Privacy Notice

SERIOUS

FIRST SEEN 2026-09-19 · VERSION 20260919_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20260811_rev01

What changed, in plain language

Express (Reach plc) added a new section describing its 'Britain Talks' political debate event, where signing up means giving up political and philosophical opinion data, having that data sent to a third-party matching company (ZEIT, based in Germany), and having your email address and answers shared with a stranger you're paired with for a one-on-one conversation. The section also covers journalist follow-up, a nine-month data retention period, and how to withdraw consent.

Changes that may affect you

Your email and answers go to a stranger you're matched withSERIOUS

DATA SHARING

If you join Britain Talks, your email address and everything you wrote in the survey are sent directly to another member of the public you're paired with for a debate. Sharing your contact details with a private individual (not just a company) is different from normal data handling and could expose you to unwanted contact.

“your email address and survey responses are shared with your designated conversation partner solely to enable your one-on-one conversation.”

What you can do — Withdraw consent before matching by emailing britaintalks@mirror.co.uk if you don't want your email shared with another participant.

New collection of sensitive political opinion dataMATERIAL

DATA COLLECTION

Express now collects 'special category' data about your political and philosophical beliefs if you join this event. This is a more sensitive type of personal data than the site normally handles, though it's opt-in and requires your explicit consent.

“The opinion questions we ask relate to political and philosophical beliefs.”

What you can do — Only sign up if you're comfortable sharing your political views; you can withdraw consent anytime before matching.

Survey answers sent to a third-party processor abroadMATERIAL

DATA SHARING

Your survey answers are passed to ZEIT, a German company, to run the matching algorithm. This means your political opinion data leaves Express's direct control and crosses borders, even though ZEIT is bound as a processor.

“We pass your survey answers to our platform software provider, Zeitverlag Gerd Bucerius GmbH & Co. KG ("ZEIT"), who acts as our data processor to run the matching algorithm.”

Political data kept for up to nine monthsMINOR

DATA RETENTION

Your registration and survey data from this event is kept for up to nine months after the event ends before being deleted, rather than removed immediately.

“We retain your Britain Talks registration data and survey responses for up to nine months following the conclusion of the event, after which your personal data is securely deleted.”

Journalists may call you if you give a phone numberMINOR

OTHER

If you provide a phone number when signing up, Daily Mirror journalists may call you for editorial coverage or press opportunities about your participation, which is a use beyond running the debate event itself.

“Daily Mirror journalists may contact you by phone for editorial follow up or press opportunities regarding your participation.”

What you can do — Leave the phone number field blank if you don't want journalists to contact you.

Changelog

+ ADDEDNew 'Britain Talks' event section added
A brand-new section explains that signing up for the Britain Talks debate event (run with the Daily Mirror) means giving Express your contact details, an optional phone number, open-ended answers, and responses to political opinion questions.
When you sign up to take part in our Britain Talks event operated by the Daily Mirror, we collect your contact details, optional telephone number, open-ended responses, and your answers to specific opinion questions.
+ ADDEDPolitical and philosophical opinion data collected
The company now says it collects sensitive 'special category' data about your political and philosophical beliefs so it can pair you with someone who disagrees with you, based on your explicit consent.
The opinion questions we ask relate to political and philosophical beliefs. Processing this special category data allows us to pair you with a conversation partner who holds contrasting views.
+ ADDEDSurvey answers sent to a third-party matching company
Your survey answers are passed to ZEIT, a German software company, which runs the algorithm that matches you with a debate partner.
We pass your survey answers to our platform software provider, Zeitverlag Gerd Bucerius GmbH & Co. KG ("ZEIT"), who acts as our data processor to run the matching algorithm.
+ ADDEDEmail address and answers shared with your matched partner
Once you're matched, your email address and everything you answered in the survey are sent directly to the other participant you're paired with.
Once a suitable match is identified, your email address and survey responses are shared with your designated conversation partner solely to enable your one-on-one conversation.
+ ADDEDJournalists may call participants
If you give a phone number, Daily Mirror journalists may call you about the event for editorial or press purposes.
If you choose to provide an optional telephone number, Daily Mirror journalists may contact you by phone for editorial follow up or press opportunities regarding your participation.
+ ADDEDNine-month retention period for event data
Your Britain Talks sign-up and survey data is kept for up to nine months after the event ends, then deleted.
We retain your Britain Talks registration data and survey responses for up to nine months following the conclusion of the event, after which your personal data is securely deleted.
+ ADDEDRight to withdraw before matching
Users can pull out and have their consent withdrawn any time before they're matched with a partner, by emailing the listed addresses.
You may withdraw your consent for us to process your political data or participate in the event at any time prior to matching by emailing [britaintalks@mirror.co.uk](mailto:britaintalks@mirror.co.uk) or [dataprotection@reachplc.com](mailto:dataprotection@reachplc.com).
± CHANGEDSection renumbered
The 'international transfer' section was renumbered from 8.5 to 8.6 to make room for the new Britain Talks section; no wording in it changed.
**8.5 Whether we send it outside the country of collection**
**8.6 Whether we send it outside the country of collection**
+ ADDEDBritain Talks summary added to the events/sponsors section
A second mention of the Britain Talks event was added later in the document, summarizing the ZEIT processor relationship and linking to ZEIT's own privacy policy.
**Britain Talks Event:** For our Britain Talks political debate event, we use platform software provided by ZEIT as our data processor. Special category data concerning your political opinions is processed solely to match you with a conversation partner based on your explicit consent.

