Privacy Policy for Freelance Advisor
Last updated: November 2025
Introduction
At Edinburgh Napier University, we take your privacy seriously. This policy explains exactly what information we collect, why we need it, what we do with it, and your rights.
We've written this in plain English - no unnecessary legal jargon. If anything's unclear, just ask us at h.patrick@napier.ac.uk.
The Quick Version
We collect your email, job details, and the questions/answers you post
Your email is kept separate and will be deleted after the pilot (unless you ask us to keep it)
Your questions and answers are anonymised and used for research
We only use functional cookies and don’t use any tracking
Your data stays on university servers in the UK - we don't sell it or share it with commercial companies
You can withdraw and have your data deleted anytime during the pilot
After the pilot ends, your anonymised contributions stay in the research database
1. Who We Are
This research project is run by:
Edinburgh Napier University
219 Colinton Road
Edinburgh EH14 1DJ
Scotland
Principal Investigator:
Dr Holly Patrick-Thomson
Email: h.patrick@napier.ac.uk
Edinburgh Napier University is the "data controller" for this research, which means we're responsible for your data and how it's used.
2. What Information We Collect
When you sign up:
Email address - to create your account and contact you
Sector - which creative industry you work in
Job role/title - what you do
Skills and skill ratings - your areas of expertise
Years of experience - how long you've been freelancing
Username - that you choose (displayed with your questions/answers)
When you use the app:
Questions you post - the advice you're seeking
Answers you provide - the help you give others
Which questions you choose to answer - helps us understand the advice-matching system
Whether you opt to use the AI feature - when asking questions
What we DON'T collect:
We don't use tracking technologies
We don't collect browsing data or analytics
We don't track your location
We don't collect payment information (the prize draw vouchers are sent by email)
3. Why We Need Your Information (Legal Basis)
Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR), we need a legal reason to process your information. For this research, we rely on:
Your consent - by signing up and participating, you're agreeing to be part of this research study
You can withdraw your consent at any time during the pilot by contacting us.
4. How We Use Your Information
Your email address:
To create and manage your account
To send you important updates about the research
To notify you if you win a prize draw voucher
To respond if you contact us with questions
To verify your account when you first sign up
Your profile information (sector, role, skills, experience):
To help match questions with people who can answer them
To understand the demographics of freelancers using the platform
For research into the creative freelance workforce
Your questions and answers:
To facilitate peer advice exchange on the platform
To analyse the types of issues creative freelancers face
To improve the AI recommendation system
To conduct academic research
To inform policy on supporting freelancers
To train the AI system (which runs locally and securely on our servers)
5. How We Protect Your Privacy - Anonymisation
Here's what happens to keep your identity separate from your research contributions:
Your email gets a unique User ID - when you sign up, we create a user number (e.g., User12345)
Your email is stored separately - we keep a spreadsheet that links emails to User IDs
Your profile and contributions are linked to the ID, not your email
After the pilot ends:
The spreadsheet linking emails to User IDs is deleted
Your anonymised contributions (questions/answers) stay in the research database
Exception: If you specifically consent to us keeping your email (so we can contact you about the full launch), we'll retain it separately
Important: Even with anonymisation, someone could potentially identify you if you include personal details in your questions or answers. That's why our Terms of Service strictly prohibit including any identifying information in your posts. We also moderate all content to catch and remove any personal details.
6. Where Your Data is Stored
All your data is stored in the UK on Edinburgh Napier University servers. Here's what that means:
No cloud storage with tech companies - we don't use Google, Amazon, Microsoft or similar services for your data
University-managed virtual servers - secure, encrypted, and managed by university IT
Automatic backups - to the university's X:Drive system to prevent data loss
Standard encryption - your data is encrypted both in transit and at rest
About the AI: The AI system runs locally on our university servers. Your questions are NOT sent to external AI companies like OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic. Everything stays within our secure university infrastructure.
7. Who Can Access Your Data
During the research:
The research team - to run the platform, moderate content, and conduct the study
University IT staff - for technical maintenance and security (they're bound by confidentiality)
After the research:
Other researchers - the anonymised database may be shared with other academic researchers for future studies (but never your email or personally identifying information)
The public - anonymised research findings may be published in academic papers and reports
Who will NEVER get your data:
Commercial companies
Marketing firms
Anyone outside the academic research context
Law enforcement (except if legally required to prevent serious harm)
8. How Long We Keep Your Data
During the pilot (3 weeks): All your data is kept active and linked to your User ID.
Immediately after the pilot:
Your email address is deleted (unless you've specifically asked us to keep it)
The spreadsheet linking emails to User IDs is deleted
Your anonymised contributions stay in the database
Long-term storage:
The anonymised database is kept for 10 years as per standard university research data retention guidelines
After 10 years, the database is destroyed
9. Your Rights
Under UK data protection law, you have these rights:
During the pilot:
Right to access - ask us what data we hold about you
Right to correction - ask us to fix any wrong information
Right to deletion - ask us to delete your data (this means withdrawing from the study)
Right to withdraw consent - stop participating at any time
Right to complain - if you're unhappy with how we handle your data
After the pilot ends:
Your anonymised contributions become part of the research dataset and can't be removed (because we won't be able to link them back to you)
However, your email will already have been deleted, so your identity is protected
To exercise any of these rights during the pilot, email:
Dr Holly Patrick-Thomson at h.patrick@napier.ac.uk
10. Withdrawing from the Study
You can withdraw at any time during the 3-week pilot.
To withdraw:
Email h.patrick@napier.ac.uk
We'll close your account
We'll delete all your data from the system
You won't be eligible for the prize draw
Important: Once the pilot ends and data is anonymised, we can't remove individual contributions (because we won't be able to identify which ones are yours).
11. Sharing Your Data with Others
We will share:
Anonymised research data with other academic researchers after the pilot concludes
Aggregated findings in academic publications, reports, and policy documents
Anonymised database for future research projects (after 10 years it will be destroyed)
We will NEVER share:
Your email address or personal identifiers (except in the specific case where you've consented to us keeping your email for the full launch)
Your data with commercial companies for marketing
Identifiable information in any publications
12. International Data Transfers
Your data stays in the UK on Edinburgh Napier University servers. We do not transfer your data outside the UK.
13. Cookies and Tracking
We use functional cookies but no tracking technologies on Freelance Advisor.
By using the platform you accept that we use functional cookies, but we're not tracking your behaviour across the web.
14. Automated Decision Making
The AI feature makes suggestions based on patterns in the peer advice database, but:
Using the AI is optional - you choose whether to request an AI response
The AI doesn't make any decisions about you
It's just a tool to complement peer advice, not replace it
All AI outputs are monitored by the research team
15. Children's Privacy
You must be 18 or older to use Freelance Advisor. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.
16. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this policy if we need to during the pilot. If we make significant changes, we'll email you. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when the policy was last changed.
17. Contact Us and Your Right to Complain
Questions about your data or this policy?
Dr Holly Patrick-Thomson
Email: h.patrick@napier.ac.uk
Edinburgh Napier University Data Protection Officer:
If you have concerns about how we're handling your data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer via dataprotection@napier.ac.uk
Your right to complain to the regulator:
If you're not happy with how we've handled your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk
18. Research Ethics Approval
This research has received a favourable opinion from the School Research Integrity Committee at Edinburgh Napier University's Business School.
If you have concerns about the ethical conduct of this research, you can contact the committee through researchintegrity@napier.ac.uk.
Thank you for taking the time to read this privacy policy. We're committed to protecting your data and using it responsibly to help support the creative freelance community.