Privacy Policy

How MarkMeets Uses Personal Information

This Privacy Policy explains how MarkMeets collects and uses personal information when you visit MarkMeets.com, contact our team, subscribe to updates, contribute content, enter a competition or enquire about our services.

It also explains cookies, advertising, third-party services and the choices and rights available to you.

1. Who We Are and How to Contact Us

MarkMeets.com is operated by MarkMeets Media Ltd, referred to in this policy as “MarkMeets”, “we”, “us” or “our”. We are responsible for personal information where we determine how and why it is used.

Privacy contact: Webmaster@MarkMeets.com
Correspondence address: 86–90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom.

Please use the subject line “Privacy Enquiry” and explain your request. Do not send identity documents unless we request them through an appropriate process.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

Your name, email address, telephone number and postal or business address.
Messages, enquiries, complaints and correspondence.
Newsletter subscription details and communication preferences.
Account information and content you submit, where registration or commenting is available.
Competition entries and information needed to verify eligibility or deliver a prize.
Order details, billing information, transaction references and records relating to our services.
Professional information supplied in pitches, press materials, applications or contributor submissions.
Survey answers and feedback.

Please provide only the information relevant to your enquiry. If you supply another person’s details, make sure you have an appropriate basis to do so.

Information Collected Through Website Use

Our website and service providers may collect technical and usage information, including IP addresses, browser and device details, pages visited, referral information, access times and interactions with content or advertising.

Some information is collected through server logs, cookies, pixels or similar technologies. IP addresses and device identifiers may be personal information even when they do not directly identify you by name.

Information from Other Sources

In connection with our publishing and professional activities, we may receive information from publicists, contributors, clients, event organisers, business contacts and publicly available sources. Its use depends on the purpose for which it was obtained and the applicable legal requirements.

3. Why We Use Information

We use personal information for specific purposes and rely on an appropriate lawful basis for each activity. These may include consent, performing a contract or taking steps at your request before a contract, legal obligations and legitimate interests.

Enquiries and correspondence: responding to messages and managing professional relationships, based on our legitimate interests or steps requested before entering a contract.
Orders and services: preparing proposals, delivering agreed work, communicating about orders and administering payments, based on contract requirements and relevant legitimate interests.
Financial and legal records: meeting accounting, tax and other legal obligations.
Newsletters and marketing: sending communications where consent has been given or another permitted basis applies, subject to electronic marketing requirements.
Competitions: administering entries, selecting and contacting winners and arranging prizes, based on the competition arrangements and relevant legal requirements.
Website operation and security: maintaining the website, preventing misuse, investigating technical problems and protecting our systems, based on legitimate interests and any applicable legal obligations.
Audience measurement and advertising: understanding website use and supporting advertising, subject to the applicable rules on cookies, consent and personal information.
Publishing: researching, preparing and publishing journalism and other content, taking account of privacy rights, freedom of expression and applicable journalistic provisions.

Our legitimate interests include responding to enquiries, operating a publication, delivering services, maintaining business records and protecting against fraud or misuse. Where we rely on these interests, we consider their effect on the people concerned.

Simply visiting the website does not constitute consent to every use of personal information described in this policy.

4. Newsletters and Marketing Choices

We send newsletters and promotional communications where we have an appropriate basis to do so. Making an enquiry, entering a competition or visiting the website does not automatically provide consent to marketing.

You can unsubscribe using the link provided in a marketing email or contact Webmaster@MarkMeets.com. Please identify the email address concerned.

We aim to acknowledge emailed unsubscribe requests within 48 hours and process them promptly. Essential messages concerning an existing order, account or legal matter may still be sent where necessary.

We may retain a limited record of an unsubscribe request so we can respect your preference and avoid adding you back to a marketing list.

We do not sell your personal information. We may share relevant information where necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including with:

Hosting, website support, security and technical service providers.
Email, newsletter, form-processing and customer-support providers.
Payment processors and professional advisers.
Suppliers helping fulfil an order, deliver a service or provide a competition prize.
Analytics, advertising and embedded-content providers, according to the services used and applicable choices.
Authorities or other recipients where disclosure is legally required or necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

Information shared with a supplier should be relevant to its role. Some suppliers process information on our behalf; others, such as payment or advertising providers, may also act as independent controllers.

If someone raises a complaint about material submitted to the website, we assess any request for information according to its circumstances and legal basis. A third-party allegation does not automatically entitle the complainant to your identity or contact details.

Information may also be disclosed where reasonably necessary for a proposed business sale, merger, restructuring or transfer, subject to appropriate safeguards and legal requirements.

We may share genuinely anonymised or aggregated audience information that does not identify individual readers.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Cookies are small files stored on your device. Similar technologies, including pixels and local storage, can also support website functions, measurement and advertising.

Consent is required for some uses of these technologies. Other uses may fall within an applicable exception. Where consent is required, it must be obtained through an appropriate choice rather than assumed from continued browsing.

Category	Purpose
Necessary website functions	Support functions such as security, authentication and services requested by the user.
Preferences and consent records	Remember relevant settings and record privacy choices.
Analytics	Help measure website use and understand how content performs.
Advertising	Support advertising delivery, measurement and, where enabled and permitted, personalisation.
Embedded content	Enable third-party videos, social features, external feeds and other embedded services.

The technologies encountered depend on the page, features used and services enabled. Individual providers may use different names and retention periods.

