Trustnodes is an independent news publisher reporting on the digital finance industry and related areas since spring 2017.
Trustnodes is renown for its quality reporting on original and impactful news with a global outlook on what moves.
Trustnodes tagline is: Bringing You Yomorrow Yoday.
Trustnodes is also responsible for our website www.trustnodes.com, and whether you browse as a guest or register with us we will collect different types of information about you: for example, for website functionality; to provide improved or personalized services to you; to help decide what kind of advertising you will see on the site; and, in accordance with your chosen preferences, to market goods or services to you. Please also see our website terms and conditions.
We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of external sites, third party Apps or your chosen internet browser. However, we do seek to explain how we work with third parties, including search engines and ad servers such as Google.
This Privacy and Cookie Policy explains how we use any of your personal information we might collect and how you can limit our use of it.
1. What information do we gather?
The information that we gather falls broadly into two types (please see further below for how we collect it and what we use it for):
1.1 Information that relates directly to you (e.g. your name and contact details, communication preferences and customer history).
1.2 Information that does not directly identify you (e.g. how you might browse our website), specifically:
(1) Your IP address through the placement of cookies; and
(2) Location data, which might be gained through your IP address or GPS data.
Please note that not all cookies are either personally identifiable information or even unique identifiers; but some can be, while others can influence what you see on our website.
2. How we use your information
2.1 Often we will be using your information in accordance with your specific consent or instructions: for example, because you have requested or consented to receiving certain information, or entered into a contract with us.
At other times we will use your information on one of the other lawful bases described below in this section.
2.2 Contract.
(1) When you enter into a contract for goods or services with us (including competitions, offers, subscriptions or your online Trustnodes account), or where you wish to register an interest in doing so, we will use your personal data to enter into and fulfill our contractual relationship with you.
(2) Fulfilling our contract with you means being able to manage and administer our services, and maintain our standards of tailored service levels, customer care and consumer compliance. This might include fulfilling orders or returns, processing payments or refunds, and providing aftercare, as well as improving your customer experience online and otherwise, including by monitoring service levels and responding to feedback.
2.3 Legitimate interests.
Other uses of your information are made for ordinary and transparent purposes which we think are necessary for our legitimate interests as a provider of news, content, and other services. We use your information on this basis to do the following:
(1) Recognise and remember you when you visit our website and better understand how you use our website and others by using cookies, to which you consent by accessing this website, to follow your use.
(2) Recognise and remember you when you use a Trustnodes application (“Trustnodes App”), to analyse how you use it and to serve you with advertisements based on your interests.
(3) Identify your interests. We might put your information in aggregated form into groupings (known as “segments”) by a particular audience, which means we can serve you advertisements and offers that will interest you within the website, including by reference to data we receive from third parties.
(4) Keep you updated on any services you have subscribed to, or any products you have purchased, and/or about similar services unless you have told us otherwise (including where we are working alongside other Service Providers to provide these services.
(5) Contact you to let you know about any of our products, services or promotions (which may in some cases be provided by third parties).
(6) Make sure materials on the website or in apps are presented in the most effective way for you and your computer or mobile device;
(7) Collect and log numeric internet addresses to improve the website and to monitor website usage; and
(8) Assess and understand our readers’, customers, site users’ and account holders’ feedback and identify usage hotspots;
2.4 Some limited uses of your data are required to comply with legal obligations, for example fraud detection and taxation;
2.5 Our core activities as a media and publishing organization are classed as special purposes (which includes journalism and the arts). Please be aware that we are subject to a series of exemptions from data protection law when processing personal data for these purposes, and such purposes are not relevant to this Privacy Policy unless expressly stated.
3. How do we gather information?
3.1 Information (as set out in Section 1) is gathered in the following ways:
(1) indirectly (e.g. using website technology that tracks and administers your visits through your browser, or similar technology when you use a Trustnodes application (“App”) on a mobile device, or when you log on and/or share stories through social media;
(2) directly (e.g. when you buy a subscription, sign up to create a Trustnodes.com profile, download a mobile device application or you otherwise provide your information when you interact with us);
(3) through your device (e.g. mobile, PC or tablet) where you have enabled location services for the applicable App or browser. This may be used for location targeted services or advertising in accordance with your preferences, which may be adjusted either on your device or via server, App or website preferences;
(4) through location technology for mobile web services. The service we use is based on machine learning algorithms which analyse data from different connection types.
(5) through social media sign-on. We may offer a quick registration option using your existing social media accounts via an App or the website. If you log in to our sites using a social media account, you are granting permission to that social media company to share your user details with us, and to collect information about you and how you use our site (which process we do not control and will be subject to the terms and conditions of your social media account). This will include that social media company tracking or identifying when you share one of our stories through their site. When you use social sign-on, we will gather the information you have already used in the process of registering for that social media site (in accordance with your preferences provided to that site and/or to us at the point that you use our social sign-on) and your social media account will be linked to your Trustnodes account, including in our providing social media messaging to you.
