IHO Personal Data Protection and Privacy Notice

This notice applies to all websites (“IHO websites”) operated by the IHO Secretariat on behalf of the Organization. Your privacy and the protection of personal data are important to the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). This notice describes the IHO’s policy concerning the collection, use, and sharing of personal data through IHO services rendered via the IHO websites. By using the IHO websites, you accept the practices described in this policy.

General policy

The IHO websites operate in accordance with established principles on personal data protection and privacy such as those of the Secretariat of the United Nations (ST/SGB/2024/3).

What information does the IHO collect?

General Websites Usage

You can browse the IHO websites without disclosing your identity or providing personal information.

During general browsing, the following data may be collected automatically:

• IP (Internet Protocol) address and domain name.
• Browser type and operating system.
• Referral website (the website you visited before accessing the IHO website).
• Pages visited, files downloaded, and dates/times of access.

Our systems automatically gather some anonymous information about visitors during general browsing. This includes technical network information such as the IP (Internet Protocol) address you appear to be connecting from, its domain name, the type of browser you are employing, the operating system, and other information such as the websites from which you reached the IHO website, the files you downloaded from the IHO website, the pages you visited on the IHO website, and the dates/times of those visits to the IHO website.

The IHO websites may, from time to time, avail of web analytics services provided by third parties for the purposes of evaluating the use of IHO websites, compiling reports on websites activity for IHO organs requesting such statistical reports, as well as for other services relating to websites activity and internet usage.  The information collected by such third parties, including your IP address, may be stored on the servers of such third parties and be subject to their respective privacy policies as well as any laws and regulations applicable to them.

Personal data

The IHO websites only collect personal data with your knowledge.

If you register for the IHO portal you may be asked to provide personal information such as your photo, name, contact information, affiliation, position/title and additional information necessary for IHO services and event management.

Being registered for and using the IHO Portal proactively may mean that other users of the Portal (including non-IHO employees) will see personal information that you have volunteered to provide.

If you conduct a transaction such as requesting license rights for IHO’s digital technical standards services, you may also be asked to provide your credit card details. These details are transferred to a secure, online payment service, hosted by a third party. Credit card information is not retained by the IHO.

Cookies

The IHO websites may use cookies to provide statistics that help us to give you the best experience of our sites.

For what does the IHO use the information?

General website usage

Information is gathered by automated means during general browsing of the IHO websites using “cookies” or “web beacons”. Information such as the IP address associated with your connection to the internet and the pages accessed is used to analyse trends and usage of that IHO websites and to improve the usefulness of the site. Your IP address is not connected with any personal data.

Personal data

The IHO Secretariat may use the personal data you provide for the purposes for which it is collected, such as:

• Contacting you – either in response to a query or suggestion, or to mail newsletters, documents, publications, etc. to you.
• Managing and processing your job application.
• Confirming your purchases and registrations on the site.
• Obtaining payment for purchases through the site (via credit card).
• ‘Remembering’ your online profile and preferences.
• Helping you quickly find information that is relevant to you based on your interests and helping us create site content most relevant to you.
• Undertaking statistical analysis.

What if I don’t want to provide personal data?

Providing personal data on the IHO websites is optional. If you choose not to provide personal data, you may not be able to carry out certain actions such as registration for the IHO Portal, purchase items, register for a newsletter, or apply for a job.

How does the IHO protect your personal data?

We never sell any information collected through our website. We do not regularly share any personal data collected on the IHO websites to any third party, except for information transferred securely to a third-party service provider, such as a credit card processor in connection with a purchase made through the IHO website. We employ a range of technologies and security measures to protect the information maintained on our systems from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

All IHO Secretariat’s staff who have access to, and are associated with the processing of personal data, are obliged to comply with the rules concerning the classification and handling as per the noted EU regulations, including with respect to the confidentiality of personal data they handle in their official capacity. 

How long does the IHO retain your personal data?

Your personal data will be kept only as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this notice. How long personal information is stored for depends on the personal information in question and what it is being used for, as well as whether there is any administrative or regulatory requirement for retaining the personal information. 

How do you make requests concerning your personal data?

In some cases, you can request modification or deletion of your personal data directly by returning to the web page where you first provided the information and following the instructions provided.  When such option is not available, you can submit the following requests concerning personal data collected for consideration by sending an email to us via the contact page or via dataprotection@iho.int.

• Request whether any personal data relating to you is being processed.
• Request access to the personal data relating to you that is being processed.
• Request to rectify, complete, delete, or stop processing personal data relating to you.

Notification of changes

The present notice is subject to amendment at the discretion of the IHO Secretariat. Updates will be posted on this page, and users are encouraged to review it periodically.