Privacy and cookie policy

We take the privacy of our customers and visitors to our Website and App (you) very seriously. Please read this privacy policy (Policy) carefully as it contains important information about how your personal data will be used.

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018, UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and all other relevant legislation, Wightlink Limited (‘we’ or ‘us’) is the ‘data controller’ (i.e. the company who is responsible for, and controls the processing of, your personal data).

https://~^(.+\.)+xyz$/ (Website) and the Wightlink App (APP) is brought to you by Wightlink Limited, a company incorporated and registered in England and Wales under company number 01059267 whose registered office address is Gunwharf Terminal, Gunwharf Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2LA.

Information that you provide

Personal information about you will be obtained, whenever you complete forms, create an account or make a booking with us.

We will also obtain personal information you provide when you send feedback, contact us for any reason and by any medium, sign up to a service,  share information via the Website’s and App’s social media functions, enter a competition, complete a survey or report a problem with the Website or App. Additionally, we will take payment details when you purchase tickets, for example when you use a ticket machine or pay via the Website.

We may retain a record of any contact you make with us.

The personal information we collect about you includes, but is not limited to:

• your name, address and contact details;
• special category data such as health information;
• details of any feedback you give us by phone, email, post or via social media;

• information about the services we provide to you; and
• Information in relation to your device(s) (such as your pseudo mac address) where you use our wi-fi services at our terminals or onboard our vessels.

Special Category Data

You may choose to give us information about your health, a disability or a medical condition (for example when asking us for assisted travel support). We do not require this information, but where you provide it we use it only to arrange the assistance or support you have requested and to meet our responsibilities to passengers who need additional help. As this is sensitive information, we rely on your explicit consent as our lawful basis for using it, which you give us when you provide the information to obtain assistance. In an emergency, where you are unable to give your consent, we may also use this information to protect your or another person’s vital interests. You can ask us to stop using this information at any time, although this may affect our ability to provide the assistance you have asked for.

Personal information about other individuals

If you give us information on behalf of someone else, you confirm that the other person has appointed you to act on his/her behalf and has agreed that you can:

• give consent on his/her behalf to the processing of his/her data;
• receive on his/her behalf and data protection notices;

• give consent to any transfer of his/her data;

Information from third parties

Occasionally we may receive information about you from other sources (such as credit reference agencies and data and analytics providers), which we add to the information we already hold to help us provide our services and products to you. One such provider is Experian: we share a limited set of customer identifiers (such as email, address and postcode) with Experian so that it can analyse them and return geodemographic segmentation information which we add to your customer record, use to understand our customer base and make our marketing more relevant. Experian acts as our processor for the identifiers we share for matching: it uses them only to carry out the matching and lookup, does not retain them afterwards and processes them only in the United Kingdom. Experian is the controller of its own reference data, including the Mosaic segmentation information; once we add that segmentation to your customer record, we are the controller of the combined record. You can find out more about how Experian uses personal data in its Consumer Information Portal at https://www.experian.co.uk/privacy/consumer-information-portal/.

Information that will be collected automatically

Cookies: We may monitor your use of the Website through the use of cookies and similar tracking devices. For example, we may monitor how many times you use the Website, which pages you go to and traffic data. This is categorised as information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our site (including date and time); products you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page and any phone number used to call our customer service number.  This information helps to build a profile of users to the Website. Some of this data will be aggregated or statistical, which means that we will not be able to identify you individually. For further information on the use of cookies on the Website, please see the sections on cookies below.

Device information: We may also collect information about your device each time you use the Website or the App. For example, we may collect information on the type of mobile device, laptop or computer that you are using and its unique device identifier (for example, the IMEI number, IP address or the MAC address of the device’s wireless network interface).

Information on your device: We may also collect information which is stored on your device each time you use the Website or App. For example, we may collect contact information, login information and friends lists with your prior consent.

Location data: We may also collect information to determine your location using GPS technology or such other location tracking software we may use from time to time.  Some of the features of the Website and App may require access to such location data to work. If you would like to use any such feature, you will be asked to consent to provide such location information. You can withdraw your consent to providing this information at any time by emailing us at [email protected] or contacting us via the contact details at the bottom of this policy.

CCTV, Body Worn Cameras (BWC) and ANPR: When you pass through Wightlink Ferry Ports we will collect static or moving imagery via our CCTV and ANPR/LPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition/Licence Plate Recognition) systems. Wightlink collects imagery via cameras located throughout the Wightlink owned car parks, customer areas (inside and on the perimeter of Wightlink owned premises), at our terminals, check-ins and linkspans, onboard our ferries, and public areas surrounding our premises. Some of our staff will also collect static and moving imagery via BWC during the course of their duties. BWC footage is used to promote the safety of Wightlink’s staff and to reduce the potential number of confrontational situations experienced by our staff.