(6) when you subscribe to Trustnodes, we may also use a card updater service to automatically update your credit or debit card details. This service is facilitated by your credit or debit card issuer, whom you should contact for further information;
(9) through cross-device graphing algorithms to associate devices that might be related to each other, such as devices used by the same person or in the same household. We may collect and use this analytics data together with your personal information, to stitch session data from unauthenticated (anonymous) user visits with authenticated (logged in) user visits in order to build a broader profile of our individual users so that we can serve you better.
4. How do you decide how you want to hear from us?
4.1 We will contact you in accordance with your preferences, including by email, phone, post and SMS text. We always seek to explain why and how we might contact you at the point you give your information to us.
4.2 We also provide the means for you to grant or withhold your permission for us to contact you. We do this by using opt-in boxes or unsubscribe options, which determine your permission for us to contact you about our wider range of goods and services.
4.3 Sometimes, we need your information to be able to contact you to provide the service you wish to use (e.g. a subscription). In those cases, by signing up to the service you are agreeing that we will have to send you service communications to run the service itself, and we will not offer you the chance to opt-out from receiving those messages until you decide you no longer wish to use the services.
5. Accessing and updating your personal information
5.1 You can update your details and marketing preferences by accessing your account pages on the website or by emailing contact@trustnodes.com.
5.2 You can de-link your social media account from your Trustnodes account by emailing contact@trustnodes.com. De-linking your account will not change your marketing preferences unless you specifically request it and we are not responsible for how third party social media sites use information they collect about you, including via your own social media account or through you having linked it to your Trustnodes account.
5.3 You have the right to access the personal information held about you from any organisation that controls your personal information.
6. Cookies and similar technologies
6.1 A cookie is a small piece of information that is placed on your computer when you visit certain websites. When we refer to “cookies” we include other technologies with similar purposes, such as tags and identifiers. Find out more about the use of cookies on http://www.cookiecentral.com/.
6.2 When you first visit our sites using a new browser, or if you visit in private browsing mode, you give Trustnodes permission and consent to use of cookies.
6.3 We use the following types of cookie, as will your browser:
(1) Analytics cookies that remember your computer or mobile device when you visit our website and recognize visits to our website across different devices. They keep track of browsing patterns and help us to build up a profile of how our readers use the website. We use that information for customer analytics and to serve advertisements that we think might be of particular interest to you on our websites. Your browser may use similar cookies for similar purposes and to serve advertisements for others.
(2) Service cookies that help us to make our website work as efficiently as possible; remember your registration and login details; remember your settings preferences; to detect what device you are using and adapt how we present our services according to the screen size of that device; and meter the number of pages you view for the purpose of administering subscriptions to Trustnodes.
(3) Third party advertising and analytics cookies, which are placed by or on behalf of independent advertisers who are advertising on our site. These cookies may be placed within the advertisement and elsewhere on our site by us or by your browser. They can allow the advertiser or your browser to tailor advertising to you when you visit other websites. They are used for statistical analysis by allowing the advertiser to count how many people have seen their advertisement or have seen it more than once, to make sure you are not repeatedly served with the same advertising messages.
7. Managing your cookies preferences
7.1 Most browsers allow you to turn off cookies. To do this look at the “help” menu on your browser. Switching off cookies may restrict your use of the website and/or delay or affect the way in which it operates.
7.2 We also use third party cookies, as will your browser. These are cookies that may be read by third parties (for example if you have used social sign-on and have the option to like or comment using your social media account).
If you would prefer to just restrict third party cookies visit www.youronlinechoices.com or click on the AdChoices logo that you will see in the corner of advertisements that carry behavioral targeting cookies.
7.3 If you would like to disable “third party” cookies generated by advertisers or providers of targeted advertising services, you can turn them off by going to the third party’s website and getting them to generate a one-time “no thanks” cookie that will stop any further cookies being written to your device. Here is a link to the third party advertising platform we use, which has instructions on how to do this: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.
Please note that even after disabling this, you may still see “non-personalised” advertisements that may appear materially the same as the “personalised” ones. This is simply a function of what advertisers and partners we are working with, and does not mean your preferences have not been applied.
Please note also that the likes of Google, with whom we work to serve advertising, will still use cookies for necessary administrative purposes after you have amended your personalised advertising settings. These purposes include frequency capping (namely to stop users being served the same advertisements repeated), aggregated reporting of engagement (on a non-personal basis) and to combat fraud and abuse (for example, to prevent bogus click-throughs by web hosts to inflate the value of their platform).
7.4 We might also use a data management platform. We use the data this platform records, including data gathered through cross-device tracking, to better understand our users’ interests, so that we can provide better and relevant services based on this information.
7.5 When you share stories using social media, for example Facebook, the social media company will drop cookies and identifiers to track this.
