Data and Privacy Policy
The International Rescue Committee Inc. (IRC) is a non-profit organization that helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives. Refugee.Info is a responsive information service that provides communities with timely and actionable information to make critical decisions in times of crisis on the issues that matter most to them. We do this through digital channels staffed with real-life moderators to respond directly to questions, as well as through sharing up-to-date content on digital and social media platforms.
IRC is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data responsibly. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and protect your personal data. IRC collects personal data solely for the purposes of providing and facilitating access to humanitarian assistance.
Data we collect
We may collect, process and store the following personal data:
- Personal data of individuals who send us a message through one of our communication channels Refugee.Info for the purpose of facilitating access to humanitarian assistance.
- Such data may include name, e-mail, phone number, system IP address, and/or any sensitive information shared by a person.
We also collect user information provided by third parties, such as:
- Pre-aggregated user data collected by third parties (including Meta, Google) for the purposes of data analytics and insights. User data on the website is collected by using cookies on our website or through information tied to your account when you are logged into your Google Account. This information is only available in an anonymized format, meaning it is not data that we can link with the identity of a user.
- Such data may include user demographic and activity data (for example age, gender, city, country, language, engagement time, and session source).
Why do we collect data for Refugee.Info?
We collect data through the platforms that support our online work to help you in the following ways better:
- To communicate with you: we use your contact information to respond to your inquiries and to refer you to necessary humanitarian resources and services if you ask us to.
- To decide what information to provide: We collect data that helps us understand what information communities need and what problems they face. With this information, we can then make sure the information we provide is helpful and that our information service is driven by the concerns and needs of the community that we support.
- To provide insights and analytics: we collect data on your experience and interaction with our website in order to improve user experience and reach.
Overall, all of the data that we collect is so that we can continue to provide you with the best service possible. We do not transfer, sell, or otherwise use any personal data for any reason other than to help the people that use our services.
Data sharing, disclosure, legal basis
We will share your data with staff of the IRC network only on a need-to-know basis. We will only share your data with an outside organization if you give us permission for us to do so.
The legal basis for the processing of personal data for Refugee.Info is legitimate interests in that such processing is necessary to provide you with information to enable you to access resources, understand your rights, and make informed decisions.
Responsive information initiatives, aligned with human rights and humanitarian principles, are undertaken to counter disinformation and misinformation. This form of charitable work aims to safeguard essential human rights that can be compromised due to the dissemination of false information, such as the Right to Security of Person, Non-Discrimination, Right to Health, and Freedom of Expression.
Please note that your data will be processed where it cannot be avoided outside of the European Economic Area. However, we will take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure appropriate safeguards of your data.
Data security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These may include:
- Encryption;
- Access controls (role-based access control, multi-factor authentication);
- Data storage within the European Union;
- Risk assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities and threats to data;
- Employee training and awareness;
- Secure Network Configurations (firewalls)
Your Rights
We understand that by providing us with your personal data, you are trusting us to take good care of it and to respect your rights concerning that data. Your rights are as follows:
- Access: You may ask us whether we process any personal data related to you. If this is the case, you may ask us to provide you with a copy of the data.
- Rectification: You may ask us to correct or update any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we process about you.
- Erasure: You may ask us to erase the personal data that relate to you if they are no longer necessary for the purposes for which we processed them, if you have withdrawn your consent and we do not have another legal ground for processing your data, or if your personal data has been unlawfully processed.
- Restriction: You may request the restriction of the processing of your personal data if you have contested its accuracy, if the processing is unlawful and you prefer restriction over erasure, if we no longer need your personal data for a purpose but you need them for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims, or while your exercised right to object is being reviewed.
- Objection to processing: You may object to our processing of your personal data based on our legitimate interest. You may also ask us to erase your personal data unless there is an overriding legitimate interest for the processing.
- Data Portability: You may request receipt or transmission to another organization of your personal data in a commonly used machine-readable format.
- Withdraw your consent: You may withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time.
Exercising Your Rights
- To exercise any of your rights, contact us via the details provided below.
Lodging a complaint: If you feel that we are not treating your personal data properly or as stated in this privacy notice, you are also entitled to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
Contact us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding your personal data or the information contained in this Privacy Policy, please contact us at data-requests@signpost-global.zendesk.com.
You may also contact our Data Privacy team at Data.Privacy@rescue.org
.