Privacy Policy
BACKGROUND:
Discern Genomics Limited understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits this website, www.discern-genomics.co.uk (“Our Site”) and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a way that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. This Privacy Policy applies when you visit Our Site, create an Account, purchase a subscription, book a standalone session, or otherwise provide personal information to us on or via Our Site.
1. Definitions and Interpretation
In this Policy the following terms shall have the following meanings:
“Account”
means an account required to access and/or use certain areas and features of Our Site;
“Cookie”
means a small text file placed on your computer or device by Our Site when you visit certain parts of Our Site and/or when you use certain features of Our Site. Details of the Cookies used by Our Site are set out in Part 14, below; and
“Cookie Law”
means the relevant parts of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003;
2. Information About Us
Our Site is owned and operated by Discern Genomics Limited, a limited company registered in England under company number 16399384.
Registered address: Sussex Innovation Centre, Science Park Square, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, BN1 9SB.
Main trading address: Sussex Innovation Centre, Science Park Square, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, BN1 9SB.
VAT number: 497717137.
Representative: Dr Guan Wang
Email address: privacy@discern-genomics.co.uk
Telephone number: 01273 704 472
Postal address: Sussex Innovation Centre, Science Park Square, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, BN1 9SB
3. What Does This Policy Cover?
This Privacy Policy applies only to your use of Our Site and explains how any personal data collected through Our Site is used, as well as your rights and how to raise concerns or complaints.
4. What Is Personal Data?
Personal data is defined by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and other applicable legislation relating to data protection and privacy (“the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’.
Personal data is, in simpler terms, any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.
5. What Are My Rights?
Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have the following rights, which we will always work to uphold:
a) The right to be informed about our collection and use of your personal data. This Privacy Policy should tell you everything you need to know, but you can always contact us to find out more or to ask any questions using the details in Part 15.
b) The right to access the personal data we hold about you. Part 13 will tell you how to do this.
c) The right to have your personal data rectified if any of your personal data held by us is inaccurate or incomplete. Please contact us using the details in Part 15 to find out more.
d) The right to be forgotten, i.e. the right to ask us to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data that we hold. Please contact us using the details in Part 15 to find out more.
e) The right to restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your personal data.
f) The right to object to us using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes.
g) The right to withdraw consent. This means that, if we are relying on your consent as the legal basis for using your personal data, you are free to withdraw that consent at any time.
h) The right to data portability. This means that, if you have provided personal data to us directly, we are using it with your consent or for the performance of a contract, and that data is processed using automated means, you can ask us for a copy of that personal data to re-use with another service or business in many cases.
i) Rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling. We do not use your personal data in this way.
For more information about our use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact us using the details provided in Part 15.
It is important that your personal data is kept accurate and up-to-date. If any of the personal data we hold about you changes, please keep us informed as long as we have that data.
Further information about your rights can also be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your personal data, you have the right to complain to us using the contact details provided in Part 15 (or by any other method). We will do our best to resolve your complaint. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and will respond to it without undue delay.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. You may wish to raise your concerns with us first, so that we can try to resolve them. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
6. What Data Do You Collect and How?
Depending upon your use of Our Site, we may collect and hold some or all of the personal and non-personal data set out in the table below, using the methods also set out in the table. Please also see Part 14 for more information about our use of Cookies and similar technologies. We do not collect any personal data relating to children and data relating to criminal convictions and/or offences.
7. How Do You Use My Personal Data?
Under the Data Protection Legislation, we must always have a lawful basis for using personal data. The following table describes how we may use your personal data, and our lawful bases for doing so:
With your permission and/or where permitted by law, we may also use your personal data for marketing purposes, which may include contacting you by email with information, news, and offers on our services. You will not be sent any unlawful marketing or spam. We will always work to fully protect your rights and comply with our obligations under the Data Protection Legislation and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, and you will always have the opportunity to opt-out. We will always obtain your express opt-in consent before sharing your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes and you will be able to opt-out at any time.
We use the following third-party providers to support the operation of Our Site and delivery of Our services, including Squarespace, Inc., Acuity Scheduling (a Squarespace service), Squarespace Payments, PayPal UK Ltd., Stripe, LLC, Cloudflare, Inc., Zoom Communications, Inc. and Google LLC. Please note that where third-party services are used on or accessed through Our Site, those providers may collect and process personal data in accordance with their own privacy policies. We do not control the data processing activities of third parties acting as independent data controllers, such as payment providers, and we advise you to check the privacy policies of any such third parties. Where third parties act as data processors on Our behalf, they process personal data only in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
We will only use your personal data for the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected unless we reasonably believe that another purpose is compatible with that or those original purpose(s) and need to use your personal data for that purpose. In some cases, the law may treat certain further uses of personal data as compatible with the original purpose, subject to appropriate safeguards. If we rely on compatibility in this way and you want us to explain how the new purpose is compatible with the original, please contact us using the details in Part 15.
If we need to use your personal data for a purpose that is unrelated to, or incompatible with, the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected, we will inform you and explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.
In some circumstances, where permitted or required by law, we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent. This will only be done within the bounds of the Data Protection Legislation and your legal rights.
8. How Long Will You Keep My Personal Data?
We will not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. Your personal data will therefore be kept for the following periods (or, where there is no fixed period, the following factors will be used to determine how long it is kept):
At the end of the applicable retention period, personal data is securely deleted or irreversibly anonymised in accordance with UK data protection law and recognised data protection best practice.
