About this privacy policy

This privacy policy explains how we (BusinessBalls) collect, use, share and transfer your personal data when you use the services provided on businessballs.com (“our site”) and our related mobile application (“our app”).

Personal data is any information about you by which you can be identified. This can include information such as:

  • your name, date of birth, email address, postal address, phone number, mobile number;

  • debit card details;

  • information about your device (such as the IP address, which is a numerical code to identify your device that can provide information about the country, region or city where you are based); and

  • information relating to your personal circumstances and how you use our sites, apps and services.

Sometimes our sites and apps may contain links to third party sites and services. These sites and services have their own privacy policies. If you follow a link to a third party, you should read the privacy policy shown on their site.


Who we are and how to contact us

The data controller for our sites and apps is Accipio/BusinessBalls, 71 Central Street, London, EC1V 8AB. This means that we are responsible for deciding how and why we hold and use your personal data. If you want to contact us, you can find our contact details in the “How to contact us” section below.

What personal data we collect and how we use it

We collect personal data when you sign up for our services and when you browse our sites or use our apps.

When you register for an account on businessballs.com we collect:

  • your name;

  • your email address;

  • your location (optional)

  • your photograph, if you add one to your profile page.


Posting comments on our sites

When you post information on a discussion board or comment publicly on an article on one of our sites, the information you post and your name are publicly accessible. This information can be viewed online and collected by other people. We are not responsible for the way these other people use this information. When contributing to a discussion, we strongly recommend you avoid sharing any personal details, and especially information that can be used to identify you directly such as your name, age, address and name of employer. We are not responsible for the privacy of any identifiable information that you post in our online community or other public pages of the site.


How we collect personal data

We collect personal data when you:

  •  registering for an account on businessballs.com;

  • attend our events;

  • enter our competitions and surveys;

  • sign up to our emails;


Why we use your personal data

We use personal data collected through our sites and apps for a number of purposes, including the following:

  • To send marketing communications when we have your permission, or when permitted by law.

  • To improve our marketing communications, we use a similar technology to cookies to confirm whether you have opened a marketing email or clicked on a link in the email.

  • For statistical purposes such as analysing the performance of our sites and apps and to understand how visitors use them.

  • To respond to your queries and to resolve complaints.

  • For security and fraud prevention, and to ensure that our sites and apps are safe and secure and used in line with our terms of use.

  • To comply with applicable laws and regulations


Legal grounds for using your personal data

We will only use your personal data where we have a legal ground to do so. We determine the legal grounds based on the purposes for which we have collected and used your personal data. In every case, the legal ground will be one of the following:

  • Consent: For example, where you have provided your consent to receive marketing emails from us. You can withdraw your consent at any time. In the case of marketing emails, you can withdraw your consent by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the email or through your email preferences on your profile

  • Our legitimate interests: Where it is necessary for us to understand our readers, promote our services and operate our sites and apps efficiently for the creation, publication and distribution of content. For example, we will rely on our legitimate interest when we analyse what content has been viewed on our site and app, so that we can understand how they are used. 

  • Performance of a contract with you (or in order to take steps prior to entering into a contract with you): For example, where you have purchased a subscription from us and we need to use your contact details and payment information in order to process your order and deliver your subscription.

  • Compliance with law: In some cases, we may have a legal obligation to use or keep your personal data.


Updating your personal data and your profile page on our sites

When you register for an account with businessballs.com, you have access to a profile page. Under “Edit Profile” you can review what information is public, or if people look up your profile. You can also update your information or provide extra information if you want.


Using children’s personal data

We do not aim any of our products or services directly at children under the age of 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal data about children under 13. Some of our services may have a higher age restriction and this will be shown at the point of registration.


Security of your personal data

We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational controls to protect your personal data against unauthorised processing and against accidental loss, damage or destruction. You are responsible for choosing a secure password when we ask you to set up a password to access parts of our sites or apps. You should keep this password confidential and you should choose a password that you do not use on any other site. You should not share your password with anyone else, including anyone who works for us. Unfortunately, sending information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data once with us, we cannot guarantee the security of any personal data sent to our site while still in transit and so you provide it at your own risk.


