Privacy Policy

At Aardman we respect your privacy, and we are committed to keeping all your personal data secure. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use personal data in connection with this website.

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Children
  3. Information we may collect from you
  4. Information we may receive from other sources
  5. Special categories of personal data
  6. Cookies
  7. Lawful processing of your personal data
  8. Uses made of your personal data
  9. Competitions
  10.  User Testing
  11. Marketing
  12. Disclosure of your information
  13. Where we transfer and store your personal data
  14. How we safeguard your information
  15. Internet risks
  16. How long we keep your personal data
  17. Your rights
  18. Other websites
  19. Cookies policy
  20. Contact
  21. Changes to our Privacy Policy

1  Introduction

This site at www.aardman.com (including any related online or mobile site) (the “site”) is operated by Aardman Animations Limited (“Aardman”, “we”, “us” or “our”). We are a company registered in the UK with company number 02050843 and with our registered office at Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, BS1 6UN.

For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR), and/or any equivalent data protection laws that apply in England and Wales, Aardman is a “data controller”.  That means that we retain control over, and are responsible for, all personal data collected on this site and must ensure that we use those personal data in compliance with data protection laws.

In this Privacy Policy, “personal data” or “personal information” means any data about a living individual who can be identified either from those data alone, or from those data when combined with other information that is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, us (or our representatives or service providers). In addition to factual information, it may also include digital or online identifiers like IP addresses, any expression of opinion about an individual and any indication of our intentions or the intentions of any other person in respect of an individual.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal information and how we will treat it. By continuing to use this site, you acknowledge our collection, storage and use of your personal information as described below.

2  Children

We do not generally seek to collect personal data from children. We will only collect personal data from children for specific, limited purposes, such as competitions. If we do seek personal data from children, we will use separate, specific privacy notices for that collection, which will govern the use of those data. If there is no separate privacy notice in place and it becomes apparent to us that children have in fact sent personal data to us (contained in an email for example), the information will be deleted.

3  Information we may collect from you

We may collect the following data from you during your visit to the site:

  • personal data you provide by filling in forms on this site, including personal data provided at the time of registering for any of our newsletters and mailing lists (for example, first name, last name and email address);
  • personal data you provide when reporting a problem with this site or requesting technical support;
  • personal data you provide when submitting user-generated content for our AardBoiled service;
  • personal data you provide when entering a competition, prize draw, promotion or survey;
  • personal data you provide to us if you contact us for any other reason;
  • details of your visits to this site, including traffic data, location data and other communications data and the resources that you access; and
  • information about your browser version, operating system and screen resolution.

4  Information we may receive from other sources

Occasionally we may receive information about you (including personal data) from other sources. For example:

  • if we host or co-host an event that you attend, or if we work on a project that you take part in (whether we are running the project alone or with our partners), then we may receive information about you from such venue, co-host or partner(s);
  • if you visit our premises, then images of you may be captured by our CCTV surveillance systems (for which see our separate CCTV notice as displayed at those premises); and
  • from websites that contain links to this site, including our branded websites (such as wallaceandgromit.com/, www.shaunthesheep.com/, www.amazingmorph.com/ and www.timmytime.tv/), the Aardstore at www.aardstore.com/ (which is run by a third party and not by us), and other third-party websites that link to www.aardman.com.

If there is a separate privacy notice governing the collection of your data, then that privacy notice will apply. If there is no separate privacy notice, or to the extent that such notice does not provide information equivalent to the information set out in this Privacy Policy, then we will process information about you that we receive from third parties and/or other sources in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

We may also receive personal data about potential candidates from third parties as part of our recruitment processes. If so, we will provide candidates with a separate privacy notice setting out how candidate personal data will be collected and processed. If you are a candidate or potential candidate and have any questions about how we are or will collect and process your personal data, you can contact us using the contact details provided at section 20 below. Further information about recruitment is available at https://www.aardman.com/jobs/.

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract that we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract that we have or are trying to enter into with you.  If so, we shall notify you if that is the case at the time.

