Privacy Policy

Version 1.1
Last updated: 21st July, 2011

1. Who runs WorldIrish.com?

"We" are Gateway Application Programming Interface Limited, the operator of WorldIrish.com (the "Site"). Our registered office is at Gateway House, 133 Capel Street, Dublin 1, Ireland.

"You" are the user of the Site.

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2. What is WorldIrish.com?

WorldIrish.com is a Site that enables people who are Irish, or have a connection with Ireland, to share their interests and passions. To facilitate this, we pull together (i) the information you provide to us; along with (ii) the information you choose to share with us from other websites that you use.

To enrich your and other users' experience, we request and display your information to members and visitors. This allows our users to identify, find, contact and learn more about each other.

Our members can change their profile information or leave the Site at any time.

We are committed to protecting your privacy. As an Irish based Site, we are required to hold your data in accordance with our obligations under the Irish Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.

This privacy policy sets out our policies in connection to your personal data.

If you have concerns about any aspect of our privacy policy please contact us on our contact page.

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3. Why do you need to register?

To enable us to moderate content and to protect our community, only members of WorldIrish.com may create profiles on our Site and contact other members.

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4. What information do we collect?

To operate our service we collect information provided during registration and through your use of the Site. We collect, in particular, information that you choose to provide us and other information you choose to share with us from other online services and platforms.

We collect user submitted information such as name and email address to authenticate members and to send notifications to members. We do not share your email address with anyone unless you have included it in your publicly available profile.

We may also collect other profile data that you post or share such as: biography, location, interests / values, photographs and other visual content, gender and age.

We also collect information from other websites that you link to your WorldIrish.com profile. For more information see: What happens if I link my other web accounts to the Site?

This enables users to identify, find, contact and learn more about each other. We may also use this information to investigate compliance or non-compliance by you or other members with our Terms and Conditions which you agree to on joining the Site.

You should note that some of the information that you share with us is personal data, and that some of this information may be sensitive personal data. By choosing to share this information with us you are giving us explicit consent to process such personal data for the purposes and in the manner set out in this privacy policy.

We and/or our contractors also collect other technical details about use of the Site. This is done through keeping records of the IP addresses which you use to access our Site and through the use of cookies. The information is used by us on an aggregate basis only to assess levels of traffic to the Site and the areas of the Site members are accessing by using Google analytics, Kissmetrics and similar services. For more information on how we use cookies, see section 6 below.

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5. Do we use cookies?

In common with most web sites, we use cookies. A "cookie" is a file sent to your browser by our server that enables your computer to access information on the Site in a faster and more efficient manner. We do not use cookies to collect or store personal information.

The Site uses cookies to simplify your login, to keep track of your preferences and to follow the usage of the website. In addition, some of our contractors and site partners may set cookies for analytics and advertising purposes. These third parties do not have access to your username or any other identifying information about you.

Currently we set the following cookies:

Cookies set by WorldIrish:

Cookie Name	Description	Expires
PHPSESSID	used to confirm your account as you browse the website and engage in functions such as create, message, like or follow	this cookie expires on browser close

Cookies set by our partners

Cookie Name	Description	Expires
_utma	Used to determine unique visitors	2 years
_utmb	Used to keep up to date with user info	30 mins
_utmz	Used to store the users referrer	6 months
_utmv	Used to store user custom settings	2 years
_utmx	Used by Website Optimizer to store visitors assigned variations for each experiment	2 years
_Jsuid	Identify new and unique visitors
First_pv_[site_id]	Set on only the first page view
Unpoco_[site_id]	sends back a ping with visitor sits on a single page to track "time on site"
no_tracky_[site_id]	when our website stops using the service
loc	This is our geolocation cookie, so our publishers know approximately where people sharing information are located	3 months
Coyote-2-a0f0083	This is our load balancer cookie
bt	A behavior targeting cookie	2 years
ana_svc	a real-time service cookie
phpbb3_*	and style_cookie These are set by our support forum software
__utm*	Google analytics tracking
uid/uit	User id and login time tracking	2 years
psc	View counter cookie	2 years
di/dt	Date tracking cookies for determining expiration of other cookies	2 years/30 days
ssh/sshs	Service share history, used for configuring our preferred services	2 years
__atuvc	For new connections	2 years
ssc/psc/uvc	These cookies are used in recording user sharing and social activity	2 years
user_segment		2 years
uvc		2 years

You can change the settings on your browser to refuse all cookies. However, you should note that disabling cookies may result in some parts of the Site not working efficiently or in slower downloads.

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6. Why are there links to other websites on WorldIrish.com?

The Site or its members may provide links to external websites. This is particularly likely to happen where members have chosen to link their profile with other popular web services which they subscribe to.

WorldIrish.com has no control over the privacy policies or contents of these websites. We strongly encourage you to exercise discretion when providing information to such websites.

WorldIrish.com provides no assurances or warranties as to the safety of any external website. Please exercise care when following external links.

