Privacy policy

Who we are

Our website address is https://redhatsociety.com.

It is RHS policy to protect the privacy and personal information of its Members. RHS has created this privacy policy to explain when and how personal information is collected, used, disclosed and protected, including but not limited to our website at redhatsociety.com (the “Site”). By using the Site, you consent to the privacy practices described in this privacy policy.

Information about you

1. Membership and transaction information

When you become a Member, RHS will collect personal information about you including your name, email, address, phone number, demographic information, and a username and password of your choice. When you purchase a product or service from RHS, or purchase one of our co-branded products or services, we may also collect payment and purchasing information.

2. Submissions and member service

RHS occasionally performs online user surveys asking for certain forms of general information. We use this data from our surveys to help RHS support the needs of its Membership. RHS may also collect information that identifies you personally when you send us Member comments, questions, suggestions, job applications, resumes, or other business-related contacts.

3. Public forums and chapter lists

RHS prohibits use of any information gleaned from chat rooms, forums, message boards, social media groups or other RHS web services for the purpose of sending unsolicited commercial emails, hate emails, or spam.

To protect the privacy of members, anyone who uses RHS communication outlets to collect member information, create contact lists, or post on RHS social media to collect such information will have that content deleted, and the member may be removed from all groups and volunteer programs without notice.

Gathering contact information through personal communication channels is acceptable, for example through private messaging.

However, any information you disclose in these communication resources becomes public information to some extent, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information. Chapter listing information is posted on the Site for the sole purpose of assisting Members to communicate within RHS, and is not to be used to form solicitation lists of any kind. To learn more about RHS website policies, please refer to our Website Terms and Conditions and Chapter Website Policies.

4. Automatically collected information

RHS automatically receives certain types of information whenever you interact with us. “Clickstream” information may be collected, which includes but is not limited to browsing behavior, your IP address, site entry and exit points, search terms, website addresses visited, page views, and impressions. RHS may use cookies to collect information to determine how to improve and personalize your experience of our Site by seeing which areas and features are most popular, to allow you to visit the Site without re-entering your username or password, and to track and complete transactions you have requested. Most browsers automatically accept cookies as the default setting. You can modify browser settings to reject cookies or to prompt you before accepting a cookie. If you decide not to accept our cookies, you will still be able to access those parts of our Site available to the general public, but you may not be able to use some of the Site's features or services.

5. Notice concerning children

RHS is a general audience site, and does not direct any of the content specifically at children under 13 years of age. RHS understands and is committed to respecting the sensitive nature of children's privacy online. If RHS learns or has reason to suspect that a Site user is under age 13, RHS will promptly delete any personal information in that user's account unless parental permission can be obtained.

Use of personal information

1. Broadcasts and messages

Email broadcasts including but not limited to News & Notes, Red Hatter Matters and the Friday Broadcast are sent to users who have signed up to receive them. Users may opt out of receiving future RHS broadcasts by unsubscribing. RHS reserves the right to send you certain communications relating to your Membership, such as Member service responses and other administrative messages, without offering you the opportunity to opt out of receiving them.

2. Disclosure of personal information to others

RHS does not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or non-affiliated companies without your prior consent, except (i) to offer you RHS, licensed, partner-provided and co-branded products and services, (ii) as necessary to complete a transaction you requested, (iii) as necessary to perform internal analysis and business functions, or (iv) when permitted by law or to protect RHS rights or property. Third party vendors may not use or disclose your personal information for any other purpose.

3. Internal analysis

RHS uses information collected about our Chapters and Members internally to continually enhance the Member experience.

4. Protection of the Red Hat Society and others

RHS may disclose personal information in the good faith belief that we are lawfully authorized to do so, or that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with the authorities or any legal process, respond to any claims, or protect the rights, property or personal safety of RHS Members and employees or the public.

Cookies we set

We use a small number of cookies, and we do not use them for advertising. They come in three groups, and only the first group is always on.

1. Cookies that keep the Site working

These are always on. Without them you could not sign in or finish joining, so there is nothing here to switch off.

• Sign-in cookies. When you sign in, we set cookies that keep you signed in as you move around the Site. Signing out removes them.
• Sign-up and account-closure cookies. While you are part-way through joining, creating an account, or closing an account, we hold what you have typed so far in a single encrypted cookie so you can move back and forward through the steps without losing your answers. It is readable only by our servers, never by your browser or by any other site, and it is deleted when you finish or after thirty minutes, whichever comes first.
• A referral cookie. If you arrive from a friend's invitation link, we remember which invitation it was for one hour, so your friend gets credit when you join.
• Your cookie choice. When you answer the note at the bottom of the page, we remember your answer for twelve months so we do not keep asking. It holds one word, either that you agreed or that you did not. It carries no name, no number and nothing that identifies you. If you close the note without answering, we remember only that, and only until you close your browser.
• A staff cookie during the changeover. While we are moving across from the old website, there is a private link that lets whoever opens it see pages not yet open to everyone, and opening it sets a cookie that remembers this for twelve hours. We treat that link like a password and share it only with staff.

2. Cookies that tell us how the Site is being used

These are off unless you agree to them. Say no and the Site works exactly the same.

• PostHog. It counts things like which pages are opened and which buttons are used, so we can see what is working and what is not. We have told it not to collect your IP address, and it obeys the Do Not Track setting if your browser sends one. It is not used for advertising, and we do not sell what it collects.

3. Fault reports and session recordings

We use a company called Sentry to find out when the Site breaks. This splits in two, and the two halves are treated differently.

