Privacy notice for visual user generated content

In a hurry? Then in short this is what you need to know

IKEA Retail Services AB (“we”) will store your social media username (“handle”) together with the photo that you license to us, to document that you are the owner of the photo. We never publish the text that you have posted together with the photo, but we keep it in order to understand the context in which the photo was published. We want to recognize you as the copyright holder, which means that we will always display your username together with the photo whenever we publish it on our websites, social media or other digital communication or sales channels. If you no longer want to us to process your personal data (i.e. the username or the Instagram post), please contact IKEA Customer Support and they will help you out.

We know how important it is for you to understand how we use your data. This Privacy Notice sets out how and why we collect, use, store and share your personal data when you enter into a license agreement with us to use your social media content featuring IKEA furniture or products (the “Photo”).

We encourage you to read this Privacy Notice carefully and if you have any questions or concerns about how we use your personal data, please contact our Customer Support Centre and we will try to address your concerns. Information on how you can contact us can be found in the section “Your rights in processing your personal data for Visual User Generated Content” below.

We are IKEA Retail Services AB (“IKEA Retail” or “we”, “us”), and our registered address is HUS A PL3 COPY 1, 205 28 Malmö, Sweden. We are part of Ingka Group, which means we are ultimately owned by Ingka Holding B.V. IKEA Retail is the data controller of any personal data it collects, processes and holds about you in relation to your photo.

What personal data is collected and why?

Granting IKEA Retail a license to the Photo is completely voluntary. However, if you do enter into the license agreement, we need to know who you are so that we can connect the Photo to you and document our right to use it. This means that we will collect your social media username (“handle”) and store it together with the Photo. We also collect the text that you have posted together with the Photo to understand the context in which the Photo has been published and to assess whether it is appropriate to use by Ingka Group. We always want to recognize you as the copyright holder of the Photo, which means that your social media username will be displayed together with the Photo when published on the IKEA retail websites, social media platforms and other digital communication or sales channels.

Legal ground for processing

The legal ground for the processing of your personal data is the license agreement between you and us regarding our use of the Photo. When the Photo is sublicensed to other Ingka Group companies, they will process the personal data based on their legitimate interest to honour the sublicense agreement with IKEA Retail and to identify you as the copyright holder of the Photo.

Who has access to your data?

Whenever IKEA Retail sublicenses your Photo to another company in Ingka Group, your social media username will be transferred together with the Photo and the connected text to that Ingka Company. The receiving Ingka Company will only use your personal data in the way described above.

The Photos are stored in a database that is operated by IKEA IT AB (which is another company in Ingka Group) and its trusted internal as well as third party service providers. Such service providers may be located outside of the European Union, in which case the transfer of your personal data is secured by additional safeguards, such as e.g. an agreement incorporating standard data protection clauses adopted by the European Commission.

How long will we keep your data?

We will keep your social media username and the text that you have posted with the Phot as long as we keep the Photo. The database with customer photos is continuously reviewed to make sure that we don’t store photos (and related personal data) longer than necessary.

How will we secure your data?

We take the security of your personal data very seriously. We have implemented various strategies, controls, policies and measures to keep your data secure and keep these measures under close review. We protect your data by using encryption techniques and we use other safeguards such as firewalls and password protection. We do our best to ensure that your data is protected and only accessible to Ingka Group employees (or subcontractors) who need it to carry out their job responsibilities.

Your rights in processing your personal data for Visual User Generated Content

You may (i) demand disclosure on whether and what personal information we have stored on you and request copies of your data, (ii) demand correction, supplementation or deletion of your personal data if incorrect or processed so as to violate statutory regulations, (iii) demand that we restrict your personal data from being processed, (iv) object to the use of your personal data for processing or revoke consent you have previously granted, (v) request the data that you have given us in a transferable format, (vi) lodge a complaint to the Austrian data protection authority (www.dsb.gv.at).

For general Information on how IKEA Austria (IKEA Möbelvertrieb OHG) processes your data and your rights please refer to the general privacy policy

Version 1, 14.02.2025