Blackrock College Union (BCU) Website privacy policy (version 1.0)

Blackrock College Union respect your right to privacy and comply with our obligations under the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2002. The purpose of this Website Privacy Policy is to outline how we deal with any personal data you provide to us while visiting this web site. Naturally, if you are not happy with this Website Privacy Policy you should not use this website.

By visiting this website, you are accepting the terms of this Website Privacy Policy. Any external links to other web sites are clearly identifiable as such, and we are not responsible for the content or the privacy policies of these other websites.

We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors; this policy sets out how we will treat your personal information.

(1) What information do we collect?

We may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal data:

(a) information about your computer and about your visits to and use of this website, such as your IP address, geographical location, browser type, referral source, length of visit and number of page views;

(b) information relating to any transactions carried out between you and BCU on or in relation to this website, including information relating to booking of events, membership renewal payments;

(c) information that you provide to us for the purpose of membership registration;

(d) information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our website services, email notifications and/or newsletters;

(e) any other information that you choose to send to us including Send to Friend contact details.

(2) Cookies

We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of this website. Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies, which are stored on users' computers. The information generated relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of the website to help us improve our online offering. Google will store this information. Google's privacy policy is available at: http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.php.

(3) Using your personal data

Personal data submitted on this website will be used for the purposes specified in this privacy policy or in relevant parts of the website.

We may use your personal information to:

(a) administer the website;

(b) improve your browsing experience by personalising the website;

(c) enable your use of the services available on the website;

(e) send statements and invoices to you, and collect payments from you;

(f) send you general communications;

(g) send you email notifications which will contain an opt out option;

(h) send to you our newsletter and other Union relevant marketing communications which we think may be of interest to you by post or, by email or similar technology. You can inform us at any time if you no longer require marketing communications to be sent by emailing the Union;

(j) deal with enquiries and complaints made by or about you (report abuse feature) relating to the website;

We will not without your express consent provide your personal information to any third parties for the purpose of direct marketing.

(4) Other disclosures

In addition to the disclosures reasonably necessary for the purposes identified elsewhere in this privacy policy, we may disclose information about you:

(a) to the extent that we are required to do so by law;

(b) in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings;

(c) in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk).

Except as provided in this privacy policy, we will not provide your information to third parties.

(5) Security of your personal data

We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.

We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure servers. All electronic transactions you make to or receive from us will be encrypted using SSL technology. Credit card payments will be processed via Realex Payments (http://www.realexpayments.com)

Of course, data transmission over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet.

You are responsible for keeping your login password and user details confidential.

(6) Policy amendments

We may update this privacy policy from time-to-time by posting a new version on our website. You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes.

(7) Your rights

You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you. Provision of such information may be subject to the payment of a fee (currently fixed at 45euro).

You may instruct us not to process your personal data for communication purposes by selecting the opt-out option within the My Profile section of the web site at any time.

(8) Third party websites

The website contains links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of third party websites.

(9) Updating information

You may update your personal information by accessing the My Profile section of the website: http://www.rockunion.ie/my-profile.php

(11) Contact

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our treatment of your personal data, please write to us by email to webmaster@rockunion.ie or by post to The Union Centre, Blackrock College, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

Privacy Glossary

Here are definitions for commonly used privacy and related Internet terms.

Aggregate information
Information that may be collected by a Web site but is not "personally identifiable" to you (see definition below). Aggregate information includes demographic data, domain names, and Web site traffic. As long as none of these fields is linked to a user's personal information, the data is considered aggregate.

Browser
Also called a Web browser. Software that enables you to search and or navigate through Web sites or "browse" parts of the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. Examples: Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Cookie
A block of text placed in a file on your computer's hard drive by a Web site you've visited. A cookie is used to identify your computer the next time you access the site. Cookies cannot identify an individual user specifically unless the cookie data is attached to personally identifiable information collected some other way, such as via an online registration form.

Domain name
The company, individual, or organization "name" you use to access a Web site, e.g. www.rockunion.ie.

Email
See electronic mail.

Email address
The computer version of a postal address. Like a postal address, it contains information about who the e-mail recipient is and where he or she resides on the Internet.

Electronic mail
Commonly referred to as email, this form of communication enables you to send messages and files from your computer through the Internet to one or more email addresses.

Encryption
Data that is scrambled into a private code for secure transmission.

Internet
A worldwide system of interconnected computer networks, whose use is not controlled by any government agency or central authority.

Opt-out
An option giving you the choice to prevent personally identifiable information from being used by a particular Web site or shared with third parties.

Password
A private, unique series of letters and/or numbers that you create and must use to gain access to a Web site or the Internet, specific data available online, or to make modifications to restricted-access software (e.g. parental control software).

Personally identifiable information
Information that can be traced back to an individual user, e.g. your name, postal address, or e-mail address. Personal user preferences tracked by a Web site via a "cookie" (see definition above) is also considered personally identifiable when linked to other personally identifiable information provided by you online.

Privacy statement
A page on a Web site that lays out the site's privacy policy, i.e. what personal information is collected by the site, how it will be used, whom it will be shared with, and whether you have the option to exercise control over how your information will be used.

Web browser
See browser.

Web site
A collection of "pages" or files on the World Wide Web that are linked together and maintained by a company, organization, or individual. Anyone with a Web site may be considered a content provider or a publisher.

World Wide Web
A part of the Internet that links text, sound, and images in the form of Web pages and sites.

Some of the sections of this privacy policy are based on a template created and distributed by www.website-law.co.uk.