5  Special categories of personal data

We do not seek to collect any special categories of personal data about you: those would include details of a person’s race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, health information, genetic and biometric data and information about criminal convictions and offences. If, however, when using any interactive feature of the site (such as an online contact form or questionnaire), you in fact provide us with any such special data or information about criminal convictions and offences, then by submitting such data/information, we’ll assume that you are happy for us to use such data/information for (a) the purpose for which you have voluntarily provided such data/information and (b) any purpose that is reasonably compatible with such purpose. You may withdraw that permission at any time by contacting us.

6  Cookies

Certain “cookies” (small text files) may be sent to your device when you access and use our site.

For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them, please see our cookies policy at section 19 below.

7  Lawful processing of your personal data

However we use your personal data, we make sure that our use complies with lawful bases for using or processing your personal data. We may rely on one or more of these bases when we process your personal data. The bases include where:

  • we need to process your personal data in order to perform our contractual obligations to you;
  • we have obtained your consent – please note that, if we need your consent for a particular purpose of processing and you do not give us consent (or if you give it but then withdraw it), then we will not process (or continue to process) your personal data for that purpose;
  • we need to process your personal data in order to discharge our legal and regulatory obligations;
  • we need to process your personal data in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights or for the purpose of legal proceedings; or
  • the use of your personal data as described is necessary for our legitimate interests, such as:
    • allowing us to manage and administer the operation of our business effectively and efficiently;
    • maintaining compliance with internal policies and procedures;
    • monitoring the use of our copyrighted materials;
    • enabling quick and easy access to information on our products, content and services;
    • offering up-to-date security solutions for mobile devices and IT systems; and
    • obtaining further knowledge of current threats to network security in order to update our security solutions and to provide those to the market.

If we are processing your personal data because this is necessary for our legitimate interests, then we may continue to do so unless you have a right to object to this (please see “Your rights” at section 16 below).

Please note that, if we need to process your personal data in order to operate the site and/or to provide our products, content and services, and you object or (if we require consent) you do not consent to our processing your personal data, then the site and/or those goods and services may not be available to you.

8 Uses made of your personal data

Your personal data may be stored and processed by us for the purposes listed below and in accordance with the lawful bases listed below.

Please note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful basis depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific lawful bases we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out below.

Purpose/activity Lawful bases for processing
To provide the site and to ensure that content from the site is presented in an effective and user-friendly manner for you and for your device. Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our site, to keep our site updated and relevant, customer interaction and customer relations and the provision of administration and IT services).
To investigate and address any comments, queries or complaints, or to fix any problems, notified to us by you or other users of the site. (a)   Necessary for our legitimate interests (customer interaction and customer relations, provision of IT support, technical administration and maintenance).

 

(b)   Consent (in respect of special categories of personal data only, and only if you have provided this to us, see section 5 above).
To encourage and allow you to participate in interactive features on our site, including competitions, prize draws, promotions or surveys (for which see section 9 below), when you choose to do so. (a)   Performance of a contract with you.

 

(b)   Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how people use our site and interactive features, to help us develop those and to address any issues people experience in using those, and for the promotion and popularity of our site and brands).

(c)   Consent (in respect of special categories of personal data only, and only if you have provided this to us, see section 5 above).
To contact you for marketing purposes if you have consented to this (see section 11 below). Consent (if given).
For ongoing review and improvement of our site and its security, including technical analysis and statistical monitoring to detect and prevent any potential disruptions, system failures, cyber-attacks or malicious data from affecting our IT systems or any data held by us. Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our site, analysis of site and business performance, the provision of administration and IT services, network security and the protection of our site, systems and data).
To conduct research, statistical analysis and behavioural analysis on our site users and their behaviour (including anonymizing data for those purposes), and to create and share insights based on aggregated, anonymous data collected through such research and analysis (provided that individual users are not identifiable from such insights). Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how people use our site and interactive features and to create and share anonymised insights with business partners and third parties).
For the management and administration of our business. (a)   Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our business, provision of administration and IT services, network security, to prevent fraud and in the context of any business reorganisation or group restructuring exercise).

