Qt Group Privacy Policy

last updated: 02.05.2025

1. WHAT THIS POLICY COVERS 

This Privacy Policy applies to the information and data collected by The Qt Company Oy and its relevant subsidiaries and affiliates (“Qt Group”, “We” or “Qt”) when you interact with our websites, products and services (“Services”), including offsite services that link to this Privacy Policy. The Qt Group is committed to protecting the privacy of its users, those visiting the Qt Group’s web pages (“Site”), and people interacting with the Qt Group. Any personal data processed by Qt Group through its web pages or related to the downloading or use of the products or services of the Qt Group is processed only pursuant to applicable data protection legislation.

This Privacy Policy applies where the Qt Group is the “data controller” and is generally responsible for and controls the processing of your Personal Data collected through our Site, the Qt services and about our general business contacts.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to the Qt Group’s processing of employee data or recruiting data.  If you are an applicant of Qt Group, please reach out to gdpr@qt.io to learn more about candidate privacy policies which are provided with all Qt Group job listings. Qt employees should consult internal Qt policies and notices and can reach out to their regional HR contact for more information.

2. PURPOSE OF PROCESSING

There can be various legal bases for the processing of personal information. Below, you can find legal bases under which the Qt Group processes personal data covered by this policy and the duration of such processing.

• Legitimate Interests. Where applicable, Qt Group may process Personal Data based on our legitimate interests. We generally will retain such information for a reasonable period of time based on the particular interest, taking into account the fundamental interests and the rights and freedoms of data subjects. 
• Consent. Where Qt Group processes your Personal Data based on your consent, we will retain the information until you withdraw your consent or until there is no longer a need for processing, whichever occurs first.
• Perform a Contract.  Where the Qt Group processes Personal Data based on a contract with you, the Qt Group typically will retain the information for the duration of the contract plus the additional limited period of time necessary to comply with law or a statute of limitations for legal claims under the contractual relationship.
• Legal Obligation. Where we are processing Personal Data based on a legal obligation, the Qt Group will retain the information for the period of time necessary to fulfill the legal obligation.

In all cases, the Qt Group also considers the amount, nature and sensitivity of the Personal Data, as well as the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of such Personal Data.

