Terms of use

Website terms of use

BRC logo

This website is operated by the Biological Records Centre (BRC) as part of the work of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH).  BRC, established in 1964, is a national focus in the UK for terrestrial and freshwater species recording. BRC works closely with the voluntary recording community, principally through support of National Recording Schemes and Societies (as listed on the BRC website). BRC is supported by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and UKCEH (through National Capability funding via Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)).

UKCEH is an independent, not-for-profit research institute and is a registered Charity in England & Wales (number 1185618) and in Scotland (number SC049849), and a registered Company Limited by Guarantee in England & Wales (number 11314957). UKCEH is strategically funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation.

Using the iRecord website

The iRecord website is maintained for your personal use and viewing. The access and use of the website featuring these terms of use constitutes your acceptance of these terms of use. They take effect from the date on which you first use this website after these terms and conditions apply.  We reserve the right to delete accounts of users who infringe these terms and conditions.

You agree to use this site only for lawful purposes, and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of, or restrict or inhibit the use and enjoyment of this site by any third party. Such restriction or inhibition includes, without limitation, conduct which is unlawful, or which may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to any person, and the transmission of obscene or offensive content or disruption of normal flow of dialogue within this site.

If you do not agree, please do not use the site.  Do not use this website if you are under 13 years of age.

You can request that your iRecord account is cancelled at any time by emailing irecord@ceh.ac.uk.  Any records you have submitted will be preserved as part of a long term scientific data set which will continue to contribute to our research and understanding, and be stored indefinitely. This includes the details of biological records you have submitted, the analytical information associated with them, and including your name as the recorder and an automatically generated code to uniquely identify individual users of iRecord. This data will continue to be maintained in accordance with the terms of use that you agreed to when signing up to iRecord.  Your email address will be removed from the iRecord dataset and will no longer be associated with your records.

Personal data

The basis on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to use, is covered by our privacy notice.

Non-personal data content

When you use this website, you create and upload content - for instance, wildlife observations, photos of wildlife, your descriptions of it, and messages to the forums.  By putting this information on the site, you are saying that:

  1. the content is yours, or you have the permission of the owner to agree to this usage
  2. you agree that the content can be used on this site
  3. you agree that your wildlife observations (excluding photos) can be made publicly available for wider use and may be shared with other relevant data users (see below)
  4. you agree that any media (photos, videos, sound recordings) uploaded with biological records will be assigned to your preferred Creative Commons Licence. On some data input forms you may be provided with an option to select alternative licences
  5. you agree that your media (photos, video, sound recordings) uploaded with biological records may be used by UKCEH or partners we work with for training classification algorithms, regardless of the licence applied to your photos, in accordance with advice from the government’s Intellectual Property Office.
  6. you agree that your records will be available to expert verifiers acting on behalf of recording schemes and projects, who may contact you in connection with those records, and may add comments or add a corrected species identification to the records

In order to support conservation and research, all biological records submitted to iRecord will be made available to the relevant National Recording Schemes and Societies (as recognised by BRC, and including any county recorders associated with such schemes and societies) based on the species recorded.

Records will also be made available to other organisations with a bona fide use for biological records.  This includes the following organisations and may be extended to other organisations in future: Local Environment Record Centres, Country Nature Conservation Bodies, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the National Trust, the National Trust Scotland, the Woodland Trust, the National Biodiversity Network (via their Atlas websites), and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Where species are deemed to be “sensitive” the record may have its location blurred, or may be treated as confidential. Lists of sensitive species may include, but may not be limited by, lists agreed with the UK government conservation agencies.

Accuracy of information

The information in this website is given in good faith and for general information and interest only. It is subject to change without notice. UKCEH is not responsible for any inaccuracies and makes no representation and gives no warranty as to its accuracy.

The information in this website should not be relied on and does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation. By using this website you confirm that you have not relied on any such information. Any arrangements made between you and any third party named or referred to on the website are entirely at your sole risk and responsibility.

Nothing on this website is intended to be nor should be construed as an offer to enter into a contractual relationship.

Linking to the iRecord website

iRecord welcomes and encourages other websites to link to the information that is hosted on these pages. You do not have to ask permission to link but wording and linking graphics can be requested if necessary by emailing irecord@ceh.ac.uk

Links from this site

Links and frames connecting this site with other sites are for convenience only and do not constitute endorsement or approval by UKCEH or our parent bodies of those other sites, their content or the people who run them. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and have no control over the availability of linked pages or their content.

It is the responsibility of the Internet user to make their own decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of information found at sites linked from this website.

Virus protection

We make every effort to check and test material at all stages of production. It is always wise for you to run an anti-virus program on all material downloaded from the internet. We cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or your computer system which may occur while using material derived from this website.

Cookies

We want to make the iRecord website easy to use, useful and reliable. This involves placing small amounts of information on your computer or mobile device in small files known as cookies. This website uses cookies to maintain your browsing session and enhance site functionality, and to monitor the usage of the site with Google Analytics. This information helps us to maintain website performance and support funding. Read more about how Google manages the data it collects. Your web browser has settings which allow you to manage these small files yourself by removing or blocking cookies. Learn more about them through advice on the AboutCookies website.

Disclaimer

All information provided by UKCEH on its website is made available to provide immediate access for the convenience of interested persons. While UKCEH believes the information to be reliable, human or mechanical error remains a possibility. Therefore, UKCEH does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of the information. Neither UKCEH, nor any of the sources of the information shall be responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the use of or results obtained from the use of this information.

Changes to these terms

These terms may be updated from time to time (current version is 12 August 2020). The latest version will always be available at www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/terms_of_use. If changes are made to these terms in the future, a prominent notice will be posted on the website.