Privacy Policy

Last Update: 17/05/2023

About this Privacy Policy

At Mind Surge (“Mind Surge”, “we”, “us” and “our”), we deeply care about your privacy. This Privacy Policy is here to help you understand how we handle information that identifies or is associated with you, which is called personal data. We also describe the choices and rights you have regarding your personal data. This Privacy Policy is supplemented by a Cookie Policy that helps you understand how we process personal data originating from cookies and other similar technologies.

The Privacy Policy applies to:

• Your access to and use of our website: www.mindsurge.be (hereinafter referred to as the “Website”);
• Our correspondence by email and by post;
• Our services: our market research services (hereinafter referred to as “Services”).

Who are we and how can you get in touch with us?

We, Mind Surge, are the data controller under the European General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) of your personal data processed in the context of our Website, our correspondence and our Services. This means that we decide, and are responsible for, how your personal data is used.

We have our registered office at Mechelsesteenweg 176, 2018 Antwerp (Belgium), with company number BE 0758 886.923, and you can contact us through the following email address: info@mindsurge.be.

Which personal data do we collect from you?

• We may collect several types of personal data from you, such as:
• Your contact details (e.g. your name, email address, postal address);
• Your age;
• Your gender;
• Your bank account number;
• The companies from which you purchase certain products/services;
• Further opinions, preferences and/or interests necessary for us to determine whether you are eligible for a market research survey;
• Information about the device you use to access the Website (e.g. your IP address, operating system version, device identifier, device type, model and manufacturer);
• Information about how you use our Website and the Services (e.g. information about the pages you view on the Website, how often you use the Website and your language settings);
• Employment data when you apply for a position with us (e.g. your CV, your working experience and education).

If you are a participant in our surveys, note that we won’t use your full name in survey analyses.

Why do we process your personal data?

We process your personal data for the following reasons:

• To allow you to participate in the surveys we organize;
• To carry out our obligations arising from any contract entered into between you and us;
• To manage your requests;
• To follow up on your use of our Services (e.g. by asking for your feedback on our Services);
• To improve our Services, by analyzing pseudonymized data (which is personal data from which all directly identifying elements are replaced by a code);
• To administer our Website, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
• To measure or understand the effectiveness of advertising we deliver to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you;
• To manage our legal obligations and any disputes or claims (e.g. the defense of legal claims)
• To manage the job application process you initiated (e.g. analyze your CV and compare it with our requirements) and to be able to contact you for other suitable positions.

We process your personal data based on the fact that:

• We are required to do it to perform our obligations arising from a contract we have with you (e.g. your registration to participate in our surveys) or in order to take pre-contractual steps at your request (e.g. in the context of a request for information);
• We need to comply with our legal obligations (e.g. with regard to invoicing);
• We are pursuing ours or a third party’s legitimate interests, provided that these interests prevail over your fundamental rights and freedoms (e.g. using your email address for direct marketing purposes if you are a customer from us);
• We have obtained your consent (e.g. if our client needs to contact you directly in relation to a survey we organize).

We may make decisions exclusively based on an automated processing of your personal data (e.g. for marketing purposes), but these decisions will not significantly affect you.

We request as few personal data as possible, but it may be necessary for us to be able to provide you with our Services. If you do not want to give any such required personal data, we might not be able to enter into a contract with you (e.g. we might not be able to let you participate in our surveys), to provide you with all the available functionalities on the Website (although you will still be able to access it) or we might breach one or more obligations under applicable laws (e.g. laws on accounting).

For how long do we store your personal data?

We will only store the personal data we collect about you for the period of time we need to achieve the purposes set out above. We also take into account:

• Our legal or regulatory obligations;
• Our legitimate business interests;
• The time since you last interacted with us;
• The sensitivity of the personal data in question;
• Security reasons (e.g. the security of our information security systems);
• Any current or potential dispute or litigation (e.g. a litigation involving any Services provided to you).

Whom do we share your personal data with?

In case you are a participant in our surveys, if necessary, we may share your personal data with the client who requested the survey, so that that client can contact you directly.

In addition, we may share your personal data with:

• Providers of marketing related services and solutions;
• Providers of internal tools (e.g. Notion);
• Providers of video and testimonial tools (e.g. Bonjoro);
• Providers of IT and website related services (e.g. Brevo and One.com);
• Our professional and financial advisors (e.g. legal counsel, business consultants, bookkeeper);
• Analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our Website (e.g. Google).

We may transfer your personal data to countries outside the European Economic Area, including to the United States and to Australia. Each transfer will be based on appropriate safeguards, such as an adequacy decision under Article 45 of the GDPR and/or Standard Contractual Clauses as approved by the European Commission under Article 46(2) of the GDPR. You can contact us as specified above for more information about the safeguards we implemented.

We may also share your personal data with third parties:

• If we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may share your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets;
• If we or substantially all our assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by us about you may be one of the transferred assets;
• If we are under a duty to share your personal data to comply with any legal obligation or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Mind Surge, or protect you or others;
• If that is appropriate to achieve any of the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

What are your rights?

You can exercise below rights by contacting us as specified above or in your personal login environment:

Right to access

You have the right to request access to the personal data which we have or process about you. We can provide you with information about the personal data that are being processed, the purpose of the processing, the source of those personal data and whom we share it with.

Right to rectification

You have the right to request us to correct any inaccuracies in your personal data if such personal data would be incomplete or inaccurate.

Right to erasure

You have the right, in some circumstances, to request us to erase your personal data from our systems and databases.

Right to restrict processing

You have the right, in some circumstances, to require us to limit the purposes for which we process your personal data if certain processing of the personal data is not justified, such as where you are contesting the accuracy of the personal data.

Right to data portability

You have the right, in certain circumstances, to receive a copy of the personal data you have given us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, or to request the transfer of your personal data to another company.

Right to object

You have the right to object to any processing that uses our legitimate interests as a legal basis. There may be reasons for us to continue to process your personal data, in which case we will assess the situation and inform you. You can object to processing for direct marketing purposes.

Right to withdraw consent

If our processing of your personal data is specifically based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This includes your right to withdraw consent to our use of your personal data for direct marketing purposes.

Complaints

You have the right to file a complaint with a supervisory authority of the EU Member State in which you are a resident, work, or in which there was an alleged violation of your privacy.

Confidentiality and security

We implement appropriate security measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, change or damage. Although we make great efforts to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee that our systems or databases will be immune from all wrongdoings, malfunctions, unlawful interceptions or access, or other kinds of abuse and misuse.

Links to other websites

This Website might provide links to other websites or social networks. Please be aware that these other websites and social networks are not covered by our Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy does not cover the processing of your personal data by other providers of products or services, advertisers or other websites, companies, or individuals, which we do not own or control. We suggest that when accessing another website or social network, you always read that website’s or social network’s privacy policy before providing any personal data.

Children’s privacy

Our Website is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not, knowingly or intentionally, collect information about children under 16 years old. If you are younger than 16, please do not use our Website, nor our Services unless your parent or legal guardian agrees with it.

Revisions and modifications to our Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time, when necessary to reflect customer feedback and changes in our Website and/or Services. When we update this Privacy Policy, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices. By continuing to use our Website, correspond with us and use our Services after those changes become effective, you acknowledge having read and understood the revised Privacy Policy.