Your privacy is our priority
The Citizens’ App is for you to interact with the European Parliament.
By setting up a user account you will be able to synchronise your devices, save your preferences, rate initiatives and access all functions for interacting with Parliament.
This information is yours. Here’s how it will be used and how you can access it.
Privacy Statement
You can use the Citizens’ App without a user account to access the basic services, such as searching for and accessing information. In this case, the Citizens’ App will not store any personal data which you provide as a user of the application.
But if you create a user account, in addition to the basic services you will also be able to synchronise your devices, save your preferences, rate initiatives and put questions to the European Parliament. In this case, the Citizens’ App may process your personal data.
This Privacy Statement sets out the ways in which personal data is used and your rights as a data subject.
Legitimacy of the processing of personal data
Before setting up a Citizens’ App account, please read this Privacy Statement. By accepting these conditions concerning the use of personal data you confirm that you are more than 13 years old (or have parental responsibility in the case of a child under 13 who is using the application) and that you consent to the processing of your (the child’s) personal data as described below. This processing is carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and is based on Article 5(1)(a) in relation to the performance of a task carried out in the public interest and Article 5(1)(d) in relation to your consent.
Why does the Citizens’ App use personal data?
User account
To be able to synchronise your data across several devices and to rate initiatives, you need to create an account.
The account data is classified as personal only if it can be used to identify you.
There are two ways to create a user account:
- by entering your email address and creating a password,
- or by using your Facebook login details.
If you choose to create a Citizens’ App account with an email address, the application will use the email address provided to identify your user account.
If you choose to create a Citizens’ App account using your Facebook login details, the application will send a connection request to Facebook asking it to link the Citizens’ App account to your Facebook account and will collect the email address, name and photo from the associated Facebook profile. In that case, Facebook may collect data concerning the connection to your Citizens’ App account. The connection to the Citizens’ App account will remain active for 30 days. We recommend that you first read Facebook’s privacy policy.
The Citizens’ App uses this data solely to be able to identify you when you log on to the application. Your data will not be passed on to third parties under any circumstances.
In the settings of the Citizens’ App account you can choose whether you want to provide your name.
Location services
The Citizens’ App provides information about EU initiatives affecting your day-to-day life and also about events taking place near you.
To receive this information you need to turn on your device’s location services function. Location data is used by the European Parliament solely in connection with related functionalities (e.g. the map and local information searches). We do not subsequently store this data.
You can manage access permissions for location services at any time in your device’s privacy settings.
The Citizens’ App uses Google Maps to display initiatives near you. We recommend that you first read the privacy policy for your device’s operating system as regards location-based services and that of Google Maps for the graphic presentation of location-based results.
Calendar
You can add events published in the application to your device’s calendar app.
To do this you need to allow the Citizens’ App to access your calendar. Data relating to the event (e.g. the date, place and subject) will be used solely for importing the event into your calendar. We do not subsequently store this data.
You can manage permissions to access your calendar at any time in your device’s privacy settings.
We recommend that you first read the privacy policy for your calendar application.
Embedded content from other services
The Citizens’ App is a space created to raise awareness of the many initiatives concerning the lives of European citizens. As such, the content may include elements which are external to the application, such as websites, videos, podcasts, etc.
Although presented in the Citizens’ App, these external elements are independent and operate autonomously.
They may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking and monitor your interaction with that embedded content. We recommend that you first read their privacy policies.
Sharing Citizens’ App content on other social media platforms and networks
You can share a link to content in the Citizens’ App (events or initiatives) on other social media platforms or networks.
This functionality can be accessed directly from the content pages. Simply select the social media platform or network on which you want to share the content, as well as the recipient, where applicable.
Although presented in the Citizens’ App, these external elements are independent and operate autonomously.
We recommend that you first read the privacy policies of the social media platforms or networks you wish to use.
Citizens’ enquiries
You can send questions to the European Parliament via a dedicated form in the Citizens’ App. Your questions will be registered and sent to the European Parliament’s Ask EP platform for an answer.
In this procedure the Citizens’ App collects and transmits data relating to your questions. We recommend that you first read the Ask EP Privacy Statement.
