How we use your information

This policy explains what personal information HN Group Limited collects through this website and through HN Group Auth (auth.hngroup.org.uk, the sign-in service for HN Group staff), why, and what your rights are.

Who we are

HN Group Limited (“HN Group”, “we”) is the data controller for information collected on hngroup.org.uk and auth.hngroup.org.uk. HN Group brings together Horizon Network, Horizon Media Group and HN Group Management. Horizon Advertising and Horizon Development are part of Horizon Network. If your message is about one of those companies, we may share it with them so they can reply.

What we collect

Contact form: your name, email address, and anything else you choose to give us (phone number, organisation and your message), plus the IP address it was sent from to help us block spam.
Job applications: your name, email address, optional phone number, your CV and anything you tell us about why you’re applying.

Public pages do not use analytics or tracking cookies. Signing in uses essential cookies only, to keep the sign-in secure (see Cookies).

HN Group staff accounts and HN Group Auth

HN Group Auth is only for HN Group staff. When you sign in, we use your staff email address, password (stored only as a one-way hash), six-digit PIN (also hashed), your staff profile (name, job title, company and profile picture) and the IP address and browser you sign in from. We use these to confirm who you are, to decide which HN Group applications you may use, and to keep a security log of sign-ins and failed attempts.

Sign in with Google

Sign in with Google is optional. Each member of staff decides whether to turn it on, and only a Google account that uses one of their own HN Group email addresses can be connected.

What we receive from Google: your Google account’s unique ID, your email address and whether Google has verified it. We ask Google only for these (the “openid” and “email” permissions). We don’t receive your Google password and we can’t see your Gmail, contacts, files, calendar or anything else in your Google account.
How we use it: only to connect your Google account to your HN Group staff account when you turn the option on, and to recognise you when you choose Continue with Google so we can sign you in. We don’t use it for anything else.
Sharing: we don’t sell, share or transfer Google user data to anyone, and we don’t use it for advertising, to build profiles, or to train AI or machine-learning models. Only the automated sign-in service reads it; HN Group staff don’t read it except where needed for security, to comply with the law, or with your permission.
Storage and deletion: the Google account ID and email address are kept with your staff account on our own server for as long as Sign in with Google is turned on. Turning it off (on auth.hngroup.org.uk) deletes them straight away, and they’re also deleted if your staff account is removed. Signing in with Google never makes your browser remember your account.

Discord

Staff records include the person’s Discord user ID, and HN Group Auth’s Discord bot looks up the matching Discord username so it stays up to date. Continue with Discord is optional: each person decides whether to connect their Discord account, and only the Discord account on their own staff record can be connected.

What we receive from Discord: your Discord user ID and username (the “identify” permission). We don’t receive your Discord password, email address, messages, servers or friends.
How we use it: to recognise you when you choose Continue with Discord, and to show your Discord username on your staff profile. Signing in with Discord never makes your browser remember your account.
Storage and deletion: the ID and username are kept with your staff record and sign-in account on our own server. Disconnecting Discord on auth.hngroup.org.uk stops Discord sign-in at once; the ID stays on your staff record until it’s changed or the record is removed. You can also remove HN Group’s access from Discord under User Settings → Authorized Apps.

HN Group’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. You can also remove HN Group’s access at any time from your Google account at myaccount.google.com/permissions.

Why we use it

To reply to your enquiry and, if you ask, provide our services. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in responding to people who contact us, or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.
To consider your job application. Our lawful basis is taking steps at your request before entering into an employment contract, and our legitimate interest in recruiting.
To sign staff in to HN Group applications and keep their accounts secure. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in running our systems securely and, for staff, the performance of their employment contract.

We never sell your information or use it for marketing without your permission.

Who can see it

Enquiries are seen only by the people in the group who handle them. Applications are seen only by our recruitment team and the hiring manager for the role. Staff account information is seen only by the automated sign-in service and the HN Group administrators who manage staff accounts. Everything is stored on our own server, not with third-party form, recruitment or sign-in services.

How long we keep it

Enquiries are deleted automatically a year after we’ve finished dealing with them.
Unsuccessful job applications (including CVs) are deleted automatically 6 months after the decision. If you’re offered and accept a job, your application becomes part of your staff record.
Staff account and sign-in information is kept while the person works for HN Group. A browser that’s remembered for sign-in is forgotten after 30 days without use, or straight away with “Forget me”.
Google sign-in details are kept only while Sign in with Google is turned on, as described above.

Cookies

We only use cookies that are needed for signing in: a short-lived cookie that keeps a sign-in secure while it happens, a session cookie that ends when the sign-in finishes or the page is refreshed, and, after a password and PIN sign-in, a cookie that remembers which account last signed in on that browser (until you choose Forget me, or after 30 days without use). There are no advertising, analytics or tracking cookies.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of the information we hold about you (including anything we received from Google), ask us to correct or delete it, object to how we use it or ask us to restrict it. To do this, send us a message using the contact form, choosing “Something else”. We’ll reply within one month.

If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

Last updated October 2026.