UK Depression Map

1. Who this policy applies to

This Privacy Policy applies to the UK Depression Map / Great British Depression & Treatment Map research pages on the States of Mind website (the “Site” and the “Study”). It explains how we collect, use, store, protect, and share information when you take part in the Study or interact with the Site.

2. Who we are

For UK data protection purposes, the data controller is:

PINK ELEPHANT, UNIPESSOAL LDA
Trading names: States of Mind
Registered address: Edifício Amoreiras Square, Rua Carlos Alberto da Mota Pinto, 1070-313 Lisboa, Portugal
Privacy contact: team@statesofmind.com

3. The data we collect

3.1 Survey Data

When you participate in the Study, we collect limited response data such as:

postcode sector or other limited postcode field used to place your response into a regional category;
PHQ-9 responses and/or scores;
GAD-7 responses and/or scores;
treatment history, treatment preferences, or related answers about how you currently cope or would seek support; and
any other questionnaire answers you choose to submit as part of the Study.

We do not ask you to provide your full postal address to participate in the Study.

3.2 Contact Data

If you choose to opt in, we collect your email address so that we can:

send you the final report; and/or
enter you into and administer the consultation draw.

Providing your email address is optional. You can take part in the Study without providing Contact Data.

3.3 Limited technical data

When you visit the Site, our servers and service providers may automatically process limited technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, timestamps, referral source, and basic page request data. We use this information only to operate, secure, and troubleshoot the Site, and not to identify your Survey Data.

4. How we collect your data

We collect Survey Data and Contact Data directly from you when you complete the questionnaire or choose to opt in for the report or consultation draw. Technical data is collected automatically through the operation of the Site and our hosting and security infrastructure.

5. Special category data

Your PHQ-9 responses, GAD-7 responses, and information about treatment preferences or mental well-being may amount to health-related information. Where this information is personal data under UK GDPR, we treat it as special category data and apply additional safeguards.

We design the Study to minimize identification risk. Survey Data is collected without direct identifiers, and if you choose to provide Contact Data, it is stored separately from Survey Data.

6. How we use your data

6.1 Survey Data

We use Survey Data to:

build regional, statistical, and research outputs for the UK Depression Map;
analyze patterns in depression, anxiety, treatment preferences, and regional disparities;
produce reports, media materials, and public interest research outputs using aggregated and anonymized information; and
quality-check submissions and maintain the integrity of the Study.

6.2 Contact Data

We use Contact Data to:

send you the final report if you asked to receive it;
administer the consultation draw;
contact winners; and
where relevant, share the minimum contact details necessary to arrange a consultation with Tanya Levinson if you win the consultation draw and choose to accept it.

6.3 Limited technical data

We use limited technical data to:

keep the Site secure;
prevent misuse, spam, abuse, or fraud;
diagnose technical issues; and
maintain site performance and availability.

We do not use your Contact Data to link you to your PHQ-9, GAD-7, or treatment-response data.

7. Lawful basis for processing

7.1 Survey Data

Where UK GDPR applies to Survey Data, our lawful basis under Article 6 is your consent, and our condition for processing health and wellbeing information under Article 9 is your explicit consent. This explicit consent is obtained at the start of the snapshot before you submit your responses.

7.2 Contact Data

Our lawful basis for collecting and using your email address is your consent. You provide this only if you choose to opt in for the final report and/or the consultation draw.

7.3 Technical data

Our lawful basis for processing limited technical data is our legitimate interests in administering, securing, and maintaining the Site.

7.4 Withdrawing consent

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. Because Survey Data is collected without direct identifiers and Contact Data is stored separately, we may not always be able to locate, retrieve, correct, or erase a specific survey response after submission.

8. How we protect your identity

Protecting participant privacy is a core part of the Study design.

If you provide Contact Data, it is decoupled from Survey Data and stored in a separate database or data environment with separate access controls.
We do not use your email address to identify or re-link your Survey Data.
Access to raw data is limited to authorized personnel who need access for research, security, or operational reasons.
Any public-facing outputs are published only in aggregated and anonymized form.

