Your privacy explained
Browse the sections to understand what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.
Who we are
The Riverside Group is a charitable registered provider of social housing. We help people with:
- Social housing
- Care and support services
- Affordable home ownership
Our group also includes Riverside Scotland, Prospect Homes (development and sales), Riverside Home Response (repairs and maintenance), and others.
We only collect and use your personal information in ways allowed under UK data protection and Privacy laws, including UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations.
What this policy covers
This policy explains how we handle personal information you give us, or that we collect automatically when you:
- Visit our public websites and allow use cookies
- Fill in online forms (enquiries, complaints, surveys)
- Use our web chat
- Sign up for a “My Riverside” online account
- Apply for a job through our recruitment portal
It does not cover every possible way we may use data across the Group. If you are a customer, or we process your personal data to provide you with services, please read our Group Privacy Notice.
Our site may link to other websites. We are not responsible for their safety or security of your information if you choose to visit other sites.
What is personal information?
Personal information (sometimes called “personal data”) is any details that can identify you either on their own or when combined with other information. Examples include your name, address, email, phone number, or even things like your IP address or browsing behaviour.
What information do we collect?
The exact information we collect depends on how you use our site. Here are the main categories:
Category | Examples |
Identity | First and last name, title, date of birth, gender identity, preferred pronouns |
Contact | Home or work address, phone or mobile number, email address |
Business / Employment | Job title, employer name and address, work history |
Payment | Transaction details, balances, arrears, benefit information |
Profile | Preferences, survey answers, feedback, details of complaints or repairs |
Special Category/Sensitive | Race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical or mental health, sexual orientation (only if you choose to share it) |
Technical | Browser type and version, operating system (collected automatically) |
From third parties | Information provided by others in relation to complaints or anti-social behaviour |
We only collect what we need. If you do not want to provide personal information, you can still browse most of the site.
How do we collect your information?
We collect it when you:
- FIll out online forms or use web chat
- Sign up for or use “My Riverside”
- Take part in surveys or competitions
- Apply for a job online through our recruitment portal
- Browse the site (technical data via cookies. See the Cookies section below for more detail)
How do we use your information?
We use your information to:
- Answer your enquiries or complaints
- Help you manage your property or services through “My Riverside”
- Run surveys or competitions (we’ll tell you exactly how your data will be used before you take part)
- Process job applications
- Improve our website and services (using anonymised data where possible)
We will only share your information with third parties when it is necessary to deliver a service you asked for, or where we have an obligation to do so. For more detail on how we use data across all our services, see our Group Privacy Notice.
Can you withhold information?
Yes. You can browse most of our site without providing any personal information.
You can also turn off non-essential cookies (see below).
Some features such as enquiry forms, certain features in “My Riverside” and job applications do require certain information so we can help you.
How long do we keep your information?
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil its intended purpose, or as required by law. After that we securely delete or anonymise it.
Where do we store and transfer your information?
Our website is hosted in the UK, with most other systems located either on-site or within the EEA. We may share your personal data with third-party service providers, including IT hosts and maintenance contractors, under legally binding contracts and only as needed for their services. Storage services are typically based in the UK or EEA, but some cloud and email services operate outside the EEA. When transferring data outside the EEA, we ensure it goes to countries with where legally recognised safeguards are established.
Your Rights
UK law gives you several important rights over your personal information. You can:
- Ask to see what information we hold about you
- Ask us to correct any mistakes
- Ask us to delete your information (in certain situations)
- Object to how we use your information
- Ask us to move your information to another organisation (data portability)
To exercise any of these rights, you can:
- Use our online rights request form
- Email our Data Protection Officer via dataprotection@riverside.org,uk
- Call customer services on 0345 111 0000
We will normally reply within one month.
Cookie policy
We use cookies to make our website work, understand how it’s used and improve your experience This section explains what cookies are, how we use them, and the choices you have.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website.
We use cookies to:
- Make the website work properly
- Remember your preferences
- Understand how the website is used (with your consent)
Do I need to give consent?
Yes — for some cookies.
- Strictly necessary cookies are always on (they’re essential for the site to work)
- All other cookies are off by default
- You can accept, reject, or change your choices at any time
What types of cookies do you use?
Strictly necessary (always on)
These are essential for things like:
- Logging in
- Security and fraud prevention
- Page navigation
- Accessibility
These cannot be switched off.
Functional (optional)
These improve your experience, such as:
- Remembering preferences
- Enabling videos and maps
You can choose whether to allow these.
Analytics and performance (optional)
These help us understand how people use the website so we can improve it.
For example:
- Which pages are most popular
- How users move through the site
These are only used if you agree.
Marketing and advertising (optional)
These track activity across websites to:
- Show relevant adverts
- Measure campaign performance
These are only used if you agree.
What cookies do you actually use?
We use trusted third-party services to provide features and improve the website.
