Seaward Privacy Policy
We are Seaward Electronic Limited of 15-18 Bracken Hill, South West Industrial Estate, Peterlee, County Durham, England, UK, SR8 2SW with registered company number 01674384 (“Seaward“, “we”, “us”, “our“).
Your privacy is very important to us. At Seaward we are dedicated to protecting the personal data you provide to us. We have created this privacy policy (“Policy”) to help you understand how we use and protect your personal data.
This Policy applies to the use of our website (https://patguardcloud.com) (“Website”), the PATGuard Cloud Platform and any other medium where you may interact with us. The Website and PATGuard Cloud Platform are both operated by Seaward, part of GMC-Instruments GmbH, a company incorporated in the UK and Germany. If you interact with us on any third party sites, please refer to their own privacy policies.
Seaward is the data controller responsible for your personal data collected through our Website and the PATGuard Cloud Platform.
This Policy also states how we use cookies and other technologies on our Website and apps. If you have any questions about this Policy please get in touch using the details at the bottom of this page.
Unless otherwise defined in this Policy, capitalised terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Conditions and Terms of use. By accessing our Website and/or Subscription Services, you consent to the terms of this Policy, Conditions and Terms of Use (where applicable).
What kind of personal data do we collect?
The PATGuard Cloud Platform involves the storage of data about a company or individual.
We collect your data in many ways, these may include but are not limited to where you complete an enquiry form on our website, attend a webinar, workshop or exhibition, contact us by email, social media or phone, place an order, complete a survey or subscribe to our newsletter.
We only collect the information we need such as name, company name, limited address details, country of residence, email address and phone number.
We do NOT store any credit card or bank details you may have provided.
The PATGuard Cloud Platform may collect personal information directly from you when you:
- create an account;
- use the Subscription Services;
- contact the Seaward; or
- visit our websites.
You can always choose not to provide your personal information to us, but it may mean that we are unable to provide you with the Subscription Services / any service that we may provide from time to time or provide you with the most up to date information.
PATGuard Cloud may receive personal information from you about others
Through your use of the Subscription Services, the PATGuard Cloud Platform may also collect information from you about someone else. If You provide the PATGuard Cloud Platform with personal information about someone else, you must ensure that you are authorised to disclose that information to the PATGuard Cloud Platform and that, without Seaward taking any further steps required by applicable data protection or privacy laws, Seaward and the PATGuard Cloud Platform may collect, use and disclose such information for the purposes described in this Policy.
This means that you must take reasonable steps to ensure the individual concerned is aware of and/or consents to the various matters detailed in this Policy, including the fact that their personal information is being collected, the purposes for which that information is being collected, the intended recipients of that information, the individual’s right to obtain access to that information, PATGuard Cloud and Seaward’s identity, and how to contact Seaward.
Where requested to do so by us, you must assist us with any requests by the individual to access or update the personal information you have collected from them and entered into the PATGuard Cloud Platform.
Personal Information we collect automatically
We use cookies which are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser (if you allow) that enables the sites or service providers’ systems to recognise your browser and capture and remember certain information.
We use cookies to compile aggregate data about Website traffic and Website interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors.
These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business. If you prefer, 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 via your browser settings. Like most websites, if you turn your cookies off, some of our services may not function properly.
We use Google Analytics to monitor activity on our Website such as pages visited, banners clicked and goal completions. Under no circumstances do we collect your personally identifiable data using Google Analytics.
We use the data in Google Analytics to make educated improvements to our website and marketing activities which allows us to bring better content to our customers. We also use cookies with Google Analytics as part of Google marketing mediums such as remarketing and experiments. Again, we must reiterate that we do not share your personal information with Google.
Tracking
We also track your visit behaviour on our Website so we can show you targeted adverts on social media channels. Again, we do not collect any personal data, and the data we do collect based on your visit is shared with the social media channels’ analytics platforms.
What do we do with your personal data?
