Privacy Statement for Futurehome
Your trust in us is crucial to our services being as good as you expect. Good privacy practices are a key to ensuring that you trust us.
All processing of personal data in Futurehome is subject to the Norwegian Personal Data Act with regulations and the EU’s “General Data Protection Regulation” (GDPR) as implemented in Norwegian law (“Norwegian Personal Data Act”). All our employees are subject to the duty of confidentiality in accordance with sections 2-9 of the Norwegian Electronic Communications Act.
When it comes to privacy, we promise to:
- Be open about how we collect, use and store your data.
- Use your data in accordance with the purpose for which we have obtained it.
- Not collect, store or process personal data to a greater extent than we need.
- Facilitate individual customization options and built-in privacy in our solutions.
- Give you the right to access your privacy information and facilitate the removal and correction of personal information that is incorrect or that you do not wish to be retained.
- Use adequate security measures and tools to protect your data
- Have a dedicated privacy representative to help ensure that Futurehome complies with the Privacy Policy and this Privacy Statement
This privacy statement should provide you with the information you are entitled to under the Norwegian Personal Information Act. You will receive information on the following:
- The information we collect about you.
- The information about you that we collect when you use our services or visit our website.
- How and why we collect and use the information.
- How we safeguard your rights.
- How Futurehome complies with the requirements of the Norwegian Personal Data Act.
- How to contact us if you have any questions about Futurehome’s processing of your personal information.
1. To whom does this privacy statement apply?
This privacy statement applies to the collection of personal information about our customers and visitors to our website that we undertake. The privacy statement also applies to others for whom we have a legal basis for processing personal information, such as those who have consented to the processing carried out by Futurehome.
2. When do we process information about you?
Futurehome processes your personal information when:
- It is necessary to provide the agreed services to you.
- It is necessary to improve our customer care to give you better user experiences.
- It is necessary to safeguard information security.
- It is necessary to develop and market our services.
- You have given your consent to the processing of information about you.
- It is necessary for our compliance with statutory requirements.
3. How do we obtain personal information about you?
We process personal data when:
- You are registered with Futurehome when you order services from us or when you contact Customer Service with questions.
- You are regularly registered when you use the services provided by Futurehome, such as when motion is detected in a motion sensor room or you visit our website.
- We receive information from third parties about you, for example, from service providers who have legal grounds for sending us substantiated or specific information (for example, from the Norwegian National Registry).
- You make a decision and click on banners for information or if you have responded to customer surveys, interacted with us in beta communities or discussion forums.
4. What kind of information do we process?
In order to provide a tailor-made solution for you for smart home solutions, we need personal information about you. Therefore, information is registered about you, such as:
- Contact information such as name, address, email, phone number, contact address for content and services provided over the Internet, such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and other platforms.
- Information about your customer relationship, such as service and order information, payment information, credit information, information about the installer company which installed any products, or any possible consent and contact you may have with customer service.
- Information about users of your services in your household, such as the number of people, their names, the household size and the usage of the devices which are connected to the Smarthub.
- Information generated in connection with your use of subscriptions and the other services we offer such as device usage, statistics/timeline, number, size and type of units in use, energy and grid provider, grid area.
- Information you provide when you contact customer service, for example in connection with customer complaints, termination, resumption of subscription and other information you provide to us.
- Information we need to receive payments from you (or pay you when applicable) such as billing method, billing address, bank account details.
- Sensor data from connected apps or devices such as information from apps and devices you integrate with the Futurehome platform. These enable us to provide to you our services such as smart home steering (smart meters, smart thermostat), Brannvern (fire alarm service) and smart charging (EV charging).
- Technical Information you provide or are collected when you use our online services, e.g. web page, mobile application, social media. This can be information such as IP address, information about the browser you use, operating system, app version, approximate location data, and the website you arrived from.
- For support purposes we access, process and modify the data generated by the smarthub and associated devices and can change settings if needed.
- When you choose to participate in any of our surveys, user panel or competitions, we process information we receive from you in this context.
- If you engage and have dialogue with us in external channels such as social media, this content will be recorded in our systems. Depending on the service, the content may be publicly available to other users in the same service.
- We will be able to link information collected in connection with various services to the extent that we have legal grounds for doing so.
5. What specifically do we use your personal information for?
First and foremost, we use your personal information to manage your customer relationship and deliver Futurehome’s services to you. We process personal information about you for these specific purposes:
- Customer relationship management: provision of the services you have ordered, billing and credit assessments, customer service and other communications with you.
- Analysis and further development of our services: we analyze our customers’ use of the services to understand the needs of our customers, to further develop our services, and to be able to estimate the reason why customers choose to terminate their service agreement with us.