Who we share your personal data with

We do not share your personal data with any third parties, both within or outside the EU.


How long we keep your personal data

We keep your personal data for only as long as we need to. How long we need your personal data depends on what we are using it for, as set out in this privacy policy. For example, we may need to use it to answer your queries about a product or service and as a result, may keep personal data while you are still using our product or services. We may also need to keep your personal data for accounting purposes, for example, where you have bought a subscription. If we no longer need your data, we will delete it or make it anonymous by removing all details that identify you. If we have asked for your permission to process your personal data and we have no other lawful grounds to continue with that processing, and you withdraw your permission, we will delete your personal data. However, when you unsubscribe from marketing communications, we will keep your email address to ensure that we do not send you any marketing in future.


How we may contact you

Marketing communications and editorial newsletters

If we have your permission, we may send you materials by email that we think may interest you. 

You can manage your subscription to these emails through your profile page when you are signed in.


Market research

Sometimes we may contact you via email for market research purposes, for example about a survey. You can opt-out from being contacted in this way by signing into your account and going to "Edit Profile".


Responding to your queries or complaints

If you have raised a query or a complaint with us, we may contact you to answer your query or to resolve your complaint.


Cookies and similar technology

When you visit our sites or when you use our apps, we may collect personal data from you automatically using cookies or similar technology. A cookie is a small file that can be placed on your device that allows us to recognise and remember you.

This privacy policy includes our cookie policy, where you can find details of our key advertising partners.


Online advertising

Advertising on our sites that is based on cookies and similar technology.

We use the advertising softwareEzoic to provide personalization and analytic services on this website, and as such Ezoic's privacy policy is in effect and can be reviewed here.

We do not collect or use information such as your name, email address, postal address or phone number for personalised online advertising.

We may also share online data collected through cookies and similar technology with our advertising partners. This means that when you are on another website, you may be shown advertising based on your browsing patterns on businessballs.com. We may also show you advertising on businessballs.com website based on your browsing patterns on other sites that we have obtained from our advertising partners.

Online retargeting is another form of online advertising that allows us and some of our advertising partners to show you advertising based on your browsing patterns and interactions with a site away from our sites.

For example, if you have visited the website of an online clothes shop, you may start seeing adverts from that same shopping site displaying special offers or showing you the products you were browsing. This allows companies to advertise to you if you leave their website without making a purchase.


Advertising that we place on our site or on other sites

We also use personalised online advertising to promote our own products and services. This means that you may see advertising for our products and services on our sites.


Your rights with regard to the personal data that we hold about you

You can contact us with regard to the following rights in relation to your personal data:

  • If you would like to have a copy of the personal data we hold on you or if you think that we hold incorrect personal data about you, please write to the Privacy Officer at BusinessBalls, 71 Central Street, London, EC1V 8AB or email ask@businessballs.com. We will deal with requests for copies of your personal data or for correction of your personal data within one month. If your request is complicated or if you have made a large number of requests, it may take us longer. We will let you know if we need longer than one month to respond. You will not have to pay a fee to obtain a copy of your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive.

  • Where you have provided us with consent to use your personal data, you can withdraw this at any time.

  • Where applicable, you may also have a right to receive a machine-readable copy of your personal data.

  • You also have the right to ask us to delete your personal data or restrict how it is used. There may be exceptions to the right to erasure for specific legal reasons which, if applicable, we will set out for you in response to your request. Where applicable, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for certain purposes.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity.

Contact us for information about how we use your personal data

If you have any questions about how we use your personal data or if you have a concern about how your personal data is used, please contact the Privacy Officer at BusinessBalls, 71 Central Street, London, EC1V 8AB. Or, email ask@businessballs.com.

Complaints will be dealt with by the Privacy Officer and will be responded to within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with the way your concern has been handled, you can refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

If you have a question about anything else, please see our Contact us page here.