The PATGuard Cloud Platform collects your personal information so that we can provide you with the Subscription Services and any related services you may request. In doing so, the PATGuard Cloud Platform may use the personal information we have collected from you for purposes related to the Subscription Services including to:
- Verify your identity;
- Administer the Subscription Services;
- Notify you of new or changed services offered in relation to the Subscription Services;
- Carry out training relating to the Subscription Services;
- Conduct Marketing related to the Subscription Services (if you have consented to receive marketing);
- Assist with the resolution of technical support issues or other issues relating to the Subscription Services;
- Comply with laws and regulations in applicable jurisdictions;
- Communicate with you.
By using the Subscription Services, you consent to your personal information being collected, held, and used in this way and for any other use you authorise. We will only use your personal information for the purposes described in this Policy or with your express permission.
It is your responsibility to keep your password to the PATGuard Cloud Platform safe. You should notify us as soon as possible if you become aware of any misuse of your password, and immediately change your password within the PATGuard Cloud Platform or via the “Forgotten Password” process.
Marketing
In certain situations, we seek consent before sending marketing materials to individuals and in such cases consent is our lawful basis for sending marketing to you.
We will use your personal information to contact you from time to time about industry news, Seaward and GMC-Instruments products and product updates, and anything else we feel may be of interest to you. We may contact you using third party data, provided that you have given them consent to be contacted by relevant third parties.
Unsubscribing
You may unsubscribe from our emails at any time by using the clear unsubscribe link in the bottom of the emails or by contacting us using the details at the bottom of this Policy.
If you opt out of receiving marketing communications, you will still receive service-related communications that are essential for administrative or customer service purposes for example relating to order confirmations, updates to our Conditions and/or Terms of Use and checking that your contact details are correct.
Personalisation
We may use your personal details, where available, to personalise communications with you.
Improving our services
We may contact you from time to time to help us improve our company. Whether it is to get your opinion about current and new products, our Website and how we can make it better, or about our customer services, we can only make it better with your opinions in mind. We may also use data collected about Website visits to improve our user experiences and content.
PATGuard Cloud can aggregate your non-personally identifiable data
By using the Subscription Services, you agree that the PATGuard Cloud Platform can access, aggregate and use non-personally identifiable data the PATGuard Cloud Platform has collected from you. Once aggregated, this data will in no way identify you or any other individual.
We may use this aggregated non-personally identifiable data to:
- Assist us to better understand how our customers are using the Subscription Services,
- Provide our customers with further information regarding the uses and benefits of the Subscription Services;
- Enhance small business productivity, including by creating useful business insights from that aggregated data and allowing you to benchmark your business’ performance against that aggregated data;
- Otherwise to improve the Subscription Services.
Legal basis for processing personal data
Our legal basis for collecting and using the personal data described above will depend on the personal data concerned and the specific context in which we collect it. However, we will normally collect personal data from you under the following legal bases:
Performance of a contract with you
Where we need to use your information in order to perform the Contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.
Legitimate interests
We will use your information for our own legitimate interests, for example, to provide you with the best suitable content on our Website or app, to improve and promote our services to resolve technical support issues or other issues relating to the Subscription Services and for our own administrative purposes including creating and maintaining business records of our relationship with you.
Legal requirements & vital interests
We may use your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to or where we will have a legal obligation to contact you, which could include a product update or policy update.
Consent
We rely on consent only where we have obtained your active agreement to use your personal data for a specified purpose, for example where you opt in to our marketing communications.
PATGuard Cloud holds your personal information on servers located in the UK & Australia
We use a third party data hosting provider, Microsoft Azure, to host our Subscription Services on servers located in the UK & Australia.
While your personal information will be stored on servers located in the UK & Australia, it will remain within our effective control at all times. Each data hosting provider’s role is limited to providing a hosting and storage service to the PATGuard Cloud Platform, and we’ve taken steps to ensure that our data hosting providers do not have access to, and use the necessary level of protection for, your personal information. They do not control and are not permitted to access or use your personal information, except for the limited purpose of storing the information.
Any information the PATGuard Cloud Platform holds about you is stored on secure servers and is password protected. Only authorised employees at Seaward will have access to your data and will only access it when it is necessary to do so to carry out their work.
When we transfer your personal data out of the UK to servers located in Australia (as detailed above), we always ensure that a similar degree of protection is afforded to that personal data. We ensure that any such data transfers are conducted in accordance with data protection laws.
