Who we are
Welcome to our website tnf.org.uk. The Talking News Federation is registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in the UK, No. 1185913. All our contact details may be found at the foot of this page
Alexa Skill
The Alexa Skill provided through the Talking News application (the “Service”) is supported by the Talking News Federation and was previously managed by British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWBF). The following information explains how personal data is handled in relation to this Skill:
What We Collect
- No personal data is requested or collected such as name, address, postcode, phone number, or date of birth.
- Users may be asked about their eligibility to use the application — e.g., sight loss, dyslexia, or other disabilities — but this information is used only in aggregate and is not individually identifiable.
- Device-collected data may include:
- Content users listen to
- Physical location (via geolocation features or IP address)
- Device details such as IP address, browser type, operating system, and unique identifiers
How We Use the Data
- To monitor and enhance the Service, including anonymised location data and usage statistics
- To generate aggregate data for improving accessibility and user experience
- Aggregate insights may be shared with:
- Individual Talking Newspapers (via secure password-protected access)
- The Talking News Federation (for service development)
What We Don’t Do
- We do not rent, sell, or share any personal data with non-affiliated companies for direct marketing
- We do not collect data from third-party platforms like Facebook
- No personal data is collected or stored beyond what is needed for basic analytics and functional improvement
Security & Retention
- Appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are in place to protect any data gathered
- Personal information is anonymised or deleted when no longer necessary for service delivery, unless legally required otherwise
Third Party References
The Alexa Skill may reference or link to third-party content or services. This Privacy Policy does not cover third-party sites or services. Users are encouraged to consult those policies independently.
Uploading Media file to this website
When uploading files to this website, please avoid uploading files containing personal information within the embedded metadata (e.g. EXIF GPS). Visitors to the website may download and extract any such data from files loaded onto this website.
The use of Cookies on this website
When using the accessibility menu on the home page of this website, a temporary cookie will be set to retain the settings you have selected. This will help to ensure that when you move from page to page, your chosen setting will move with you. The cookie contains only your setting choices and no personal information.
If you visit our Member’s login page, a temporary cookies will be set to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookies contains no personal data and will be discarded when you close your browser. When you log in, several cookies will be set up to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
As these cookies are essential for the functioning of the site no cookie notice is required under The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003 section 6 paragraph 4.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Who we share your data with
Apart from when we may be required to do so law and except as laid out in the “Where we send your data” section below, we do not share any data with any third parties.
How long we retain your data
For users that register on our website, we store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see and edit some of their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators and other relevant staff can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where we send your data
We may send anonymised address data to a third party for “geocoding” for the purpose of powering the “Find a talking newspaper” service.
If you supply audio files to us for “Editor’s Content” then we may send those to a third party transcoding service as part of our quality control procedures.
For more details on which third parties we use, please contact us.