Welcome to ThamesFurs

ThamesFurs events are not public events. These events are private, and are only open to members of ThamesFurs.

Our events occur in differing locations, some of which are private property.

For events occuring on private property:
Should you wish to conduct any press or media related business (such as taking photos, conducting interviews, or similar) then prior permission must be obtained from ThamesFurs. This can be done by emailing press@thamesfurs.co.uk, and must be done at least 7 days before then event.

For events occuring on public property:
Although we have no legal power to prevent you from taking pictures or similar, we kindly request that you respect the privacy of our attendees, many of whom would be uncomfortable at being photographed, recorded, or interviewed. We advise our attendees not to engage with the media without prior discussion.

In cases where our attendees feel harassed or threatened (whether on public or private property), ThamesFurs will not hesitate to contact the authorities (such as the police, or venue security) as required.

If you have any further questions relating to any of the above, and/or you are contacting on behalf of a press or reporting organisation, please email press@thamesfurs.co.uk.

ThamesFurs Privacy Policy

Last updated: 5th December 2025

1. Introduction

ThamesFurs (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a fair, transparent, and secure manner.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, why we collect it, and your rights under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy applies when you use thamesfurs.co.uk, interact with us online, or submit information via any forms we provide.

If you have questions or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact gdpr@thamesfurs.co.uk.

2. Who We Are

ThamesFurs operates as a community-run social meet in the UK. For the purposes of UK data protection law, ThamesFurs is the data controller for the data we collect directly (e.g., contact form submissions, appeals).

Google Forms submissions are also controlled by us but processed by Google acting as a data processor on our behalf.

3. Data We Collect

We collect different types of data depending on how you interact with the site.

A. Data collected automatically
When you visit our website, we may collect technical data such as IP address, browser type/version, device information, and pages visited. This data is used for site functionality, security, statistical analysis, and abuse prevention.

We do not currently use Google Analytics or advertising trackers, but we reserve the right to introduce privacy-respecting analytics in the future.

B. Data you optionally submit via Google Forms
Some pages include embedded or linked Google Forms. These forms are optional and may collect:

• Provided Name
• Telegram Handle
• Email Address
• Comments, notes or feedback as provided

Google processes these submissions on our behalf — their privacy terms also apply.

C. Data you submit via our Contact Form
If you choose to contact us through the website, we collect:

• Your name (as provided)
• Your email address
• Subject and content of your message

These details are emailed to us and used solely for responding to your query or managing operational matters such as bans, appeals, or safeguarding.

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your data only when we have a lawful basis under GDPR. These include:

A. Legitimate interests
For example:

• Responding to enquiries
• Handling ban appeals or behaviour reports
• Improving site experience and community safety
• Preventing abuse, spam, or malicious activity
• Internal statistical analysis

B. Consent
For optional Google Form submissions, you provide consent when you choose to submit the form. You may withdraw consent at any time by emailing us at gdpr@thamesfurs.co.uk.

C. Legal obligations
We may retain or disclose data where necessary to comply with UK law or to protect the safety of attendees and volunteers.

5. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain personal data only for as long as needed for its original purpose:

• Contact form submissions: Usually up to 12 months, or longer if related to safeguarding, bans, or issues waiting resolution.
• Ban appeal submissions: Retained as long as necessary for record-keeping and to manage future conduct.
• Feedback forms: Retained for analytics and service improvement. These are periodically deleted as and when we process the feedback.
• Technical logs: May be retained short-term for security, or longer where relevant for abuse prevention.

You may request deletion where GDPR permits it (see Section 10).

6. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including:

• Restricting access of your data to staff exclusively required to perform their tasks required by accessing this data.
• Using secure email and form handling to prevent the data being accessed while in transit by unauthorised parties.
• Deleting data no longer required for operational reasons.

Although no system is perfect, but we take appropriate steps to minimise risk in keeping your data secure.

7. Sharing Your Data

We avoid sharing your data wherever possible. We only share your data where necessary, with following:

A. Venue or Service Providers
Data may be shared with:

• Google (for Google Forms processing)
• Email and Web Service Providers (for sending/receiving emails and handling of web traffic to the website)
• Venues, Event Spaces or Locations (for booking purposes, where ThamesFurs manages the booking on behalf of the attendee)

The above providers may be bound by their own data protection agreements.

B. Legal or Safety Reasons
We may disclose information, where required, to comply with UK law, or in cases where we feel there is a threat to the safety or security of attendee(s), staff, the public, or any venue we're attending.

Your data is never sold. Data is only ever provided to 3rd parties with good reason, and in cases where the reason may be unclear, we will communicate the reasons for doing this.

8. External Links

Some pages link to third-party sites (Telegram, Twitter/X, Bluesky).
These services process data independently. Their privacy policies apply when you visit or interact with them.

9. Cookies and On-Device Storage

We do not currently use cookies for tracking or advertising. However, we may use on-device storage technologies (localStorage) to remember:

• Layout preferences
• Page progress
• User experience customisation

This data remains on your device and can be cleared at any time through your browser settings.

10. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have the following rights:

• Right of access – Request a copy of your data
• Right to rectification – Correct inaccurate information
• Right to deletion – Ask us to delete your data
• Right to object – Stop certain types of processing
• Right to withdraw consent – For any data submitted voluntarily

To exercise any of these rights, email us at: gdpr@thamesfurs.co.uk. Please include “GDPR Request” in your subject line. We may ask for limited information to verify your identity before fulfilling the request.

11. International Transfers

We do not process your data outside of the UK, although some service providers (e.g., Google) may process data outside the UK. Handling of data by a service provider will be per their data processing policies.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions or wish to exercise your rights, contact:

ThamesFurs – GDPR Requests
📧 gdpr@thamesfurs.co.uk

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority: Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).