Community Zero Waste

Privacy policy

Placeholder wording for the beta. The site owner will replace this with a full privacy policy before the site opens to the public. Words in square brackets need filling in.

Last updated: [date]

Who we are

Community Zero Waste is a community website run by [owner name or organisation], based in the UK. We are the "data controller" for the personal information you give us. If you have any questions about your data, email howdy@communityzerowaste.com.

What we collect

We collect as little as we can:

  • Your account: name, email address, password (stored scrambled so nobody can read it), your home area, anything you write in your profile, your profile picture if you add one, and your rough location if you mark one (a circle on a map, which we move a random amount when you save it; we don't keep the point you tapped, and never ask for your address).
  • What you post: posts, photos, events, place suggestions, messages, feedback and reports.
  • Tool library: things you lend, loan requests and dates, when you agreed that loans are at your own risk, and photos and notes of an item's condition at hand-over and return.
  • Chat: topics and replies you post, any photo you add, and which topics you follow.
  • Membership: how you became a member (invite code or who vouched for you) and when.
  • Phone notifications: if you turn them on, the address your phone's notification service gives us for that phone (it can only be used to send notifications to it).
  • Technical: the date and time you log in. Our web host keeps standard server logs (IP address, browser) for security.

We never show your email address publicly. Locations are shown as an area only. We remove hidden location data (GPS) from photos when you upload them.

Why we use it

  • To run your account and show you what's happening in your area (our contract with you).
  • To send emails and phone notifications you've asked for, such as new message alerts. You can turn these off in your account settings.
  • To keep the community safe: reviewing reports, and suspending accounts that break the rules (our legitimate interest).

We don't sell your data, show adverts or use tracking.

Cookies

We only use the cookies needed for the site to work: one that keeps you logged in and one that protects forms from misuse. We don't use analytics or advertising cookies, so there's no cookie banner.

If you install the app, your phone keeps a copy of our "You're offline" page and our icons, so it can show them without a signal. It never stores your messages or other personal pages. If you press "Not now" on the tip about installing the app, your browser remembers that on your device.

Phone notifications are delivered by your phone's own notification service (Google for most Android phones, Apple for iPhones, Mozilla for Firefox, Microsoft for Edge on Windows). They pass on the notification but can't read it: it's encrypted. Notifications only say who and what kind, such as "New message from Sam", never what was said.

Maps on the site use images from OpenStreetMap. When a map loads, your browser fetches those images from OpenStreetMap's servers, which see your internet address, as with any website. They don't receive your name or anything else about you from us.

Who can see what

  • Other logged-in users can see your name, profile picture, area, rough location circle (and roughly how far away you are), profile, membership status, trust details (such as completed exchanges and feedback) and what you post.
  • Messages are private between you and the other person. Admins can't read conversations. If someone reports a message, the admins see a copy of that one message.
  • Loan details and condition photos are seen by the two people in the loan, and by admins only if one of them reports a problem.
  • Our host ([host name], UK/EU servers) and email provider process data on our behalf.

How long we keep it

  • While your account is open.
  • When you delete your account it's hidden straight away and erased for good after 30 days, including your posts, photos, profile picture, messages and Chat posts. Chat topics you started are erased along with the replies in them.
  • Posts and events you delete are kept, without photos, for 30 days in case they were reported, then erased.
  • Reports about content are kept for as long as needed to keep the community safe.

Your rights

You can:

  • Download your data from your account settings.
  • Correct your details in your account settings.
  • Delete your account from your account settings.
  • Ask us about any other right under UK GDPR (such as objecting to how we use your data) by emailing howdy@communityzerowaste.com.

If you're not happy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.