What does "we have a clear interest" and "rely on our legitimate interest" mean?

Question

We have a legitimate interest to use your information in this way to make sure that we are able to help you find the right destination and start to plan the best safari holiday for you. Where we rely on our legitimate interests, we’ll always ensure that your rights are protected.

It is in our legitimate interests as a business to use your data in this way, for example, we have a clear interest in ensuring that our website works properly. (https://www.katsam-adventures.com/privacy-policy/)

What does the bold part mean? Does "we rely on our legitimate interest" mean "we conduct for our legitimate interest"? Does "we have a clear interest" mean "we are clearly interested in..."?

Answer 1

Firstly, this piece is stongly influenced (I believe) by a piece of legislation called GDPR - much of the wording is intended to replicate what you will see there, and is therefore a form of 'legalese' rather than 'normal' English.

Specifically: "we rely on ..." means we (believe that we) are allowed to do 'this stuff'.

"we have a clear interest" means: "we think it is obvious that we need to do 'stuff' as part of our normal business operations ..."

Part of the reason that this is a little confusing, is that what they state as obvious may not be entirely obvious to the 'Data Subject' (i.e. YOU) and/or you may not even agree with what is stated.