Privacy Policy
This is our full privacy policy. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Introduction
The Psoriasis Association was founded in 1968, to raise awareness of psoriasis; provide information, advice and support for those affected by psoriasis; and promote and fund research into the causes, nature and care of psoriasis. Our Charitable Incorporated Organisation Number is 1180666; Scotland: SC049563.
You can read more about the work we do here.
1. What this privacy policy covers
The Psoriasis Association is committed to protecting your rights in accordance with the current data protection law (Data Protection Act 1988) and the General Data Protection Regulation (2018). This privacy policy explains what information we collect about you and how it will be used.
We promise to respect any personal data you share with us and keep it safe. We aim to be clear when we collect your data and not do anything you wouldn’t reasonably expect. You can get in touch with us for more information on how we use your data, or to change your contact preferences.
2. Where and how we collect your information
2.1 Information you give us
If you become a member of the Psoriasis Association, give us a donation or book tickets for an event we will ask you for some personal information, including payment information, in order to for us to process your purchase or donation or help arrange the event. We will only contact you in relation to that membership, donation or event, unless you have given consent to be contacted otherwise.
If you get in touch with us via phone or email, we will keep a record of our correspondence, for our own statistical reporting purposes. This may include sensitive health information, if you have contacted one of our Helpline services.
2.2 Information collected automatically through our website
Our websites are: www.psoriasis-association.org.uk and www.psoteen.org.uk
All information that you input into our websites (such as by filling out an online form, or by writing a post on the forum), is stored securely by the organisation we use to run and maintain our website, Glitterfish. This information is disposed of by Glitterfish after a period of time, except where we are required to retain it by law.
If you sign up to the forums on either of our websites, we have access to the information that you supply during the sign up process, on your profile and any content that you post on the forums. We reserve the right to delete or remove forum content and/or user profiles at any time. We also reserve the right to preserve, store, share or otherwise use any content posted on the forums, although we will do so anonymously unless required by law.
2.2.1 Cookies
We use cookies to help us provide you with a better service, but do not track anything that can be used to personally identify you. If you prefer us not to set these cookies, please visit our Cookie Settings page.
2.2.2 Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors are using and engaging with our website. This allows us to make improvements to our web services and your online experience.
The Google Analytics tracking tool uses a number of cookies to collect information and report website usage statistics and does so without personally identifying individual visitors to Google or the Psoriasis Association.
The information generated by the cookie about your use of the Psoriasis Association website will be transmitted and stored by Google on servers in the United States.
For more information about Google’s privacy policy in regards to Google Analytics, please see www.google.com/analytics/learn/privacy.html
If you wish to opt-out of Google Analytics tracking please visit and install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/
3. What information do we collect and how do we use it?
The type of personal information we will collect about you will depend on the purpose of collecting the information.
3.1 Supporters
If you support us by becoming a member, making a donation or registering for an event we will collect the following information about you
Name
Email address
Address
Postcode
Date of birth (if applicable)
Payment details
The Psoriasis Association website uses SagePay to process payments. When you pay for a donation, membership or event on our website, your payment details are securely stored and processed by SagePay, and are not accessible to the Psoriasis Association. If you pay for a donation, membership or event via non-online method (such as over the telephone, or by filling out a form), the Psoriasis Association will store and process your payment details, securely, for this transaction only.
When you provide us with your personal data we will use this for the following reasons.
To provide you with the products or services you have requested- such as registering you for an event, processing your membership, or sending you a response to a query
To process your donation or other payments
To keep a record of your relationship and communication preferences with us
To enable us to communicate with you about your donation, membership or event
To enable us to send you further relevant communications after your donation, membership or event, only where you have consented to us doing so. This may sometimes involve us using the information you have given us to make decisions about what to send you – for example, looking at your address to send you information about events local to you.
3.1.2 Members
Please note that by becoming a ‘member’ of the Psoriasis Association, you consent to contact from the Psoriasis Association including (but not necessarily limited to) a quarterly membership publication, an annual Our Achievements report, regular ad-hoc news and updates, invitations to attend events or participate in projects, market research, and administrative correspondence. You can always get in touch with us to discuss or change your contact preferences, although not all membership contacts are optional.
We keep a record of all helpline correspondence, for our own statistical reporting purposes. All helpline phone and email records are anonymised after a short period of time, to ensure that individuals cannot be identified from the records. Any contact details you give us will only be used to process your query (for example, to send you further information that you have asked for). No personally identifiable information from our Helpline services will ever be shared outside of The Psoriasis Association.
3.3 Direct marketing
The Psoriasis Association does not ‘cold call’ – we will only telephone you for administrative purposes, if required.
You will only receive post and/or email communications from us if you have consented for us to do so. You can opt out or change your communication preferences at any time by contacting us.
3.4 Third parties
The Psoriasis Association will not sell your data. We do sometimes work with carefully-selected third parties including (but not limited to) Glitterfish, who build and maintain our websites, and Parse Systems, who build and maintain our database. As such, these companies help us to store and process your data. We have contracts in place with them to ensure that they do not sell or share your data, or use it for reasons that we have not specified.
In some circumstances we may work with other third parties, for instance to run an awareness campaign or event, or to promote psoriasis in the media. Your data would only be shared with these third parties if you give explicit consent for us to do so, at the time.
3.5 Fundraising
The Psoriasis Association is a charity, and we rely on voluntary income to carry out our work.
