Effective Date: May 07, 2024
1. Introduction
Welcome to Epsilon Community Hub (“we,” “us,” or “our”). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal data when you visit or interact with our website https://www.epsiloncommunityhub.com (the “Website”), in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). If you have any questions, or wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, please contact us at epsilon.contact.team@gmail.com.
2. Data Controller Information
Data Controller:
Epsilon Community Hub
Website: https://www.epsiloncommunityhub.com
Contact Email: epsilon.contact.team@gmail.com
As the Data Controller, we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data and are responsible for ensuring that your data is handled in compliance with applicable data protection laws.
3. Definitions
- Personal Data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (e.g., name, email address).
- Processing: Any operation performed on personal data (e.g., collection, storage, use, disclosure).
- Data Subject: An identified or identifiable person whose personal data we are processing.
- Controller: Entity that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data.
- Processor: Entity that processes personal data on behalf of the Controller.
4. Personal Data We Collect
4.1 Data You Provide Directly
When you register for an account, subscribe to our newsletter, post comments, or otherwise voluntarily interact with the Website, we may collect:
- Contact Details: Name, email address, username, and any information you include in your profile or user submissions.
- Account Credentials: Username and password (securely hashed/encrypted).
- User-Generated Content: Comments, posts, messages, feedback, or any content you upload or share.
4.2 Data Collected Automatically
When you visit the Website, certain information is automatically collected through cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies, such as:
- Usage Data: IP address, device type, operating system, browser type, pages visited, duration of visit, referral source, and other diagnostic data.
- Cookies and Tracking Technologies:
- Essential Cookies: Necessary for the functioning of core features (e.g., account login, secure areas).
- Performance/Analytical Cookies: Help us understand how visitors use the Website and improve functionality (e.g., Google Analytics).
- Functional Cookies: Remember preferences (e.g., language, display settings).
- Marketing Cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns.
5. Purposes of Processing & Legal Basis
| Processing Activity | Personal Data Categories | Purpose | Legal Basis (GDPR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account registration and profile management | Name, email, username, password | To create and maintain your user account and provide personalised services | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Newsletter subscription and direct marketing communications | Email address | To send newsletters, updates, promotional content (only with consent if required) | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) or Legitimate interest for similar services if consent not required |
| User-generated content (comments, posts, messages) | Any personal data included in content | To display your content to other users and manage moderation | Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)); Performance of a contract (if applicable) |
| Customer support and correspondence | Name, email, support-related data | To respond to your inquiries and provide assistance | Performance of a contract or Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Website functionality and performance analytics | Usage data (IP, device, pages viewed) | To monitor, analyze, and improve the Website’s functionality and user experience | Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Security and fraud prevention | IP address, login attempts, cookies | To detect and prevent unauthorized access, breaches, and attacks | Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Compliance with legal obligations | Various personal data as needed | To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and lawful requests from authorities | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
6. Data Sharing & Disclosure
6.1 Third-Party Service Providers
We may share your personal data with trusted third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, including:
- Hosting & Infrastructure: To host, operate, and maintain the Website (e.g., cloud service providers).
- Analytics Providers: To analyze Website traffic and performance (e.g., Google Analytics).
- Email & Communication Providers: To send newsletters, transactional messages, and support emails (e.g., Mailchimp, SendGrid).
- Payment Processors: If you make purchases or donations, payment processors (e.g., Stripe, PayPal) will process payment data.
All third-party service providers are bound by contractual obligations to keep your personal data confidential and secure and may not use it for any other purpose.
6.2 Legal Requirements & Protection of Rights
We may disclose your personal data if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:
- Comply with a legal obligation (e.g., court order, subpoena).
- Protect and defend our rights, property, or safety, and the rights, property, or safety of others.
- Investigate and prevent fraud, security breaches, or other malicious activities.
6.3 Aggregated & Anonymized Data
We may share aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized data (e.g., user trends, site performance) with third parties for research, marketing, or analytics purposes. This data cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
7. International Data Transfers
Our service providers may be located outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). When we transfer your data to a country outside the EEA that is not deemed to provide an adequate level of data protection, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:
- Standard Contractual Clauses adopted by the European Commission.