9. How and Where Do You Store or Transfer My Personal Data?
We will store some of your personal data in the UK. This means that it will be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation.
We will store some of your personal data within the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. This means that your personal data will be fully protected under the EU GDPR and/or to equivalent standards by law. Transfers of personal data to the EEA from the UK are permitted without additional safeguards.
We may store some or all of your personal data in countries outside of the UK. These are known as “third countries”. We will take additional steps in order to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation as follows:
We will only store or transfer personal data in or to countries that are deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data. For further information about adequacy decisions and adequacy regulations, please refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Please contact us using the details below in Part 15 for further information about the particular data protection safeguards used by us when transferring your personal data to a third country.
The security of your personal data is essential to us, and to protect your data, we take a number of important measures, including the following:
limiting access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties with a legitimate need to know and ensuring that they are subject to duties of confidentiality;
storing personal data using secure, password-protected systems and encrypted platforms provided by reputable service providers;
using secure third-party platforms for website hosting, appointment management, secure communications, and payment processing, each of which implements appropriate security safeguards;
encrypting data in transit using industry-standard encryption protocols (such as HTTPS and TLS);
maintaining secure backup and recovery procedures to protect against data loss;
implementing access controls, strong authentication measures, and secure device practices;
ensuring that any third-party service providers handling personal data do so under appropriate data protection agreements and safeguards;
maintaining procedures for dealing with data breaches (the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, your personal data) including notifying you and/or the Information Commissioner’s Office where we are legally required to do so.
10. Do You Share My Personal Data?
We may sometimes contract with the following third parties to supply certain services.
If any of your personal data is shared with a third party, as described above, we will take steps to ensure that your personal data is handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, our obligations, and the third party’s obligations under the law, as described above in Part 9.
If any personal data is transferred outside of the UK, we will take suitable steps in order to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation, as explained above in Part 9.
If we sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or assets, your personal data may be transferred to a third party. Any new owner of our business may continue to use your personal data in the same way(s) that we have used it, as specified in this Privacy Policy.
In some limited circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we are involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.
11. How Can I Control My Personal Data?
11.1 In addition to your rights under the Data Protection Legislation, set out in Part 5, when you submit personal data via Our Site, you may be given options to restrict our use of your personal data. In particular, we aim to give you strong controls on our use of your data for direct marketing purposes (including the ability to opt-out of receiving emails from us which you may do by unsubscribing using the links provided in our emails, at the point of providing your details and by contacting us directly).
11.2 You may also wish to sign up to one or more of the preference services operating in the UK: The Telephone Preference Service (“the TPS”), the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (“the CTPS”), and the Mailing Preference Service (“the MPS”). These may help to prevent you receiving unsolicited marketing. Please note, however, that these services will not prevent you from receiving marketing communications that you have consented to receiving.
12. Can I Withhold Information?
You may access certain areas of Our Site without providing any personal data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on Our Site you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data.
You may restrict our use of Cookies and similar technologies. For more information, see Part 14.
13. How Can I Access My Personal Data?
If you want to know what personal data we have about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.
When responding to a subject access request, we will carry out reasonable and proportionate searches for the personal data covered by your request.
All subject access requests should be made in writing and sent to the email or postal addresses shown in Part 15.
There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.
We will respond to your subject access request within one month of receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.
14. How Do You Use Cookies?
References to Cookies in this Part 14 include similar technologies that store information on your device or access information stored on your device, where applicable.
Our Site may place and access certain first-party Cookies on your computer or device. First-party Cookies are those set by Our Site to support its operation and functionality. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve our services. We use only those Cookies that are necessary for the operation of Our Site or to record your cookie preferences, and we take appropriate steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data are protected and respected at all times. We do not currently use third-party Cookies or analytics Cookies on Our Site.
All Cookies used by and on Our Site are used in accordance with current Cookie Law.
Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a cookie consent banner displayed when you first visit Our Site, requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of Our Site may not function fully or as intended. You may also withdraw or modify your cookie consent at any time using the consent preferences tool available on Our Site.
Certain features of Our Site depend on Cookies to function. Cookie Law deems these Cookies to be “strictly necessary”. These Cookies are shown in the tables below. Your consent will not be sought to place these Cookies, but it is still important that you are aware of them. You may still block these Cookies by changing your internet browser’s settings as detailed below, but please be aware that Our Site may not work properly if you do so. We have taken great care to ensure that these Cookies are limited to what is necessary and do not use them for additional purposes.
The following first-party Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:
In addition to the controls that we provide, you can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all Cookies or only third-party Cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies, but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.
You can choose to delete Cookies on your computer or device at any time, however you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalisation settings.
It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.
15. How Do I Contact You?
To contact us about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, including to make a subject access request or a data protection complaint, please use the following details:
Email address: privacy@discern-genomics.co.uk
Telephone number: +44 (0)1273 704 472.
Postal Address: Discern Genomics Limited, Sussex Innovation Centre, Science Park Square, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, BN1 9SB.
16. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may review and update this Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure continued compliance with the law and best practice. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects personal data protection.
Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of Our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date. This Privacy Policy was last updated on 28 June 2026.
17. Attribution
This Privacy Policy has been created using a document template from www.simply-docs.co.uk and has been adapted and customised by Discern Genomics Limited to reflect its services, practices and legal obligations.