How InterComms collects, uses and protects your personal information, and the rights you have over it.
InterComms LGBTQ+ is a professional network for LGBTQ+ people working in communications. For the purposes of UK data protection law we are the data controller for the information described here. You can reach us at Josh@intercommslgbt.co.uk.
This policy was last updated on 23 July 2026.
We collect only what we need to run the network. In practice that means three things.
Mentoring Scheme applications. Your name, email address, professional background, career objectives, previous mentoring experience, what you hope to gain, and any accommodations you tell us about. These are submitted through a Google Form.
Messages you send us. Your name, email address and whatever you choose to write, whether through the contact form or by emailing us directly.
Event attendance. Your name, organisation and any access or dietary requirements you share when registering for an event.
Mailing list sign-ups. Your name and email address, if you choose to subscribe to our updates. This is handled by Mailchimp, and you can unsubscribe at any time using the link in the footer of any email we send.
We do not run advertising trackers on this site and we do not sell or share your information with third parties for marketing.
Applying to a network for LGBTQ+ professionals may reveal information about your sexual orientation or gender identity. UK data protection law treats this as special category data and gives it extra protection.
Our lawful basis for processing it is your explicit consent, given when you choose to apply or join. You can withdraw that consent at any time by emailing us, and we will remove your information. Withdrawing consent does not affect anything we did lawfully before you withdrew it.
We never disclose your LGBTQ+ status to your employer, to other members, or to anyone else, other than the mentor or mentee you are matched with, who is bound by the same confidentiality as you.
To match mentors and mentees, to organise and run events, to answer your questions, and to understand in aggregate how the network is growing. Where we report on the network's reach, we use anonymised totals that cannot identify you.
Mentoring applications are collected and stored using Google Workspace, which acts as our processor. Google's own privacy notice applies to their handling of that data.
The application form on our Mentoring Scheme page is embedded from Google Forms. Loading that page therefore involves a connection to Google, which may set cookies in your browser and process your IP address under their terms. If you would rather avoid this, you can open the form directly instead.
Our mailing list is run using Mailchimp (Intuit Inc.), who act as our processor for that data. Subscribing transfers your name and email address to Mailchimp for processing.
Our website is hosted by GoDaddy, who may keep standard server logs including IP addresses for security purposes.
Access to application data within InterComms is limited to the small number of volunteers running the scheme.
Mentoring applications are kept for the duration of the pairing plus 12 months, after which they are deleted. Contact messages are kept for 24 months. Event attendance records are kept for 12 months. Mailing list subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you. If you ask us to delete your information sooner, we will.
You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, to have it corrected, to have it deleted, to restrict or object to how we use it, and to receive it in a portable format. Where our basis is consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
To exercise any of these, email us at Josh@intercommslgbt.co.uk. We will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, or by calling 0303 123 1113.
This website sets no cookies of its own. We do not use analytics, advertising trackers or any other form of visitor tracking, so there is no cookie banner to dismiss.
There is one exception. The application form on our Mentoring Scheme page is embedded from Google Forms, and loading that page opens a connection to Google, which may set its own cookies in your browser and process your IP address under their terms. This happens on that page only. If you would rather avoid it, you can open the application form directly in a new tab instead, using the link provided beneath the form.
If we change how we handle your information, we will update this page and change the date at the top. Where the change is significant, we will tell members directly.