Privacy Policy – GaySpiritFriends
Effective 30 September 2025

1. Controller & Data‑Protection Officer

GaySpiritFriends
Heerlen, The Netherlands

Data‑Protection Officer: DCA
Email: info@gayspiritfriends.com

2. Personal data we process

We collect and process personal data only when you use our services or voluntarily provide it to us. The categories are:

  • Name (first and last)
  • Residential address
  • E‑mail address
  • Telephone number

(We do not collect IP addresses or bank‑account numbers.)

3. Special or sensitive data

Our website is not intended to collect data from visitors under 16 years of age. We do not deliberately obtain such data, but we cannot verify a visitor’s age. If you suspect that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a child without parental consent, please contact us at info@gayspiritfriends.com, and we will delete the information promptly.

4. Purposes of processing 

  • Handling of payments (including invoicing and refunds)

  • Keeping participants up to date with our retreat (e.g., itinerary changes, logistical updates) 

  • Sending newsletters and promotional e‑mail

  • Communicating with you to provide or improve our services

  • Informing you about changes to our services

  • Complying with legal obligations (e.g., tax reporting)

5. Automated decision‑making

We do not employ automated decision‑making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.
All decisions that affect you are made by a human employee.

6. Retention periods

Personal data are retained only for as long as necessary for the purposes listed above and in accordance with applicable law:

  • Payment‑related data – 7 years (tax and accounting obligations)
  • Newsletter subscription data – until you unsubscribe or request deletion

7. Sharing of personal data with third parties

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only when required to fulfil our contractual obligations or to comply with a legal duty (e.g., tax authorities, payment service providers). Where a third‑party processes data on our behalf, we enter into a data‑processor agreement that imposes the same security and confidentiality obligations as we bear. 

8. Cookies – functional only

We use functional cookies that are essential for the technical operation of the website—for example, managing user sessions, keeping items in your shopping cart, preserving form inputs, and ensuring secure connections.
These cookies do not track you across other sites, and they do not collect any personal profiling data.

You may disable these cookies in your browser settings, although doing so may impair the proper functioning of the site.

9. Your rights as a data subject

You have the following rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

  • Right of access – obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to rectification – request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) – ask us to delete your data where permissible.
  • Right to restriction of processing – limit how we use your data.
  • Right to data portability – receive your data in a structured, commonly used electronic format.
  • Right to object – oppose processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@gayspiritfriends.com.
We will respond within four weeks, unless a longer period is required by law.

For any further questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please get in touch via the contact details above.