Pod Privacy and Cookies Policy

Privacy

Pod Volunteer (Personal Overseas Development Ltd) understands and respects the importance of your privacy and we are committed to safeguarding your personal information.

In providing our service to you, we need to collect personal information from you and this policy explains how we use any personal information we collect about you through our website and other interactions with you:

• What information do we collect about you?
• How will we use the information about you?
• Access to your information and correction
• Links to other websites
• Protecting your information
• Changes to our privacy policy
• How to contact us
• Cookies

What information do we collect about you?

We collect information from you when you interact with us, including when you:

• Apply and book with us
• Manage the arrangements for your placement
• Communicate with our team
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Provide feedback (including complaints)
• Complete a survey or enter a competition
• Donate to, undertake fundraising for or join an event for the Pod charity

Information collected includes personal details, contact information, medical background / issues / requirements, dietary requirements, declaration of any criminal convictions, motivation and background for volunteering.

We also collect website usage information using cookies.

If you are aged under 16‚ please get your parent / guardian's permission before you provide us with personal information.

How will we use the information about you?

We use your personal information and details to complete your booking with us, manage the arrangements for your placement, seek feedback, send you notifications and communicate with you generally.

If you use our secure online payment / donation pages, your donation is processed by a third party payment processor, who specialises in the secure online capture and processing of credit/debit card transactions. We do not store customers' credit or debit card information.

To arrange your placement, we will need to share some of your information with our overseas staff and partner organisations who are the providers of the services making up your arrangements. These are generally located outside the EEA.

We would also like to store and use your personal details for future marketing purposes, in particular email updates / newsletters. If you have consented to receive marketing, we will only use your name and email address for marketing purposes. We will never sell your personal details to third parties for the purpose of marketing.

You can opt out of receiving further information from us at any time. You will be given a fast and easy option of opting out on all newsletters. If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please contact us.

We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis. We keep volunteer information after you have completed your placement so we can keep in touch and continue to support you. Medical references and Criminal record checks are deleted periodically.

Access to your information and correction

You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please contact us. We may make a small charge for this to cover the administration costs of providing you with these details.

We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct or remove information you think is inaccurate.

Links to other websites

Our website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to this website so when you visit other websites you should read their own privacy policies.

In addition, if you came to our website via a third party site, we are not responsible for the privacy policies of that third party site and recommend that you read their privacy policy.

Protecting your information

We take website security very seriously and we are committed to safeguarding your personal information. We take a number of technical and operational steps to ensure the security of the information you provide to us. Outside the EEA, controls on data protection may not be as wide as the legal requirements in this country. The transmission of information via the internet is never completely secure.

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review and we will place any updates on this web page. We encourage you to re-read this from time to time so you are aware of any changes in how we gather and use your personal information.

How to contact us

Please contact us if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you.

Cookies

Like many other websites, our website uses cookies. 'Cookies' are small pieces of information placed on your computer to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect data about your browsing actions and patterns. They do not identify you as an individual. You can set your browser not to accept cookies.

Cookies allow us to obtain information regarding users of our site. This may include your IP address, online activity, web browser details and online activity. We will not collect or store any sensitive data.

By using our website with your browser settings adjusted to accept all cookies, we will take this to mean that you consent to our use of cookies.

We use the following types of cookies on our website:

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features. Without these cookies the website cannot function properly.

Analytical cookies

These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how our website works.

Marketing cookies

Marketing cookies are used to allow us to interact with you once you have left our website, displaying you adverts for example.

Third party cookies

On certain pages we embed content from websites such as Facebook and Youtube. Pages with this embedded content may present cookies from these websites. Similarly, when you use one of the share buttons, a cookie may be set by the service you have chosen to share content through. Pod does not control the dissemination of these cookies. You should check the relevant third party website for more information about these.

By using our website, you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device.

Browser settings

Most browsers have options that allow you to control whether the browser will accept cookies, reject cookies, or notify the visitor each time a cookie is sent. You may elect to reject cookies by adjusting your browser's settings, but doing so may limit the features on our site.

Further information

To find out more information about cookies, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org