3. PROCESSING ACTIVITIES

• Providing the Services: The Qt Group uses data collected to operate and provide Qt services and sites. The Qt Group processes user personal data in reliance on its legitimate interests (as set forth in the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679) article 6.1(f)) in operating, improving, and providing you with the Qt services and sites you access and/or request. This can include providing Services via Qt web shop, standard Qt sales processes, or evaluation license processes. Qt Group collects payment and billing information when you register for certain paid Services. If using services such as our web shop, you may provide payment information, such as payment card details, which we collect via secure payment processing services of a third-party service provider.
• AI-Powered Features: The Qt Group uses artificial intelligence technologies, including machine learning algorithms and large language models, to power certain features of our Services. These AI systems may process personal data to provide interactive assistance through our chatbot features, generate personalized content and recommendations, analyze usage patterns to improve our Services, or enhance user experience through automated interactions. The legal basis for this processing is typically our legitimate interest in providing and improving our Services, or with your explicit consent where required by applicable law. When AI systems process personal data, appropriate safeguards are implemented to ensure accuracy, fairness, and transparency.
• Educational Testing and Proctoring: The Qt Group may offer educational testing and certification programs that involve the processing of personal data for verifying the identity of test-takers, monitoring test sessions to prevent fraud and ensure integrity, evaluating and scoring assessments, and issuing certifications and maintaining certification records. This processing is necessary for the performance of our contract with you when you register for educational programs or certification testing.
• Account and Administrative Communications: The Qt Group may use personal data to send you information related to Qt services such as confirmations, invoices, expiration and renewal notices, technical notices, service updates, security alerts, and support messages to perform Qt’s contract with you, or in reliance on Qt’s legitimate interests in administering our services.
• Providing Customer Support: Personal data in account information may be used to provide support services, including to help provide, improve, and secure the quality of Qt Services and Sites, or to investigate security incidents in reliance on our legitimate interests.
• Handling Contact Requests: If you fill out a web form, request support, or contact the Qt Group by other means (including via telephone or chatbot function), the Qt Group may use your information to respond to your contact mechanism, perform our contract with you, or, if Qt does not have a contract with you, where applicable, in reliance on Qt’s legitimate interests in responding to your request(s) and communicating with you.
• Improving and Developing the Sites and Services: Like with most websites, the Qt Group collects information when users interact with the Sites. The Qt Group uses cookie data and usage data to improve the Sites in reliance on our legitimate interests in developing and improving the Sites, or with your consent. Further, the Qt Group may collect usage data on users’ use of the Services (“telemetry data”). 
• Marketing Communications: In certain instances, the Qt Group uses personal data collected to reach out to you about Qt Group services we think might be of interest to you. This information is provided where you have provided your prior consent or when you ask to be contacted by Qt (for example, in relation to a demonstration or event), or—where permitted by applicable law—in reliance on our legitimate interest in marketing Qt Group Services. Please see the Marketing section below to learn how you can control the processing of your Personal Data by the Qt Group for marketing purposes.
• Securing the Services: The Qt Group may process personal data and cookie data for the purposes of maintaining the safety and security of our Sites and Services, including verifying accounts, investigating suspicious activity, and enforcing Qt Group terms and policies, in reliance on Qt’s legitimate interest of promoting the safety and security of our Sites and Services, systems and applications, and in protecting our rights and the rights of others. The Qt Group may among other things provide to a company lists of downloads of Qt products using an IP-address linked to the company or in relation to which the name of the company has been provided by a Qt user. This can also include names and email addresses of users that register as users of that specified company. This information allows your company or institution to make decisions about things like open-source license compliance, purchasing more licenses, additional modules, or features.
• Complying with Legal Obligations: The Qt Group may process Personal Data when cooperating with public and government authorities, courts or regulators in accordance with our legal obligations under applicable laws, to the extent this is required and necessary (e.g., complying with court orders or judicial processes).

4. INFORMATION COLLECTED

The Qt Group may process personal data that:

• a user actively provides during account creation or otherwise in response to forms or questionnaires, interactions with any chat or chatbot functions, interactions on community forums, or sales inquiries and transactions such as the name and physical address, email addresses, telephone numbers, job title, and employer of a user; 
• is available from third parties related to or relevant for the use or licensing of the products and services of the Qt Group, or is related to the use of the website, products or Services of the Qt Group such as download history and IP address as well as information on the users’ activities while using the website, products or Services. 
• In addition to the data submitted to the Qt Group via the web pages of the Qt Group, Qt may collect data about visits to Qt Group pages and/or the use of Qt websites, products or services to improve, develop and test the Qt websites, products and/or services, as well as for data and product security and related purposes. To the extent reasonably possible, data regarding visits to the Qt Group website and use of the Qt Group website and use of Services is anonymised or pseudonymised. Where telemetry data is collected regarding the Services, users are informed of their opt-in/opt-out rights within the product interface(s).

5. RETENTION PERIOD

Qt Group retains personal data for as long as we reasonably require it for legal or business purposes, taking into consideration local laws, and contractual obligations. These considerations include the nature of the personal information collected and the purposes for which it was collected.

6. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL DATA

The Qt Group does not sell personal data to third parties. The Qt Group may engage service providers to process personal data, including to provide website-related services, such as any chatbot function. Qt may, for its legitimate business purposes, as set out in this Privacy Policy, and subject to the limitations of the applicable law, transfer such personal data to third parties to the extent such transfers are reasonably necessary for the business purposes of the Qt Group. If you make any purchases via the Qt Group web shop or any other Qt Group online marketplace, store, or the like (collectively, “Store”), we use third-party service providers to enable the Store, as well as third-party service providers to process payment information.  You may receive a list of third parties with whom the Qt Group shared your information by sending a request to the contact details listed at the end of this document.