Wightlink may use CCTV, BWC and ANPR/LPR imagery for a number of purposes including but not limited to the following:

• To maintain the safety and security of the ferry ports for our customers, passengers, colleagues and service providers including but not limited to control authorities, national security and detection and prevention of crime;
• To support the effective management of the port and ship operations and any incidents including for investigative purposes or as evidence to support any formal follow-up to incidents;
• To verify vehicles and vehicle types at our terminals, check-ins and linkspans (for example at our Portsmouth and Fishbourne linkspans) so that vehicles are correctly loaded and our ferries operate safely;
• To identify and address breaches of byelaws, including monitoring vehicle speed at Ryde Pier;
• To provide evidence to the regulatory shipping authorities; and
• In response to a subject access request.
  • CCTV footage is stored for 29 days

Car Park ANPR – Initial Parking Ltd

ANPR in the Wightlink owned car parks is operated by Initial Parking Ltd, who collect car park revenue and manages car park enforcement. Initial Parking Ltd is an independent data controller in respect of enforcement activity; their privacy notice is available at https://www.initialparking.co.uk/privacy-notice/.

The car parks operated by Initial Parking Ltd are located at:

• Portsmouth, Gunwharf – opposite the car ferry terminal, postcode PO1 2LA
• Fishbourne car ferry port – postcode PO33 4EU
• Lymington car ferry port – including pick-up and drop-off areas, postcode SO41 5SB
• Ryde Pier Head FastCat passenger ferry port – postcode PO33 2HF

At some of these sites we also operate our own CCTV and ANPR/LPR cameras for the purposes described above. Where that is the case, we act as the data controller for the imagery captured by our cameras, and Initial Parking Ltd acts as the data controller for the imagery captured by its car park systems.

Under data protection legislation, we can only use your personal information if we have a proper reason for doing so, e.g.:

• to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
• for the performance of our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract;
• for our legitimate interests or those of a third party; or
• where you have given consent.

In most cases, our processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of our services to you.

When we say, “legitimate interests”, we mean our (or a third party’s) interests in enabling us to provide our services to you as efficiently and securely as possible. For example, we may choose to use a third party to store your personal data; we may do this in part because our use of that service means that your personal data is more secure.

The table below explains what we use (process) your personal information for and our reasons for doing so:

We may disclose your personal data to:

• other companies that become partners or part of a group with Wightlink Limited;
• a third party who acquires Wightlink Limited or acquires substantially all of its assets, in which case the personal data shall be one of the acquired assets;
• our agents, professional advisors and service providers;
• third parties we use to help deliver our services to you, e.g., payment service providers;
• third parties we use to help us run our business, e.g., marketing agencies, email feedback agencies or website hosts;
• a third party data services provider (Experian) which we use for customer matching and geodemographic profiling;
• third parties approved by you, e.g., social media sites you choose to link your account to or third-party payment providers;
• business partners in accordance with the ‘Marketing’ section below.

We only allow our service providers to handle your personal information if we are satisfied they take appropriate measures to protect your personal information. We also impose contractual obligations on service providers relating to ensure they can only use your personal information to provide services to us and to you. We may also share personal information with external auditors, e.g., in relation to ISO accreditation and the audit of our accounts.

We may disclose and exchange information with law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

We may also need to share some personal information with other parties, such as potential buyers of some or all of our business or during a re-structuring. Usually, information will be anonymised but this may not always be possible. The recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations.

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality. We also confirm that your data will be stored on secure servers.

Whilst we will use all reasonable efforts to safeguard your personal data, you acknowledge that the use of the internet is not entirely secure and for this reason we cannot guarantee the security or integrity of any personal data that are transferred from you or to you via the internet.

If you want detailed information from Get Safe Online on how to protect your information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems, please visit www.getsafeonline.org. Get Safe Online is supported by HM Government and leading businesses.

We may use your personal information to send you updates (by email, text message, telephone or post) about our services, including exclusive offers, promotions or new services.

We have a legitimate interest in processing your personal information for promotional purposes. Where we send marketing by electronic means (such as email or text message), we will only do so where you have consented or where we are permitted to rely on the ‘soft opt-in’ for existing customers. You can opt out at any time.

We will always treat your personal information with the utmost respect and never share it with other organisations outside the Wightlink group for their own marketing purposes unless we have your express permission to do so.