Application web page
A dedicated web page tells you all about the Citizens’ App and includes links to download it from various platforms.
This page on the European Parliament website may use cookies to provide visitors with an optimal browsing experience. You will first see a message asking for permission to use cookies. We recommend that you first read the European Parliament’s policy on the use of cookies at the following address: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en/cookie-policy.
Analytics
No statistical tools are used for processing personal data.
What personal data is processed?
The Citizens’ App processes the personal data provided by the user only when the associated Citizens’ App is created and used. When an account is created, the following personal data is used:
- The account user’s credentials (either an email address and password or Facebook login details),
- Data relating to consent gathering.
When the account is being used the Citizens’ App may use:
- The user’s name,
- The Facebook profile photo (if the user logged on via Facebook),
- The user’s rating of initiatives and content,
- Bookmarks,
- Data concerning the use of the calendar (if authorised and activated by the user) when an event is added to the user’s calendar (at the time it is added, including the subject, location and date(s)),
- Location-based data when using location services,
- The Citizens’ App user ID (technical data).
How long do we retain your personal data?
If your account is inactive for more than a year it will automatically be deleted from our databases. Data relating to questions you have sent to the European Parliament’s Ask EP platform is kept for 90 days and then deleted.
All users can view, modify or delete their personal information in the application at any time. Only the email address cannot be changed as it is this which links an account to a user.
Who receives your personal data?
The following entities may receive personal data relating to the services provided:
- Operating systems (Google, Apple), including when downloading and installing the application associated with the user account of the operating system,
- Facebook, if the Citizens’ App account is created via a Facebook account,
- Email providers where the Citizens’ App account is created using an email address,
- Social media platforms or networks which you select to share content,
- Authorised European Parliament staff responsible for development, maintenance and support in connection with the Citizens’ App,
- The European Parliament’s Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP) when you submit a question to the European Parliament via the dedicated form in the Citizens’ App.
What rights do you have concerning your data?
In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (hereinafter: ‘the Regulation’), you can contact the data controller to exercise your rights:
- To be fully and clearly informed about the processing before it is carried out (Articles 15 and 16 of the Regulation).
- To access your data (Article 17 of the Regulation),
- To request the rectification of any data which concerns you that is inaccurate or, taking into account the purposes of the processing, incomplete (Article 18 of the Regulation),
- To require any data which concerns you to be deleted, or the processing thereof to be restricted, under the conditions laid down in the Regulation (Articles 19 and 20 of the Regulation),
- To receive data concerning you and have that data transmitted to another controller (Article 22 of the Regulation),
- To object at any time to the processing of data concerning you on grounds relating to your particular situation, under the conditions set out in the Regulation (Article 23 of the Regulation),
- To withdraw at any time your consent to the processing of your personal data presented in this document (Article 7 of the Regulation). Note that the withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
If you have created an account, you can request a file containing any personal data concerning you which we hold, including data you provided to us. You can also request the deletion of your personal data.
Further information
How do we protect your data?
We are constantly working to ensure that your personal data receives the highest level of security by keeping the application up to date.
Use of third-party services
The Citizens’ App also uses certain third-party services which require your permission. First, when you download the application from an app store (Apple or Google), you are asked to consent to its privacy policy. When using the Citizens’ App, you can decide whether to turn on notifications and whether to use location-based services and your device’s calendar. Note that in your device’s privacy settings you can, at any time, give or withdraw permission for the Citizens’ App to use these services. You can also create a Citizens’ App account using your Facebook login details, in which case Facebook will ask you to accept its privacy policy. We recommend that you first read these services’ privacy policies:
- https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en for Google services,
- https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/ for Apple services,
- https://en-gb.facebook.com/privacy/explanation for Facebook services.
Legal basis for the processing of personal data
The European Parliament is responsible for this processing of personal data. The body responsible for this processing on behalf of the European Parliament is the Project Management Office, represented by Mr François RENUIT.
You can contact this body at: projectmanagementoffice@europarl.europa.eu.
Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
You have the right to have recourse at any time to the European Parliament’s Data Protection Officer (data-protection@ep.europa.eu) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (edps@edps.europa.eu).