Vision Technologies Ltd, Privacy Policy


Vision Technologies complies with the EU Data Protection Directive through its registration with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Our registration reference number is ZA157399. Moreover, we collect information about you in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. WHO WE ARE AND WHAT THIS IS

Vision Technologies Ltd, known as GiveVision, its commercial name, develops high tech low vision aids to support people with severe sight impairments. We take the private nature of your personal information very seriously, and are committed to protecting it. To do that, we've set up procedures to ensure that your information is handled responsibly and in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws. We're grateful for your trust, and we'll act that way. This privacy policy describes what information we collect when you contact us and try our prototypes, how we use that information, and what choices we offer you to access, update, and control it. This version of the policy is effective as of the latest date indicated in the Change Log, below.

2. TYPES OF INFORMATION

"Personal information" is any information that we could use to identify an individual. It does not include personal information that is encoded or anonymized, or publicly available information that has not been combined with non-public information. "Sensitive personal information" is information that meets the "personal information" criteria and also

a.) reveals race, ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, or

b.) concerns health or sex life, information about Social Security benefits, or information on criminal or administrative proceedings other than in the context of pending legal proceedings.

3. HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION

We collect information in two ways:

  • Information you share with us via our "contact" form and "get involved" form on our website.
  • If you consented the use of your SightPlus device data by signing our end-user terms and conditions and if you connect your device to the wifi, we can access information such asthe length of time you use SightPlus, the level of magnification and type of contrast used. It is linked to your kit’s number. We collect this non-personally-identifying information in order to better understand how you get on with the device and, to improve your experience. In some cases, we may publicly display information that is not personally identifying in the aggregate, (e.g., by publishing a report on trends in the usage of our devices).

The "get involved" form to be involved in testing sessions asks for a real name; confirming the UK residency; contact details and some information about people’ sight conditions (selecting drop off categories).

The contact form includes less questions: name and contact details (email and phone number).

Organisations and individuals who engage in financial transactions to purchase our SightPlus device are asked to provide additional information, such as the personal and financial information required to process those transactions. In each case, we only collect as much information as is necessary or appropriate given the type of interaction. We do not disclose personally identifying information other than as described below. And you can always refuse to supply personally identifying information, with the caveat that it may prevent you from engaging in certain activities.

If you send us a request, such as emailing us for support, we reserve the right to publish it (absent from any personally identifying information) in order to help us clarify or respond to your request or help other users.

A cookie is a small piece of data that a website stores on a visitor's computer, and that the visitor's browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns. We use cookies and other tracking technologies (like Google Analytics) to help us recognise your visit and track visitors' use of and interaction with our website. We use Google Analytics to improve our site and user experience.

Certain functionality on our website requires a temporary session to be created.

4. INFORMATION YOU CHOOSE TO DISPLAY PUBLICLY

Some users may elect to publicly post personally identifying or sensitive information about themselves in their normal use of our SightPlus device and our prototypes or support of our work. This could occur through events showcasing our work, blogs and social media or if a previously private interaction is made public. Information like that, which is voluntarily posted and publicly visible, is considered to be public, even if it would otherwise be considered to be personally identifying or sensitive. For example, a tester’s sight condition. As such, it is not subject to the protocols listed below, because we don't control it; you do.

5. INFORMATION YOU GIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE

This Policy only applies to information collected by Vision Technologies Ltd. It does not apply to the practices of companies that we do not own or control, or employees that we don't manage.

6. HOW WE USE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

When we collect your personal information, we'll tell you how we're using it, any types of third parties to which we might disclose it, (other than "agents," such as vendors or contractors, who are only processing such information for us or at our direction), and the choices we offer you to limit the use of your information.

Notice will be provided in clear and conspicuous language when you are first asked to provide us with personal information, or as soon as practicable thereafter, and we'll notify you before we use the information for something other than the purpose for which it was originally collected. If anything in this policy seems unclear, please don't hesitate to contact us at hello@givevision.net, so we can address your question and possibly clarify this document. Although most changes are likely to be minor, we may occasionally need to change this policy. If we do update it, we will email you the changes or send you a link to the modified document. In any case, the way we use information you provide will be covered by the privacy policy that was in effect at the time it was collected.

Here are some of the ways we may use personal information you provide us:

  • To understand if you can benefit from our tech solutions and keep you posted about testing opportunities
  • To communicate with you about our products, services and related issues
  • To organise testing sessions with us or with our partners such as opticians or charities could contact you if you request a testing session and especially a home visit
  • To evaluate the quality of our products and services, and to enhance your experience as a tester
  • To maintain and administer our web site and comply with our legal or internal obligations and policies
  • To transfer information to others as described in this policy or to satisfy our legal, regulatory, compliance, or auditing requirements, including to disclose information to law enforcement authorities upon validly served legal process or a valid judicial instruction (for example, pursuant to a court order)
  • To charge you any fees and provide you with a receipt or resolve billing issues associated with your account

Choice — Choice is all about making sure you have the ability to control how we share your personal information with others. We never share any of your personal information with non-agent third parties.

