Privacy Notice: Stories
Last updated: 01.11.2026
Who we are
This page is run by Her Encore. Her Encore is the controller of your story data, which means we decide how they are used. If you have any questions about your data, please contact us at admin@her-encore.uk
Who can take part
This page is for women aged 45 and over who have applied online for at least one UK-based job in the last three years, wherever they were living at the time. If you don’t meet these criteria, the survey will end and your answers will not be kept.
What not to include
We ask you not to include:
your name, contact details, or any other detail that could identify you;
the names of employers, companies, recruiters, or any other individual, or any detail that could identify them;
health or medical information, or other sensitive information about yourself or anyone else, such as information about your ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, political views, trade union membership, or sex life.
Please describe your experience in general terms. For example, write “a large retailer” rather than the company’s name.
What we collect
Your story, as you write it in the free-text box.
Your consent, recorded when you tick the box and submit the form.
Your own 6-digit code, created before you submit. It lets you withdraw your story later without giving us your name. Please don’t use your date of birth, phone number, or a PIN you use for anything else.
Technical data. Google, which hosts our form, may record your IP address and place cookies on your device to keep the service secure and to prevent repeat submissions. We do not receive or use this information, and we do not link it to your story. We do not ask for your name or contact details. Because the story box is free text, you could include personal information without meaning to, so please read the guidance above before you submit.
Why we use your story
To publish it, in full or in part, in written media, online, on social media, and in our other campaigning materials and communications, including with MPs, employers, and the media. This includes using it to promote Her Encore and its work, for example on our website, in newsletters, and in social media posts that others may share.
To prepare evidence for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and other bodies on AI and automated decision-making in recruitment.
Stories are published anonymously. Before we use a story, we will review it and edit or remove anything that appears to identify you or another person, or that is health or other sensitive information. We may shorten or edit stories, for example for length or clarity, without changing their meaning. We do not use your story for automated decision-making or profiling.
Our lawful basis
We rely on your consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR), which you give by ticking the consent box before submitting. If a story contains special category data despite our guidance, we rely on your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a) UK GDPR). We will remove this information before using the story wherever we can. You can withdraw your consent at any time, as explained below.
Who handles your stories
Google, the provider of our form platform, collects and stores your story for us as our processor. It handles your story only on our instructions and under contract.
Social media and other platforms. If we publish your story on a platform such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or X, that platform has its own privacy policy and is an independent controller of any information it collects. We are not responsible for how those platforms use content once it is posted.
Press and other third parties. If your story is published in the media or shared with others, they become responsible for their own use of it, and we cannot control what they do.
We do not sell your story or share it with anyone else for their own purposes.
Where your stories are stored
Your story is stored by Google on servers in its data centres, which may be located in the UK, the European Economic Area, or the United States. Where your story is transferred outside the UK, Google relies on the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or another safeguard permitted under UK data protection law. You can find more information in Google’s privacy and data transfer documentation.
How long we keep your story
We keep your story in our systems for 24 months from the date you submit it, and then delete it. Once we have published a story on Her Encore’s website or social media accounts, it may stay there after that date unless you ask us to withdraw it. Material published in print, in press coverage, or in copies made by others may also continue to exist, and we have no control over it.
Changing your mind
You can ask us to withdraw your story at any time within 24 months of submitting your story by emailing admin@her-encore.uk with the 6-digit code you created after submission. We will delete your story from our systems and own channels and confirm by email within one month.
Please be aware that:
we cannot guarantee that your story can be withdrawn from printed media, such as newsletters, reports, or press coverage, once it has been printed or distributed;
we cannot remove copies made by third parties, including the press and social media users, or content already shared on other platforms;
because we don’t hold your name or contact details, we can only find your story using your code. If you lose your code, we will not be able to identify or withdraw your story;
withdrawing your consent does not affect anything we did with your story before you withdrew it.
Your rights
You can ask us to show you your story, correct it, delete it, restrict how we use it, or give you a copy in a commonly used electronic format. You can also withdraw your consent at any time.
Because stories are anonymous, we can act on your request only if you give us your 6-digit code. Email admin@her-encore.uk with your code.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this notice
If we change how we use your story, we will update this notice and the date at the top. As we don’t hold your contact details, we can’t tell you about changes directly, so please check this page from time to time.