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Privacy at the OU

The University collects and processes a variety of personal data in order to provide services, manage its operations effectively, and meet legal requirements.

The privacy notices in the links below provide more details about this for specific activities.

The Open University is the data controller for the personal data that we process, apart from any circumstances which will be set out in the relevant privacy notice. The main establishment of the Open University is in the UK. If your data is collected by our office in the Republic of Ireland, then this will also be processed in the UK.

Contact us

Please direct any queries about this policy or about the way we process your personal information to our Data Protection Officer using the contact details below.

  • Email: data-protection@open.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44(0)1908 653994
  • By post: The Data Protection Officer, PO Box 497, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AT.

Data subjects within the EU can contact the Data Protection Officer c/o the Open University in Ireland: Holbrook House, Holles Street off Merrion Square, North Dublin 2, D02 EY84.

Your Rights

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information, which apply in certain circumstances. In order to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in this document. These are described in more detail by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

You have the right

In some circumstances, you also have the right

Where we rely on consent as the legal basis on which we process your personal information, you may also withdraw that consent at any time.

Depending on our relationship with you, you can update your contact preferences for marketing and research when you sign into the Open University website, by using any unsubscribe options available in communications we send you, or by contacting us. If you are concerned about the way we have processed your personal information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Please visit the ICO’s website www.ico.org.uk for further details, or you can use their online tool for reporting concerns: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/    


Please see the sections below for particular information, depending on your relationship with us

This document sets out how we deal with the personal data of staff, workers, job applicants, contractors, agency staff, volunteers and anyone who works with or on behalf of the Open University

For more information about how we use your information as an enquirer or as a registered website user, please see our 

If you have been invited to participate in research conducted by the OU, then this privacy notice will be relevant to you.

Please also see our website cookie policy

If you use OpenLearn or OpenLearn Create, please see their specific privacy notices.

If you have registered as an OU student, we will collect and use more information about you in connection with your study, and we will keep long term academic transcript data.

Our Development Office maintains records on OU alumni (students who have completed an OU qualification), supporters of the University, and individuals who have been identified as a potential supporter of the Open University.

Some of our apps utilise personal information for functionality purposes. As per the iOS and Android app publishing guidelines, each one has an individual privacy policy.

Address your request to:

The Data Protection Co-ordinator
PO Box 497
The Open University
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AT

Email data-protection

Phone +44 (0)1908 653994