We won't share your personal information with non-agent third parties unless we are required to do so by law, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect our property, rights or those of third parties or the public at large. Similarly, if Vision Technologies Ltd or most of its assets were acquired, or in the unlikely event that we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, user information could be transferred or acquired. You should be aware that such events can occur, and that if it does, the buyer may continue to use your personal and non-personal information, but only as set forth in this policy. Other than in these rare circumstances, GiveVision Technologies Ltd will not rent or sell potentially personally identifying information to anyone.

We may from time to time request some of your financial information for the purposes of completing transactions you have initiated through trialling or buying our devices or prototypes, enrolling you in discount, rebate, and other programs in which you elect to participate, protecting against or identify possible fraudulent transactions, and otherwise as needed to manage our business.

It's hard to imagine that we would ever consider collecting, let alone sharing, sensitive information with a non-agent third party, but if such a day should come, we will first give you the opportunity to explicitly consent (opt-in) to such disclosure or to any use of the information for a purpose other than the one for which it was originally collected or previously authorised.

If you have reached out to us and have supplied your email address and/or phone number, we may occasionally send you an email and/or give you a call to tell you about testing opportunities, solicit your feedback, or just keep you up to date with what's going on with our work. If we do send you information that you did not expressly request, we will provide you with a way to request that you don't get any similar notices (opt-out, unsubscribe, etc.).

Onward Transfer — Prior to providing agents with any personal information, we will obtain assurances that they will safeguard it in accordance with this policy. Examples of assurances that may be provided include:

  • A commitment that they will handle the information in accordance with this policy, or will provide the same level of protection, as required by the Privacy Shield Principles, subject to EU Directive 95/46/EC ("the EU Data Protection Directive");
  • Privacy Shield certification by the agent, or being subject to another European Commission adequacy finding.

In the unlikely event that we should discover that an agent is using personal information in a way that conflicts with this policy, we will take all reasonable steps to stop it immediately. In cases of onward transfer to third parties of data of EU individuals received pursuant to the EU-US Privacy Shield, Vision Technologies Ltd will remain liable.

Security — All records containing personal or financial information are considered to be our property and are afforded confidential treatment at all times. We work hard to protect against the unauthorised access, use, alteration or destruction of personal or financial information. All such electronic information is stored on restricted database servers, and is generally kept until such time as you may ask us to edit or delete it, as described below. We only disclose such information to our employees a) need to know that information in order to process it for us for research and development purpose and b) to provide the best & personalised services to current testers.

We use a third-party, industry-accepted Payment Gateway to securely process credit card transactions.

Data Integrity — In addition to assuring you that we will protect your personal information, we also want to make sure that it is reliable, accurate, and up-to-date. In order to do that, we provide:

  • Access — Upon request, we will provide you with reasonable access to the personal information we collect about you. You will have the opportunity to correct, update, modify or delete some information by filling this form or contacting us - hello@givevision.net or your entire account by contacting gdpr@givevision.net. Please note that some information may remain in our records even after you request deletion of your information, to the extent permitted by the Privacy Shield Principles. Additionally, there may be limits to the amount of information we can practically provide. For example, we may limit an individual's access to personal information where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to the individual's privacy or where doing so would violate others' rights.

Enforcement — We will conduct internal audits of our compliance with this privacy policy. Our employees take your privacy as seriously as we do, and we will take all reasonable measures against any employee found to be in violation of this policy. If you have any concerns or complaints about how you think we've handled your personal information, please contact hello@givevision.net or our Data Protection Officer at the address below. We will work hard to investigate and resolve any complaints you might have. We hope it won't ever come to this, but if you've already contacted us and feel that your complaint cannot be resolved between the two of us, you can also raise a concern to ICO, the Information Commissioner’s Office. Visit https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/raising-concerns/ to file a complaint.

7. VISION TECHNOLOGIES LTD AND INFORMATION COLLECTED FROM CHILDREN

Vision Technologies Ltd does not knowingly collect personal information from children without parental consent. If we learn that we have inadvertently obtained information in violation of applicable laws, we will promptly delete the information.

8. HOW TO CONTACT US

If you have any questions about this policy or our site in general, please contact us at hello@givevision.net

Our Data Protection Officer is Elodie Draperi.

Written Inquiries can be sent to:

Vision Technologies Ltd

iCentrum, 6 Holt Street, Birmingham Science Park Aston, B7 4BP, Birmingham

9. CHANGE LOG

  • June 4th 2018 - global review according to the General Data Protection Regulation.
GiveVision is a purpose-driven organization operating on a not-for-dividend model. We reinvest at least 51% of our profits in the development of assistive technologies, funding pioneering research in visual impairment solutions, and providing pro-bono vision aids to those unable to afford them—ultimately fostering a more inclusive world for all.
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