7.6 You can also visit the trade body representing these advertising companies for more information on how to opt out of these cookies: http://youronlinechoices.com/
8. Ad Blockers
8.1 We use JavaScript to detect ad blockers. We use the script in the source code of our website. It confirms advertisements are correctly displayed on your device by simulating the display of the advertisement.
8.2 By detecting ad blockers, we do not store any information on your device and we do not process any of your personal data.
8.3 We may display a message to advise you that we have detected that you are using and ad blocker
8.4 We reserve the right to restrict your access to some or all of our website while you have an ad blocker turned on.
9. Protecting your information
9.1 The password you provide when registering with the website is encrypted to ensure protection against unauthorized access to your personal information.
9.2 No data transmission over the Internet can be entirely secure, and therefore we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information and/or use of the website. Any information that you send is at your own risk and may be read by others. However once we have received your personal information we use strict procedures to protect the security of your personal information.
10. Disclosing your information
10.1 Selling our businesses. We may disclose your personal information to third parties and their advisers if we are approached by a potential buyer in connection with the potential sale of our business or of any part of it. Should we proceed to sell or reconstitute any part of our business that holds your personal information, it will be necessary in some circumstances to share or transfer that information to the buyer or new entity: for example, so that they can continue to provide continuity of service to you. You will always be notified of such a change of control or ownership, and will be given the opportunity to object or opt out of any further communications from us or the buyer or new entity, except where such use of your personal information is necessary for a lawful purpose (such as a legal obligation or right, or where necessary to perform an existing contract with you).
10.2 Your internet browser or other accounts. Depending on which browser you use to visit our site, and in accordance with your browser cookie preferences (see above), your browser (such as Google) may collect information about you and your visit for its own services, including those services such as segmented or personalised advertising that it provides to us and other sites. If you use social media sign-on (such as with Facebook), you will be enabling sharing of information between us and that site.
10.3 Our partners. We never sell personal information, or pass it to third parties outside of Trustnodes for their own marketing purposes, without your permission. We sometimes provide your personal information to third parties who are our subcontractors or providers of various products and services on our behalf and intermediaries, in order to fulfill those orders. Your personal information will always be subject to appropriate protections under contract.
10.4 Legal requirements. We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law, or if in good faith we believe such action is necessary to comply with the law.
10.6 Data processors. In common with most organizations, some of our functions using your personal information are outsourced to contractors (for example, automated ads and subscription tech are outsourced to boutique specialists). Any processing of personal information by these contractors will only be for these carefully defined purposes, and will be adequately and lawfully protected under contract, including requirements of confidentiality and data security.
11. Where we store your personal information
11.1 The personal information that we collect from you will sometimes be sent and stored outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) in order to carry out the activities listed in “Use of Your Information”. Except where this is on your specific instructions, this will always be subject to adequate safeguards as to the protection and security of your personal data.
11.2 We will only keep your personal information for as long as we need it for a lawful purpose: whether because of the products and services we have provided to you, for example as a subscriber or registered user (and to allow for reasonable retention of records afterwards to reflect legal requirements or limitation periods),or because we believe you still wish to hear from us. This is again separate from our role as a media organization and the information we are lawfully able to keep in the public interest because it is relevant to our journalism and publishing activities.
12. Changes to this Policy
12.1 If we change our Policy, we will post the changes on this page. Please check the website regularly for any changes to this Policy. However, any significant changes will be provided to you directly where possible.
13. If you don’t feel we’re adhering to this Policy, what should you do?
13.1 You have the following rights:
(1) To obtain access to, and copies of, the personal data that we hold about you, or require that it is transmitted to another data controller;
(2) To request that we restrict our data processing activities or cease processing your personal data in certain ways, for example because you do not consider it lawful;
(3) To require us not to send you marketing communications;
(4) To withdraw your consent, where we are relying on it to process your personal data;
(5) To object to how we process your personal data, in particular where we are relying on our legitimate interests; and
(6) To ask us to erase the personal data we hold about you, for example because it is causing you distress or you believe it to be no longer relevant, or to correct the information if it is incorrect.
If you would like to exercise any of your rights as stated above, you can do so by emailing contact@trustnodes.com.
Please note that the above rights are not absolute, and we will be entitled to refuse requests where exceptions apply (including where we are processing it in our capacity as a media organisation). You can find out more about your rights at www.ico.org.uk.
Automated decision making
You also have the right to object to automated decision-making, including by means of profiling. Although we use various algorithms and automated criteria to help us serve advertising in the manner set out in this Policy, this results in segmented advertising (by category of user) rather than specific decisions being made about you. This can in any event be controlled through your cookie and ad preferences.
If we change how we use this technology in the future, we will let you know if it affects you via this Policy (and significant changes or effects we will notify directly).
14. If you don’t feel we’re adhering to this Policy, what should you do?
14.1 If you believe that we have not adhered to this Policy, please notify us by email at contact@trustnodes.com.
This Policy was last updated on 20th January 2020.