Whilst we do our best to protect your data, no information transferred over the internet is 100% secure and you provide your information at your own risk.
We use your payment details to process orders at the time of purchase and we do not store your card details or payment information on our systems under any circumstance.
Security
In accordance with UK GDPR, Seaward undertakes to take all precautions to preserve the technical and organisational security of its data and to protect them against any accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss, corruption, unauthorised circulation or access as well as against any other form of unlawful processing or disclose to unauthorised persons.
To avoid unauthorised access, to guarantee accuracy and the proper use of our data, Seaward has put the appropriate electronic, physical and managerial procedures in place with a view to safeguarding and preserving the data gathered through its services.
Data Breach
In the event of a breach of security, Seaward will directly inform those affected without undue delay, no later than 72 hours after having become aware of it.
When do we share your data with third parties?
We may share your information with third parties when required. We have taken steps to ensure that these third parties are secure and share the same values on keeping your data as safe as Seaward does. These third parties include service providers (for example by passing details to insurers, financial service providers, legal and accountancy service providers).
We may use third party systems such as an email marketing platform in order to contact you. Each third party we provide your data to have relevant security measures in place to protect your data and we store our login details to these platforms securely within the relevant departments.
Brands which are part of GMC-Instruments
Your details may be shared with other companies in our corporate group (GMC-Instruments) who process information for purposes that are described in this Policy for analytical purposes or to support the services that we provide to you.
Any information you share with us on social media or other third party platforms is not covered by this Policy and you should refer back to the policy available on their website.
Retention of your personal data
We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint of if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.
In some circumstances we will anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
What rights do you have in relation to your personal data?
If you wish to access, correct, update, restrict or request deletion of your personal data you can do so at any time, just contact us using one of the methods at the bottom of this policy.
You have the right to opt out of any marketing communications we send to you at any time. There will be a clear link to unsubscribe from future marketing emails at the bottom of the emails we send to you or alternatively you can contact us to request to be removed from our mailing lists.
You have the right to complain at any time to the to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.
Payments PATGuard Cloud does not store Your credit card details
Where we sell products and services, we use third-party application Stripe to process your payments. This third-party application will collect information from you to process a payment on behalf of Seaward, including your name, email address, mailing address, payment card information, and other billing information. Seaward does not receive or store your payment information, but it may receive, and store information associated with your payment information (e.g., the fact that you have paid, the last four digits or your credit card information, and your country of origin).
If you choose to pay for the Subscription Services by credit card, your credit card details are not stored by the Subscription Services and cannot be accessed by us. Your credit card details are encrypted and securely stored by Direct Payments Solutions Limited to enable for us to automatically bill your credit card on a recurring basis.
We only disclose your personal information in limited circumstances
We will only disclose the personal information you have provided to us to entities outside of GMC-Instruments if it is necessary and appropriate to facilitate the purpose for which your personal information was collected pursuant to this Policy, including the provision of the Subscription Services.
We will not otherwise disclose your personal information to a third party unless you have provided your express consent. However, you should be aware that we may be required to disclose your personal information without your consent in order to comply with any court orders, subpoenas, or other legal process or investigation including by tax authorities, if such disclosure is required by law. Where possible and appropriate, we will notify you if we are required by law to disclose your personal information.
You are responsible for transfer of your data to third-party applications
The Subscription Services may allow you, or another Authorised User within the relevant subscription to transfer data, including your personal information, electronically to and from third-party applications. We have no control over, and take no responsibility for, the privacy practices or content of these applications. You are responsible for checking the privacy policy of any such applications so that you can be informed of how they will handle personal information.
Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy at any time without notice. For example, when any changes are made to laws and regulations currently in force. The most up to date version will be available on our websites.
This Policy was last updated July 2025.
Contact details
If you have any questions about this Policy or you would like to exercise any data protection rights please contact our Data Protection Officer by using one of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]
By Post:
The Data Protection Officer
Seaward Electronic Limited
15-18 Bracken Hill
South West Industrial Estate
Peterlee, County Durham
England, UK
SR8 2SW