 

(b)   Performance of a contract with you (for example if you are a company that we are doing business with).
To disclose your information to specified third parties as permitted by this Privacy Policy (see section 12 below). (a)   Performance of a contract with you.

 

(b)   Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our business, provision of services and detection and prevention of issues affecting our business).
In order to comply with and/or assess compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, and our internal policies and procedures, which includes processing personal data as reasonably required in order to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or for the purpose of legal proceedings. (a)   Necessary to comply with our legal obligations.

 

(b)   Necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or for the purpose of legal proceedings.

(c)   Necessary for our legitimate interests (to comply with our internal policies and procedures).
For the administration and maintenance of databases storing personal data. (a)   Performance of a contract with you (where the database relates to our clients and customers).

 

(b)   Necessary to comply with our legal obligations.

(c)   Necessary for our legitimate interests (for maintaining and accessing our databases and for related business purposes).
To use cookies and other tracking technologies to monitor user behaviour on our site, and to use this behavioural data within our online advertising strategies. Consent to cookies (if given), for which see section 18 below.

Change of purpose

We shall only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected the data, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use such data for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you would like to get an explanation of how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we shall notify you and we will explain the legal basis on which we intend to rely.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, if and to the extent that this is required or permitted by law.

9  Competitions

From time to time we may run competitions, prize draws, promotions or surveys (referred to here collectively as “competitions”).

We may well need to process your personal data for you to take part in competitions and, if you are a winner, to contact you about your prize (including sending prizes to you through a postal service or courier) and use your details in accordance with the following paragraph. We will not use your personal data for any other purpose, including sharing it with third parties (besides postal services or couriers), unless we have notified you of this separately in writing before doing so.

The winner’s first name may be posted on our websites and/or social media channels that relate to the competition. In addition, under applicable competition rules (including the CAP code), a winner’s first name, surname and county must be made available to individuals who request this information within a certain period after a competition has ended (usually around thirty (30) days). We will make this information available in accordance with the CAP code as it is in our legitimate interests to comply with applicable competition rules. Further information about the CAP code is available at https://www.asa.org.uk/about-asa-and-cap.html. If you have any questions about how we run competitions please email privacy@Aardman.com.

We may issue a separate privacy notice for a specific competition, which sets out how we will use personal data for that competition. In those circumstances we will provide you with the separate privacy notice at the time you submit your personal data. If we do not issue a separate privacy notice then this privacy policy will apply to our processing of personal data for competitions. If we do issue a separate privacy notice and there is any inconsistency between that notice and this Privacy Policy, then the separate notice will take precedence over this Privacy Policy.

10 User Testing

From time to time we may run testing sessions where we invite people to come and test out apps, websites or other interactive products or services that we are working on (referred to here collectively as “user testing”).

If you have given permission, we may store your personal data and use this to contact you by email in relation to user testing, including inviting you to user testing sessions. We will continue store and use your personal data for these purposes unless and until you withdraw your permission (which you are free to do at any time by sending an email to privacy@aardman.com). If you attend a user testing session we may also need to process your personal data to enable you to take part in the session. We may share your personal data internally within Aardman in relation to user testing. We will not use your information for any other purpose, including sharing it with external third parties, unless we have notified you of this separately, in writing, before doing so.

We may issue separate privacy notices for specific user testing sessons, which set out how we will use personal data collected at those sessions. In those circumstances we will provide you with the separate privacy notice at or before the session. If we do not issue a separate privacy notice then this privacy policy will apply to our processing of personal data for user testing. If we do issue a separate privacy notice and there is any inconsistency between that notice and this Privacy Policy, then the separate notice will take precedence over this Privacy Policy.

11 Marketing

If you have given permission, we may contact you by email about our content, releases, products, services, promotions and special offers (or those of selected third parties) that may be of interest to you. We will inform you (before collecting your data) and seek your permission if we intend to use your data for such purposes. If you prefer not to receive any direct marketing communications from us, you are free to decline, or if you give permission and change your mind later, you can opt out at any time (see further below).

