Privacy Policy

What we collect

Most of the site can be browsed without providing any personal information. We collect information only when you choose to give it to us:

• Contact form: name, email address, the lodge you select, the subject you choose (Visiting Brother, Interested in Freemasonry, or Other), and the message itself. These details are forwarded directly to the secretary of the lodge you selected.
• Admin / editor accounts: email address, full name, lodge affiliation (for editors), and any profile information you provide. Account access requires a password managed by our authentication provider.
• Technical data: standard server logs such as your IP address, browser type, and the pages you visit. These are used only for security and to keep the site running smoothly.

How we use your information

• To forward your enquiry to the appropriate lodge secretary.
• To authenticate and authorise administrators and editors who maintain the directory.
• To protect the site from abuse, spam, and security threats.
• To improve the directory based on how visitors use it.

Sharing and third parties

We do not sell personal information. Your contact-form message is shared only with the lodge you select. We use trusted service providers for hosting, authentication, database storage, and maps. These providers process data only on our behalf and under appropriate safeguards.

Cookies and local storage

The site uses a small amount of local storage to remember your light or dark theme preference and, for signed-in administrators, to keep your session secure. These are not used to track you across other websites.

Data retention

Contact form messages are retained long enough for the lodge secretary to respond and for us to maintain a record of enquiries. If you have an admin or editor account, we keep your account information until an administrator removes it or you ask us to delete it.

Your rights

You can ask us to access, correct, or delete the personal information we hold about you. Because contact-form messages are forwarded directly to the selected lodge, the lodge secretary may also hold a copy of your message. Please contact them directly for requests relating to messages you have already sent.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), role-based access for admin accounts, and secure authentication. No website can guarantee absolute security, but we treat your data with care.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the site evolves. The date at the top of the page shows when it was last revised. Continued use of the site after changes means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy can be sent through the contact form or directed to the site administrator.