processing of your personal data at any time.
The Trade Desk operates EUID. EUID enables digital advertising by using advertising identifiers created from your email address with your consent. The Trade Desk only uses your email address to generate the EUID and to comply with data protection laws. As a user, you can object to the use of your email address as an advertising identifier in EUID at any time. For more information about EUID and how to opt-out, please visit here: https://www.transparentadvertising.eu
LiveRamp
When you use our website and enter your email address on our website (either to log in, or to sign up for a newsletter, or similar), we may share with LiveRamp and its group companies information that we collect from you, such as your email (in hashed, pseudonymous form), IP address, or information about your browser or operating system, with any of the following, acting as “joint controllers” (as applicable and defined in the GDPR).
LiveRamp uses this information to create an online identification code that we may store in our first-party cookie for our use in online, in-app, and cross-channel advertising. This may be shared with advertising companies to enable interest-based and targeted advertising. LiveRamp uses this information to create an online identification code for the purpose of recognising you on your devices. This code does not contain any of your directly identifiable personal data and will not be used by LiveRamp to re-identify you.
Detailed information on LiveRamp’s data processing activities is available in LiveRamp’s privacy policy https://liveramp.com/privacy/. You have the right to withdraw your consent or opt-out to the processing of your personal data at any time https://liveramp.com/opt_out/
Permutive
We use a service called Permutive, provided by Permutive Inc. and its affiliates, to help us understand how our digital content is consumed and to deliver more relevant experiences to our users. Permutive enables us to collect and analyse data about user interactions with our website or app, such as pages visited, content viewed, and engagement patterns.
Permutive processes this data on our behalf as a data processor in accordance with our instructions and does not use it for its own purposes. We rely on this processing to help us manage audience insights, improve our services and, where applicable, deliver personalised content or advertising.
For more information on how Permutive handles data, please visit https://permutive.com/privacy
Infosum
When you enter your email address on our website (for example to log in, or to sign up for a newsletter, or similar), we may use it to securely match our Mumsnet registered user database with the customer databases of some of our advertisers in order to show their ads to customers / users we have in common. We never use sensitive data - known as special category data - for this purpose.
To do this, we use a third party matching company called Infosum, which uses proprietary technology to match the data of its clients using secure data “bunkers”. Both Mumsnet and the advertiser upload data into a secure bunker. Neither party can access the other’s bunker, nor can Infosum access the raw data in any bunker. The Infosum platform has proprietary controls which allow both Mumsnet and the advertiser to set permissions over their respective bunkers (e.g. to allow it to be matched). Once the data has been matched, the resulting list of matched Mumsnet users allows Mumsnet to show the advertiser’s campaign to those Mumsnet users. We process opt outs on a daily basis and advertisers are required to refresh the data in their bunkers every 30 days during the campaign to ensure data is kept up to date and relevant.
When we carry out this kind of ad campaign, we may also use modelling techniques within our data management platform to identify additional Mumsnet users who have consented to receive marketing from us and who share similar characteristics to those in the target group, such as shared interests so that we can target them with the same ad campaign.
Blockthrough allows us to show non-personalised advertising to users who use ad blockers. Any advertising shown would not be based on the user’s browsing behaviour, but would simply be relevant to the Mumsnet website as a whole.
Oriel allows us to monitor the number of users who have ad blockers installed on their devices.
Skimlinks and Monetizer insert affiliate tracking codes onto links on the site which allows us to make a small percentage commission from any purchases made from these links.
Captify analyses what users are searching for on Mumsnet and then use that data to re-target these users elsewhere on the web.
Analytics
These companies help Mumsnet understand our users:
Google Analytics
GA Audience
Big Query
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence company that has built Large Language Models, which help us understand our user discussions better. We do not use AI to generate fake conversations on site.
Hotjar helps Mumsnet and Gransnet understand how our sites and apps are performing (for example, reporting on the speed that pages take to load).
New Relic
Lead Forensics helps the Mumsnet and Gransnet commercial teams identify possible sales leads by telling us the IP address match of people visiting the ‘Advertise with Us’ page.
Copper is a tool used by our commercial team to store and manage sales leads.
NeoReach is used by our commercial team to manage a database of influencers.
HelpScout is customer service software used by our community team to manage correspondence with users.
Third-party links
Our website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.
Exceptional circumstances - safeguarding and official investigations
If there are obvious safeguarding reasons, or if we are contacted by the police about a possible breach of the law, we may share your personal information with public authorities without your permission. If we are compelled to do so by a court order, we will share your personal data to the extent specified in the order.
If there are compelling safeguarding considerations, we may share your data with public authorities without your permission. We understand 'compelling safeguarding considerations' to mean credible evidence of imminent risk of serious harm, especially to a child or vulnerable person.
In such circumstances, on the judgement of a senior person within Mumsnet and in consultation with the Data Protection Officer, we may proactively contact relevant authorities (the police or ambulance service, for example) and share any relevant data we have, such as location data, relevant posts, private messages, details of any children who might be at risk, and descriptions of the situation.
