Who we are

This SensorCheck.org website is run by the Environmental Research Group (ERG) of Imperial College London.

What we collect and why:

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service Privacy Policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/.

We reserve the right to flag or delete comments.

After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

User Accounts

We allow users to enter create accounts to allow upload of sensor tests . Please note that the User Type field may be changed by a moderator if your user type cannot be validated.

User Entered Data

We allow users to enter data about sensor tests. This includes meta data about sensor locations and instruments, and csv files containing data. We will allow other users to see a summary of your test, as the point of the site is to share sensor tests. Individual measurements should only be visible to the person uploading and administrators from ERG, who can can see all data. We will endeavour to enforce this constraint, but there is a small risk that a user may find a way round our security measures. If you are not happy with this please do not upload any data. Please also note that we reserve the right to flag or even delete uploaded data.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics to collect standard log information and details of visitor behavior patterns. This information is processed in a way that does not identify anyone.

Logs

We sometimes store logs of IP addresses and requests in order to track technical problems and monitor for abuse.
We delete this information after three months.

Legal Basis

The legal basis for us storing and processing your user entered data and comments is that you have actively given us your consent.
You may withdraw your consent at any time by using the links provided in the emails, or by getting in touch with us.
The legal basis for us storing and processing website logging is that it is in our legitimate interests.

Who we share your data with

Some of the data you enter on the website may be fully view-able by all visitors to the website. We may choose to share data with central and local Government, on the basis that they have commissioned this service, but this is not done routinely. We may also share it with researchers on the basis that any research has passed appropriate ethical approval, on a case by case basis.

How long we retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

Users entered sensor tests are also expected to be retained indefinitely, partly so any users of the devices can see the tests, and potentially as a research resource in the future.

What are your rights?

If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

You can contact ERG directly (erg-enquires@imperial.ac.uk).
You can contact the Data Protection Office directly (https://ico.org.uk ) and have the right to make a complaint.
Imperial College London is the registered data controller number Z5940050.

Changes to this notice

This notice was created on the 3rd of December 2020.
It will be updated whenever there is a substantive change to the service or website, or if there is a change to the appropriate legislation.