9. Who we share data with

We do not sell your personal data.

We may share data with the following categories of recipients:

service providers that host, secure, maintain, or support the Site, database infrastructure, or email delivery systems, acting under written contracts and only on our instructions;
Tanya Levinson, and only if you win the consultation draw and your contact details need to be shared to arrange the consultation;
professional advisers, regulators, courts, law enforcement, or public authorities where disclosure is required by law or reasonably necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims; and
the public, media outlets, research audiences, and public health bodies, but only in an aggregated and anonymized form that does not identify you.

We do not share participant email addresses with media outlets, public health bodies, or the general public.

If you go on to receive a consultation, Tanya Levinson may also process your information under her own professional privacy responsibilities and privacy notice.

10. International transfers

Some of our service providers may process personal data outside the United Kingdom. Where that happens, we will ensure that an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism is in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum, and that your data receives an appropriate level of protection.

If you would like more information about international transfers relevant to the Study, please contact us.

11. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy.

11.1 Survey Data

We retain Survey Data in identifiable or potentially identifiable working form only for as long as needed to validate, analyze, aggregate, and prepare the Study outputs. After that, we will securely delete it or irreversibly anonymize it, unless we are legally required to keep it longer.

Anonymous and aggregated research outputs may be retained for longer because they do not identify individual participants.

11.2 Contact Data

If you ask to receive the final report, we will retain your email address until the report has been sent and for a limited administrative period afterwards, unless you withdraw consent sooner.

If you enter the consultation draw, we will retain your email address until the draw has been completed, winners have been contacted, and any necessary follow-up administration has finished, and then delete it unless you separately consent to further communications.

In any event, Contact Data will not be retained for longer than 12 months after the Study closes, unless required by law or unless you separately opt in to future communications.

11.3 Technical data

We retain limited technical logs for only as long as necessary for security, troubleshooting, and service administration.

12. Your data protection rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

request access to personal data we hold about you;
request correction of inaccurate personal data;
request deletion of your personal data;
request restriction of processing;
object to processing based on legitimate interests;
request portability of personal data you have provided to us, where the right applies;
withdraw consent at any time; and
complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Because Survey Data is collected without direct identifiers and Contact Data is stored separately, these rights may in practice only be exercisable in relation to Contact Data or other information we can reasonably identify as yours.

To exercise your rights, contact us using the details in Section 20. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

13. Whether you must provide data

Participation in the Study is voluntary.

You do not have to provide Contact Data to complete the questionnaire.

However:

if you do not provide Survey Data, you cannot participate in the Study; and
if you do not provide Contact Data, we cannot send you the final report or enter you into the consultation draw.

14. Cookies and similar technologies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies.

At a minimum, the Site may use strictly necessary technologies required for security, page delivery, and core functionality.

Any non-essential analytics or similar tools will be described in our Cookie Policy and, where required by law, used only with your consent.

We do not use your Survey Data for behavioral advertising.

15. Email communications and marketing

We will use your email address only for the purpose or purposes you selected, such as sending the final report or administering the consultation draw.

We will not use your email address for newsletters or other direct marketing unless you separately and clearly opt in to receive them.

Where we send any optional email communications based on consent, you will be able to unsubscribe or withdraw consent easily.

16. Automated decision-making

We do not use your personal data to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you.

17. Children's privacy

The Study is intended for adults aged 18 and over.

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has submitted Contact Data through the Site, please contact us and we will investigate and take appropriate steps.

18. Security

We use appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the data we process, including role-based access controls, separation of Survey Data and Contact Data, secure hosting, and encryption in transit.

No online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but we take reasonable steps appropriate to the sensitivity of the data involved.

19. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated version on the Site and revise the “Last updated” date. Where required by law, we will notify you of material changes in an appropriate way.

20. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise your rights, please contact:

PINK ELEPHANT, UNIPESSOAL LDA
Email: team@statesofmind.com
Postal address: Edifício Amoreiras Square, Rua Carlos Alberto da Mota Pinto, 1070-313 Lisboa, Portugal

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office if you believe your personal data has been handled unlawfully.