- Security: The information that is automatically recorded by our measurement tools and technical logs, about your usage and technical equipment, is used to ensure that the services are constantly functioning and are maintaining the requisite quality. We proactively try to resolve any technical issues before you notice them, thereby minimizing the risk of errors and preventing anyone from misusing your subscription or services.
- Marketing: We follow the provisions of the Norwegian Marketing Act regarding the sending of offers to our existing customers. We will not send you promotions unless we have a legal basis as per the Norwegian Personal Data Act for this and provided that you have not opted out of such marketing inquiries.
The legal basis for collecting personal data is the service agreement we have entered into with you. This foundation also applies to the information we need to manage customer relationships and ensure security in our systems, as well as to further develop our services.
We have made it possible for you to opt out of marketing by unsubscribing in relevant emails. However, you will not be able to refuse to receive important information about the services, service-related mail, as well as invoices and other things necessary for the agreement between you as a customer and us to work.
6. Automated processing and profiling.
We only compile and analyze anonymized data where this is necessary to ensure the quality and further development of our product and services. We also only have access to anonymous data through marketing partners such as Google AdWords.
7. How long is your personal data about you retained?
Futurehome does not retain your personal information for longer than necessary. How long we retain your personal information depends on the necessity and any legal requirements for storage, such as Norwegian Accounting Legislation and the Norwegian Electronic Communications Act.
The basic personal information we have stored about you is necessary for us to manage your customer relationship and deliver the right services to you, and these will be retained on a regular basis for as long as we have an ongoing agreement with you.
8. With whom do we share your personal information?
Companies with which we have entered into a data processor agreement that perform assignments on our behalf. Others with whom you have given your consent for us to share information. Possible partners in the event of a sale, purchase, merger or other reorganization of the company. Credit check and collection companies. The processing of information by public authorities that Futurehome AS is required to disclose is beyond Futurehome’s control.
As a user of Futurehome, at the location where you have set up your system (for example, a family home), you will be able to view statistical data on the activity of other users of the system on a timeline. If you have given access to other users, they can see your activity. This is information that is only shared between users at the location.
9. Sales and Marketing
We comply with the Marketing Act’s provisions regarding the sending of offers to our existing customers and others. We will not send you promotions unless we have a legal basis for this as per the Norwegian Personal Data Act and provided that you have not opted out of such marketing inquiries.
We use personal information to:
- Adapt communication and offers to our existing customers, by comparing the personal information we have with other anonymous information from our partners
- Communicate with our customers using the contact information you have provided to us (including email, telephone number and contact information for OTT services such as Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat) and which we have informed you that we use for marketing, unless you have refused such communication.
- Send out newsletters and other forms of direct marketing when we have your consent or other legal basis for this.
- Conduct market research, customer satisfaction surveys and the like.
If you buy the product “Join the Homeowners’ Association” in the Futurehome online store, then Futurehome will have to share your contact information with the “Homeowners’ Association”, so you can become a member.
10. With whom do we share your information?
Companies with which we have entered into a data processing agreement and which carry out assignments on our behalf. Some other third parties also perform services on our behalf and help us with the operation of the business and the provision of services, such as electricians. If we conduct customer surveys, we will use third parties for this. Such third parties are provided access to necessary information for use on our behalf for the same purposes described above.
Others for whom you have given your consent to us to share information.
Possible partners in case of sale, purchase, merger or other reorganization of the company.
Credit check and collection companies.
We share personal information with the channels we use for marketing, such as Facebook, when you provide us with contact information for such channels and we have a legal basis for sending marketing to you through these channels.
We enter into written agreements (data processing agreements) with third parties with whom we share information and make clear requirements for compliance with applicable privacy laws, including the requirements for information security. Should such third parties be established outside the EU, we will, when required, use the standard contract provided by the EU Commission, which safeguards the privacy of the individual and ensures a satisfactory level of protection.
Although we have a duty of confidentiality under sections 2-9 of the Norwegian Electronic Communications Act, the police and prosecuting authorities, as well as some other public authorities, are in some cases required to be provided with information on the use of electronic communication services. To the extent required by law or decision by the courts or necessary for the investigation of possible offenses, relevant information may be provided to public authorities or any other legitimate authorities.
We only share your personal information with third parties so that they can assist us for purposes that are ours, and never for such third parties to use your personal information for their own purposes. In addition to the categories of third parties mentioned here, we will not share or sell your personal information to anyone.
11. How long do we process information about you?
We process the information about you for as long as is necessary to achieve the purpose of the processing. The information is then deleted, unless we are required by law to continue to retain the information.
