How We Handle Your Data.

1. Introduction & Data Controller

Welcome to the QT FM Studios Network. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal and business information is handled in a safe, transparent, and legally compliant manner.

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Controller is QT FM Studios, operating as a sole trader within the United Kingdom.

2. Information We Collect

A. From Listeners (General Users)

• Contact Data: Name and email address (provided voluntarily when you use our contact or request forms).
• Technical Data: IP address, browser type, and rough geographical location (processed instantaneously for features like local weather).

B. From Advertisers (B2B Clients)

When you submit an advertising enquiry or enter into a commercial agreement with us, we collect:

• Identity Data: Contact name, company name, and job title.
• Contact Data: Business email address, telephone number, and billing address.
• Financial Data: Preferred payment methods (e.g., BACS, PayPal). Note: We do not process or store credit/debit card numbers directly on our website.
• Campaign Data: Audio files, scripts, marketing copy, and campaign preferences.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we process your data under the following legal bases:

• Contractual Necessity: For advertisers, processing is necessary to provide you with quotes, generate invoices, and execute broadcasting contracts.
• Legitimate Interests: To deliver our audio streams, secure our websites against spam/bots (e.g., Honeypot tracking), and analyse listener trends.
• Legal Obligation: To maintain accurate B2B financial records for HMRC and accounting purposes.
• Consent: Where you have explicitly opted-in to receive marketing communications or accepted non-essential tracking cookies.

4. Data Retention

We only keep your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for:

• Listener Requests: Contact form submissions are typically deleted within 30 days after the request has been handled.
• B2B Advertising Data: By law, we are required to keep basic information about our customers (including Contact, Identity, Financial, and Transaction Data) for six years after they cease being customers for UK tax and accounting purposes.

5. Google AdSense & Cookies

We use cookies to ensure our site functions correctly (like our persistent audio player) and to serve advertising.

• Google AdSense: Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our website.
• Opt-Out: You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings.

6. Data Sharing

We absolutely do not sell your personal or business data. We share data only with trusted partners necessary to operate the network:

• Streaming Hosts: To route audio to your IP address.
• Payment Processors: PayPal or our banking partners for processing B2B invoices.
• Legal Authorities: Only when strictly required by UK law (e.g., HMRC).

7. Your Rights (UK GDPR)

You have the right to request access to your data, correction of errors, deletion of your data (right to be forgotten), and the right to object to or restrict processing. To exercise any of these rights, contact us below.

8. Contact & Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Website: https://www.ico.org.uk
Helpline: 0303 123 1113