A full list of cookies and their purposes are available below.
| Cookie name | Provider | Purpose | Category | Consent required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ_SYSTEM_SESSION | Squiz | Makes the website work properly while you move between pages. | Strictly necessary | No |
| Dxp-sessionid | Squiz | Keeps your visit secure and connected while you browse the website. | Strictly necessary | No |
| gdpr | Squiz | Remembers your cookie choices and privacy preferences. | Strictly necessary | No |
| alert-banner-dismissed-alert-banner-* | Squiz | Remembers if you have closed a website alert message. | Strictly necessary | No |
| .IMMAUTH | Oracle | Keeps you signed in to the recruitment portal securely. | Strictly necessary | No |
| ORA_CX_USERID | Oracle | Remembers your recruitment settings, such as saved jobs and filters. | Strictly necessary | No |
| __cf_bm | Cloudflare | Protects the website from spam, bots and malicious activity. | Strictly necessary | No |
| _cfuvid | Cloudflare / Vimeo | Helps prevent abuse of website services by limiting unusual traffic. | Strictly necessary | No |
| AWSALB | Amazon Web Services | Helps keep the website fast and available by balancing traffic across servers. | Strictly necessary | No |
| AWSALBCORS | Amazon Web Services | Helps website traffic work correctly across browsers and services. | Strictly necessary | No |
| AWSALBTG | Amazon Web Services | Directs visitors to available servers to improve website reliability. | Strictly necessary | No |
| player | Vimeo | Remembers your video player settings, such as volume and playback preferences. | Functional | Yes |
| aka_debug | Vimeo | Helps identify and fix problems with embedded videos. | Functional | Yes |
| vuid | Vimeo | Collects information about how videos are watched so video performance can be improved. | Analytics | Yes |
| NID | Remembers your preferences when using Google services such as maps or videos. | Functional / Marketing | Yes | |
| _ga | Counts how many people visit the website and how they use it. | Analytics | Yes | |
| ga* | Measures how visitors use the website across different visits. | Analytics | Yes | |
| _gid | Records how you use the website during a single visit. | Analytics | Yes | |
| _gat | Limits how often analytics data is sent to Google. | Analytics | Yes | |
| _hjTLDTest | Hotjar | Checks which cookie settings should be used for the website. | Analytics | Yes |
| _hjIncludedInPageviewSample | Hotjar | Decides whether your page visit is included in analytics reports. | Analytics | Yes |
| _hjIncludedInSessionSample | Hotjar | Decides whether your browsing session is included in analytics reports. | Analytics | Yes |
| hjSession* | Hotjar | Records how visitors move through and interact with the website during a visit. | Analytics | Yes |
| hjSessionUser* | Hotjar | Recognises returning visitors so website usage can be measured over time. | Analytics | Yes |
| _cl_id | Microsoft | Recognises visitors across different website visits. | Analytics | Yes |
| _cl_session | Microsoft | Stores information about your current website visit. | Analytics | Yes |
| _cl_sk | Microsoft | Connects the pages you view into a single browsing session. | Analytics | Yes |
| _clck | Microsoft | Recognises if you have visited the website before. | Analytics | Yes |
| _monsido | Acquia | Measures website quality, accessibility and performance. | Analytics | Yes |
| _msid | Acquia | Records website visits for performance reporting. | Analytics | Yes |
| _ao_tracking | Acquia | Collects information about how visitors use the website. | Analytics | Yes |
| _ao_session | Acquia | Records actions taken during your website visit. | Analytics | Yes |
| _fbp | Meta | Helps show adverts that may be more relevant to you on Facebook. | Marketing | Yes |
| fr | Meta | Helps Facebook deliver adverts and measure their effectiveness. | Marketing | Yes |
| IDE | Records how users interact with online adverts. | Marketing | Yes | |
| RUL | Measures whether adverts lead to website visits or actions. | Marketing | Yes | |
| APISID | Helps Google personalise adverts based on your interests. | Marketing | Yes | |
| SAPISID | Used by Google to show more relevant adverts. | Marketing | Yes | |
| SID | Helps secure Google services and personalise adverts. | Marketing | Yes | |
| HSID | Helps protect Google accounts and support advertising features. | Marketing | Yes | |
| SSID | Remembers advertising and content preferences. | Marketing | Yes | |
| __Secure-3PAPISID | Builds a profile of your interests to personalise adverts. | Marketing | Yes | |
| __Secure-3PSID | Tracks browsing activity to improve advert relevance. | Marketing | Yes | |
| 1P_JAR | Measures whether adverts lead to actions such as enquiries or visits. | Marketing | Yes | |
| CONSENT | Stores your Google cookie and consent preferences. | Marketing | Yes | |
| SEARCH_SAMESITE | Helps keep Google services and adverts secure. | Marketing | Yes | |
| _twitter_sess | X | Tracks interaction with embedded X (Twitter) content. | Marketing | Yes |
| guest_id | X | Identifies visitors for advertising on X (Twitter). | Marketing | Yes |
| k | X | Supports advertising and content tracking on X (Twitter). | Marketing | Yes |
| js | X | Tracks interaction with X (Twitter) features. | Marketing | Yes |
| twll | X | Measures whether X (Twitter) adverts are effective. | Marketing | Yes |
| pid | X | Measures advertising performance on X (Twitter). | Marketing | Yes |
How can I manage my cookie preferences?
You can change or withdraw your consent at any time by using the cookie settings on our website.
You can also manage cookies through your browser:
- Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security
- Firefox: Options → Privacy & Security
- Safari: Preferences → Privacy
- Edge: Settings → Privacy, search and services
Where can I learn more?
For independent advice about cookies, visit: www.allaboutcookies.org