7. TRANSFERS OUTSIDE EU/EAA REGION

Given the global nature of the Qt Group’s business, processing data for the above purposes may involve a cross-border transfer of data provided to Qt from the European Union or European Economic Area (“EU/EEA”) to a location outside the EU/EEA. Any cross-border transfer of the data including any transfers outside the EU/EEA will be carried out in compliance with applicable laws. Where EU/EEA personal data is transferred outside of the EU/EEA to a jurisdiction not subject to an adequacy decision of the European Commission, the primary transfer mechanism used shall be the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. You may obtain a copy of the relevant Standard Contractual Clauses (where applicable) by contacting Qt Group using the details set out at the end of this policy.

CHINA: 

With regard to a cross-border transfer of data from Mainland China to a location outside of Mainland China, Qt Group will enforce the legal mechanism according to China’s PIPL, for the information to be provided as required by the PIPL, please see below:

Information on the onward data transfers from the recipient to another recipient outside of China can be obtained by reaching out to gdpr@qt.io. 

Regarding your data protection rights, you can find how to exercise your rights under Section 16 INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS.

8. MARKETING

In addition to transactional communications, the Qt Group processes your personal data to send you marketing information, product recommendations and other non-transactional communications (e.g. marketing newsletters) about Qt and our selected partners in accordance with your marketing preferences and our legitimate interest in conducting marketing. For the purpose of sending marketing news and information, the Qt Group will ask for your consent in a form to “Send me news about topics related to the Qt product offering” or a similar wording. By ticking or clicking such consent you will receive emails and other electronic communications from the Qt Group regarding news and information on its products and services, including offers that the Qt Group makes for such products and services, invitations to participate in events or surveys. Further, where permitted by applicable law, the Qt Group may send you marketing communications based on its legitimate interest in marketing Qt Group Services. You may opt-out of receiving such news and information at any time. You can opt-out of receiving marketing communications by clicking the “Unsubscribe” or “Manage Preferences” links at the bottom of any Qt marketing email you receive from us or on the Qt website. If you have other contact with the Qt Group (e.g., as an account holder, user, or event attendee), we may still communicate with you regarding such things as security updates, product functionality, responses to service requests, or other transactional, non-marketing purposes.
The Qt Group may use AI-powered marketing tools to analyze your interactions with our Services and customize our communications to better match your interests and preferences. This may include automated content generation, behavioral analysis, and predictive analytics to determine which products or services may be most relevant to you. You maintain the right to opt out of such AI-enhanced marketing at any time through the same mechanisms described for general marketing communications.

9. AI CHATBOTS AND CONVERSATIONAL AGENTS

In certain regions, the Qt Group provides AI-powered chatbots and conversational agents on our websites and through our Services to assist users with inquiries, provide information about Qt Group products and services, and improve user experience ("AI chat functions"). These AI systems:

• Process and analyze the text you input during conversations to generate appropriate responses
• May retain conversation history for a limited period to maintain context within sessions
• May use anonymized or pseudonymized conversation data to improve the AI systems' functionality and accuracy
• Are designed with privacy-by-design principles, including data minimization

You can decide whether to use these AI chat functions and how much information you share. The Qt Group will use any personal information you provide to AI chat functions for the processing purposes listed in this policy. We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect data processed by our AI systems

Important: Do not submit any sensitive personal information (including special categories of data as defined by GDPR Article 9) to our AI chat functions. The Qt Group utilizes third-party AI service providers. When third-party services are used, appropriate data processing agreements are in place to ensure your data is protected.

10. DATA SECURITY

For the purposes of keeping your data secure, the Qt Group takes appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect against its unauthorised or unlawful processing and against its accidental loss, destruction or damage. The Qt Group strives to protect your personal data, but we cannot guarantee the security of your data which is transmitted to our website, applications or services or to other website, applications and services via an internet or similar connection. If we have given you (or you have chosen) a password to access certain areas of our websites, applications or services, keep this password safe and secure.

