getcloser.com privacy policy

Getcloser.com (the "Website") is owned and run by Get Closer Limited ("Get Closer") of Shelley House, 2 - 4 York Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 1SR with registered number 3065164. Please read our Privacy Policy carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data.

Get Closer is committed to safeguarding and respecting your privacy in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. This privacy policy covers your use of this Website and explains how we use the information we collect about you and the procedures that we have in place to safeguard your privacy.

If we change this Privacy Policy we will post the changes on this page so that you may be aware of them. We may also e-mail you should we make any changes to give you a chance to ask us not to use your information in that way. Your continued use of the Service or the Website after any such changes will constitute your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. If you do not wish to accept the revised Privacy Policy, you must not use or access (or continue to use or access) the Service or the Website. It is your responsibility to regularly check the Website to determine if the Privacy Policy has been updated and to review those changes before deciding whether or not to access (or continue to access) the Service or Website.

1. Information we may collect and how we use it

   • 1.1 Get Closer collects the following information about you when you use this Website:
     1. Information that you provide. We collect personal information (for example your name, email address and age) when you register with the Website. You may also choose to submit other profile data such as your personal interests and occupation, and also content such as text and photos.
     2. Information collected by us as you use Getcloser.com. Get Closer also collects and stores information transmitted by your computer when you use the Website. This includes your IP address, browser data and information we receive from cookies (please see section 8 below).
   • 1.2 We may use this information in the following ways:
     1. to process your application to be a registered user;
     2. to identify you and authenticate your use when you visit the Website;
     3. to provide our service(s) to you as a user of the Website, including enhancing your user experience;
     4. to reward you based on your interaction with the Website. We will launch, in due course, a reward scheme which will reward you based on your activities on the Website including how many connections you create, the number of reviews you write or number of friends you invite to the Website. We will email you with more details on this reward scheme at a later stage;
     5. to provide you with information about any features or new functionality of the Website which we think may be of interest to you;
     6. for marketing third party (such third parties to include companies within the HMV Group plc group of companies) products and services to you, unless you have withheld your consent for us to do so (for example by ticking the relevant box on your registration page or if you subsequently notify us by post or email that you no longer wish to receive such messages (see section 7 below);
     7. to ensure that content from the Website is presented in the most effective manner for you and your computer;
     8. to allow you to participate in interactive features of the Website when you choose to do so;
     9. to notify you about changes to our service and/or the Website; and
     10. to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer the Website

     (together the "Purposes").

   • 1.3 We monitor customer traffic on an aggregate basis in order to help us develop and improve the Website for the benefit of our users. In order to enhance your use of the Website you will be given a session ID which will only last for the duration of that visit to the Website. Each time you visit the Website you will have a different session ID.

2. Your consent

   • 2.1 By using the Website and submitting information, you consent to:
     1. the collection and use of your personal information by us as described in section 1 above;
     2. the sharing of your data with third parties strictly in accordance with section 3 below;
     3. in the unlikely event that we should need to do so, the transfer of your personal information to countries outside the European Economic Area; and
     4. our sharing personal information with other companies within the HMV Group plc group of companies which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006 in connection with the Purposes and the operation of this Website.

3. Information disclosure to third parties

   • 3.1 We may disclose your personal information to third parties in the following circumstances only:
     1. for marketing purposes provided always that you consent to us sharing such data with third parties by notifying us via the Website (e.g. by ticking the relevant box(es) on your registration form) or in other communications with us;
     2. to service providers who manage aspects of our operations (for example third parties who provide technical services to the Website) in connection with the Purposes;
     3. if Get Closer or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about users of the Website will be one of the transferred assets;
     4. if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply the Website Terms of Use and other agreements; or
     5. to protect the rights, property, or safety of Get Closer, its members or Website users (this includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction).

4. Your profile

   • 4.1 When you register to use Getcloser.com you may set up a personal profile. Using this profile you can send messages to other registered users and upload content including text and photos. Please note that any information which you post on your personal profile, including your name, picture, country of residency, favourite music and film and interests will be free to be viewed by other users of the Website. You can change your profile by logging onto the Website with your registered user name and password and clicking on Edit Profile.
   • 4.2 Your email address will not be displayed or shared with any other registered user (unless you choose to do so). Registered users communicate with each other using the network provided by the Website, without disclosing their email addresses.

5. Eligibility

   • Individuals under the age of 16 are not eligible to use this Website. If you are under 16, please do not attempt to use this Website or submit personal information about yourself to us (for example your name, address or email address). In the event that Get Closer discovers that it has collected personal information from a person under the age of 16, we will delete this information as quickly as possible. If you are aware of an instance where we may have collected personal information from a person aged under 16 please contact us at info@getcloser.com and we will delete the information as quickly as possible.

6. Your rights - marketing

   • 6.1 You will only receive communications from us or third parties if you have consented to this by ticking the relevant box(es) on your registration form or in any communications with us.
   • 6.2 You have the right at any time to ask us not to use your personal data for marketing purposes. If you do not wish to receive such communications, please login to the Website with your username and password, go to Change My Details and amend your preferences.

7. Cookies

   • 7.1 'Cookies' are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser to prevent that. We use cookies to keep track of the pages you and other visitors have been to on the Website and to tell us whether you have visited the Website previously in order to deliver a better and more personalised service.
   • 7.2 You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of the Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you login to the Website. Users can deactivate the cookies by making the change on the web browser setting of your computer.
   • 7.3 Please note if we carry any external advertising on the Website or have sponsors, that they themselves may also use cookies over which we have no control.

8. Advertisers

   • 8.1 We do not disclose identifiable information about individuals to our advertisers or sponsors but we may provide them with aggregate information about our users (for example we may inform them that 500 men and 350 women aged under 30 have clicked on their link or advertisement in the Website). We may also use such aggregate information to help advertisers reach the kind of audience they want to target (for example, women in London). We may make use of the personal data we have collected from you to enable us to comply with our advertisers' and sponsors' wishes by displaying their advertisement to that target audience.

9. Data storage

   • 9.1 All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password or other data which enables you to access certain parts of the Website, you are responsible for keeping this password and any other identifier confidential and we strongly recommend that you do not share your password or other identifier with anyone.
   • 9.2 This or the dynamics of the Internet may mean that information is sent electronically to servers outside of the country where you originally entered the information. In addition, that information may be used, stored and processed outside the country where you entered that information. While there is a risk that countries to which information is transferred will not be subject to an information protection regime as rigorous as that of the UK, we will always take steps to ensure that your information is treated securely and adequately protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
   • 9.3 Your data may also be processed by staff that work for us or for one of our suppliers and may be situated outside the country where you entered that information. Such staff may be engaged in, among other things, the provision of our service(s) to you and the provision of support services. By submitting your personal data, you agree to such transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
   • 9.4 Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to the Website; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we use strict procedures and security features to try and prevent unauthorised access. Agents or contractors who in the course of providing services to Get Closer have access to information which you give to us are required to keep that information secure and confidential and are not permitted to use it for any purpose other than to carry out the services which they are performing for Get Closer.

10. Information access

    • 10.1 You have a right to access information held about you and you can do this by emailing info@getcloser.com. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you. We will endeavour to send you the information (as held by us) within 30 days. You can also request us to correct any factual inaccuracies in that information or delete any of that information from our records.

11. Contact

    • Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to info@getcloser.com.

27 June 2008