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Our Internet Policy

What is this Privacy Policy for?

Welcome to McDonald’s Happy Studio! We at McDonald’s are committed to protecting your personal information and the personal information of your family. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it and how we keep it safe and secure.

This Privacy Policy applies to your use of both the Happy Studio website and the Happy Studio Smartphone App.

This Privacy Policy contains the following sections (click on each heading to go straight to that section):

1. Who operates Happy Studio?

2. Do children need to get a parent or guardian’s permission to use Happy Studio?

3. Is Happy Studio safe for children?

4. What personal information do we collect?

5. Where will your personal information be stored?

6. How do we make sure your personal information is kept safe and secure?

7. Will we share your personal information with anyone else?

8. Can you share content from Happy Studio with anyone else?

9. How long will we keep your personal information?

10. Can you find out what personal information we hold about you?

11. How can you delete or update your personal information?

12. Can you cancel your registration and your child’s account?

13. When will we contact you?

14. Is there anything else you should know about when you use the Happy Studio Smartphone App?

15. What are cookies and do we use them or something similar?

16. Will this Privacy Policy change?

17. How can you contact us?

18. When was this Privacy Policy last updated?

1. Who operates Happy Studio?

   Happy Studio is operated and controlled by McDonald’s Europe Limited, which is established in the United Kingdom and whose registered office address is:

   178/180 Edgware Road
   London, W2 2DS.

2. Do children need to get a parent or guardian’s permission to use Happy Studio?

   Children will need to get their parent or guardian’s permission before they can use Happy Studio.

   When a child first visits Happy Studio, the child will need to enter their parent or guardian’s email address. An email will then be sent to that child’s parent or guardian in order to get their consent for their child to be part of Happy Studio.

   The email sent to the parent or guardian will contain a link to confirm the activation of the child’s account. Parents or guardians can register themselves either on the Happy Studio website or through the Happy Studio Smartphone App by setting up their own passcode, and once registered, they have the option of managing the account.

   If Happy Studio hasn’t gone live yet, the parent or guardian will be able to “pre-register” their children and the child will have the option to be a “Founder Member”. Being a Founder Member will give the child access to exclusive downloadable content and a special surprise when the Happy Studio website goes live.

3. Is Happy Studio safe for children?

   We have made every effort to ensure that Happy Studio is safe for children. For example, children cannot enter Happy Studio unless we have consent from their parent or guardian. Please note though that in line with the approach taken by other similar services, we are not able to verify that the email address provided by a child is actually that of their parent or guardian.

   Within the Grown Up’s Section there is a “Dashboard” which lets parents or guardians monitor their children’s accounts to see what games and activities they’re playing, what are their strengths and interests, how long they have spent using Happy Studio and check out all the creative gifts the child has made for their parent or guardian.

   There are absolutely no food or other product promotions on Happy Studio. Additionally Happy Studio is completely closed, with no links to other websites or services from the kids section, so parents can be sure where their child is playing is safe and secure.

   We know you, as parents, may wish to share your child’s creations with your family and friends. So it is possible to share content on Facebook or through email from the Grown Ups section of Happy Studio. This is only accessible by parents or guardians.

   It is not possible for children to communicate directly with other children other than using pre-set chat messages and “emoticons”. This means that children can’t free-type messages and there can be no nasty words used for bullying whatsoever. Parents can rest assured that there is no way for their child to have free chat, share any information or communicate with other children inappropriately. In addition, it is not possible for children to communicate directly with adults, other than their own parent or guardian when using Happy Studio.

4. What personal information do we collect?

   When a child first registers, they will select a “nickname” from a set list of pre-set names we have chosen and provide a password. In addition they will tell us if they are a boy or a girl and will also have the option to tell us their age. The child will then need to enter their parent or guardian’s email address so that we can get their parent or guardian’s consent as explained above.

   The age and gender information will allow us to adapt Happy Studio to make it more suitable and fun depending on how old the child is and whether it is being accessed by a girl or a boy (for example, we might change the scenery or the accessories that can be chosen to personalise characters). Parents / guardians can access the child’s age information in the Grown Up Section and can delete or amend it there. If you delete your child’s age we will not be able to tailor Happy Studio to make it more suitable and fun based on the child’s age.

   After we have permission from a parent or guardian and the child has been successfully registered, we will keep track of the child’s usage of Happy Studio, for example, the amount of time spent using Happy Studio and which games or activities the child has played or performed. We share this information within the Grown Up’s Section on the “Dashboard” to show the child’s parent or guardian how and what the child is learning by using Happy Studio.

5. Where will your personal information be stored?

   Currently, we store personal information in a data centre located in Europe. However, if this changes we will take all reasonable steps to ensure your personal information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy, even in countries where people have fewer legal rights in relation to their personal information.

6. How do we make sure your personal information is kept safe and secure?

   Happy Studio was designed using various technical methods to ensure your personal information is safe and secure. For example, all of your personal information is held on computer servers which are not directly accessible to the outside world. We also use sophisticated technologies to prevent any outsider accessing the machines which host Happy Studio.

7. Will we share your personal information with anyone else?

   We will never sell your personal information.