Full text changes — 20260811_rev01 to 20260919_rev01

COLOUR MARKS THE SEVERITY OF A FLAGGED CLAUSE · + AND − MARK ADDED AND REMOVED

 We typically publish the overall results of our surveys, and often share those results with the brands involved (if any), but those results are always anonymous and statistical in nature ("50% of respondents thought X") and don't contain your personal data. Actual survey responses are only shared with the service providers who provide us with the technology powering our systems. They act as our "processors", meaning that they are bound by law and contract to keep your data safe, and to do only what we tell them to do with it.
 Once we've gathered your survey responses, we will combine them with the answers from other respondents and turn them into valuable insights which may be shared with third parties. Unless specifically stated at the start of the research activity and with your explicit permission, this information will only be disclosed to third parties in anonymised or aggregated form, stripped of any identifiable data (example forms of anonymised / aggregate data include: "X% of males from Birmingham agree that..." or "a 35 year male from Birmingham said ...")
 Please be aware that if you disclose information on forums it may be possible for other research participants to use this information. We are not responsible for the disclosure of any information you post in this way.
+**8.5 Whether we send it outside the country of collection**
+**8.5 Britain Talks Debate and Event**
+When you sign up to take part in our Britain Talks event operated by the Daily Mirror, we collect your contact details, optional telephone number, open-ended responses, and your answers to specific opinion questions.
+- **Special Category Data:** The opinion questions we ask relate to political and philosophical beliefs. Processing this special category data allows us to pair you with a conversation partner who holds contrasting views. We process this information strictly on the basis of your explicit consent provided at the point of sign up.
+- **Algorithmic Matching:** We pass your survey answers to our platform software provider, Zeitverlag Gerd Bucerius GmbH & Co. KG ("ZEIT"), who acts as our data processor to run the matching algorithm.
+- **Data Sharing with Matched Partners:** Once a suitable match is identified, your email address and survey responses are shared with your designated conversation partner solely to enable your one-on-one conversation.
+- **Editorial Follow Up:** If you choose to provide an optional telephone number, Daily Mirror journalists may contact you by phone for editorial follow up or press opportunities regarding your participation.
+- **Retention:** We retain your Britain Talks registration data and survey responses for up to nine months following the conclusion of the event, after which your personal data is securely deleted.
+- **Withdrawing Consent:** You may withdraw your consent for us to process your political data or participate in the event at any time prior to matching by emailing [britaintalks@mirror.co.uk](mailto:britaintalks@mirror.co.uk) or [dataprotection@reachplc.com](mailto:dataprotection@reachplc.com).
+**8.6 Whether we send it outside the country of collection**
 Our online form technology providers may process your personal data outside of the UK and EEA. We have implemented safeguards to secure and limit the processing of the data, including standard agreements and frameworks approved by the relevant authorities.
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 ## 9\. When you subscribe to our print, online or Premium subscription sites, or place a classified ad
 When you register for an event, on any of the websites we may add your information to our mailing lists. If the event has sponsors, we might also share information, including personal data, with those sponsors. This will be in accordance with the privacy laws in the country in which you reside. For example, in the EU/UK, you may have actively given specific consent for marketing from Reach brands, and separately for your data to be shared with a 'named sponsor'.
 You can unsubscribe from our communications at any time, by following the unsubscribe instructions on the correspondence you receive, or by emailing [dataprotection@reachplc.com](mailto:dataprotection@reachplc.com) You can also withdraw consent (opt-out) of your data being shared by emailing [dataprotection@reachplc.com](mailto:dataprotection@reachplc.com) stating 'Opt-out of Sharing' and providing your email and the brand details as above.
 Please note the use of your personal information by sponsors, will be subject to their own privacy policy and practices, for which we are not responsible.
+**Britain Talks Event:** For our Britain Talks political debate event, we use platform software provided by ZEIT as our data processor. Special category data concerning your political opinions is processed solely to match you with a conversation partner based on your explicit consent. You can read the privacy policy [https://www.mycountrytalks.org/privacy-policy](https://www.mycountrytalks.org/privacy-policy)
 **12.10 Transfer as part of the sale of our business**
 If we sell part or all of our business, personal information may be one of the transferred business assets. If this happens, your information may be disclosed to any successors of our business for them to use for the purpose set out in this Privacy Notice.
 **12.11 Award or charitable donation; nomination, voting and judging**