Privacy policy

This policy explains what personal information the Bridge Institute collects through this website, why, and what you can do about it. We collect as little as we can and we never sell personal information.

Who we are

This website is run by the Bridge Institute, a charitable incorporated organisation registered in England and Wales (charity number 1174490), 1 Blackmore Close, Haverhill, Suffolk CB9 9JU, United Kingdom. We are the data controller for the information described here.

For anything about your information, write to info@bridge-institute.org with "Privacy" in the subject line.

What we collect and why

When you write to us

The contact form asks for your name, email address, the topic and your message. Your organisation and role are optional. We use this only to reply and to handle your request. Our legal basis is our legitimate interest in answering the people who contact us.

When you sign up for events or updates

The sign-up form asks for your name and email address. We use them to send invitations and occasional updates about our events and work. We only do this because you asked us to, and every email lets you unsubscribe. Our legal basis is your consent.

When you share a story or an idea

The forms on the Changemakers page ask for your name, email address and, if you choose, your organisation, role, country and what you want to change. We use this to reply, to learn from what changemakers tell us and, only with your separate permission, to feature your story. We never publish a story or a name without asking you first. Our legal basis is your consent.

When you browse the website

Like every website, ours is served by a hosting provider whose servers record technical information such as your IP address, browser and the pages requested. This keeps the site secure and working. Our legal basis is our legitimate interest in running a safe website.

If you agree to analytics cookies, we also use Google Analytics to see which pages are read and how people find us (see Cookies below).

Cookies

When you first visit, a banner asks whether you accept analytics cookies. Until you say yes, no analytics or advertising cookies are set and Google Analytics is not loaded.

• Necessary, set by the Bridge Institute: bi_consent remembers your cookie choice. It is stored in your browser, is not sent to us and lasts 6 months.
• Analytics, only with your consent: Google Analytics 4 (_ga cookies) counts visits and shows which pages are used, with IP addresses anonymised. These cookies last up to 2 years.

You can change your mind at any time with the Cookies link at the bottom of every page. If you withdraw consent, Google Analytics is switched off and its cookies are deleted.

Videos on the site come from YouTube. Nothing from YouTube loads until you press play; the video then plays from YouTube's privacy-enhanced domain, and Google's own privacy policy applies.

Who else sees your information

We share personal information only with the service providers who help us run the website and reply to you:

• Webflow, which hosts the website and receives form entries (United States).
• Microsoft, whose email service delivers form notifications to our team.
• Google, for Google Analytics, only if you have agreed to analytics cookies.

Each works under a contract that limits what it may do with the data. Some of these providers process data in the United States. Where that happens, the transfer is protected by the UK's arrangements for international transfers, such as the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or standard contractual clauses.

We may also share information if the law requires it. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for advertising profiles.

How long we keep it

• Messages and enquiries: up to 2 years after our last exchange with you.
• Event and update sign-ups: until you unsubscribe, then removed within 30 days.
• Stories and ideas shared through the Changemakers forms: up to 3 years, or until you ask us to delete them.
• Analytics data: 14 months in Google Analytics.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask us to:

• give you a copy of the information we hold about you
• correct it
• delete it
• limit how we use it, or stop using it
• send it to you or someone else in a usable format

Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time; this does not affect what we did before. Write to info@bridge-institute.org and we will reply within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Children

This website is meant for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16 through it.

Bridge Institute India

Bridge Institute India is a separate organisation with its own responsibilities for any information it collects. This policy covers this website only.

Changes

If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top of this page.