Social media interactions privacy notice (Orlo)

We use Orlo, a social media management platform, to help us manage and respond to messages, comments and enquiries you send to us through our official social media accounts. This notice explains what personal information we collect through Orlo, how we use it, the lawful basis for processing it, and your rights.

This Privacy Notice should be read in conjunction with Cheshire East Council’s overarching Privacy Notice.

Data controller: Cheshire East Council

System used: Orlo (social media management platform)

Service area: Engagement and communications

What personal information is being processed and what for

When you interact with us on social media, we may collect:

• your name, username or social media handle
• the content of your posts, messages or comments
• any personal information you choose to include in your message
• publicly available profile information provided by the platform

We only receive information you have chosen to make public, or information you send directly to us.

We use this information to:

• respond to enquiries, complaints and service requests
• monitor engagement with our campaigns, posts and public information
• enforce our social media acceptable use policy
• improve the services we provide

Why we are allowed to use your information

Our primary lawful basis is public task, as we use social media to respond to you or deliver council services.

We may also rely on:

• Consent – when you provide us with information beyond the scope of our public task, we will process this with your consent

Special category data

We do not actively collect special category data.

If you choose to include sensitive information in a public post or private message, we may process it because:

• you have made it manifestly public, for example by including it in a public post; or
• you have given explicit consent by providing it in a private message, or
• it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 (Schedule 1, Part 2, Paragraph 6 -Statutory and Government Purposes).
• Relevant council teams if your message relates to their service. You can find their individual privacy notices 
• Orlo, as our data processor
• We may share posts you have already made public.
• We do not share private messages with external third parties unless legally required.

Who we will share your information with

• Relevant council teams if your message relates to their service. Find their individual privacy notices 
• Orlo, as our data processor
• We may share posts you have already made public.

We do not share private messages with external third parties unless legally required

Where we get your information from

• Information you provide directly through public posts or private/direct messages
• Publicly available posts that mention or tag Cheshire East Council

How long we will keep your personal information

Messages or comments you post publicly on social media remain visible on that platform until you delete them. This means the social media company may keep that information for longer than the council does.

Information held in Orlo – our social media management system – is retained for a defined period in line with our retention schedule, up to a maximum of five years. After this point, it is deleted or anonymised in accordance with our records management policies.

If your message needs to be forwarded to another council team (for example, a service area handling a complaint or request), that team will keep your information in line with our corporate retention schedule.

Full details of the retention periods for different types of data are contained in the Council’s Information Asset Register.

How your information is stored

All data processed through Orlo is stored securely within UK-based Microsoft Azure datacentres and protected using industry-standard security measures, including restricted access, encryption and audit controls.

What happens if you don’t provide us with your information

If you choose not to contact us via social media, we may not be able to respond to enquiries sent via that channel.

You can still contact the council through our website, by phone or by email.

Will your information be used to make automated decisions?

No.
We do not use your information for automated decision‑making or profiling.

Your rights

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data, including withdrawing your consent where we have asked for it.  You can also ask for a copy of the information we hold about you and ask us to correct anything that is wrong.  For detailed information about your rights please see our privacy notice .