Privacy Notice

1. Information We Collect

We collect data to facilitate events, conduct social research, and improve our community services. This includes:

• Personal Identification: Name, email address, and phone number (collected strictly when you book tickets or use the contact form).
• Booking Data: Transaction history, event attendance, and check-in status.
  Note: We do not store credit card details on our servers. Payment is processed securely via our payment partners.
• Technical Data: IP address, browser type, and device information collected via analytics tools to help us fix bugs and improve site performance.

Research & Survey Data

When you participate in our surveys (such as "Cumbria Arts & Culture 2026"), we collect:

• Opinions & Experiences: Your written responses regarding arts access and barriers.
• Demographics: Data such as Age Bracket and Gender. Providing this is optional.

This data is anonymised. Survey responses are stored separately from your personal booking identity (Name/Email) to ensure your opinions cannot be traced back to you personally in our public reports.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your data for the following specific purposes:

• Box Office Management: To process ticket reservations, send confirmation emails (including unique QR codes), and validate entry at the venue.
• Research & Advocacy (The White Paper): We aggregate survey responses to create statistical reports (e.g., "70% of respondents in Carlisle feel..."). These reports are presented to MPs, councils, and funders to advocate for arts investment.
• Communication: To respond to your enquiries and send critical event updates (e.g., cancellations).

3. Third-Party Services

We do not sell your data. We share strictly necessary data with trusted service providers to run our operations:

• Hosting Providers: Our website and database are hosted on secure servers (DreamHost).
• QR Generation: We use secure APIs to generate the visual QR codes for your tickets. No personal data is stored by these generators.
• Analytics: We use aggregated tools (like Google Analytics) to understand website traffic flows.

4. Security & Ticket Scanning

We take security seriously. When you book a ticket, we generate a unique, encrypted hash code. This code is scanned at the venue by authorized staff using our internal scanner tool to validate entry and prevent fraud. This check-in status is securely stored in our database.

5. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us provide you with a good experience (e.g., keeping you logged in as an admin) and allows us to improve our site.

6. Your Rights (UK GDPR)

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), you have specific rights regarding your data:

• Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: You may ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may request deletion of your data, provided we do not need it for legal or accounting records (e.g., proof of ticket sales for tax purposes).
• Withdraw Consent: You can withdraw consent for research participation at any time before the data is aggregated.

7. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, your survey data, or how we handle your information, please contact our Data Protection Lead:

Email: info@w4wa.co.uk
Registered Office: WordForWord Arts CIC, Cumbria, UK.