Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2023-10-03

VIVO Group a limited liability company under Belgian law with a registered office at Kasteelstraat 62,3360 Korbeek-Lo, Belgium, registered under company registration number 0778676507 (RLE Leuven), with trade name “certN” (hereinafter: “certN,” “certN.global” “us,” “we,” or “our”) which operates the Website reachable with the certN.global domain and sub-domains. This Privacy Policy applies to all services and products offered on certN.global and its sub-domains. You should be aware that certN cannot be held responsible for the Privacy Policy of other websites and sources.

certN respects the privacy of all its users and keeps the personal information you provide confidential unless otherwise mentioned. On this page, we will let you know what information we collect when you use our Website, why we collect it, and with whom we share it. We provide you with this information to make sure you will understand exactly how we work.

By creating an account on certN, you provide your consent with the specific aspects of this Privacy Policy, and you affirm that you are of legal age to agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. Whenever important changes are made to this Privacy Policy, we will ask for your consent once again.

I. Which data do we collect?

There are three sources of personal data in certN:

1. Data we receive from you
2. Data we receive automatically
3. Data we receive from third parties

The triggers for collecting each of these data, the exact data we collect, and their retention period are explained in the following three sections.

1. Data we receive from you

• Trigger: A user creates an account.
  • Data (hereinafter referred to as “Basic personal data”):
    • Email address
    • Full name (legal and display)
  • Retention:
    • 5 years if no certificate is issued.
    • Permanently, if a certificate is issued.
• Trigger: A user takes a practice exam or an official exam.
  • Data (hereinafter referred to as “Exam Specific Data”):
    • Date of the exam
    • Time spent on each question
    • Answers to exam questions
    • The score of the exam
    • The certification(s) you achieved
    • Your answers to the pre-exam and post-exam surveys
  • Retention:
    • Score and achievements: Permanently
    • Other Exam Specific Data: 3 years
• Trigger: A certificate is downloaded, or a social badge viewed
  • Data:
    • Counter
  • Retention:
    • Permanent
• Trigger: A user takes an exam that requires online invigilation.
  • Data (hereinafter referred to as “Invigilation Data”):
    • Webcam video with audio of the user during the official exam.
    • Recording of all active screens during the official exam.
  • Retention:
    • six months
• Trigger: A user contacts certN via chat, email, or phone
  • Data (hereinafter “Support data”):
    • Email address (if provided)
    • Full name
    • Telephone number (if provided)
    • Communication content
  • Retention:
    • Permanently

2. Data we receive automatically

• Trigger: A user visits our Website
  • Data:
    • Session information we have saved in your browser (cookies and similar technologies)
    • Your IP address
    • Your browser information
    • Your operating system information
    • Your device type
    • The pages you have visited on our Website
    • The URL of the page that has sent you to our Website
  • Retention:
    • Cookies: maximum one year
    • Other data: 3 years

3. Data we receive from third parties

• Trigger: A third-party issues a certificate or badge for a user based on external factors (e.g., membership, passing paper-based exams)
  • Data:
    • Email address
    • Full name
    • Name of the organization (when applicable)
  • Retention:
    • Permanent

II. Why do we collect these data?

Your personal data will be used for the following services:

• To confirm your identity, deliver examinations, ensure the validity of the certification process, and prevent fraud during the certification process certain Personal Data is required to be collected under our procedures to provide you with Certification Services
• To enable us to optimize the services we render and the content we provide on the Website. In certain cases, when we are under a legal requirement to process personal data, like age limits, we will process these personal data.
• For internal research and development or quality control purposes.
• For statistical purposes and to improve our services and product. These processing activities are thus based on a justified, legitimate interest of certN.
• To provide exam and certification services

We do not carry out any automated individual decision-making, including profiling, within the meaning of Article 22 of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016-679), which would require your explicit consent.

III. Data retention periods

Your personal data will only be processed for as long as it is necessary for the purposes mentioned in section II. The retention periods are mentioned in the lists of section I.

IV. Your rights

You can get access to your personal data and rectify or erase them free of charge. You also have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data.

Moreover, you have the right to data portability for the personal data you have provided to certN, if any, and to the extent that certN has retained your personal data. If you want more information on your rights, you can always contact us or check the Website of the Belgian Data Protection Authority: https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be/en

To exercise these rights, we ask you to send a request to the address mentioned below, which clearly states what it is you want to know, rectify or erase. This request needs to be signed and dated and contains a copy of the front side of your identity card. You should specifically motivate your request if you want to rectify or erase personal data or restrict the processing thereof. Once these conditions are fulfilled, certN will execute your request as soon as possible and send you a message on this matter.

V. Cookies

We only use a limited number of first-party cookies that are necessary for saving session information (e.g., your preferred color scheme) and to keep you logged in to the platform.

VI. Security measures

certN has taken all reasonable and appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure that your Personal Information is processed securely. If you have any questions about these security measures, feel free to contact us at the address mentioned below. Within certN, personal data is only available to people who need to have access to it in relation to their job.

At no moment in time will we directly sell or rent out your personal data to third parties? Occasionally we may use an external processor. If we do this, we will always ensure that your information is handled confidentially and in a safe manner. We also always draw up a contract with these processors. This way, the processor will never be allowed to use your data on its own initiative, and your data have to be erased as soon as the processor has finished the assignment.

VII. Who has access to your data?

Certification Partners

Each certification program is created and offered in cooperation with a few Certification Partners that cover various aspects of the program, such as content and accreditation services.

We may share some of your Personal Data related to a specific certification with the other Certification Partners of that program to the extent necessary to provide you Certification Services (e.g., recording your achievement in related directories). We require Certification Partners to comply with data protection law, but we are not directly responsible for their privacy practices. For information on those practices, please refer to the privacy policies of the Certification Partners.

These Certification Partners will receive access to the following:

• Email address
• Full name
• Exam-specific data
• Invigilation results

Your training organization

In case you have used the services of a training organization, we will provide them access to the

• Email address
• Full name
• Exam-specific data
• Invigilation results

This access will only be provided to training organizations who can provide us with your confidential exam voucher and will be limited to the exam-specific data resulting from that exam voucher.

The Public

When an achievement is issued for you, you will be automatically included in the public certification directory with the following information:

• Your display name
• A description of your achievement
• The date you have achieved the certificate (year and month)
• The expiry date of the achievement

These data will be available to the public. If you do not want to be included in the directory, you can send us your request, and your name will be removed without impacting your achievement.

VIII. Contact information of data controller

For all your questions or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy, you should contact us at the following email address: data-protection@certN.global

If you have any complaints regarding the processing of your personal data, you can also address this complaint to the following address by registered mail:

VIVO group BV
Data Protection desk
Kasteelstraat 62
3360 Korbeek-Lo
Belgium

Afterward, you can contact your Data Protection Authority https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be/en to assist you or to file a complaint.