Privacy Notice

The Claik – Privacy Notice

The University of St Andrews has set up an online insights community for students and alumni to share their views, take part in research activities, and help shape University decision-making. We have called this ‘The Claik’.

We have appointed QuMind Limited (trading as Largo) to host this research community service. The University has in place with Largo a contract, as required by UK data protection law, which sets out how your data can only be used by Largo under our instructions and how that is to be protected. This Privacy Notice has been created to provide information to those who are part of The Claik, or are considering taking part in our online surveys, polls, and discussions.

You have the right to end your participation in The Claik at any time – please see the section ‘Your Rights’ below.

We hope this notice will reassure you that we will act with transparency, responsibly, and lawfully with information that you provide, and that we comply with data protection law.

What is Covered?

  • Collection of your information
  • Information we hold about you
  • How we use your information
  • Your rights and contact details

Collection of Your Information

We collect information that you share with us through your participation in The Claik, for example, information provided by you:
  • At the time of registering to use The Claik
  • By participating in our online surveys, polls, and discussions
  • By posting material on The Claik
  • By submitting enquiries using the contact details posted on The Claik
  • If you report a problem with The Claik
We may also collect information about your device, including, where available, your IP address, operating system, and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information to the University of St Andrews in summarised form. This is statistical data about browsing actions and patterns, and does not directly identify any individual.

Information We Hold About You

Largo is an online market research provider that collects data on behalf of the University of St Andrews.
 
In order to participate in The Claik, we require certain personal data from you. This will generally include your name, your email address, and some basic demographic information. We will hold only the details that we need at any given time. We will only ask for information such as your postal address when it is necessary as part of a research activity – for example, if you have won a prize.
 
Depending on the information Largo processes about you, the processing will be based on one or more of the following grounds:
  • Public task
  • Consent
  • Contract: to provide the services to you
  • Legitimate interests
  • Where we have a legal obligation to do so
Largo processes your personal information on behalf of the University of St Andrews for carefully considered and specific research purposes which enable the University to enhance its services and improve the student, alumni, and staff experience.
 
Generally, data from research activity is reported in aggregate format only. That is, no names, addresses, or contact details are attached to any answers; instead, answers are provided as counts and percentages. Where the information that is collected and passed to Largo is collected in anonymous form, then that is not personal data and the rights set out herein and the associated laws do not apply.

Public Task

We use your personal data in line with undertaking our tasks as a University for the following purposes:
  • To generate insights that inform improvements to the University’s services, communications, and the wider experience of students, alumni, and staff.
  • To provide a community where members can share ideas, thoughts, and experiences.
  • For organisational reasons and to monitor performance; to gather and update member details and preferences; and to enhance our programmes, services, and communications.

Legitimate Interests

When engaging with Alumni we predominantly rely on the lawful basis of legitimate interests.

Consent

Consent will be obtained where you wish to take part in a prize draw. It will always be clear to you when this is the case.

How We Use Your Information

We will use your information for the following purposes:
  • Segmentation, to provide a more tailored and relevant community experience and research activities.
  • To send relevant research invitations to you in the form of surveys, discussion groups, and online polls.
  • To help verify your identity, enabling us to administer community activities effectively and to contact you if required – for example, if you have a query about the community.
  • Account administration, allowing members to amend their community preferences.
  • Contact for rewards or special projects as part of research activities.
  • Trend analysis and behavioural insight formed from aggregated and anonymous research results.
  • To improve our services and to help the University understand how to improve its programmes and communications.
The University of St Andrews remains the controller of the information collected. Largo will share aggregated information with the University of St Andrews, which may share the same aggregated information with relevant internal teams and approved third-party research partners, unless you allow us otherwise. Any such sharing will always be in aggregate form only.

Your Rights

You have the right to withdraw from taking part in a survey on The Claik, and also from The Claik itself, at any time.

You have the right to ask us to delete the record of a response to a survey after you have submitted your answers, provided that we have not already shared it in an aggregated form with the University of St Andrews.

You can unsubscribe from The Claik by clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ link contained in any of the emails we send to you.

You have the right to ask us to delete records of your interviews and any other data held about you at any time.

You also have the right to object to the use of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as the lawful basis. 

You have the right to request access to the data we hold on you in a commonly used electronic format, free of charge.

If you have a concern about the use of your personal data, you first have the right to complain to the University. If you have any concerns and/or wish to complain, please email dataprot@st-andrews.ac.uk.

You can exercise these rights by emailing the University of St Andrews Data Protection Officer:
Christopher Milne, Head of Information Assurance and Governance
Email: dataprot@st-andrews.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1334 464010
Address: Butts Wynd, North Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9AJ

Cookies

Cookies are used for validation and to prevent repeat surveying. Please see Largo’s Cookie Policy for full details. You can configure your browser to notify you when cookies are being placed on your computer. You can also delete cookies by adjusting your browser settings.
The Claik mostly uses session cookies that expire as soon as you close your internet browser. We only use persistent cookies to maintain the state of your questionnaire should you browse away from a survey and wish to continue where you left off. This cookie is in no way used for tracking or holding personal information and will be deleted at the end of the questionnaire or one day after the start of the questionnaire. We also use a cookie to keep you logged in to The Claik website, to save you having to log in repeatedly.

Changes to This Privacy Notice

From time to time, we may need to update this Privacy Notice. This Privacy Notice was last amended on 26 June 2026.