Privacy Policy
Paris Professionals (part of Professionals UK) is committed to protecting your personal data. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it and the rights you have. It applies to parisprofessionals.com and all our regional and international websites.
Who we are
Paris Professionals (part of Professionals UK) is a trading name of Net Trading Solutions Limited, registered in England and Wales under company number 06391258. Our principal office is at 7-8 Stratford Place, London, W1C 1AY.
Net Trading Solutions Limited is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. We process it in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The data we collect
- Account details: your name, email address, phone number, company, job title and location, given when you register or sign in with another account, such as LinkedIn, Google or Apple.
- Profile and posts: the information, articles, events and images you choose to publish on your profile.
- Enquiries and messages: service enquiries, replies and messages sent through our websites.
- Preferences: the service and network preferences you select, and your notification settings.
- Correspondence: emails, calls and messages with our team, including support and account queries. We do not routinely record or transcribe phone or video calls. Where a video call is recorded or transcribed, for example for note-taking, participants are notified at the time. Our telecoms provider may keep call records or recordings, which we may retrieve where needed, for example if a query or dispute arises.
- Usage data: pages viewed, profile views, log-in activity, IP address, device and browser type, collected through our systems and cookies.
- Payments and agreements (paying members): membership details, invoices and payment records. Payments are processed securely through our payment providers. Where you agree to deferred, instalment or scheduled payments, we or our payment provider hold your payment details securely so those payments can be taken when due. Card details are handled in line with payment card industry security standards (PCI DSS).
If you sign in with another account, such as LinkedIn, Google or Apple, that provider shares basic details with us, such as your name, email address and profile picture. Your relationship with that provider is governed by its own terms. You can disconnect it in that provider's settings.
How we use your data and our lawful basis
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Creating and running your account and profile | Contract |
| Providing paid memberships, invoicing and collecting payments | Contract; legal obligation for accounting records |
| Forwarding service enquiries to relevant members and passing on replies | Contract; legitimate interests in running the service |
| Reviewing messages, content and the responses to them, and tracking response levels, to report on performance, check enquiries are followed up and support members | Legitimate interests |
| Handling queries, complaints, disputes (including payment disputes) and suspected breaches of our terms, including referring to messages, content, responses and activity records, and responding to inaccurate public statements about our service | Legitimate interests; legal claims |
| Reporting to members on the effectiveness of their membership | Contract; legitimate interests |
| Sending service notifications and changes to our service | Contract; legitimate interests |
| Sending newsletters and information about our services | Legitimate interests (existing members) or consent; you can unsubscribe at any time |
| Featuring public profile content and posts in our newsletters and social media | Legitimate interests |
| Keeping our websites secure and preventing fraud | Legitimate interests; legal obligation |
| Non-essential cookies and analytics | Consent |
Member messages and enquiries
Paris Professionals (part of Professionals UK) is a business networking platform. Our websites are for business purposes: helping members make connections and gain clients and referrals. We facilitate this activity and measure its results, so that we and our paying members can see how effective it is. Messaging is designed for business communication, not for private or personal conversations, and should not be used to send sensitive personal information.
Messages and content on our websites, such as introductory messages, service promotions, posts and broadcasts, are business communications that promote members' services. We may review them and the responses to them, including responses to enquiries and service preferences forwarded through our system, and we track response levels. This helps paying members see how their messages and content are performing, and helps us check that enquiries are followed up and that the service is working well for our members. If a query, complaint or dispute arises, including a payment dispute or chargeback, we may refer to a member's messages, content, responses and activity records, and share them with those involved in resolving it, such as any payment provider, bank or card issuer that requests information about it, or our professional advisers. If someone makes public statements about our service that we believe are inaccurate, we may respond publicly with a brief, factual summary to correct the record, such as confirming their membership, that their profile was live, or the general level of activity on their account. We keep any such response to what is needed and do not publish the content of messages or anyone's contact details. We may also review any message if it is reported to us, or if we suspect a breach of our Terms of Use or Acceptable Use Policy.
