*MARU GROUP – PRIVACY POLICY

* “Maru Group” includes Maru Canada Inc, Maru Blue Canada Inc, Maru/Blue US LLC, Maru Group LLC, Maru Group Limited, Maru/edr Limited

MARU GROUP ("We") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This policy sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. For the purposes of data protection legislation we are the data controller. Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email to privacy@marugroup.net.

Please read the following policy carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. This policy should be read in conjunction with our Data Processing Policy. By visiting www.marugroup.net you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.

Also note that this policy is for general Maru Group data privacy and complies with all applicable privacy laws including the requirements set out by GDPR, UK GDPR and CCPA*.  Maru Group offers full market research and customer insights services; these services may be covered by separate privacy policies, depending on services offered.

What are the grounds for processing your information?

We are processing your data on the following ground(s):

you have previously given your consent to our client to the processing for the purposes stated in section 2.2, above; and/or

The processing is necessary for achieving our clients’ legitimate interest of receiving your feedback in respect of the goods or services you have used or purchased from them. In accordance with data protection law, we have carefully weighed your interests and fundamental rights and freedoms against our clients’ interest to process your information and are satisfied that we are justified in processing your information for this purpose

INFORMATION WE COLLECT FROM YOU

We will collect and process the following data about you:

(Categories include Identifiers, Customer records information, Commercial information, Internet information):

  • Information you give us. This is information about you that you give us by filling in forms on our site www.marugroup.net ("our site") or by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise. It includes information you provide when you register to use our site, subscribe to our service, participate in discussion boards or other social media functions on our site, enter a competition, promotion or survey and when you report a problem with our site. The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address and phone number, financial and credit card information, personal description and photograph.

  • Information we collect about you. With regard to each of your visits to our site we will automatically collect the following information:

    • technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform;

    • information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL),] clickstream to, through and from our site (including date and time), products you viewed or searched for, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and any phone number used to call our customer service number; and

    • both identifiable and unidentifiable personal data via digital method of collect information.

COOKIES

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.

We use "cookies" to gather statistical information that helps us understand what users find interesting and useful on both our own and our clients' websites. Users can decline the cookies by adjusting the "accept cookies" setting on their browser, however, this may affect the functionality of our surveys on client web sites.  We may also embed a piece of code into pages of certain client sites. This gives us statistical site usage information about how the site is used. We aggregate this information to provide our clients with a closer understanding of how visitors use their site. We do not use this code to collect any personally identifiable information. 

For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them see our Cookie Policy.

USES MADE OF THE INFORMATION

We will never sell, share, or rent your personal data without your prior consent.

Note that MARU does not sell, share, or rent personal data of minors/children under 16, without parental consent. 

It should also be noted that, because we do not control the privacy practices of our clients, we advise that you read and fully understand their privacy policies in addition to this privacy policy.  Also note that this policy is for general Maru Group data privacy.  Maru Group offers full market research and customer insights services; these services may be covered by separate privacy policies, depending on services offered.

We share aggregated demographic information with our partners and clients; this is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person or organisation.

Surveys and Panels. Where information is volunteered and subsequently collected that can identify the respondent this is used to provide insights and information that allow our clients to create more efficient and effective products and services to their customers. No contact will be made to individual respondents unless specifically authorised by that respondent.

Competitions and Draws. Where individual information is required to identify a winner of a competition or draw this may be revealed to the appropriate client. Please refer to individual competition rules which will refer to the requirements for publicity of winners' names.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

You agree that we have the right to share your personal information 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.

  • Selected third parties including:

    • business partners and customers;

    • analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our site.

We will disclose your personal information to third parties:

  • In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we will disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.

  • If Maru Group 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.

  • If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

WHERE WE STORE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. This includes staff engaged in, among other things, analysing survey results, the processing of any payment details and the provision of support services. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your personal data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.

All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

HOW LONG WE STORE YOUR PERSONAL DATA FOR

We will store your personal data for no longer than is necessary for us to fulfil the purpose for which it was obtained, provided that we have a reasonable commercial case for doing so, and for 2 years thereafter.

YOUR RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER OR OTHER INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS PROVIDE PERSONAL INFORMATION TO US

You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes or personal profiling. We will inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data. 

In addition to the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes you also have the right to:

  • request access to a copy of all personal data which we hold about you;

    o   request a report on the specific data categories and uses (as stipulated above)

  • require inaccurate data which we hold about you to be corrected and rectified;

  • require us to erase any personal data which we hold about you where:

    o   the original purpose for which we obtained your personal data has expired;

    o   you have withdrawn your consent to us holding your personal data;

    o   you consider us to be unlawfully processing your personal data; or

    o   you object to us processing your data on the basis of our legitimate interests;

  • restrict the sale or resale of your personal information

  • equal service and pricing regardless of actions you take regarding your data

  • have your personal data transferred by us to another data controller or to us from another data controller; and

  • restrict us from processing your personal data whilst any dispute that may arise between us is being resolved.

You can exercise any of your rights, including the right to withdraw your consent, at any time by emailing privacy@marugroup.net

As well, you can contact the MARU group using the Contact Us form, to submit your request to exercise your rights.  (https://www.marugroup.net/contact-maru)

MARU must verify your identity prior to executing your request.  In your request, please provide your MARU member account information for verification.  If you do not have your MARU member account information, MARU Privacy will reply to your request and arrange alternate identity verification, based on the sensitivity of your request.

 NOTE:  Opt-out requests do not require verification.

You may also nominate an Agent to make these requests on your behalf.  For MARU to execute the request, your Agent will need to submit evidence of your written authorization to act on your behalf.  Upon verification of authority, MARU will execute the request.

Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers and affiliates.  If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies.  Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

In some cases, where Clients of Maru Group have engaged the MARU/HUB platform as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering, MARU will not have access to any collected data.  In such cases, Data Privacy and Data Controllership are the responsibility of the Client.  If the Client engages Maru Group for support, depending on the nature of such support, we may assume the role of Data Processor at that point.

CONTACT

Questions, comments and requests, including any complaints, regarding us or this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to privacy@marugroup.net.

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

MARU encourages you to periodically review this Policy to stay informed of how we manage your personal information. If any changes are made to this Policy, MARU will revise the “Last Updated” date that is indicated on the Policy.

 

* “GDPR” refers to the European General Data Protection Regulation; “UK GDPR” refers to the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation; and “CCPA” refers to the California Consumer Privacy Act

Last Updated: February 22, 2023