Text Messaging SMS Service Privacy Notice
Details of what information we collect from you, what we do with it, and who it might be shared with.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Mount Pleasant Road
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN1 1RS
Email: dataprotection@tunbridgewells.gov.uk
Telephone: 01892 526121
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council uses GOV.UK Notify to send and receive SMS text messages on subjects you subscribe to.
GOV.UK Notify is built and run by the Government Digital Service, the same team who created and maintain the Government’s website GOV.UK.
Information like your mobile number, the content of messages and your council tax account number, depending on the service you subscribe to.
We will not ask you to supply any personal information like your name or address. If you choose to send us a text message containing other personal information, it will be saved to our databases but not used for any other purpose.
Our legal basis for using your information is:
Consent.
To send you the text message you have subscribed to.
To collect your council tax account number for our council tax reminder service so that we know which account holders are using the service.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council will keep hold of your information for as long as you remain subscribed to the service. Once you unsubscribe from the service, we will keep a record of your mobile number and any messages we have exchanged for a period of 18 months, after which they will be deleted from our systems.
Behind the scenes, the text messages we exchange are dealt with by delivery providers. The content of our messages and your mobile number are shared with these delivery providers in order to provide you with the text messaging service.
The table below lists the delivery providers your mobile number may be passed to and how long they will retain the information for.
| Organisation | Personal data | Non-personal data |
|---|---|---|
| GOV.UK Notify | 7 days or 7-11 days for scheduled jobs | Indefinite |
| MMG (text message supplier to Notify) | 30 days | Indefinite |
| Firetext (text message supplier to Notify) | 30 days | Indefinite |
| Mblox (text message supplier to Firetext) | 1 year | 1 year |
| Vodafone (mobile network) | 30 days | 3 years |
| EE (mobile network) | 7 days | 1 year |
| Three (mobile network) | 90 days | Indefinite |
| O2 (mobile network) | 90 days | Indefinite |
Personal data includes the mobile number and message body.
Non-personal data includes a generated message ID, timestamps and delivery status stored mainly for billing purposes.
You can stop text messages from the Council at any time by texting ‘STOP’ to 07491 163299. We will unsubscribe you from the service and delete a record of your mobile number from our database after 18 months.
What are your rights in relation to the personal information we process?
- Access – you can request copies of any of your personal information that is held by the council.
- Rectification – you can ask us to correct any incorrect information.
- Deletion – you can ask us to delete your personal information. The council can refuse to delete information if we have a lawful reason to keep this.
- Portability – you can ask us to transfer your personal data to different services or to you.
- Right to object or restrict processing – you have the right to object to how your data is being used and how it is going to be used in the future.
- Right to prevent automatic decisions – you have to challenge a decision that affects you that has been made automatically without human intervention, for example an online form with an instant decision.
What security precautions are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information?
We are strongly committed to data security and will take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption. We have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard the information you provide to us.
We want to ensure any information we hold is accurate. You can help us by promptly informing us of any changes to the information we hold about you.
There are no automated decisions in this process.
If you are accessing online services and are aged 13 or under‚ please get your parent/guardian's permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.
What are cookies and why are they used?
Cookies are small text files which identify your computer to our servers. They are used to improve the user experience. View what cookies we use and how you can manage them at on our privacy and cookies page.
If you would like to make a complaint regarding the use of your personal data you can contact our Data Protection Officer:
Email: dataprotection@tunbridgewells.gov.uk
For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number.
Alternatively, visit the Information Commissioner's Office website or email casework@ico.org.uk.