If you have bought goods, content and/or services from us, we may also contact you by email with marketing information about similar goods, content and/or services that we think might interest you, unless you have asked us not to (and we will notify you of this and give you the opportunity to opt out when we collect your personal data). Again, if you change your mind, you can opt out at any time (see further below).

You have the right at any time to ask us to stop processing your information for direct marketing purposes. If you wish to exercise this right, you should contact us by sending an email to privacy@aardman.com, giving us enough information to identify you and to deal with your request. Alternatively, you can follow the unsubscribe instructions in emails you receive from us.

We will never share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes unless you have specifically consented to us doing so in advance.

12 Disclosure of your information

Except for the disclosures set out below, or any other disclosures that we may notify to you in separate privacy notices from time to time, we will take steps to ensure that your personal information is accessed and processed only by personnel of Aardman that have a need to do so for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

We may share your personal data with any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006.

We may also share your personal data with third parties as further described below:

  • if we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets (or their representatives and advisers) for due diligence purposes;
  • if Aardman or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets;
  • with third-party agents and contractors for the purposes of providing services to us or on our behalf (for example, our accountants, professional advisers, IT and communications providers), in which case those third parties will be subject to appropriate data protection obligations and they will only use your personal data for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy; and/or
  • to the extent required by law (for example, if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal or regulatory obligation), or in order to enforce or apply the terms of any other agreements, or to protect the rights, property or safety of Aardman, our customers or others, including exchanging personal data with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

13 Where we transfer and store your personal data

The personal data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area, which currently comprises the EU member states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (“EEA”). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. Such staff maybe engaged in, among other things, the provision of support services to us (or you) in relation to our interactions with you.

Where we transfer your personal data to another country outside the EEA, we will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your personal data are treated securely and in a manner consistent with legal requirements and this Privacy Policy. In relation to data transferred outside the EEA, for example, this may be done in one of the following ways:

  • the country to which we send the data might be approved by the European Commission as offering an adequate level of protection for personal data;
  • the recipient might have signed up to a contract based on “model contractual clauses” approved by the European Commission, obliging them to protect your personal data in accordance with standards of protection that apply within the EEA;
  • where the recipient is located in the US, it might be a certified member of the EU-US Privacy Shield scheme; or
  • in other circumstances the law may otherwise permit us to transfer your personal data outside the EEA

You can obtain more details of the protection given to your personal data when transferred outside the EEA by contacting us using the contact details provided below.

14 How we safeguard your information

We have extensive controls in place to maintain the security of our information and information systems. Files are protected with safeguards according to the sensitivity of the relevant information, including hashing or data encryption where appropriate. Appropriate controls (such as restricted access) are placed on our computer systems. Physical access to areas where personal data are gathered, processed or stored is limited to authorised employees.

As a condition of employment, our employees are required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including in relation to data protection law. Unauthorised use or disclosure of confidential information (including personal data) by an employee of Aardman is prohibited and may result in disciplinary measures.

If you contact us about your information, you may be asked for some personal data for identification purposes. This type of safeguard is designed to ensure that only you, or someone authorised by you, has access to your information.

15 Internet risks

Despite the safeguards set out in this Privacy Policy, unfortunately, the transmission of information by online or mobile means is not completely secure. Aardman cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to this site, and for that reason, any transmission you make is at your own risk. We recommend that you use anti-virus, firewall and/or other security protections according to your own analysis of your security requirements. Once we have received your personal data, we will use the procedures and security features set out in this Privacy Policy to try to prevent unauthorised access to, or loss or destruction of, your personal data.

16 How long we keep your personal data

How long we will hold your personal data will vary and will be determined by the following criteria:

  • the purpose for which we are using it (as further described in this Privacy Policy) – we will need to keep the data for as long as is necessary for that purpose; and
  • legal obligations – laws or regulations may set a minimum period for which we have to keep your personal data.

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.