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7. What happens if I link my other web accounts to the Site?

WorldIrish.com allows you to aggregate a variety of your social media and other online accounts into one place. We will only access your other accounts with your explicit permission.

Once you have linked your WorldIrish.com account with another online account, the information you share on that account will also be shared on the Site in accordance with the settings on your other account. If you are not comfortable with this you should not link your WorldIrish.com and other accounts together.

Where you do choose to share your accounts you should remember that the information you provide will be processed and used in accordance with this privacy policy.

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8. Who can see and access information in my profile?

When you publish information on your WorldIrish.com profile, you make this information publicly available to the world at large. It ceases to be private or confidential.

The information in or accessible via your profile is publicly available on the Site to all members, visitors and users of the Site and appears in Internet searches. People are able to search or identify you by this information, such as by your interests / values, location, name or other content searchable on the Site or the Internet.

This also includes your contact details if you have included them in your publicly available profile. We recommend that you only post your contact details to your profile if you are happy to let people you don't know contact you.

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9. Why do we want to know your location?

WorldIrish.com seeks to join together Irish people or those who have an affinity with Ireland or Irishness. One of the ways we do this is by showing the cities and countries where our members are based.

To do this, we ask you to identify where you are located. You can enable us to do this automatically or alternative you can manually designate your location. If you do not want to reveal your location, you can choose not to do so. You can edit or delete your location at a later date. We may also ask, from time to time, for an update on your current location. You are under no obligation to share this information.

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10. Why do we want your email address?

We require your email address to identify and authenticate your account and to contact you from time to time. For more information see: Will we email you? and Contacting Members.

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11. Why do we ask for real names?

In common with many other websites, WorldIrish.com is built on engaging with others using real identities. We believe that a real name policy lets you know who you are talking to, helps to encourage civil conversation and tends to discourage bad behaviour on the site.

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12. Will we email you?

From time to time we may send emails updating you on the latest developments on our Site and any of our other similar products or services. It is also possible that we might email you about projects, products and services which our channel partners are involved in or promoting To send such updates, we will use the email address or other contact details you provided at registration. When you sign up, you will be given the choice whether to opt-in to receiving any such emails that we might send. If you don't want us to send you such e-mails, you should adjust your settings accordingly or e-mail us at [email protected].

If you wish to control the emails you receive, or to stop receiving emails altogether, please visit your settings and adjust your email settings. We receive and reply to emails from users on a regular basis. For record-keeping purposes we retain copies of all incoming and outgoing email.

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13. Contacting Members

Members can send messages to other members. We do not edit or screen the message and, consequently, are not responsible for its content. You can choose whether to be notified by email about new private messages, but we never reveal your email address to the sender.

The profile of the person sending the message is included in the message. This is to ensure transparency and openness and also enables you to respond directly to the sender if you wish to do so.

Private messages should not be used for direct marketing purposes.

We are not responsible for the conduct of members.

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14. Are we going to share your personal information?

We are committed to protecting your personal information and privacy. We only provide your personal information, from which you are identifiable, to third parties:

• where your privacy settings permit this,
• where required to enable or assist us to provide the Site,
• where required by law to do so, or
• where we reasonably consider that disclosure is necessary and proportionate for the protection of the legitimate interests of ourselves or of a third party. For example, if you chose to share content on the Site with your other social media accounts we will have to share that information with the other website to allow for the cross-posting of information.

We may also provide information to our contractors where necessary for the operation of the Site. Where we do so, we will ensure that our contractors are bound to comply with this policy and to handle this information in a secure and confidential manner.

We may also share information which you have chosen to make public with app developers or our carefully selected channel partners. For more information, please see: Will you share information with "app" developers or channel partners?

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15. Can I share personal data about third parties?

We would remind you that information you share on the Site or other websites which are linked to your WorldIrish.com account may contain personal data concerning third parties such as your friends or contacts. We ask that you take great care before sharing such third party personal information. You should only publicly share personal data about another person with their clear prior consent.

If you believe that another user has shared your personal data without your consent, please notify us on our contact page.

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16. Are you going to sell my personal data to advertisers?

No. WorldIrish.com will not share your personal data with advertisers.

From time to time you may see advertisements on our Site. In these cases, we are asked by advertisers to display or send the advertisement to members with certain interests or profiles, which we then match against the information you have provided. However, the advertiser does not receive any personal data about you.

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17. Will you share information with app developers or channel partners?

Where you have made information public, that information will be shared with "app" (i.e. application) developers who wish to offer services to you or with our carefully selected channel partners. This is provided that they have signed up to our terms and conditions which contain detailed provisions regulating the use of your information. This is on the basis of our understanding that you are happy for this information to be made available to the world at large as you have published it on the Site.

The information shared in this way is limited to information contained in your publicly accessible profile which you have made public by publishing it on the Site. It does not, for instance, include your email address unless you have included it in your publicly accessible profile.

