Privacy information
If you enter TechTides Youth, we use your information to run the competition and keep people safe. Your entry is private: it is not displayed publicly on this website.
Who is responsible?
AIC EVENTS LTD organises TechTides Youth and is responsible for the personal information described here. For privacy questions or requests, email hello@techtides.com.
What we collect and why
- Accounts and entries: your name, email address, school or other affiliation, team membership, idea, written answers and a link to your 90-second video. We use these to let you create an account, submit an entry, check eligibility, review and judge entries, contact you about the competition and record the outcome.
- School and organiser activity: staff account details, school nominations, review decisions and limited audit records. We use these to manage access and the competition fairly.
- Event arrangements: if you attend, we may collect attendance, emergency contact, accessibility or welfare information that is needed to support you safely. For under-18s, this may include a parent or guardian contact and their event acknowledgement. We handle these records separately from competition entries.
- Website operation: essential sign-in cookies and technical information needed to deliver and protect the site. See our cookies page.
Please do not put your home address, phone number, health details or safeguarding concerns in your entry or video. Tell the safeguarding lead directly if something worries you.
Our legal reasons
We use account and entry information to provide the competition you ask to join (contract). We use limited records for fair administration, fraud prevention and site security (our legitimate interests, balanced against your rights, especially if you are under 18). We use information where needed to meet a legal obligation or protect someone in an emergency. If we ask to use an identifiable event photo or recording for publicity, we will ask for a separate choice; entering the competition does not give publicity permission. Health or support information is handled only where necessary and with an applicable additional legal condition.
Who can see it?
Your entry can be seen by your team, authorised school staff where your school is connected to it, and the organiser. Judges receive only what they need to assess entries. Service providers that operate the website, accounts, email and database process information for us. We may share limited information with the event venue or emergency services when needed for safety. We do not publish entries or give judges and mentors a private messaging channel to participants.
The site stores a video link, not the video file. If you use YouTube, Google Drive or another host, its privacy settings and policy also apply. A link set to “anyone with the link” or “unlisted” can be opened by anyone who gets that link, so check its settings before submitting.
Keeping information safe and how long we keep it
We restrict access by role and keep safeguarding, emergency contact and consent records separately from general competition material. We keep information only while it is needed to run the competition, resolve results or queries, and meet legal or safeguarding duties. We then delete or anonymise it securely. Different records may need different periods; ask us about a particular record if you need more detail. We will not keep personal information indefinitely just because an account was created.
Your choices and rights
You can ask to see your information, correct it, request deletion or restriction, object to certain uses, and ask for a copy where the law gives you that right. You can also withdraw any optional publicity consent without affecting your competition entry. Email hello@techtides.com. If you are under 18, you can contact us yourself or ask a parent or guardian to help. You can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Safeguarding help
If you feel unsafe or are worried about someone else, contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Alastair Cameron, at alastair@techtides.co or 07855 833121. We take concerns seriously. We keep them confidential where possible, but may need to share information with appropriate services to protect someone from harm. If there is immediate danger, call 999.