We do not use screening or cold calling companies. We only contact members and other individuals who have already consented to being contacted about fundraising activities. If you fundraise for the Psoriasis Association, we will get in touch with you to thank you for your efforts and to offer our support. We will not publicise your fundraising endeavours, use your images, or contact you again without your consent.
We are also registered with the Fundraising Regulator and are committed to complying with the Code of Fundraising Practice.
3.6 Your choice:
We only ask you for the information that we require in order to carry out the task at hand – for example, to process your donation or create your forum profile. You always have a choice as to whether and how you want to receive communications from us. If you do not want us to use your contact details to contact you in the future you can opt out of this when we collect your details or at a later time.
If you ever want to change your contact preferences, or opt out of communications, you can do this at any time by getting in touch with us.
If you choose not to be contacted by us we will never send you personalised marketing communications, but we may keep your details on a ‘suppression list’ to ensure you aren’t contacted.
3.7 Legal basis for processing your personal data
In some circumstances we will collect and process your personal information using the legitimate interest legal processing basis.
Often, we will need to process your data as it is part of a contract which you have entered into. For instance, if you have booked an event or decide to become a member, then we will need to contact you and take payment to enable us to provide the relevant services under the agreement with you.
However in most circumstances, we will rely on your consent when using your personal data. An example of this would be when we request your consent for us to contact you after you have made a donation.
3.8 Retention
We hold your information for only as long as necessary for the purpose needed. For example, if you have declared gift aid, HMRC require us to store your name and address for seven years.
3.9 Under 16s
On some occasions we may collect and manage data of under 16s. We will always aim to manage this data in a way which is appropriate to the age of the child and will only keep this data for the purpose in which it was collected. This will usually only be for participation in certain projects or on the Psoteen forums. If any project participants or event attendees are under the age of 16, we will require consent from a parent or guardian.
Forum users must be over 14 years of age – we require date of birth information in order to monitor this. We make every effort to ensure that the Privacy Policy and consent information on the Psoteen forum is in language that can be understood by 14 year olds and above.
3.10 Job and volunteering application data
If you apply to work or volunteer at the Psoriasis Association, we will use the information you supply to us to process your application and to monitor recruitment statistics. If you are unsuccessful in your application we will keep your personal information for 12 months.
Opportunities to get involved in the Psoriasis Association’s work are usually advertised on our website and social media on a project-by-project basis, and we ask interested parties to contact us directly. This constitutes consent for us to respond, and give you more information about the opportunity. If you then progress to take part in the project, you will be asked to sign a consent form appropriate to the opportunity. More information about how your information will be used will be supplied at this stage.
Often, we advertise opportunities to participate in research, media or other projects that are not run or organised by the Psoriasis Association. In these instances, we will usually request that you get directly in touch with the individual or organisation in charge of the project. Under these circumstances, the information that you supply is under the control of the individual or organisation in charge of the project – the Psoriasis Association accepts no responsibility or obligation regarding the use or protection of your data in these circumstances.
3.11 Image rights
If you attend a Psoriasis Association event or take part in a project, your photo may be taken or you may be filmed. We will always ask for your consent to use your image. Additionally, if you send us an image of your own – such as a picture of your fundraising event – we will request your formal consent for us to use it.
If you consent to having your photo used for marketing or PR purposes we will hold your name, image and contact details on file for future re-use.
3.12 Vulnerable supporters
We are committed to supporting our vulnerable supporters and will do all we can to assist our supporters in making informed decisions. We follow the Code of Fundraising Practice.
4. How do we keep your personal information secure?
We always ensure that we have the necessary controls in place to protect the personal data you provide us with. We carry out regular audits to ensure that data is being held securely and disposed of appropriately.
4.1 Your credit and debit card information
The Psoriasis Association website uses SagePay to process payments. When you pay for a donation, membership or event on our website, your payment details are securely stored and processed by SagePay, and are not accessible to the Psoriasis Association. If you pay for a donation, membership or event via non-online method (such as over the telephone, or by filling out a form), the Psoriasis Association will store and process your payment details, securely, for this transaction only.
4.2 Third parties
The Psoriasis Association will not sell your data. We do sometimes work with carefully-selected third parties including (but not limited to) Glitterfish, who build and maintain our websites, and Parse Systems, who build and maintain our database. As such, these companies help us to store and process your data. We have contracts in place with them to ensure that they do not sell or share your data, or use it for reasons that we have not specified.
In some circumstances we may work with other third parties, for instance to run an awareness campaign or event, or to promote psoriasis in the media. Your data would only be shared with these third parties if you give explicit consent for us to do so, at the time. If requested we may need to supply your information to the police, regulatory bodies or legal advisors.
We will not share your data with any other third parties unless you have given your explicit consent for us to do so.
5. Your right to your personal information
Under the General Data Protection Regulation you have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. You also have the right to request that we erase any personal information we hold, where we have no compelling reason to continue processing this data.
If you wish to request this information please contact us.
6. Updates to this privacy policy
We may make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time. If we do make any significant changes to the way we collect and process your personal information we will make this clear on the Psoriasis Association website, or by contacting you directly.
7. Raising Queries or Concerns
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about data protection at the Psoriasis Association please contact us. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from us for any reason then you may wish to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office via https://ico.org.uk.
Emails from the Psoriasis Association
This email and its attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by using the reply function, and then permanently delete what you have received. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this email and attachments are free from any viruses, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free.
You are entitled to change your contact preferences with us at any time. To stop receiving emails, or emails of this kind, from the Psoriasis Association, or for any other information, please contact mail@psoriasis-association.org.uk or 01604 251620.