17 Your rights

Where we collect, use or store your personal data under this Privacy Policy, you may, depending on your circumstances, have the following rights:

  • the right to obtain information regarding the processing of your personal data (including whether or not we are holding and/or processing your personal data, the extent of the personal data we are holding and the purposes and extent of the processing) and access to the personal data that we hold about you, if any;
  • where we are relying on consent for a particular purpose, the right at any time to withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data for such purpose;
  • in some circumstances, the right to receive some personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and/or request that we transmit those data to a third party where this is technically feasible – which is sometimes known as the right to “data portability”, and please note that (a) this right only applies to personal data which you have provided directly to Aardman and which we are processing either on the basis of consent or because the processing is necessary in order for us to perform our contractual obligations to you and (b) if you request the right to data portability and it is not available to you, we will let you know;
  • the right to request that we rectify your personal information if it is inaccurate or incomplete;
  • the right to request that we erase your personal data in certain circumstances – please note that there may be circumstances where you ask us to erase your personal data but we are legally entitled to retain it, in which case we will let you know;
  • the right to object to, or request that we restrict, our processing of your personal data in certain circumstances – again, there may be circumstances where you object to, or ask us to restrict, our processing of your personal data but we are legally entitled to refuse that request and, if so, we will let you know;
  • the right to object to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produce legal effects or otherwise significantly affect you (for example, where a computer algorithm, rather than a person, makes decisions that affect your contractual or other rights) – please note that we do not currently carry out any such automated decision-making processes; and
  • the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection regulator if you think that any of your rights have been infringed by us, and please note that:
    • the data protection regulator for the UK is the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”);
    • you can submit complaints through the ICO helpline by calling 0303 123 1113; and
    • further information on reporting concerns is available at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/.

To find out more about your legal rights, please see the ICO’s website (www.ico.org.uk).

You can exercise your rights above at any time by contacting us at Aardman Animations Limited, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, BS1 6UN or privacy@aardman.com, giving us enough information to identify you and to respond to your request.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). We may, however, charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in those circumstances.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we shall notify you and keep you updated.

18 Other websites

If you follow a link to another website (including any website operated by Aardman), different privacy policies may apply. You should read those policies before you submit any personal data to those websites, and please note that use of your personal data by those websites will be subject to those privacy policies.

In particular, please be aware that the Aardstore at www.aardstore.com/ and the Aardman By Me online store at https://aardmanbyme.com/ are not run by Aardman. The Aardstore is run by “Digital Stores”, a trading name of Universal Music Direct Limited, and Aardman By Me is run by Custom Gateway Ltd. Both the Aardstore and Aardman By Me are subject to separate privacy policies which are available at https://www.aardstore.com/privacy/ and https://aardmanbyme.com/privacy-policy respectively. Aardman is not responsible for the collection or use of any personal information that is submitted to or through the Aardstore or Aardman By Me.

19 Cookies policy

Our websites (including this site and other online and mobile sites run by Aardman) use cookies and other tracking and monitoring software to distinguish you from other users of our site and to collect technical information about the services that you use and how you use them. This information helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our sites, allows us to improve our sites and our services, and allows us to compile statistical reports on site visitors and site activity. Cookies do not affect your security, since a cookie cannot read data off your system or read cookie files created by other sites.

The information that we collect through our use of cookies, to the extent that you are individually identifiable from it, constitutes personal data, and we will protect it according to the standards and processes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.

You can set your device or system not to accept cookies if you wish (for example, by changing your default browser settings so that cookies are not accepted), but please note that some of our site features may not function if you remove cookies from your system. For further general information about cookies please visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

Cookies we use

We use the following cookies and similar tracking technologies on this site:

We have no control over cookies that are placed by Google Analytics or third party social media companies. We recommend you check their privacy policies to ensure you are happy to accept these cookies.

20 Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal data are welcomed and should be addressed to:

  • Aardman Animations Limited, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol BS1 6UN; or
  • privacy@aardman.com.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you may escalate concerns to the applicable privacy regulator in your jurisdiction, which for the UK is the ICO (see section 17 above for their contact details).

21 Changes to our Privacy Policy

Any changes we may make to our Privacy Policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by email.

Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our Privacy Policy.

Last modified: 5 February 2020