• Fault reports are always on. When something goes wrong, Sentry receives the technical details of the fault so we can fix it. This part sets no cookie, records nothing you did, and does not collect your IP address. We keep it on for everyone because it is how we find out the Site is broken.
• Session recordings are off unless you agree to them. A recording is a silent playback of your visit that lets us see the steps that led to a fault instead of guessing at them. Before anything leaves your browser, every piece of text and every image on the page is blanked out, so what we can watch back is the shape of the page and where you clicked, not what you read, typed, or looked at. Sentry deletes recordings automatically after a set period and we keep no copies of our own.

What we record whatever you choose

There is one thing that does not depend on your answer. When you are signed in and you do something the Site has to record, such as joining a chapter, changing your details, or a member of staff acting on your account, we note that the action happened, along with the date and the account it belongs to. That is a record of what was done, not of what you looked at: it holds no pages, no clicks, and nothing about how you browse. It is made on our servers, it sets nothing in your browser, and it is how we can answer "who changed this, and when". These records are kept for us by PostHog, the same company named under Who we share your data with. Saying no to the optional cookies stops the counting described above. It does not stop our own record of actions taken on an account.

Changing your mind

Choose Cookie choices at the bottom of any page. It reopens the same note, shows what is set today, and takes a new answer straight away. If you switch the optional ones off, we stop collecting there and then, and we clear the cookies those companies left in your browser, as far as the page is able to reach them. One small marker stays behind on purpose. It is PostHog's own record that you said no, it holds nothing but that, and removing it would let the counting start again.

You can also reject cookies in your browser settings. If you reject all of them, you can still read the public parts of the Site, but you will not be able to sign in or complete a purchase, and we will have to ask about cookies again on every visit because we cannot remember that you already answered.

Photos and files you upload

Photos you add to your profile, your chapter, or an event are stored by our hosting provider and shown according to the visibility settings on the surface you added them to.

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Anyone who can see the image may be able to extract that location data from it.

Chapter discussions

When you post on a chapter discussion board, what you write is visible to the members of that chapter, and to Society staff. Posts are kept with the chapter. Please treat a discussion board as you would a room full of people rather than a private message.

Who we share your data with

We use a small number of companies to run the Site. They may only handle your information to provide their service to us, and they may not use it for anything else. They are:

• Supabase, which hosts our database, your sign-in credentials, and the files you upload.
• Stripe and PayPal, which process payments. Card details are entered on their pages and are never held by us.
• Resend, which delivers our email.
• Sentry, which records technical errors so we can fix them, and PostHog, which tells us which parts of the Site are used. Neither is used for advertising. Sentry's session recordings, and PostHog's counting of what you look at, run only if you agree to them. The record of actions taken on your account does not depend on that choice. See Cookies we set.
• Google Maps, which we use to check and locate postal addresses when you enter one.

If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

Third-party sites

RHS may provide links to third-party websites from the Site as a service to our users. RHS is not responsible for the content or information collection practices of those sites. These websites' privacy policies may differ from those of RHS. We therefore encourage you to review and understand third-party privacy practices before providing them with information.

When you pay, part of the page is provided by Stripe or PayPal. Those companies can see what you do on their part of the page, under their own privacy policies.

How long we keep your data

We keep your account information for as long as your account is open.

If you close your account, we mark it closed rather than erasing it immediately, so that you can change your mind and reopen it within thirty days. After that window it is no longer reversible from the Site.

We keep a permanent record of important account and payment events, such as when an account was created, when a payment was taken, and when staff changed something on your behalf. That record cannot be edited or deleted by anyone, including us, because its purpose is to be a reliable history. It holds what happened and when, not the contents of your profile.

What rights you have over your data

You can see and change most of what we hold about you, at any time, while signed in:

• Your name, contact details and profile are at Account, then Profile.
• Who can see you in the member directory is at Account, then Privacy.
• You can close your account at Account, then Close account.

If you would like a copy of your information, or would like us to erase something you cannot change yourself, email us and we will help. Some information we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security reasons, and we will tell you if that applies.

Network and information security

RHS uses commercially reasonable efforts to protect your personal information, but cannot guarantee that your information will not be disclosed or accessed by accidental circumstances or by the unauthorized acts of others. Your Membership information is accessible online through use of a username and password. To protect the confidentiality of personal information, you should not disclose your password or other confidential personal information. You are responsible for all uses on our Site by any person using your password. Please advise us immediately if you believe your password has been misused.

Where your data is held

The Site and the companies listed above hold your information in the United States.

Updating personal information

Any Member may view, correct or modify her personal information by logging onto the Site and modifying her Member profile.

Use of images, video and quotes

By submitting content or attending RHS sponsored events, you give your permission to RHS to use any photograph or photographic image, including video or video stills, taken of you while you are in any public spaces, grounds, or offices at the Property or any RHS sponsored events. You grant us and the Manager and our designees the irrevocable and unrestricted right and permission to copyright, in its own name or otherwise, and to use, re-use, publish and re-publish photographic, video, quote or pictures of you or in which you may be included, without restriction as to changes or alterations. This usage may be in conjunction with your own name or a fictitious name. It may involve reproductions in color or otherwise that may be made through any medium, and in any and all media now or hereafter known. Usage may include illustration, promotion, art, editorial, advertising, trade, or any other legal purpose. You also consent to the use of any printed matter in conjunction with that usage. You waive any right that you may have to inspect or approve the finished product, the advertising copy or other matter that may be used in that regard. You agree that we, the Manager and our designees will have no liability due to any blurring, distortion, alteration, optical illusion, or use in composite form that may occur in taking or usage of any picture, or in the subsequent processing or publication of the picture. You release us, the Manager, and our designees from all claims of any nature arising in any way from the use of your photograph or photographic image.

Updating this policy

We reserve the right to change this policy at any time. When our privacy practices change we will post the policy changes under terms and conditions on this site. We encourage you to check the Site if you are concerned about how your information is used.