   Generally, your information will only be used by people who work for McDonald’s (some of whom may work in our offices abroad). However, we often need someone else to help us manage all the information collected from the site and we may therefore need to share your information with them. For example, we currently use a company called Fuel Industries to run the Happy Studio website for us. If we do give your information to anyone else we will make sure that it is kept safe and secure.

   We may also need to give your personal information to someone else if required for legal reasons.

   We may share certain “non-personal” statistical information with others to identify trends in how Happy Studio is used. For example the number of girls and boys who use Happy Studio or how many people visit Happy Studio each month. Don’t worry though because this information will never identify you specifically.

8. Can you share content from Happy Studio with anyone else?

   Children can share their Happy Studio creations with their parents or guardians to be received in the Gift area of the Grown Up’s Section.

   The Grown Up’s Section of Happy Studio allows parents or guardians to preview their child’s online creations, print them out, email them to friends and family or even share them on Facebook. Parents or guardians can even reward their children with Stars for good behaviour!

   On the Happy Studio App there is the “Happy Studio Family Club” section. In this section, parents or guardians can enter their friend’s email addresses manually so that they can send out a “beacon” to all (or a select few) of their friends to organise a “play date”. When the parent or guardian of another Happy Studio child member agrees to be added to your list, the friend’s child’s Happy Studio character is added as a “hero” in the child’s online card collection.

9. How long will we keep your personal information?

   We will only keep the nickname, password and parent or guardian’s email addresses initially provided by a child temporarily until we have the consent from a parent or guardian for the child’s account to be created as explained above. If we do not receive consent from a parent or guardian within 7 business days, we will delete this information and the child’s content and avatars etc.

   Once you have registered and created an account for your child, we will keep your personal information for as long as you and your child use Happy Studio. If you decide to close your account or your child’s account, we will delete all of your personal information. We will also delete your account and your information if there is no activity on your account for at least 1 year.

10. Can you find out what personal information we hold about you?

    You can request a copy of all the personal information we hold about you by contacting us at support@happystudio.com

11. How can you delete or update your personal information?

    You can delete or update your personal information and other settings at any time in the Grown Ups section of the Happy Studio website.

    You can also use this section to opt-in or opt-out of the Happy Studio email newsletter, Parents Panel or Family Club.

12. Can you cancel your registration and your child’s account?

    You can cancel your registration and your child’s account at any time via the Grown Ups Section of the Happy Studios website.

13. When will we contact you?

    As explained above, we will send an email to children’s parents or guardians in order to get their consent for the children to use Happy Studio.

    If you choose, by way of opt-in, we may contact you from time to time by email to tell you about recent news on the Happy Studio website and update you about your child’s activities. If you no longer want to receive the newsletter, you will be able to opt-out by following the instructions contained in the newsletter email.

    Parents or guardians will also have the option to join our “Parents Panel”. If you are part of the Parents Panel, we may email you to ask your opinion on Happy Studio, your experience with your family at McDonald’s, and sometimes just your thoughts as parents or guardians. Click here to find out more about the Parents Panel.

    We know parents and guardians are very busy, so if you pre-register before Happy Studio officially launches, we will give you the option to be sent an email announcing when Happy Studio officially goes live.

    If we notice that there is no activity on your child’s account for at least 6 months, we will send you an email reminder. If we notice that there is no activity on your child’s account for at least 1 year, we will send you an email notification and if we do not hear back from you within 2 weeks, we will delete your child’s account and your information.

    In countries where we run a McDonald’s “Junior Club” or “Family Club”, if you agree to opt-in to joining as a member, we may also contact you from time to time with local news, activities and family offers from this club. Again, if you no longer want to receive these emails, you will be able to opt-out by following the instructions contained in the email.

14. Is there anything else you should know about when you use the Happy Studio Smartphone App?

    The Happy Studio App, like other smart-phone apps, may access your smart-phone’s unique identifying code (e.g. referred to on an iPhone as a “UDID”) in order for you to install and use the App. This code is a unique identifying number which can be used to identify your smart-phone.

15. What are cookies and do we use them or something similar?

    Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to someone’s computer to allow the website to remember certain information and therefore making the website easier to use.

    A cookie is a bit like the person behind the till at your local McDonald’s. That person doesn’t know your name or where you live, but they do recognise you and remember your favourite order so that the next time you visit they can guess what you’re going to want and make the service even quicker than normal!

    Like most websites, the Happy Studio website uses cookies for a variety of purposes in order to improve your online experience. For example, we use cookies to remember your login email. We may also use a special type of a cookie, called a “Flash” cookie which allows us to store some of your preferences on the website (for example, how loud you want the sound on the website).

    You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You can do this through your browser settings. Each browser is different, so you'll probably need to take a look at your Help menu. If you turn cookies off, you may not be able to take advantage of all the fun and exciting features of this website. Unless you turn cookies off via your browser settings, we will assume that you consent to the use of cookies on the Happy Studio website.

16. Will this Privacy Policy change?

    We may need to update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we do make any changes to this Privacy Policy, we will post the changes in the Grown Ups section of the website and in any other areas of the website we think necessary so that you are aware of the changes. Please make sure you look at the website frequently just in case we do make any changes to this Privacy Policy. Where a change may affect how your information is handled, we will also notify you of the change by email.

17. How can you contact us?

    If you have any questions or suggestions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: support@happystudio.com.

18. When was this Privacy Policy last updated?

    27 July, 2011