Use any cookie or privacy controls presented on the website to review the available choices. Browser settings also allow you to inspect, block or delete cookies, although blocking some technologies may affect website functions or embedded content.

For general information, visit All About Cookies. Advertising preferences can also be explored through Your Online Choices. These resources do not replace any choices required on our website.

7. Analytics and Advertising

We use Google Analytics to help understand website activity. Google and other advertising providers may also process information in connection with adverts displayed on the website, including device information, online identifiers and interactions.

Whether advertising is personalised, and which technologies are used, depends on the relevant service, location, settings and applicable permissions.

Read how Google uses information from sites and apps using its services. Google also provides an Analytics opt-out browser add-on for supported uses.

8. Embedded Content, External Websites and Affiliates

Our pages may contain videos, social media posts, external feeds, advertising and links to other websites. Embedded services can communicate with their provider when loaded or used and may collect information or use cookies.

External providers have their own privacy information and controls. If you are signed into their service, they may be able to associate your interaction with your account.

Affiliate arrangements may involve tracking referrals and receiving limited transaction information, such as an order reference, purchase value or commission status. The information available depends on the programme and does not necessarily identify the purchaser.

Our policy explains our own activities. Please also read the policies of services you visit or interact with through the website.

9. Comments, Submissions and Published Material

If you submit a public comment or material intended for publication, your chosen display name, contribution and any agreed credit may become publicly accessible. Avoid including personal contact details or sensitive information in a public submission unless necessary and agreed.

Information supplied privately through a form or email is handled according to its purpose. A pitch, press release or interview submission may contain information intended for publication; please make any confidentiality request clear before sharing sensitive material.

10. Competitions and Publicity

Competition information may be used to administer entries, check eligibility, contact winners and arrange prizes. Relevant details may be shared with the named prize provider.

Winner announcements and any additional publicity are governed by the competition terms and applicable privacy requirements. Entering does not provide unrestricted permission to use your name, photograph or other details for unrelated marketing.

Read our Competition Terms and Conditions and the individual competition information.

11. Calls, Surveys and Feedback

We may request feedback to improve our website and services. Participation in optional surveys is voluntary, and any proposed use of identifiable feedback should be explained when it is collected.

Where a call is recorded or monitored for service quality or training, we will provide appropriate notice. The recording should be used only for the stated purposes and retained according to the relevant need.

12. How Long Information Is Kept

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, taking account of legal obligations, disputes and record-keeping requirements.

Enquiries: for the time needed to respond, manage follow-up and maintain relevant correspondence records.
Orders and services: for delivery, administration, accounting and any applicable legal or contractual period.
Newsletter records: while the subscription remains active, with limited suppression information retained after an unsubscribe.
Competition records: for administration, prize fulfilment, complaints and any required audit or regulatory purpose.
Security and usage records: for the period needed to investigate problems, protect systems and produce relevant reporting.
Published content: material may remain in our archive, subject to editorial review, rights requests and applicable law.

When information is no longer needed, it should be deleted or anonymised through the relevant retention process. Backup copies may remain until the applicable backup cycle completes.

13. International Processing

MarkMeets is based in the United Kingdom. Some third-party services may process information in other countries, depending on their infrastructure and service arrangements.

Where a restricted international transfer takes place, an applicable transfer mechanism and safeguards are required. These may include UK adequacy arrangements or approved contractual safeguards, as relevant to the provider and destination.

Contact our privacy email for information about the arrangements applying to a particular service and how to obtain relevant safeguard information. Visiting from outside the UK does not itself constitute consent to an international transfer.

14. Information Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, unlawful processing, loss and damage. Access is limited according to the needs of the work and the relevant service.

No internet service can guarantee absolute security. Please avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information and notify us if you believe information connected with MarkMeets has been compromised.

We do not install spyware on users’ devices. Cookies and other website technologies are addressed separately above.

15. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis, you may have rights to:

Request access to your personal information.
Ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected.
Request erasure in applicable circumstances.
Request restriction of processing.
Receive certain information in a portable format.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

You can object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing at any time.

Withdrawal of consent does not affect processing already lawfully carried out. Rights are not absolute, and exceptions may apply, including where information is needed for legal obligations, legal claims or qualifying journalistic purposes.

Send requests to Webmaster@MarkMeets.com. We may ask for proportionate information to verify identity or clarify the request and will respond within the applicable legal timeframe.

Requests are normally free. Where the law permits a fee or refusal, we will explain the reason and your available options.

16. Children and Younger Readers

Some MarkMeets content can be read by a general audience, while other articles concern films, products or subjects intended for adults. Parents and guardians should consider the suitability of the material their children access.

Specific services, competitions and content may have age restrictions. Where consent or parental authorisation is required for processing a child’s information, the applicable requirements must be followed.

If you believe a child has supplied personal information inappropriately, contact us so we can review the circumstances.

17. Questions and Complaints

Please contact Webmaster@MarkMeets.com if you have a question or concern about our use of personal information.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. Visit ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint for information about raising a concern.

18. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes to our services, processing activities or legal requirements. The current version will be available on this page, with an accurate update date.

Where a material change requires additional notice or consent, we will take the appropriate steps. Continued website use does not replace consent where consent is required.

Author Profile

Dan Dunn: Executive Managing editor

Editor and Admin at MarkMeets since Nov 2012. Columnist, reviewer and entertainment writer and oversees all of the section's news, features and interviews. During his career, he has written for numerous magazines.

Follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/ExclusiveGoss/
Email Dan@MarkMeets.com