How do you collect information about me?

You provide some information yourself

For instance, when you register for a BBC account:

• Anyone under 13 has to provide their date of birth and choose a username
• Anyone aged 13 to 17 has to provide their date of birth and email address
• Anyone over 18 has to provide their email address, postcode and year of birth
• We also ask everyone what gender they identify as. You can choose female, male or enter another term of your choosing. And there’s also an option if you’d prefer not to say

Find out why you have to provide personal information when you register

We collect some information automatically

Things like your IP address, which browser and device you’re using, or your device ID. And we can tell what webpage directed you to the BBC by looking at information from your browser.

We collect some information to understand how you're using the BBC online to give you a better BBC. If you're signed in, your BBC account lets you personalise your BBC online experience.

Any BBC apps on your phone, tablet or TV may store information on your device. And we may access that information. When you ask for local news or weather, you can choose if you want to give us access to your device’s location.

We also collect data about things you add

For instance, if you add shows in BBC Sounds to listen to later and get new episodes as they drop.

There’s more info about adding here.

How does the BBC use my information?

Personal information

Account information about your gender, age and location help us see how different people are using the BBC and check we’re making something for everyone.

Another way we check your current location is through your IP (Internet Protocol) address and other information about your device.

We use some of your personal information to provide our services, provide recommendations to you on things you’ll like. We also use it to personalise parts of the BBC, including advertising when you’re accessing the BBC outside of the UK.

Advertising on other websites

We might show you personalised promotional messages on other sites. For instance, to let you know about a new programme you might like.

Can I see a history of everything I’ve watched?

When you’re signed in, the My Programmes section in iPlayer shows any programmes you’re part way through. So you can pick up where you left off with anything you haven’t finished. Or find the next episode in a series you’ve been watching.