Privacy Policy

This document was last updated on 17th September 2026.

Purpose of This Document

This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which The Happiness Index uses, maintains, and discloses information collected from users (each, a "User") of The Happiness Index platform (“Site”). This privacy policy applies to the Site and all products and services offered by The Happiness Index under applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

It contains information regarding the following:

What personal data we hold
Why we need it
What we do with it
How we get it
How long we keep it
What your rights are

Processors Contact Details

The Happiness Index acts primarily as a Data Processor on behalf of client organisations ( Data Controllers), and as a Data Controller for our own platform operations and direct communications. You may contact us by post, email, or phone:

Address: 130 Wood St, London, EC2V 6DL

Email: dpo@thehappinessindex.com

Phone: 0203 389 5977

What personal data do we hold?

Personal identification information: We may collect personal identification information from Users in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, when Users visit our platform to complete a survey, subscribe to a newsletter, fill out a form, or interact with other activities, services, features, or resources we make available on our Site. Users may be asked for, as appropriate, name, email address, and demographic information so their survey responses can be processed (for example: location, department, or length of service). Users can always refuse to supply personally identifiable information, except that it may prevent them from engaging in certain Site-related activities.
Non-personal identification information: We may collect non-personal identification information about Users whenever they interact with our Site. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, type of computer, operating system, Internet service provider, IP address, and technical information regarding Users' means of connection to our Site.

Why do we collect your information?

The Happiness Index collects and processes Users' personal information on specific lawful bases under UK GDPR:

Contractual Necessity / Instructions of Data Controller: To deliver survey functionality and process survey results on behalf of your employer or service provider.
Legitimate Interests: To maintain system performance, enhance platform security, conduct anonymised research, and generate aggregated benchmark statistics.
Consent: For sending direct marketing communications, such as newsletters, where explicitly requested by the User.

What domains do we use?

The Happiness Index uses a number of domains to operate services, which are listed below:

thehappinessindex.com — The domain we use for marketing, business operations, and main website.
the-happiness-index.com — The domain we use to operate our platform, allowing us to separate core platform operations from marketing and business operations.
thi.vote — The domain we use to host our vote response template.
tsms.at — The domain used to shorten SMS / WhatsApp links.

What do we do with your data?

When you respond to one of The Happiness Index surveys, one or more of the following may happen:

If you complete a survey from your employer or provider of goods and/or services, your response is placed into your employer's/provider's secure database and can be analysed within their platform instance.
A copy of your response is fully anonymised and placed in our data warehouse, which drives our platform's benchmarking capabilities.
An anonymised copy of your response may be used in our Global Workplace Happiness Report.
If you respond directly to our Global Workplace Happiness Report survey, your response will be placed into our database and analysed within our platform.

Please note that it is not possible for users or managers within your organisation's platform instance to identify you if you are responding to an anonymous survey. We automatically strip all direct personally identifiable data before placing survey responses into our benchmarking data warehouse.

How do we get your information?

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you or by your employer/provider to administer and analyse survey responses.

Web browser cookies: Our Site uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance User experience. A User's web browser places cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and operational functionality. Users can set their web browser to refuse cookies or alert them when cookies are sent; however, some parts of the Site may not function properly without essential cookies.
Analytics cookies: We use Performance and Analytics cookies across our websites to monitor how visitors navigate and reach the Site. This information is processed on an aggregated basis (total figures rather than individual profiles) to optimise content and user experience. Where required by law, performance cookies are set only with User consent managed via our cookie preferences banner.

Sharing your personal information?

We do not sell, trade, or rent Users' personal identification information to third parties for any purpose, including marketing activity. We may share generic, aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal identification information regarding visitors and users with our business partners and trusted affiliates for the purposes outlined above.

We may engage vetted third-party service providers (such as hosting infrastructure or email delivery services) to help us operate our business and the Site. We share information with these third parties strictly for those limited operations under bound data processing contracts. International data transfers to third parties outside the UK/EEA are conducted using approved transfer mechanisms, such as UK International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTA) or Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).

How long do we keep it?

If we process your information to help your organisation/provider analyse their survey results, we retain personal data associated with the account for up to 2 years after your organisation/provider ceases to be an active client of ours, or until deletion is instructed by the relevant Data Controller. Anonymised benchmark data is retained indefinitely as it no longer constitutes personal data.

How we protect your information?

We adopt appropriate data collection, storage, and processing practices, as well as organisational and technical security measures (including encryption in transit and at rest) to protect against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of your personal information, credentials, and data stored on our Site.

What are your rights?

Under data protection law, you have specific statutory rights:

Your right of access: You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you believe is inaccurate, or complete information you believe is incomplete.
Your right to erasure: You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing: You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability: You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or directly to you, where processing is based on consent or contract and is automated.

(Note: If you participated in an employer-sponsored survey, you may be directed to exercise these rights via your employer as the primary Data Controller).

Your right to complain

We work to high standards when processing your personal information. If you have queries or concerns, please contact us at dpo@thehappinessindex.com and we will respond promptly.

If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the regulatory authority:

United Kingdom: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or via phone at 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

The Happiness Index has the discretion to update this privacy policy at any time. When updated, we will revise the date at the top of this page. We encourage Users to check this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal information. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this privacy policy periodically.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this site, please contact us at: