We respect your privacy and are determined to protect your personal data. The purpose of this privacy notice is to inform you how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you visit it from) or use our software. We’ll also tell you about your privacy rights and how data protection law protects you.

This privacy notice is provided in a layered format so you can click through to the specific areas set out below.

1. Who we are and important information

We know that you care how information about you is used and shared. This privacy notice explains what personal data we collect from you through our interactions with you and through our products, and how we use that data.

This privacy notice aims to give you information on how we collect and process your personal data through your use of all DriveWorks websites, and in using our software, including any data you may provide through this website when you sign up to our newsletter, sign up to our portal, or purchase a product. 

This website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children.

You must read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.

Data controller(s)

DriveWorks Limited is the controller and responsible for our websites and our software.

DriveWorks is made up of different legal entities. This privacy notice is issued on behalf of the DriveWorks Group so when we mention DriveWorks, “we”, “us” or “our” in this privacy notice, we are referring to the relevant company in the DriveWorks Group responsible for processing your data.

For all data matters contact:

DriveWorks Limited

The Barley Store

Laskey Lane, Thelwall

WA4 2TF

United Kingdom

Phone: +44 (0) 1925 757585

Email: privacy@driveworks.co.uk

Third-party links outside of our control

This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements.

When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 11th August 2022.

2. The personal data we collect about you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. You can find out more about personal data from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

Most areas of our website and online help files do not require any form of registration, allowing you to visit our website without telling us who you are. However, some services may require you to provide us with personal data, such as creating an account for our community and our learning management system, licensing our software, using the Contact Us form, registering for an event or webinar or signing up for a newsletter. In these situations, if you choose to withhold any personal data requested by us, it may not be possible for you to gain access to certain content and for us to respond to your enquiry.

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together follows:

• Identity Data includes first name, last name, username, title, company you work for or education provider you study with.
• Contact Data includes company addresses, email address, telephone numbers.
• Technical data includes browser data, browser type and version/location/operating system and platform/other technology on the devices users use to access the website. Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the website you visited just prior to accessing our website, the URL you go to after leaving our website, what browser you are using, and your Internet Protocol (IP) address.
• Profile data includes usernames and password, preferences, and feedback.
• Usage data includes how you use our website, products, and services.
• Marketing data including preferences for receiving marketing from the business and your communication preferences.
• Other Data includes the type of industry you work in, dietary requirements for events, data on the transactions for purchases.

We also collect, use, and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data. Aggregated data may be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your usage data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect aggregated data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.

We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect your personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

3. How we collect your personal data

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

• Directly. You may give us your identity, contact and business data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:
  • Purchase our products or services.
  • Create an account on our Community.
  • Subscribe to our service or publications.
  • Request marketing to be sent to you.
  • Send us your personal information via a Contact Us form or demo.

• Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, user portal and software, we may automatically collect technical data about your IP address, machine name, equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies and other similar technologies.

• Third parties or publicly available sources. We may receive personal data about you from various third parties as set out below
  • Analytics providers such as Google based outside the UK.
  • Search information providers which may be based inside OR outside the UK.
  • Contact, financial and transaction data from providers of technical, payment and delivery services such as PayPal based outside of the UK.
  • Identity and Contact Data from publicly available sources such as Companies House and the Electoral Register based inside the UK.
  • Technical data collected via our software via error reports and licensing transactions.

• Indirectly. You may give us your data via a reseller when purchasing our software or receiving technical support.

4. How we use your personal data

We do not sell, transfer, or disclose email addresses to any third party except when necessary to process a transaction or to comply with applicable laws or valid legal processes. Our primary goal in collecting information is to provide you with information, products and services that are most relevant to you and to provide you with efficient and effective service while using our websites and software. You may visit our website and browse without giving us any personal information. However, you may wish to register with us to access additional content and or to download products and further information.

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Explicit consent this means your data will be collected and processed where you have provided us with explicit consent, for example checking a check box before completing a Contact Us form.
• Performance of Contract this means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering such a contract, for example during a software purchase.
• Legitimate Interest this means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting privacy@driveworks.co.uk.
• Comply with a legal or regulatory obligation this means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation that we are subject to, for example for legal and tax purposes.

Purposes for which we will use your personal data

We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, with the legal bases we rely on to do so.

Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

Marketing

We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain personal data uses, particularly around marketing and advertising.

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or purchased goods or services from us. In each case, you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

Third-party marketing

We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your personal data with any company outside the DriveWorks group of companies for marketing purposes.

Opting out

You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time.

Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us because of a product/service purchase, product or service experience or other transactions.

Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of text sent to your browser by a website you visit. We use cookies to help our website remember information about your visit, to make your next visit easier and our site more useful to you.

