This privacy statement discloses the privacy practices for the Openhand Foundation website accessed from the domains: www.openhandweb.org, www.openhandweb.com, www.gatewaysoflight.org, www.gatewaysoflight.com

Information Collection and Use

Openhand Foundation is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. We will not sell, share, or rent this information to others in ways different from what is disclosed in this statement. Openhand Foundation collects information from our users at several different points on our website.

Registration

In order to make comments to articles appearing on this website including using the forum, a user must first complete the registration form. During registration a user is required to give their contact information (such as name and email address). This information is used to contact the user about the services on our site for which they have expressed interest. It is optional for the user to provide demographic information (such as gender), and unique identifiers, but encouraged so we can provide a more personalised experience on our site.

Cookies

A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s hard drive containing information about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our site. Once the user closes their browser, the cookie simply terminates. By setting a cookie on our site, the user would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time. If a user rejects the cookie, they may still use our site. The only drawback to this is that the user may be limited in some areas of our site. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site.

Log Files

We use IP addresses to analyse trends, administer the site, track user’s movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Sharing

We will not share this information with any third party.

Links

This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we (Openhand Foundation) are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this website.

Newsletter

If a user wishes to subscribe to our newsletter, we ask for contact information such as name and email address.

Surveys

From time-to-time our site may request information from users via surveys. Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as postal code, age etc). Survey information will be used for the purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.

Tell-A-Friend

If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask them for the friend’s name and email address. Openhand Foundation will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. Openhand Foundation stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email. The friend may contact Openhand Foundation at info@openhandweb.org to request the removal of this information from their database.

Security

This website takes every precaution to protect our users’ information. When users submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and off-line. If you have any questions about the security at our website, you can send an email to info@openhandweb.org

Mailing Service

We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established members will regularly receive information such as information bulletins, news snippets, events, services and a newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see our choice and opt-out below.

Correction/Updating Personal Information:

If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal code), or if a user no longer desires our service, we will endeavor to provide a way to correct, update or remove that user’s personal data provided to us. This can usually be done by emailing info@openhandweb.org

Notification of Changes

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post the changes on our Homepage so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under which circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner that is different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify users by way of an email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.