Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

RCCG Freedom Hall ("we", "our", "us") is a Christian church committed to protecting your privacy. Our contact details are: 123 Church Street Hartlepool, TS 12345. If you have any questions about this policy, please email [email protected].

2. What Information We Collect

We may collect the following personal information:

• Contact details — name, email address, phone number
• Account information — username and password (hashed) when you register as a member
• Event registrations — your name and contact details when you sign up for events
• Contact form submissions — messages you send via our contact form
• Visit planning — details you provide when planning a first visit
• Technical data — IP address, browser type, pages visited (via server logs)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information to:

• Manage your membership account and provide access to the member portal
• Process event registrations and send confirmations
• Respond to your enquiries and contact form messages
• Send church newsletters and updates (with your consent)
• Coordinate pastoral care and fellowship activities
• Maintain security and improve our website

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal grounds:

• Consent — where you have given us clear permission (e.g. newsletter sign-up)
• Legitimate interests — to operate the church and serve our congregation effectively
• Contractual necessity — to fulfil event registrations or membership obligations

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it with trusted service providers who help us operate our website and communicate with you (e.g. email providers, hosting services). These parties are contractually obligated to keep your data secure and only use it for the purposes we specify.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law. Member account data is retained for as long as your account is active. You may request deletion at any time.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR and data protection law, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure — request that we delete your personal data
• Restriction — ask us to limit how we use your data
• Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Object — object to our processing of your data in certain circumstances
• Withdraw consent — at any time, where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected].

8. Cookies

Our website uses essential cookies to maintain your session when you log in, and to store your preferences. We do not use third-party tracking or advertising cookies. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, though this may affect site functionality.

9. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. Passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to external sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify members of significant changes by email or by posting a notice on our website. Please check this page periodically.

12. Contact & Complaints

For any privacy-related questions or concerns, contact us at [email protected].

If you believe we have not handled your personal data appropriately, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.