Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch Privacy Policy 

Effective Date: 02/02/2024 

This Privacy Policy describes how Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares personal information when you use our website www.mwdw.net. By using the website, you agree to the terms outlined in this Privacy Policy. 

Sighting reports 

Users are not required to register to the website to use the report form. 

  • Sightings of cetaceans and basking sharks are reported by members of the public via the data collection form on the website. Personal details are collected for administrative purposes but are not displayed on the public facing end of the site. 
  • Observer name is optional. 
  • The public sightings database is held as part of the website and can be downloaded as a csv file by MWDW team members for analysis. It cannot be downloaded by members of the public. Once downloaded the database is stored securely on the external hard drives. 
  • If data is shared with other research groups, observer names and contact details are removed before sharing.  
  • Access to the back end of the website is by secure log in by individual password held by MWDW team members and our web developer.  

Online donations 

  • Name and email are collected. 
  • Donations are made through PayPal and no personal banking details are held or accessible by MWDW.  
  • Donation amount and donor details are held as part of our website and can be downloaded as a csv file at any time by MWDW team members. 
  • Downloads would be used for summary of financial activity for the year, and for inclusion in the accounts and would be deleted after this is completed to be held securely on the website.  

Online purchases 

  • Name and email are collected. 
  • Phone number and postal address are collected to fulfil orders.  
  • Payment is made using SumUp and no personal banking details are held or accessible by MWDW.  

Membership to the charity 

Users can sign up on the website as adult or junior (Young Ocean Observers Club) members of Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch.  

We request the following data: 

  • Name or parent/guardian name (in the case of junior members). 
  • Postal address.  
  • Email address or parent/guardian email address (in the case of junior members). 
  • Phone number – optional. 
  • Payment – can be made online by PayPal. MWDW does not hold or have access to any personal banking details.  

Data is held securely on a membership database for the duration that the membership is active. If membership is not renewed at the end of a year the data is held for an additional year in case of later renewal and then deleted. 

If paper application form is used the data is entered into the database and the paper form is securely destroyed after 1 year. 

Use of Cookies 

This website uses cookies to better the users experience while visiting the website. Where applicable this website uses a cookie control system allowing the user on their first visit to the website to allow or disallow the use of cookies on their computer / device. This complies with recent legislation requirements for websites to obtain explicit consent from users before leaving behind or reading files such as cookies on a user’s computer / device. 

Cookies are small files saved to the user’s computers hard drive that track, save and store information about the user’s interactions and usage of the website. This allows the website, through its server to provide the users with a tailored experience within this website. 
Users are advised that if they wish to deny the use and saving of cookies from this website on to their computers hard drive they should take necessary steps within their web browsers security settings to block all cookies from this website and its external serving vendors. 

This website uses tracking software to monitor its visitors to better understand how they use it. This software is provided by Google Analytics which uses cookies to track visitor usage. The software will save a cookie to your computers hard drive in order to track and monitor your engagement and usage of the website, but will not store, save or collect personal information. You can read Google’s privacy policy here for further information [http://www.google.com/privacy.html ]. 

Other cookies may be stored to your computers hard drive by external vendors when this website uses referral programs, sponsored links or adverts. Such cookies are used for conversion and referral tracking and typically expire after 30 days, though some may take longer. No personal information is stored, saved or collected. 

Contact & Communication 

Users contacting this website and/or its owners do so at their own discretion and provide any such personal details requested at their own risk. Your personal information is kept private and stored securely until a time it is no longer required or has no use, as detailed in the Data Protection Act 1998. Every effort has been made to ensure a safe and secure form to email submission process but advise users using such form to email processes that they do so at their own risk. 

This website and its owners use any information submitted to provide you with further information about the products / services they offer or to assist you in answering any questions or queries you may have submitted. Your details are not passed on to any third parties. 

External Links 

Although this website only looks to include quality, safe and relevant external links, users are advised adopt a policy of caution before clicking any external web links mentioned throughout this website. 

The owners of this website cannot guarantee or verify the contents of any externally linked website despite their best efforts. Users should therefore note they click on external links at their own risk and this website and its owners cannot be held liable for any damages or implications caused by visiting any external links mentioned. 

Social Media Platforms 

Communication, engagement and actions taken through external social media platforms that this website and its owners participate on are custom to the terms and conditions as well as the privacy policies held with each social media platform respectively. 

Users are advised to use social media platforms wisely and communicate / engage upon them with due care and caution in regard to their own privacy and personal details. This website nor its owners will ever ask for personal or sensitive information through social media platforms and encourage users wishing to discuss sensitive details to contact them through primary communication channels such as by telephone or email. 

This website may use social sharing buttons which help share web content directly from web pages to the social media platform in question. Users are advised before using such social sharing buttons that they do so at their own discretion and note that the social media platform may track and save your request to share a web page respectively through your social media platform account. 

Shortened Links in Social Media 

This website and the owners through our social media platform accounts may share web links to relevant web pages. By default, some social media platforms shorten lengthy urls [web addresses]. 

Users are advised to take caution and good judgement before clicking any shortened urls published on social media platforms by this website and its owners. Despite the best efforts to ensure only genuine urls are published many social media platforms are prone to spam and hacking and therefore this website and its owners cannot be held liable for any damages or implications caused by visiting any shortened links. 

Disclaimer 

Upon submitting any content to this website [www.mwdw.net] the user agrees that Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch may use it in any articles and within our sightings database. Please note that all photographs and video will be credited. 

Changes to This Privacy Policy 

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The date of the latest revision will be indicated at the top. Please review this page periodically for changes. 

Contact Us 

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact a Trustee of Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch on info@mwdw.net.