We never share member messages, email addresses or phone numbers with third parties for their own commercial or research purposes.
How enquiries are shared
- Enquiries sent to the profile or posts of a paying member go to that member's inbox.
- Enquiries sent to us for a service are forwarded to a limited number of relevant paying members.
- Messages sent to a free member are not passed to that member by default. They may be forwarded to a limited number of relevant paying members. The sender can contact us if they want the enquiry sent to someone specific.
- We do not forward sensitive or highly personal enquiries aimed at a particular member.
- We may contact people who send enquiries, to understand their requirements. With their permission, we pass their contact details to a limited number of relevant members.
Service and network preferences
Service preferences you select are shared with a limited number of relevant paying members for a limited period, so they can contact you through the website. They are not shown publicly, and your email address and phone number are not shared unless you choose to share them.
Network preferences show your profile to members in the categories you are interested in. Your email address and phone number are not shared.
Profile views
By default, members can see that you have viewed their profile and content. You can turn this off in your privacy settings, but you will then not see who has viewed yours. We do not display how many times you have viewed a profile.
Regional and international websites
Profiles and posts on a regional website also appear on Paris Professionals (part of Professionals UK), and members of Paris Professionals (part of Professionals UK) appear on the regional website for their postcode. The same log-in, terms and privacy policy apply across all our websites. You can remove this association in your privacy settings.
Who we share data with
We share personal data only where needed to run our service:
- Members: your public profile and posts are visible to other users, and enquiries are shared as described above.
- Service providers: website hosting, our software developers, email and communication tools, and payment providers. They act on our instructions and must keep your data secure.
- Professional advisers: such as accountants and lawyers.
- Authorities: where the law requires it, to enforce our terms, or to prevent fraud and protect our members.
We do not sell personal data. Advertisers receive only aggregated, anonymous information, for example how many directors in a sector viewed a promotion.
International transfers
Some of our service providers and developers are based outside the UK. When we transfer personal data outside the UK, we make sure it is protected, for example by using countries with UK adequacy regulations or the UK's approved data transfer agreements.
How long we keep data
We keep personal data only for as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy, including legal and accounting requirements. The periods below are a guide and may change as our service develops. Usage and log data is kept for a limited period, for security and to improve the service.
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Member accounts and profiles | While your account is active. Disabled accounts are kept so you can reactivate. We may remove accounts that have been inactive for a long period. Deleted accounts are removed from our websites and active systems, apart from records we need to keep, such as payment records and records of account activity we may need to refer back to if a query or dispute arises. |
| Enquiry records | For a limited period |
| Service preferences | Shared for a limited period, then expire |
| Payment records, agreements and invoices | As long as required for tax and accounting |
| Correspondence and complaints | For as long as needed to deal with the matter and any related claims |
| Marketing emails | Until you unsubscribe. We keep a record that you unsubscribed, so we don't email you again. |
Your rights
You have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you, free of charge;
- correct inaccurate data;
- ask us to delete your data;
- object to, or restrict, how we use your data;
- receive your data in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent.
You can disable or permanently delete your account in your account settings. Disabling hides your profile and removes you from newsletters. Deleting permanently removes your profile and information from our websites and active systems. We keep only what we need for legal and accounting purposes, or to refer back to if a query or dispute arises, such as payment records and account activity.
To use any of these rights, contact us at enquiries@europeprofessionals.com or through our contact page. We will reply within the time allowed by law.
Cookies
We use cookies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences and keep the site secure. These essential cookies are always on. With your consent, we also use analytics cookies to understand how the site is used. You can change your choice at any time through the cookie settings on our site or in your browser. Our emails may contain tracking pixels that tell us whether an email was opened. Sign-in providers such as LinkedIn, Google and Apple set their own cookies when you use them.
Security
We store your data on secure servers and restrict access to it. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential. No internet transmission is completely secure, but we take appropriate steps to protect your data once we receive it.
Age
Our websites are for business use by people aged 18 or over.
Complaints
If you have a concern, please contact us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
If you are outside the UK, you may also be able to contact the data protection authority where you live.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page.