Guildford Masons

Privacy & Cookies

This page explains how the Guildford Masons website handles information about the people who use it.

Visiting the public pages

The public information pages (home, About, Charity and Find Out More) and this page have no analytics, no tracking and set no cookies. The request access, login and password pages set one essential cookie, described under “Cookies” below.

Links to other websites

The Charity and Find Out More pages link to other websites, such as those of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Surrey and the United Grand Lodge of England. We do not run or control them, and their own privacy notices apply once you follow a link.

Requesting access

The Full Calendar and Next 7 Days pages are for members only. To ask for access we need your name, your email address, and the name and number of your lodge or other Masonic body, which we check against the list of bodies that meet at the Centre.

• If the lodge details do not match our list, we keep what you entered for 30 days, so that those handling requests can see what happened, and then delete it automatically.
• If they do match, we send one email to the address you gave, with a link to confirm that it is yours. Until you confirm it, your request is not passed on to anyone, and if it is not confirmed within 7 days we delete it.
• Once you have confirmed your address, your request is passed to the people who approve access. After it has been approved or rejected we delete the request itself after 30 days.

We use this information only to decide who may see the members’ pages, on the basis of our legitimate interest in keeping those pages to members.

Member accounts

For approved members we keep your name, email address, lodge, a short record of your recent logins (see below), and a scrambled (hashed) form of your password — we cannot see your password. We keep this while you are a member, and delete it if you ask us to or when your access ends. When we delete your account we also delete your login history, suggestions, Noticeboard posts and record of accepted terms. We use your email address only to send you account messages, such as a link to set or reset your password.

Login history

Each time you log in we record the time, the type of device and browser you used (for example “Chrome on Windows”), and the internet address (IP address) the login came from. We keep your latest 10 logins and delete older ones automatically. In My Account you can see the time and device of your previous login, so that you can spot a login that was not yours. Only the website administrators can see the internet addresses. We use this history only to keep the members' area secure.

News and the Noticeboard

News posts are written by the website administrators. Members can write short posts on the Noticeboard, which every member can read. A Noticeboard post is shown with the author's name. An administrator checks each post before it appears, and members can report a post. Noticeboard posts are deleted automatically 12 months after they were written, or sooner if the author deletes them; News is kept. We also remember when you last opened News and the Noticeboard, so that we can show you what is new since then.

Daily email (optional)

If you tick the boxes in My Account, we send you one email a day when something new has been posted, listing only the titles. We keep your choice, and the time of your last email so that we do not repeat ourselves. You can stop the emails at any time, either by unticking the boxes or with the link in every email.

Terms and conditions

Members may be asked to read and accept terms for using the members' area. When you accept them we record which terms (standard or extended), which version, and the date and time. We keep this record while your account exists, so that we can show what you agreed to, and delete it with your account.

Suggestions

Members can send suggestions through the members' area. We keep your message together with your name and account, so that we can reply, and only the website administrators can see it. Suggestions that are open are kept until they have been dealt with. Once a suggestion has been marked done or declined, it is deleted automatically after 12 months. Please do not include other people's personal details in a suggestion.

Security information

To slow down repeated guessing of passwords, we keep a scrambled (hashed) form of your internet address together with the time of recent attempts. This is deleted after 24 hours and is not used for anything else.

Cookies

When you open the request access, login or password pages, or log in, the site sets one essential cookie that keeps your session secure and remembers that you are logged in. It is removed when you close your browser, and because the site cannot work without it, it does not need your consent.

Embedded Google Calendar

Once you are logged in, the Full Calendar and Next 7 Days pages display a calendar hosted by Google. When you open either page your browser contacts Google to load it. Google receives your IP address and may set cookies in your browser. This is outside our control and is governed by Google’s own Privacy Policy.

If you contact us

If you contact us by email, we use your message and email address only to reply to you. We do not add you to any mailing list or pass your details to anyone else.

Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete the information we hold about you at any time. Please contact us.