If contacted by the police about possible breaches of the law disclosed in posts, we may sometimes – on the judgement of a senior person within Mumsnet and in consultation with the Data Protection Officer – share your personal information with them. We will share your personal information if compelled to do so by a court order, for example under Section 5 of the 2013 Defamation Act.
International data transfers
Whenever we transfer personal data out of the UK/EU, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:
- We will only transfer personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office or the European Commission.
- Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts (or SCCs) approved by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office or the European Commission, which give personal data the same protection it has in Europe.
Complying with the law and best practice around data
The way that we store and process data is compliant with the following legislation:
UK Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)EU Data Protection Directive 1995 (DPD)EU General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR)ePrivacy Directive 2002 (amended 2009)
We always aim to comply both with the spirit as well as the letter of the law and to be responsible with your data. As well as keeping up-to-date with laws about data, we also aim to make sensible decisions based on common sense, listening to users’ views and industry best practices.
Under the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and EU General Data Protection Regulation 2018, you have rights including:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights, although we may request that you provide additional information to verify your identity. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you from the time your request is received and verified.
Please email us at [email protected] or write to Mumsnet Limited, Studios 15-16, Deane House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, London NW5 1LB if you wish to make a request.
If our data is compromised
If our security is breached, our data is compromised or if we fail to comply with the law, we will tell affected users as soon as we become aware of the failure. We will report any data breach to the Information Commissioner and, if appropriate, the police, in a timely fashion.
Used appropriately, we strongly believe using data improves the user experience across all Mumsnet and supports our aim of making parents’ lives easier. Data you give us when filling in forms on site (when joining, for example) or when you're using the site or our apps helps us show you more relevant things and improve Mumsnet for everyone.
If, via human error, or via a breach of our security, we fail to comply with the law, we will let affected users know as soon as we are aware of it. Where necessary, we will report any data breach to the Information Commissioner in UK, the appropriate EU authorities and, depending on the circumstances, the Police.
All Mumsnet use best practice, multi-tier web application security for our servers including Denial of Service protection and Web Application Firewall at the network edge. For staff access to all administrative systems, we enforce 2-step verification and IP-based access restrictions. Regular security updates keep staff informed of the latest security threats.
Alexa Skills
This privacy policy describes how Mumsnet ('Mumsnet', 'us' or 'we') protects your ('you', “'the user') privacy and your data. Before using any of our Alexa Skills ('our skills'), please read this policy and our Alexa Skills Terms of Use, as well as the Alexa Terms of Use and the Privacy Policies by the Amazon Digital Services LLC (with its affiliates, 'Amazon').
Regarding Amazon, 'Alexa' means their Alexa Voice Service which includes third-party services (like our skills) and other related software.
If you use one of our skills you fully agree to this privacy policy.
General
When you use our skills you have to talk to Alexa. This voice input is sent to Amazon and us, where we use it to understand what our skill should do for you. This is absolutely necessary for our service to give you an appropriate answer.
Data
We only collect personal data necessary to run our skill – this is your due date. We do not share this with anyone outside of Mumsnet.
To improve our services we analyse automatically how often utterances are spoken and other analytics. This is done automatically by Amazon in the Amazon Developer Portal.
For some of our skills, it is necessary to save data for you in our databases. This data is connected to your Alexa-UserId but never to your name or any other personal information. In the case of our 'Mumsnet Pregnancy' skill, we save your due date. Otherwise, we would not be able to provide this service.
Changes
Our skills or parts of them may change or be updated at any time. Further, this Privacy Policy might change. You can find a link to this policy on the description page of the skill in the Alexa App or in the Alexa Store.
Mumsnet Premium subscription
Mumsnet offers monthly and annual subscription service, giving users the opportunity to use the Mumsnet website and app ad-free. When you subscribe on our website, you will need to make payment for the goods or services you have ordered.
In order to process your payment, we use Stripe, a third-party payment processor, to manage recurring payments for this product. Stripe store the following information about anyone who subscribes:
Mumsnet does not have access to your payment details at any point; your payment will be fully processed by Stripe, who collect, use and process your information, including payment information, in accordance with their privacy policy.
How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at [email protected] or by writing to The Data Protection Officer, Mumsnet Ltd, Studios 15-16, Deane House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, London, NW5 1LB.
You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with how we have used your data at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk
Changes to our privacy policy and your duty to inform us of changes
We keep our privacy policy under regular review and changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.
Furthermore, it is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.
Updates
Further updates will be noted here as and when they are made.
22 May 2018: deletion policy on Private Messages updated
8 May 2018: privacy policy updated
17 September 2018: cookie explanations updated to reflect new consent process
29 August 2019: updates to 'what data is stored and why'
12 September 2019: Alexa Skills privacy policy included
8 April 2020: Mumsnet Premium subscription privacy policy included
20 April 2020: updated throughout the policy to clarify how data is used across all Mumsnet
20 April 2020: updates to ‘where is your data stored’ section
24 January 2022: updates to Complying with the law
20 May 2022: updates to our Cookie Consent practice