The app developers and channel partners will determine the purpose for which they will use your information and are required to notify you of this purpose insofar as is practicable.

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18. Are there any other ways you will use my personal data?

The purposes for which we may hold and use your information are those described in this privacy policy generally. We may also hold it and use it for the following purposes:

• a. To share the information you provide (including, but not limited to the interests which are important to you, the content you upload and information from websites which you link to your WorldIrish.com account) with other users and members of the Site and any other website which you have linked to your WorldIrish.com account.
• b. To allow other users and members to find you.
• c. To serve advertisements — we will never share your personal data with advertisers.
• d.To provide the WorldIrish Heritage service - See point 19 below
• e. To analyse the usage of the Site.
• f. To analyse the aggregated profiles of our members — we will only ever do this having first anonymised your personal information.
• g. To provide your personal information to our third party contractors that process data for us solely for the purpose of operating the Site.
• h. So that we and our third party contractors that process data for us, may keep you up to date in relation to any developments, changes to the Site, promotions, competitions or other campaigns which we may hold or notify to you in the future.
• i. To facilitate member interaction, interaction with our personnel and the operation of WorldIrish.com in the manner described in this privacy policy and on the Site.
• j. To disclose it to app developers or channel partners so that they can make further use of it.
• k. To assist us in providing the Site or administering this service. We may also process your personal information in conjunction with our rights and obligations in (and to enforce) the Terms of Service which you agree to when you join the Site.
• l. To enable our hosting providers to operate the platform which supports the Sites.
• m. Our mission is to link Irish people and those who have an affinity to Ireland or Irishness . In furtherance of this goal we may, on occasion, visualise and graph the information provided on this Site to determine, for example, which cities around the world have the highest concentration of Irish people. We will only ever do this using anonymous aggregated data. Data which is personally referable to you is only used to provide the Site's functionality.

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19. The WorldIrish Heritage Service

WorldIrish Heritage holds any information you submit to us connected to your family genealogy in the strictest confidence and in accordance with these guidelines. WorldIrish Heritage will never share this information with any third parties without your express consent. Any information you provide to WorldIrish Heritage will not be technically linked to your WorldIrish account or profile and will not be publicly available.

WorldIrish heritage holds no ownership or title rights to any content you submit to us and nothing in this agreement conveys any ownership rights in any content you submit to us. By submitting material to WorldIrish Heritage, you state that you have the right to do so or that you have obtained any third party consents necessary.

20. What are WorldIrish.com's Data Protection Obligations?

We are a data controller in relation to personal information held about you. We are obliged to hold and process your personal information in accordance with the Irish Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.

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21. Can I access my personal information?

You have certain rights to access your personal data under Section 4 of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. If you want to make a data access request please write to:

Gateway Application Programming Interface Limited
Gateway House,
133 Capel Street,
Dublin 1,
Ireland.

Your letter should make explicit reference to the fact that you are making a subject access request under Section 4 of the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003, be accompanied by a cheque or money order for €6.35 and include a photocopy of government or official identification. We may request that you furnish additional proof of identity.

We are obliged to respond to your request within 40 calendar days. If you only want to access certain specific information, please let us know as it will make dealing with your request much easier.

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22. Do we hold inaccurate, irrelevant or excessive information about you?

We endeavour to only hold accurate, complete and up-to date information about you which is not irrelevant or excessive. You play a critical role in this respect as you are the source of a large amount of the information we hold about you.

You can amend most inaccurate, incomplete, irrelevant or excessive data by amending your profile. If you are unable to do so directly please contact us at our contact page.

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23. Can I delete my personal information?

You may edit your profile from time to time. We endeavour to only hold your personal information for the purposes set out in this privacy policy. When you delete any information on your profile, it ceases to be publicly available. While we endeavour to generally delete this information from our systems, it is possible that certain data may not be readily locatable in which case it may not automatically be deleted (but will be inaccessible except to us) or may be cached and, therefore, not deleted.

In order to ensure that conversations and threads are not disrupted, you cannot delete or edit your public Postings once posted. You can ask us to remove them and, while we are under no duty to do so, we will endeavour to delete them where there is a good reason for deletion. If you would like us to remove them, you should specifically identify the relevant Posting and exactly where it is posted on WorldIrish so that we can easily locate the relevant Posting to be removed.

If you feel that we do not have a legitimate reason to hold your personal information you may request that it be erased by contacting us on our contact page page. We must respond to such a request within 40 days. There is no charge for making such a request.

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24. Will we ever change this privacy policy or your privacy setting?

We may make changes to this privacy policy from time to time. Where you have made choices about how your information may be used, we will not change these without your permission except to remove them where they are no longer relevant.

We will update you of any material changes via email to the address you provided at registration.

Updated versions of the privacy policy will always be posted here. The date the privacy policy was last updated is set out at the top of this privacy policy.