The MUSE Awards
Privacy Notice
This notice explains how we collect and use personal data when you visit our website, apply or vote in The MUSE Awards, or come to the awards evening as a finalist or guest. It is written to meet the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1Who we are
1.1We (“we”, “us”) are the organiser of The MUSE Awards and the controller of your personal data.
1.2For anything about your personal data, email hello@themuseawards.group.
2The data we collect
2.1When you apply. Your name, email address, your TikTok and/or Instagram handle and which of them you want reviewed, and your invite code if you have one.
2.2When you pay. Card payments are handled by Shopify Payments. We receive confirmation of your payment and of any refund.
2.3Public information about your account. To check eligibility and authentic engagement, our team manually reviews publicly available information on the account you apply with, such as follower numbers and engagement. We do not use third-party tools for these checks.
2.4Suggestions. If you share our link with a creator, nothing about them is sent to us. We do not collect or store details of suggested creators.
2.5Public voting. Your email address (to verify your vote), your votes and when you voted, and your IP address (to detect automated voting).
2.6Finalists and guests. A postal address for the posted invitation, and your guest’s name. If you choose to tell us about dietary or access needs for you or your guest, we collect them only with explicit consent, because they may be health data (a special category of personal data).
2.7Contact with us. Messages you send us, including cancellation and refund requests, and your marketing preferences.
2.8Our website. We measure visits with Plausible, a cookie-free analytics tool. Only if you accept cookies: information about your device and how you use our website, collected through Google Analytics, the Meta Pixel and the TikTok Pixel. See our Cookie Notice.
3How we use your data, and our lawful bases
3.1We use your data only for the purposes below. The law requires us to have a lawful basis for each one.
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Processing your entry: receiving and checking it, preparing your personal report, judging, telling you the result and providing finalist and winner benefits (including posting invitations and arranging seats) | Contract |
| Taking payment and handling cancellations and refunds | Contract |
| Publishing finalist and winner names, and showing submitted content to promote the Awards, as set out in our Entry Terms | Contract |
| Preventing fraud and checking authentic engagement, including checking public accounts for bought followers or engagement | Legitimate interests: keeping the Awards fair and preventing fraud |
| Verifying public votes and removing votes we reasonably believe are automated or bought | Legitimate interests: preventing fraud |
| Following up about an entry you started but did not finish, where the law permits | Legitimate interests |
| Measuring visits to our website with cookie-free analytics (Plausible) | Legitimate interests: understanding how our website is used |
| Using dietary or access needs to arrange your seat at the awards evening | Explicit consent |
| Sending marketing emails | Consent |
| Sharing a finalist’s contact details with partners (a separate opt-in) | Consent |
| Analytics and advertising cookies | Consent |
| Keeping payment and accounting records for 6 years | Legal obligation |
3.2Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time: use the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, the “Cookie settings” link at the foot of our website, or email hello@themuseawards.group. This does not affect anything we did before you withdrew.
3.3Where we rely on legitimate interests, you have the right to object (see section 7).
3.4You do not have to give us your data, but we cannot process an entry without the information the form asks for.
4Who we share it with
4.1Service providers. These organisations receive personal data in connection with our website and the Awards:
| Provider | What they do | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Netlify | Hosting our website | Processor |
| Shopify Payments | Card payments and refunds | Separate controller for payment processing |
| Our email delivery provider | Sending emails | Processor |
| Plausible | Cookie-free website analytics | Processor |
| Google (Google Analytics) | Website analytics and advertising measurement, only if you accept cookies | Uses the data under its own privacy policy |
| Meta (Meta Pixel) | Advertising measurement, only if you accept cookies | Uses the data under its own privacy policy |
| TikTok (TikTok Pixel) | Advertising measurement, only if you accept cookies | Uses the data under its own privacy policy |
4.2A processor uses personal data only on our instructions. Shopify Payments processes payment data as a separate controller, under its own privacy policy. Google, Meta and TikTok receive data only if you accept cookies, as described in our Cookie Notice, and use it under their own privacy policies.
4.3The jury. Jurors see entries so they can judge them. They do not see your contact details.
4.4The public. We may publish the names of finalists and winners, and show content from the accounts people applied with, handles and names on our website, on our social channels, in press materials and at the ceremony, as set out in our Entry Terms.
4.5Partners. A finalist’s contact details, only if that finalist opts in separately. We name each partner at the point you opt in.
4.6The venue. The venue receives the names of finalists and their guests for the guest list.
4.7Others. We will also share data where the law requires us to.
5International transfers
5.1Some of our service providers may store data outside the UK. Where they do, the transfer is protected by UK adequacy regulations, or by the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
5.2You can ask us for details of these safeguards at hello@themuseawards.group.
6How long we keep it
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Entries, statements and personal reports | Until 31 December 2028, when the content licence in our Entry Terms ends, then deleted |
| Content we have published under the Entry Terms licence | Until 31 December 2028, when the licence ends |
| Payment and accounting records (payments and refunds) | 6 years |
| Lists of finalists and winners | Kept as a public record of the Awards |
| Voting data (email addresses, votes and IP addresses) | Deleted 30 days after the awards evening |
| Postal addresses, guest names and any dietary or access needs | Only as long as we need them to arrange the awards evening, then deleted |
| Our marketing list | Until you unsubscribe |
| Cookies | See our Cookie Notice |
7Your rights
7.1You have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you;
- have inaccurate data corrected (rectification);
- have your data erased;
- restrict how we use your data;
- object to how we use your data, including to marketing at any time;
- receive your data in a portable format (portability); and
- withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent.
7.2Some of these rights apply only in certain circumstances. To use any of them, email hello@themuseawards.group. We will normally respond within one month.
7.3If you are unhappy with how we have used your data, please tell us first at hello@themuseawards.group. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
8Automated decisions
8.1We do not use automated decision-making that has a legal effect on you. Our team checks entries for eligibility, the jury judges them, and the Community Award is decided by public vote.
9Age
9.1The Awards are for adults: entrants must be 18 or over. Public voting is open to anyone aged 16 or over who lives in the UK.
10Changes to this notice
10.1We will update this notice if the way we use personal data changes. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.
11Contact us
11.1Email: hello@themuseawards.group.