Privacy Policy

The MoF collects personal information that you provide to register as a reader, paying for services such as genealogical enquiries and reprographics, joining our Friends’ scheme, donating items to the MoF, to sign up to receive our e-newsletter and visitor surveys.

Personal information we collect comprises:

• your name and title
• postal address, email address and phone number
• your Gift Aid status
• current interests and activities

We will also collect and hold information about any contact you have with us as a visitor, enquirer or supporter of the Museum of Freemasonry, which comprises:

• ticket purchase and event registration / attendance
• purchases of services such as reprographics and genealogical searches
• contact preferences
• financial donations, including Direct Debit bank details where applicable
• Gift Aid status
• correspondence sent to you, or received from you
• media coverage of events (including photographs)

We also receive data from United Grand Lodge of England and individual lodges on its membership so we can use semi-current records to answer enquiries, in accordance with our 70 year restricted access period.

When we ask you to provide your personal information we will let you know why we are asking and how we will use your data, by directing you towards this Privacy Notice.

The MoF will use the information you provide to:

• process payments for reprographics requests and to send you images/receipts to confirm a booking you have made
• send you details of events which may be of interest to you (if you have joined the MoF Friends’ Scheme)
• provide updates on events which you have booked to attend
• answer enquiries addressed to us, including genealogical search requests
• maintain a research collection for use by registered readers in accordance with the following professional codes of ethics: Museums Association; CILIP – The Library and Information Association; Archives and Records Association
• provide access to this research collection to registered readers
• maintain an audit trail for donations by adding names of depositors to our catalogue records (either as subject headings or in specific fields hidden from public view on our catalogue)
• inform health and safety representatives of the MoF of any accidents within the building in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
• operate a records management service for departments within the building, providing storage and access to semi-current records.

If you apply to work or volunteer at the MoF, we will use the information you supply to us to process your application and to monitor recruitment statistics. When we disclose information to a third party, for example where we wish to take up a reference, we will not do so without informing you beforehand.

Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for 12 months after completion of the recruitment exercise, after which it will be destroyed, unless you have asked us to destroy it earlier or allowed us to retain it for longer by written request.

We do not share your personal information with third party organisations for marketing purposes. We outsource some marketing functions, such as the use of a mailing house for mailings (e.g. Campaign Monitor) and ticketing companies (e.g. Eventbrite) to help us manage events. In such cases we only use reputable companies, who have contracts and processes in place that ensure the safe and confidential processing of personal information at all times, to provide such services.

The MoF collects personal information to:

• provide a research service to individuals using the MoF collections
• enhance resources available for other researchers by retaining copies of enquiry responses
• update individuals on events they may be interested in or have booked and to administer such events
• provide a reprographics service to individuals using the MoF collections
• effectively manage the MoF collections in accordance with relevant codes of ethics (see links above)

Some activities (such as marketing via email for events) require your consent. If the law requires your consent to process your personal information in a certain way, then we will obtain it before undertaking that activity.

We undertake other activities in order to fulfill a contract or an agreement. Examples include the purchase of a ticket or service, or the deposit/donation of an item to the collection. If a contract is in place, then we will process your personal information in accordance with that contract.

In some circumstances the law requires us to disclose your information to another party, such as reclaiming tax on Gift Aid. If you Gift Aid a donation, then we are required to tell HMRC the name and postcode of the donor and the date(s) and amount(s) of any such donation.

In all other cases, the data protection legislation permits us to process your personal information if there is a legitimate interest. We may do so only if we can demonstrate a business need and so long as the data processing will not cause harm or perceived as overly intrusive. The MoF has a completed a Privacy Impact Assessment to assess the personal information we collect and in consequence has updated our data protection policies and procedures.

Your personal information will be retained within the MoF’s secure systems for as long as you continue to engage with the MoF’s services and events.

In addition, the personal information collected by us is retained in accordance with a retention schedule compiled to archival and records management best practice standards.

A cookie is a small file downloaded on to the hard drive of a computer or mobile device when user logs on to a website.

The MoF’s website (http://www.museumfreemasonry.org.uk) uses Google Analytics cookies to collect general statistical information to help us understand how our website is used and to improve the services we provide. We learn whether visitors have used the website before, which pages are the most popular and how users move around the site. This information does not allow individual identification of users. However, if you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set by us on our website, or indeed any other website, you can do this through your browser settings.

To discover more about cookies, and how to control or delete them, please go to AboutCookies.org or AllAboutCookies.org.

The MoF has a Twitter profile (@museumfreemason), Facebook page (@museumfreemasonry) and Instagram profile (@museumfreemasonry) and further details concerning each platform's privacy policies can be found on their websites.

The MoF premises are protected by CCTV and you may be recorded when you visit. We use CCTV to help provide a safe and secure environment for visitors, for our staff and for the collection and to prevent or detect crime.

We also provide access to WiFi within the building. Both the CCTV and WiFi are subject to Terms and Conditions defined by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) who manage the building. Details of the UGLE WiFi Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy can be found here https://www.ugle.org.uk/data-protection-notice

We have implemented security procedures, rules and technical measures to protect personal information kept under our control from:

• unauthorised access
• improper use or disclosure
• unauthorised modification

In addition physical security measures in place to care for personal information in our care consist of controlled key card access to the museum and storage areas, members of staff invigilating library and museum spaces during public opening hours and control procedures for physical keys and locks. The MoF has also implemented up to date IT security measures on our systems.

All our employees and data processors, who have access to, and are associated with the processing of personal information, are obliged by law to respect the confidentiality of our visitors’ and supporters’ personal information.

You have a right to request a copy of personal information we hold about you: this is known as a Subject Access Request. If you would like a copy of some or all of your information, please e-mail or write to us at the address below.

We will respond to any requests to remove, change or provide any personal details you have given to us under the terms of the data protection legislation, including the right to be forgotten.