12. How we protect the information
Personal data shall be processed in such a way as to safeguard the integrity, confidentiality and accessibility of the information. This means that Futurehome must take action against accidental and unlawful destruction, loss and alteration of personal information.
In Futurehome, we use the principles of ISO 27001 as guidelines for IT security work, and we have internal procedures for risk analysis in place. We regularly conduct risk analyses in our IT systems and routines. This ensures that we have the necessary security in relation to the risks associated with our processing of personal information.
To the extent that we share personal information with third parties, we place strict information security requirements on them.
13. Processing of information about children
Children, under Norwegian law, means persons under 18 years. A child over 15 years of age may give consent, provided that the information being processed is not sensitive. If the child is under the age of 15, the consent of the child shall be provided on behalf of the child, except for the processing of information related to measures or activities where the child is considered to have the maturity to give consent (so-called consent competence). Therefore, children under the age of 18 can give consent depending on the activity and the privacy risk associated with the same.
14. Your rights: Transparency, correction and deletion
Information: Information about the processing of information about you must be clear and easily accessible so that you can acquire good awareness of how we process this information.
Access: You can get an overview of the information that we process about you by contacting us at support@futurehome.no.
Correction: You can request that incorrect or incomplete information be corrected by contacting us via Customer Service.
Deletion: You can request that we delete information about you: When you no longer have a customer relationship with Futurehome or when you withdraw a consent and there is then no longer a legal basis for further processing of the information.
Limitation: You can request that we do not delete information if you need this information to establish, assert or defend legal claims.
Objection: You can ask us to stop the processing of information we use for direct marketing, including profiling.
Automated decisions: If you have received a decision based on automated processing, you have the right to request that an employee make a new assessment.
You can always contact us or the Data Inspectorate with questions or complaints regarding Futurehome’s processing of personal data. Further information at www.datatilsynet.no.
15. How do you learn about changes to the Privacy Statement?
The contents of this privacy statement may be modified, in which case any changes will be published on futurehome.io. If we make a significant change, we will notify our customers of this.
16. Responsibility for processing and the Privacy Ombudsman
Futurehome is responsible for the information we collect about you and our customers. If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, please contact us at:
support@futurehome.no
The Privacy Ombudsman shall ensure that Futurehome complies with the Norwegian Personal Information Act and shall be a contact person and resource for Futurehome and our customers, as well as others who are registered, about issues related to privacy in Futurehome.
17. Cookies
Cookies and Google Analytics
Our website uses cookies so you can use self-service and we can provide you with better service. Futurehome AS uses cookies mainly for traffic measurement (through Google Analytics) and content optimization. We use cookies to simplify your use of our sites.
In order for Futurehome AS to develop and improve its website, we use the Google Analytics traffic measurement and analysis tool provided by Google, Inc, Hotjar and Facebook Pixel. Google Analytics also uses cookies, which are text files placed on your computer. This is done to help the site analyze how users are using the site.
The information that the cookie collects about your use (including your IP address) is sent to Google and stored on the company’s servers. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, making reports to the website owner about the activity on the site, and to provide other services related to the activity on the site and the use of the internet.
Google may also transfer this information to third parties if there is a legal obligation to do so, or if such third parties process the information on behalf of Google. Google will not match your IP address with any other information Google may have in its possession. You can reject the use of cookies on your device by adjusting the required settings in your browser. However, please note that if you do this, you may not be able to use the site’s functionality in its entirety.
To make our advertising more relevant to those who have shown interest in our services, we use Google AdWords’ Remarketing. This is done using cookies to serve ads based on users’ previous visits to the site. As a user of the site, you can opt out of Google’s use of cookies by going to Google’s Ads Settings. According to Google’s Privacy Policy, information that is used to identify individuals is not collected or used. You can opt out of targeted Google Display ads by opting out with this link.
By using the website, you agree that Google will process information about you in the manner and for the purposes described above.
18. Terminology
Some important terms (in alphabetical order):
Anonymized information is information from which we have removed all identifiable elements so that it is no longer possible to link the information to you as an individual
Processing of personal information is the use of personal information, such as collection, storage, modification, compilation, disclosure and deletion. The data controller is Futurehome, which is responsible for all processing of personal information in connection with the delivery of our services.
Customer is anyone who subscribes to, buys or uses our services. Customers, with whom Futurehome has an agreement, must ensure that any other users (such as family members), during their subscription, are informed of this Privacy Statement before using the service.
Location data is information that is processed and indicates the geographical location of the cell phone or other equipment using an Ecom or mobile network.
Personal information is information that can be directly or indirectly linked to you as an individual, such as name, address, date of birth, etc.
The Personal Data Act is the Norwegian Personal Data Act with regulations, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as it is implemented in a new Norwegian Personal Data Act.