Privacy

Dial & Listen is run by Canbury Sound & Technology, which is responsible for the information described here. Contact: [email protected].

Remembering your last choice

When you call Dial & Listen and choose a talking newspaper, we remember that choice so that next time we can offer to take you straight back to it. You can always press 9 to choose a different one.

To do this we do not keep your phone number. Instead, our system turns your number into a scrambled code using a secret key, and stores only that code, the talking newspaper you chose, and the date you last called. The code can't be turned back into your number. It is used for nothing else, and it is kept separately from our call statistics, so the two can't be linked.

If you withhold your number, nothing is remembered and you simply choose each time.

If you don't call for 90 days, your saved choice is deleted automatically. Each call resets the 90 days.

If you'd like your saved choice deleted sooner, email [email protected] and tell us the number you call from. We'll delete it and won't keep a note of your number. Choosing a different talking newspaper on the phone also replaces your old choice.

Bookmarks: carrying on where you left off

Some talking newspapers remember where you got to, so next time you call you carry on from the same place. We don't keep your phone number for this either: it's replaced with a scrambled code, made with its own secret key, and stored with the place you reached in each section. If you withhold your number, nothing is remembered and you start from the beginning. Your saved place in a section is deleted automatically when a newer edition of that section arrives, or if you don't call for 90 days.

When you say a newspaper's name

If you say the name of a talking newspaper, a short recording is checked by our own server, then deleted straight away. It is never kept, and it isn't sent to any other company.

Call statistics

To understand how the service is used, we record which newspaper and sections are played and for how long. Your phone number isn't stored for this either: it's replaced with a scrambled code, using a different key from the one above. If you withhold your number, your call is still counted, just without a code. These details are deleted after 90 days. We may keep overall totals (for example, "300 calls in March") for longer; these can't identify anyone. We share only overall totals with the talking newspaper you listen to, never details about individual callers.

Leaving a message

If you leave a message for a talking newspaper, the recording is emailed to that talking newspaper. Our own server also turns your message into text automatically, and that text is included in the same email, so the talking newspaper can read your message as well as listen to it. This is done entirely on our server: your message isn't sent to any other company to be transcribed.

The email doesn't include your phone number, but the recording and the text contain whatever you say in your message. We send these emails through Resend (and its sending providers) in the EU/Ireland, which keeps a copy for about 30 days. We delete our own copy as soon as we've confirmed the email has been sent, and in any case after 30 days. Once the talking newspaper receives your message, it looks after it.

Our phone system's call records

Like any phone system, ours keeps basic call records (such as the time of a call and the number that called) to keep the service running. These are kept for 90 days, then deleted.

Our phone system's technical log

Our phone system also keeps a technical log of each call, which we use to find and fix faults. It includes the number that called. Only the people who run our server can read it, and it's deleted automatically after 7 days.

Why we use this information

We do this because it is in our legitimate interests to make the service quick and easy to use and to improve it, and the impact on callers is minimal.

Your rights

You can ask us what information we hold about you, and ask us to delete it. Email [email protected]. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.