11. GROUP ENTITIES AND BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

Qt Group Entities. Qt Group is comprised of The Qt Company Oyj and its subsidiaries globally. Personal data may be made available to teams and functions, if necessary, to provide, improve and develop our services and comply with our legal obligations. All our employees and contractors are required to process personal data in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy, as well as applicable law and Qt Group company policies. More information on Qt Group companies can be found in the Qt Group annual report.

Business Transactions. We may disclose your personal data to any prospective seller or buyer of Qt Group business or assets. Additionally, if a Qt Group entity is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, personal data may be among the transferred assets. If a Qt Group entity or its assets are acquired, the acquiring company would possess your personal data and that company would assume the rights and obligations regarding your personal data as described herein. If this occurs, we will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our website of change in ownership, use of personal data and choices you may have regarding personal data.

12. AGE RESTRICTIONS

Qt Group Services and sites are not directed at individuals under eighteen (18). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. Do not use Qt Group Services if you are younger than 18. If we become aware that anyone under 18 has provided us with personal information, Qt Group will take steps to delete that information.

13. QT COMMUNITY FORUMS AND PORTALS.

Any personal data you choose to post, share, upload, or make available on Qt forums, at events, or in similar Qt community spaces is public and visible to others. We may use information shared, posted, uploaded, or made available to improve our website, products and services. Further, Qt Group reserves the right to restrict, take down, remove, or report to legal authorities any inaccurate, harmful, misleading, or illegal information posted, shared, uploaded, or made available on Qt forums and portals.

14. AI GOVERNANCE

The Qt Group implements a responsible AI governance framework to ensure that our use of artificial intelligence technologies aligns with our values and legal obligations. This includes:

1. Impact Assessments: For any high-risk AI applications that process personal data, we conduct AI impact assessments as part of our data impact assessment process.
2. Transparency: We strive to make our AI systems explainable and provide meaningful information about the logic involved in automated processing.
3. Fairness and Non-Discrimination: We seek to utilize AI systems that regularly test to identify and mitigate potential biases.
4. Human Oversight: The Qt Group does not utilize AI systems to make significant decisions.
5. Data Minimization: We seek out the use of AI systems that use the minimum amount of personal data necessary to fulfill their purpose.
6. Compliance with AI Act: We continuously monitor and adapt to emerging European regulations on artificial intelligence, including the EU AI Act, to ensure our AI systems meet the highest standards of safety, transparency, and accountability.

For questions about our use of AI technologies or to exercise your rights related to automated processing, please contact us at gdpr@qt.io.

15. EDUCATIONAL TESTING AND PROCTORING

The Qt Group may offer educational courses, training, and certification programs that involve online testing and proctoring. This section explains our privacy practices regarding these services:

1. Data Collection for Testing and Proctoring:
   
   • Audio and video recordings of testing sessions
   • Screen sharing recordings during proctored exams
   • Browser activity during testing
   • IP address and geolocation data
   • Test responses and results
2. Legal Basis and Purpose:
   
   • Performance of a contract when you register for certification testing
   • Our legitimate interest in maintaining the integrity and validity of our certification programs
   • Explicit consent for specific forms of monitoring (such as biometric verification or video recording)
3. Proctoring Methods:
   
   • AI-powered automated proctoring that may flag suspicious behaviors
   • Human proctoring through live (including online) monitoring
   • Post-test review of recorded sessions when suspicious activity is detected
4. Data Protection Measures:
   
   • Recordings are encrypted and stored securely by our service provider
   • Access to proctoring data is strictly limited to authorized personnel
   • Recordings and verification data are retained only for the period necessary to validate test results and address any appeals or integrity issues
   • Biometric templates, if created, are stored separately from other personal data with enhanced security measures
5. Third-Party Services:
   
   • We may use specialized third-party proctoring services who act as our data processors
   •  All such providers are bound by data processing agreements compliant with GDPR requirements
   • When third-party services are used, you will be informed before the testing session begins
6. Your Rights:
   
   • You will always be clearly informed before any proctored testing begins
   • You have the right to withdraw consent for video/audio monitoring, though this may affect your ability to complete certain certifications
   • You may request access to recordings of your testing sessions, subject to measures protecting the integrity of our testing materials. Please note that recordings are stored for a limited period of time and are not available once deleted. 
   • oYou may request deletion of testing recordings after the appeal period has expired
7. Alternative Testing Options:
   
   • Where feasible, we strive to provide alternative testing arrangements for individuals with specific privacy concerns or requirements

For questions about our educational testing and proctoring practices or to exercise your rights related to testing data, please contact us at certification@qt.io.

16. INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

According to the applicable data protection laws and regulations (e.g., EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679), China’s Personal Information Protection Law (2021), etc.), you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access to your personal data 
• Right to request rectification of incomplete or incorrect personal data 
• Right to object to or restrict the processing of personal data and to object to automated decision-making
• Right to request erasure of personal data 
• Right to transfer personal data to another controller 
• The right to opt out of receiving electronic direct marketing communications from us: All electronic direct marketing communications that you may receive from us, such as e-mail messages and SMS-messages, give you an option of not receiving such communications from us in the future.
• Right to not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects you (GDPR Article 22)
• Right to human intervention in cases where automated decisions are made
• Right to express your point of view and contest automated decisions
• Right to explanation of the logic involved in our AI-powered decision-making processes, where technically feasible.

Under the GDPR and certain other laws , you are entitled to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority concerning the processing activities carried out by us. Such complaint may be lodged in particular, in the member state of your habitual residence or place of work or where the alleged infringement took place. If you have any questions or wish to exercise your rights, Qt can be contacted via email at gdpr@qt.io. We will use all reasonably available resources to respond to any such request without undue delay.

The Qt Company Oy is a Finnish limited liability company with a Business ID 2637805-2, having its domicile in Espoo, Finland.

Postal address:
     The Qt Company Oy
     Miestentie 7
     02150 Espoo
     Finland

Regarding China, The Qt Company , Ltd.（“科尤特软件（上海）有限公司） is a Chinese limited company with a business number 91310115321643031F, having its domicile in Shanghai, China.

Postal address:
     Qt Company, Ltd.
     Units 3306-3307, 33/F, No. 3 Hongqiao Road,
     Xuhui District, Shanghai
     China

California Privacy Rights: 

This subsection is applicable to California residents. Additional details on the data collected, purposes of processing, retention periods, and other information about your data can be found throughout this Privacy Policy.

The Qt Group will not discriminate against any consumer for exercising their rights under California Privacy Legislation (the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act).

California residents may choose to exercise the following rights (subject to certain limitations of law):

• The right to know (upon verification of your identity) the information relating to your personal information that the Qt Group has collected or disclosed in the last twelve (12) months, including the categories of personal information that Qt Group has collected, used, or disclosed to third parties for a business purpose, and the specific pieces of personal information that we have collected about you;
• The right to request deletion of personal information the Qt Group has collected about you;  
• The right to not provide Personal Data to the Qt Group by refraining from submitting Personal Data to Qt. This Privacy Policy provides information on whether and why it is necessary to provide such personal data to us, as well as the consequences of failing to do so. If you do not provide Personal Data, you may not be able to benefit from Qt’s services, and the Qt Group may not be able to provide you with Qt Group services if that information is necessary to provide you with them, or if we are legally or contractually required to collect that information in relation to the provision of such product or service.
• The right to opt out of the collection and use of certain information, when you visit our websites or use our apps. For example, you can exercise your choice regarding the use of cookies and similar technologies via the cookie consent tool used on the Qt Site.
• To opt out of certain uses of information, collected when you visit third-party websites and interact with Qt ads. The Qt Group may use service providers to serve ads on third-party websites. These ads may be customized and served based on the use of data the Qt Group and its partners have collected on our websites and apps.
• To tell Qt Group not to send you marketing emails by clicking on the unsubscribe link within the marketing emails you receive from us or by contacting us as indicated in this Privacy Policy.

If you are an authorized agent making a request on behalf of a consumer pursuant to the California Privacy Rights Act, Qt Group may ask you to provide information verifying you have proper authority to make the request on behalf of the consumer or we may ask the consumer to verify their identity with the Qt Group directly.