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

5. Who we share your personal data with

We may have to share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table in paragraph 4 above.

• Internal Third Parties
  • DriveWorks employees within the DriveWorks Group, some of which may be outside of the UK.

• Internal Third Parties
  • DriveWorks em
  • External Third Parties Service
  • DriveWorks Value Added Resellers who sell DriveWorks software in your territory and who provide your local technical support services, some of which may be outside of the UK.
  • Professional advisers [acting as processors or joint controllers] including lawyers, bankers, auditors, and insurers based within the countries in which the DriveWorks Group operates who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and/or accounting services, some of which may be outside of the UK.
  • HM Revenue & Customs, regulators, and other authorities acting as processors or joint controllers based within the countries in which the DriveWorks Group operates who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances, some of which may be outside of the UK.

• Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy notice.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

As DriveWorks is sold and supported primarily through SOLIDWORKS resellers, we will ask you for the name of your SOLIDWORKS reseller and may contact your reseller so that they can answer your questions or so that they know when to pass support questions on to us.

Any personal data we share with our Value-Added Resellers is shared only on the basis that the data will be used by the Reseller under a lawful basis of legitimate interest and according to the requirements of UK Data Protection (or similar privacy regulations within the country you reside).

6. International transfers

If your DriveWorks Reseller, or the DriveWorks Reseller of your group parent company is based outside of the UK, we may share your personal data with that Reseller. This will involve transferring your data outside the UK.

Some of our external third party hosted storage systems are based outside the UK, so their processing of your personal data will involve a transfer of data outside the UK.

Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by implementing safeguards:

• Every DriveWorks Value Added Reseller is vetted.
• Every 3^rd party cloud-based, password protected storage system we use is reputable, vetted and monitored.

Please contact us at privacy@driveworks.co.uk if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the UK.

If you are visiting the website from outside of the United Kingdom, please be aware that you are sending information (including personal data) to the United Kingdom. That information may then be transferred within the United Kingdom or out of the United Kingdom within our other offices, which may be outside your country of residence. These countries may not necessarily have the same data protection laws as the United Kingdom or your country of residence, however, our collection, storage and use of your data will continue to be governed by this Privacy Policy.

7. Data security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, resellers and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

We are committed to security. DriveWorks promises to quickly work to remedy any vulnerabilities found in our website or software and to alert our customers about any potentially dangerous vulnerabilities. If you have questions about DriveWorks’ commitment to security or concerns about a security issue in one of our products or websites, please contact us at privacy@driveworks.co.uk.

To secure your personal information on our Community and Learning Management System, access to your data is password protected. It is your responsibility to keep your password confidential and not to share this information with anyone.

8. Data retention

We will keep your data safely and securely for as long as necessary or according to your instructions.

Retention periods may vary depending on the data categories and the processing activities. If you would like more information about how we store your data, please contact us directly.

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

For example, by law we must keep basic information about our customers including contact information and transaction data relating to purchases for 6 years after they cease being customers for tax purposes.

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see Your legal rights below for further information.

In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

9. Your legal rights

Unless subject to an exemption under the data protection laws, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• The right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data;
• The right to request a copy of the personal data which we hold about you;
• The right to request that we correct any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;
• The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary to retain such data;
• The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time, where consent was the lawful basis for processing your data;
• The right to request that we provide you with your personal data and where possible, to transmit that data directly to another data controller, (known as the right to data portability), where applicable i.e. where our processing is based on consent or is necessary for the performance of our contract with you or where we process your data by automated means);
• The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;
• The right to object to our processing of personal data, where applicable i.e. where processing is based on our legitimate interests (or in performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority); direct marketing or processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics).

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.

10. Changes to this notice and your duty to inform us of changes

This version was last updated on 1^st August 2024 and historic versions can be obtained by contacting us.

Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us. It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current.

If we make changes to any terms or conditions of the Privacy Notice, the changes will be posted on our website so that you will always know what information we gather, as well as how we might use that information and to whom we may disclose it. We may change, modify, add or remove portions of this Privacy Notice at any time. Please be sure to check this page before proceeding to use our website.

11. Queries, requests or concerns

To exercise all relevant rights, queries, or complaints in relation to this notice or any other data protection matter between you and us, please in the first instance contact us.

If this does not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office on 03031231113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, England, UK.

Contact: The Data Protection Officers, DriveWorks Ltd, The Barley Store, Laskey Lane, Thelwall, Cheshire, WA4 2TF, United Kingdom.

Email: privacy@driveworks.co.uk

To comply with your request, we may ask you to verify your identity.

No fee required – with some exceptions

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable admin fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Time limit to respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made several requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.