- Adequacy decisions by the European Commission.
- Binding corporate rules (where applicable).
You have the right to request further details about the specific mechanism used for transfers upon contacting us.
8. Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including to comply with legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Specifically:
- Account Data & User-Generated Content: Retained until you delete your account or request erasure, plus a reasonable retention period for backup and security purposes.
- Contact & Communication Data: Retained for as long as necessary to respond to your inquiries or maintain communication, and thereafter in accordance with statutory limitation periods.
- Analytics & Log Data: Retained for a limited period (typically up to 24 months) to analyze trends and improve the Website, unless a longer retention period is required for legitimate business or legal reasons.
- Payment & Transaction Data: Retained for as long as required by applicable accounting, tax, or regulatory provisions (usually 5–7 years).
After the retention period expires, your personal data will be securely deleted or anonymized so that you can no longer be identified.
9. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
9.1 What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. They help us remember your preferences, improve site performance, and deliver relevant content.
9.2 How We Use Cookies
- Essential Cookies: Required for basic site functionality (e.g., maintaining your login session).
- Performance/Analytics Cookies: Collect information about how you use our Website (e.g., pages visited, time spent). We use Google Analytics, which relies on cookies to generate reports on visitor activity. You can review Google’s Privacy Policy here and their Cookie Notice here.
- Functional Cookies: Help remember your choices (e.g., language, font size).
- Marketing/Advertising Cookies: Track your browsing habits to deliver targeted advertisements.
9.3 Your Cookie Choices
Most browsers allow you to manage cookie settings. You can typically:
- Accept or reject cookies.
- Delete existing cookies.
- Configure your browser to notify you when a cookie is set.
Please note that blocking or deleting certain cookies may negatively impact your experience (e.g., you might not be able to log in or access certain features).
10. Your Rights Under GDPR
If you are an individual in the European Union, the GDPR grants you the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right of Access (Art. 15): You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to Rectification (Art. 16): If your data is inaccurate or incomplete, you may ask us to correct or complete it.
- Right to Erasure (Art. 17) (“Right to be Forgotten”): You may request deletion of your personal data if (a) it is no longer necessary for the purposes collected, (b) you withdraw consent and no other lawful basis exists, (c) the data was unlawfully processed, or (d) we are required to erase it under EU law.
- Right to Restrict Processing (Art. 18): You may request that we limit how we process your personal data in certain circumstances (e.g., while we verify accuracy).
- Right to Data Portability (Art. 20): Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you can request your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and have the right to transmit that data to another controller.
- Right to Object (Art. 21): You may object to processing based on legitimate interest, direct marketing, or scientific/historical research. If you object, we must stop unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds.
- Right to Withdraw Consent (Art. 7(3)): When processing is based on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal.
- Right to Lodge a Complaint (Art. 77): You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (e.g., your country’s Data Protection Authority).
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at epsilon.contact.team@gmail.com. We will respond within one month of receipt of your request (or, if complex, no later than three months, with notification of any extension).
11. Security Measures
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or destruction. These measures include, but are not limited to:
- Encryption: TLS/SSL encryption for data in transit; database encryption at rest.
- Access Controls: Limited access to systems and databases, role-based permissions, strong password policies.
- Regular Security Audits: Penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and monitoring.
- Secure Development Practices: Regular patching, code reviews, secure configuration of servers.
Despite our best efforts, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If you believe your data has been compromised, please inform us immediately at epsilon.contact.team@gmail.com.
12. Third-Party Links
Our Website may contain links to other websites or services that are not operated or controlled by Epsilon Community Hub. This Policy does not apply to third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third party before providing them with personal data.
13. Children’s Privacy
Our Website is not intended for individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child under 16, please contact us at epsilon.contact.team@gmail.com. We will promptly delete such data.
14. Updates to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we modify this Policy, we will revise the Effective Date at the top. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Your continued use of our Website after any changes signifies your acceptance of the updated Policy.
15. How to Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:
- Email: epsilon.contact.team@gmail.com
- Address: [If applicable, provide physical mailing address here.]
We will strive to address and resolve any query or concern you have about our use of your personal data.
Thank you for visiting Epsilon Community Hub. Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with GDPR.