17. COOKIE POLICY

1. Cookies on our Website

Cookies are small text files that are stored in your computer’s memory and hard drive when you visit certain web pages. They are used to enable websites to function or to provide information to the owners of a website. Web beacons (also called “pixel tags”) are electronic images placed on a website that typically help us access certain cookies on the website, enable us to count visitors on our websites and improve our services. Web beacons also collect information about visits from individual IP-addresses.

The Qt Group uses both session and persistent cookies. Session cookies are cookies that disappear from your device or browser when you turn off your computer. Persistent cookies stay on your device even after you’ve turned it off. The cookies on our websites fall into a few categories: (1) Required Cookies, (2) Functional Cookies, (3) Analytics Cookies, and (4) Advertising Cookies. You can learn more about each category and type of cookie, via our cookie consent tool—accessible by clicking on the “Manage Preferences” link on the Qt website you are visiting.

Website cookies help the Qt Group to provide customized services and information, gather information about how and when pages in our websites are visited, what our users’ technology preferences are and whether our websites are functioning properly.

On our password-protected sites, the website may use cookies or other technology to help the Qt Group authenticate you, store and recognize configuration and user attributes, facilitate your navigation of the website and customize its content.

Please note that Required Cookies cannot be disabled and if you decide to opt-out of Functional Cookies, certain functionality of our websites or your account may be impacted. If you do not wish to use Required Cookies, do not access the Qt Group websites.

2. Types of Cookies

 In general terms, Qt Group uses cookies as follows:

Required: Required cookies are necessary for basic website functionality. Some examples include: session cookies needed to transmit the website, authentication cookies, and security cookies. If you have chosen to identify yourself to us, we may place a cookie on your browser that allows us to uniquely identify you when you are logged into the websites and to process your online transactions and requests. 
Functional: Functional cookies enhance functions, performance, and services on a website. Some cookies on our websites are activated when visitors to our sites make a choice about their usage of the website. Our websites then use the settings preferences of the user in relation to future visits. This allows the Qt Group to tailor the experience on our websites to the individual user. 
Analytics:  Analytics cookies allow the Qt Group to recognize, measure and track visitors to our websites. This helps us to develop the way our websites function, by determining whether site visitors can find information easily, or by identifying the aspects of websites that are of the most interest to them, for example.
Advertising: Advertising cookies track activity across websites in order to understand a viewer’s interests and to direct marketing towards them. The Qt Group may use advertising cookies depending on how you enable cookie setting in your use of Qt Group webpages. The Qt Group may also use advertising cookies to deliver marketing campaigns and track the performance of the campaign (e.g., that a visitor to a Qt Group website page then made a Qt purchase). Marketing cookies are limited to Qt Group websites and are not used in the Qt Group services.

3. Controlling your cookie preferences

You can update your cookie preferences at any time. The instructions for removing cookies from your computer or mobile device depend on the operating system and web browser you use. Please note that withdrawing your agreement to the use of cookies will mean that certain website functionalities are then not usable or are more difficult to use.

Consent Tool: The Qt Group uses OneTrust as a cookie consent tool. You can utilize OneTrust to customize your cookie preferences. When you visit Qt Group websites for the first time, a cookie consent banner will appear and ask you to customize your cookie preferences. If you decide to change your preferences at a later date, you can easily do so by clicking on the “Manage Preferences” link of the site you are visiting. 
Browser Settings: You can use your browser settings to opt out of Functional Cookies and Advertising & Analytics Cookies. For more information on how to do that, visit OneTrust.  
“Do not track” Settings: Some browsers allow a “do not track” setting that requests that a web application disable its tracking of an individual user. To set up do not track, you can visit the All About DNT page. 
Further information about cookies: If you would like to find out more about cookies in general and how to manage them, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org. 

18. CHANGES TO THE PRIVACY POLICY

The Qt Group may update its Privacy Policy from time to time. If any change materially impacts your rights or the obligations of Qt Group under this Policy, we will post a prominent notice on the Qt Group website notifying users when it is updated.