In relation to our advertisers and advertising networks that require the data to select and serve relevant adverts to you and others via our Website and/or App, we do not disclose information about identifiable individuals to our advertisers, but we may provide them with aggregate information about our users (for example, we may inform them that 500 men aged under 30 have clicked on their advertisement on any given day). We may also use such aggregate information to help advertisers reach the kind of audience they want to target (for example, women on the Isle of Wight).

The Website may contain links to other websites or apps which we or our partners own, or websites or apps of our partners or third parties. Please note that if you follow any of these links, the websites, apps and services provided through them will have their own privacy policies/terms of use. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for their respective privacy policies/terms of use or the collection and use of any personal data collected through these websites, apps or services. Please ensure that you review the relevant privacy policies/terms of use prior to providing any personal data to, or using these websites, apps and services.

To deliver services to you, it is sometimes necessary for us to share your personal information outside the UK, e.g.:

• with our service providers located outside the UK;
• if you are based outside the UK.

These transfers are subject to special rules under UK data protection law. We ensure that any such transfer complies with those rules and that your personal information will be secure. This may include relying on (for example) an adequacy decision, UK Standard Contractual Clauses or the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), as appropriate.

We may monitor and record communications with you (such as telephone calls and emails) for the purpose of quality assurance, training, fraud prevention and compliance. Telephone call recordings made through our contact centre or business hub are ordinarily retained for 90 days from the date of the call. Recordings may be retained for longer where necessary to deal with a complaint, claim or other legal matter (in which case the recording will be kept for as long as is required for that purpose). Written transcripts of calls produced for quality management are retained separately and for 12 months.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist with the handling of enquiries made to our contact centre. This may include AI-assisted call handling, routing, interaction support and the production of call transcripts for quality management. Where AI is used, it is deployed to improve the efficiency and quality of our customer services and is subject to appropriate human oversight. AI tools do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Where a call includes special category information (for example health information provided to arrange assisted travel) that information may appear in the transcript – access to it is restricted and it is handled in accordance with the ‘Special Category Data’ section above. We may from time to time pilot the use of AI in other areas of our operations to improve our services. Before doing so we will make sure we have a proper legal basis for the processing, and where any such use materially affects the processing of your personal data, we will update this policy and where appropriate, tell you directly.

Under UK data protection laws, you have the following rights:

• You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data.
• You have the right of access to your personal records or other information that we hold about you. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for our administrative costs involved with providing you with access if we receive a request which is manifestly unfounded or excessive to access personal records. We may also charge a reasonable fee, in relation to administrative costs, if further copies of your data is requested following your initial request.
• You have the right to rectify any errors in the data we hold about you. If any data or information we hold about you is inaccurate, or out of date, please contact us and we will correct this immediately.
• You may have the right to have the data we hold about you erased.
• You have the right to restrict processing.
• You have the right to ask us to stop processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. You may also specify that you object to direct marketing by particular channels such as by email or telephone. If this is the case, please specify the channels you are objecting to in your communications with us. This right also applies to any profiling or segmentation we carry out for direct marketing purposes. If you object, we will stop using your data for direct marketing and will also remove you from the data we share with our profiling provider.
• You have the right to data portability. If you wish to obtain your data for your own purposes across different services, we will provide this information to you in an electronic format such as a PDF file, CSV file or via other electronic means. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for the administrative costs of complying with any requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive.
• You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing(including profiling) that produces legal or similarly significant effects. We do not currently make decisions of this kind about our customers.

To revise your consent, request access, amend or remove your records or assert any of your rights set out above, you should send your request in writing to us using our email: [email protected].

You will need to provide proof of identity and address (e.g., a copy of your driving licence or passport, and a recent utility or credit card bill); and specify the personal data you want access to, to be amended or be removed.

You have the right to raise a data protection complaint directly with us. To do so, please use our Data Rights and Data Complaints form, available at: ~^(.+\.)+xyz$/contact-us. We will acknowledge your complaint and keep you informed of its progress and outcome. If you remain dissatisfied, you may refer your complaint to the ICO.

We will keep your personal information while you have an account with us or we are providing services to you. Thereafter, we will keep your personal information for as long as is necessary:

• to respond to any questions, complaints or claims made by you or on your behalf;
• to show that we treated you fairly;
• to keep records required by law.

We will not retain your personal information for longer than necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of personal information.

When it is no longer necessary to retain your personal information, we will delete or anonymise it.

Wightlink Limited offers services directly to individuals over the age of 12. If you are aged 13 or under, please get your parent/guardian’s permission before you provide any personal information to us. In using our services, you confirm that you have read and consented to this Policy and verify that you are over the age of 13 or have received the permission of a parent or guardian to do so.

Wightlink will process the personal data of any individual, including children, as per this policy when providing our services to such individuals.