Privacy Policy

Before we start, we know there is nothing worse than a lot of small print so you will be glad to know we have made our privacy policy clear, simple and easy to read!

 

Fathom is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the information we collect from our clients, customers, and website users. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you interact with us, whether through our website, survey tools, or other services.

 

This policy explains how we use personal data, and it applies to information we collect about:

 

• visitors to our website and subscribers to our newsletter

• participants in our research and engagement projects

• members of our online communities

• people who contact us via social media

• people who email us

• job applicants and our current and former employees

 

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using our services or visiting our website, you agree to the terms outlined in this policy. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this policy at any time. Please check this page periodically for any modifications.

 

Visitors to our website

When someone visits https://www.fathomresearch.uk/ we use third-party services, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will be up front about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it. 

 

We process this data on the basis of our legitimate interests in understanding our customers’ needs. You may opt out of marketing at any time or manage cookies through your browser. You may also request access, rectification or erasure of your personal data using the contact details provided below.

 

Cookie Statement

Cookies are very small text files that are stored on your computer when you visit some websites. You can disable any cookies already stored on your computer, but these may stop our website from functioning properly.

 

Marketing

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), there are 6 lawful bases that can be used to legally collect personal data. For all marketing activity, including e-marketing, marketing by post and telephone, we will generally rely on consent or legitimate interest as the lawful basis.

 

 

Legitimate Interest

To enable us provide marketing that is of technical or sector relevance to you as part of our normal professional services.

 

We have identified this as a legitimate interest of Fathom Research. We consider that use of your personal information is necessary to achieve that legitimate interest and we have balanced this against your interests, rights and freedoms.

 

Where the use of information is based on the legitimate interests’ condition, the legitimate interests pursued include:

 

Client management: This may include keeping your details on our marketing database, corporate hospitality and other client care activities like client satisfaction calls and keeping accounts and records

 

Direct marketing: including e-marketing and promoting our services. Examples include:

 

Keeping you informed of updates and events that we feel may be of interest to you based on your role and business sector

Keeping you informed of sector specific market research insights, case studies, general relevant industry information or more general news relating to Fathom Research.

Obtaining contact and position details from publicly available sources.

 

E-newsletter

We hold details you have provided us with to provide the service or information you have requested or for closely related purposes. For example, we may use these details to supply you with relevant industry information and case studies, although you can unsubscribe from this communication at any time easily.

 

Links to other websites

This privacy policy does not cover the links within our sites linking to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.

 

Participants to our research and engagement projects

As a research agency, we contact members of the public and other stakeholders to invite them to take part in research and engagement activities on behalf of a client that has commissioned us. Our projects can involve telephone surveys, on-street surveys, online surveys, focus groups or other activities. Each project we are commissioned for is subject to a specific Data Processing Agreement and further details can be provided on request from suzanne@fathomresearch.uk 

 

Whatever the approach, we ensure you are aware of our Privacy Policy, and we obtain your informed consent to participate:

 

We explain the personal data we are collecting up front

 

We explain the purpose of collecting this data and outline the legitimate purpose

We explain how much time we need from you to participate

That you have the right to be anonymous and withdraw at any point

That you have the right to access and withdraw data from research at any time

 

How long we will store your data for

We will only collect what is necessary for the purposes of each research project. We will not share any of the information from research participants with any third parties for marketing purposes or store any of your information outside of the European Economic Area. The information you provide will be held securely by us and/or our data processors whether the information is in electronic or physical format.

 

Our full and detailed privacy policy developed for respondents to our research and engagement activities can be requested from info@explainresearch.co.uk

 

IP Addresses

When you visit our website, take part in an online survey or visit one of our online communities, your IP address (the number assigned to computers on the Internet) will be recorded.  We use your IP address to help diagnose any problems on our site and also for research quality checking purposes.

 

Members of our online communities

If you are a member of one of our online communities, please refer to the specific privacy policy for that community which you can find on the relevant community. We will make it clear when we collect personal information from community members and will explain what we intend to do with it.

 

The online community server is a cloud-based system hosted in AWS. The data is stored within the UK, and this is maintained and managed by our IT service provider. The software development is supported by our partner. Both our IT service provider and software developer are bound by contracts that that ensure your data is managed in accordance with UK Data Protection laws. They act only on Fathom Research’s instructions and implement all technical measures necessary on an ongoing basis to keep your personal data secure.

 

 

Our online community platforms are hosted entirely within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environment, specifically utilising the London (eu-west-2) region. This ensures that all client data remains within UK jurisdiction, supporting compliance with UK data protection laws including the UK GDPR.

 

 

If you have any queries or complaints about the way your data is handled, please contact Fathom using the details below. You can also request a copy of the data held on you using these details.

 

 

People who email us

Any email sent to us, including any attachments, will be stored for reference purposes for a period of 12 months, unless there is reasonable justification for holding this for longer. The legal basis for holding this data is legitimate interests.  

 

 

How We Protect Your Information

We take the security of your information seriously and employ reasonable safeguards to protect your personal data, including encryption and access controls.  We are ISO and Cyber Security accredited, which shows our commitment to quality and security.

 

 

Your Rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have certain rights as an individual which you can exercise in relation to the information we hold about you.

 

 

You can read more about these rights here – https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/ 

 

Complaints or queries

Explain tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.

 

This privacy notice was drafted with brevity and clarity in mind. It does not provide exhaustive detail on all aspects of Fathom's collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to the address below.

 

 

Access to personal information

Explain tries to be as open as it can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’ under the General Data Protection Regulation.

 

If we do hold information about you, we will: give you a description of it, tell you why we are holding it, tell you who it could be disclosed to, and let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

 

To make a request to Fathom for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing addressing it to the address provided below.

 

If you agree, we will try to deal with your request informally, for example by providing you with the specific information you need over the telephone.

If we do hold information about you, you can ask us to correct any mistakes or erase your data by, once again, contacting the address below.

 

 

Changes to this privacy notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. This privacy notice was last updated on 14th August 2025.

 

 

How to contact us

 

If you want to request information about our privacy policy or have any enquiries about your data, you can email us at Suzanne@fathomresearch.uk