Privacy Policy
Effective date – 31-10-2026
Edition – 1.1
Last Update – 31-10-2026
West Yorkshire Gay Social (WYGS) is an informal, unincorporated community group for queer men aged 18 or over. This notice explains how the person running WYGS uses information about visitors and members. Membership can reveal sensitive information about someone’s gender and sexual orientation. We take that seriously.
Our core commitments: We will never sell, rent or trade your personal data. We will not voluntarily disclose your membership, profile or other personal information to unrelated third parties without your explicit permission. The limited exceptions for running the service, complying with law and responding to serious safety concerns are explained below. Information you choose to make available within the site’s member areas, including your profile and forum contributions, is accessible only through an authenticated WYGS member account. We cannot prevent an authorised member from copying information or disclosing it elsewhere, but our terms prohibit that conduct.
1. Who is responsible and how to contact us
The data controller is Benjamin Jackson, operating West Yorkshire Gay Social as an unincorporated community group. Contact: hello@wygaysocial.co.uk.
2. Information we collect
We collect the information you enter when you register and use the service: email address, account name, age eligibility confirmation, chosen profile details and photographs, optional member directory listing, forum posts and messages, event bookings and attendance, communications and reports to administrators, and records of your choices and consents. We also process technical information needed for login, security and operation, such as IP address, device/browser information, cookies and system logs. If an event has a charge, we record the booking and payment status; WYGS does not see or hold your card details, these are dealt with by the payment processor – this will be made clear at the point of purchase/payment. We may receive information about you in a report submitted by another member.
Do not put information in your profile or on the forum that you would be uncomfortable sharing with all signed-in members. We do not ask members to prove or disclose a particular sexual orientation publicly. Information collected relating to gender and sexuality is collected solely to ensure that the designated purposes of WYGS remain intact – i.e. to be a social space for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
3. Why we use it and the legal grounds
Creating and maintaining accounts, profiles and event bookings: necessary to provide the membership and booking services requested by you (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)).
Running the forum, member directory, responding to reports and protecting the site: our legitimate interests in operating a safe community and preventing misuse (Article 6(1)(f)), balanced against members’ privacy. Directory inclusion is optional; the default setting is for inclusion of each member in the member directory – please ensure you uncheck this if you would not like to be included in the directory, please uncheck this option at registration or change the setting in your account.
Optional publicity photographs and marketing emails: your separate, specific consent (Article 6(1)(a)); you can withdraw it for future use at any time. Withdrawal cannot necessarily recall copies already lawfully distributed.
Legal, accounting and compliance records: a legal obligation where one applies (Article 6(1)(c)), or our legitimate interests in resolving disputes and maintaining records (Article 6(1)(f)).
Information revealing sexual orientation or other special category information: where needed for membership, profile or community functions and voluntarily supplied, we seek a separate statement of explicit consent under Article 9(2)(a) in addition to the relevant Article 6 ground above. We will explain the particular uses at signup. You may withdraw that consent by contacting us; this may mean we cannot continue to provide membership if the necessary information cannot be processed. We will not treat consent to display optional profile details or directory inclusion as consent to publicise them outside the membership.
4. Who can see information
Signed-in members can see your name and username, the profile fields you choose to display, your member posts and, if you opt into it, your directory entry. Administrators may access information necessary to run the service, review reports and manage events. A paid event provider may receive the minimum booking information needed only where you are clearly told and have explicitly agreed to the disclosure. We do not disclose a membership list to venues, advertisers or other members (other than the directory referred to above).
Essential hosting, email, payment and website service suppliers may process information for us under suitable contractual and security arrangements. We may disclose the minimum necessary information if legally required, to establish or defend legal claims, or where law permits it to address a serious and immediate threat to someone’s safety. These are limited exceptions to our promise about voluntary sharing.
Member-only pages should require login and be blocked from public indexing. We do not knowingly make member profiles, directory entries or forum content available to unauthenticated visitors. Other members may nevertheless take screenshots; report misuse to us.
5. Event photographs
We require permission before publishing an identifiable image of a member outside member-only areas. Ask the people pictured before posting photos inside member-only areas too, and honour a request not to be photographed. A member’s permission for one publication does not authorise unrelated future uses.
6. Cookies, security and international transfers
We use cookies necessary for login and security. We use access controls, restricted administrator accounts and reasonable technical and organisational measures appropriate to the sensitivity of membership data. No online service can guarantee absolute security.
7. Retention
We keep active account information while membership continues. After closure, we aim to delete or anonymise account and optional profile information within 60 days, unless a report, dispute, legal duty or security investigation requires longer. Forum contributions may remain with the account name removed where necessary to keep discussions coherent, subject to applicable erasure rights and the sensitivity of the contribution. Event/payment records are kept for 6 years; report and moderation records for 2 years; security logs for 1 year.
8. Your choices and rights
You can edit optional profile fields, leave the optional directory, withdraw eligible consent and request account closure. Depending on the circumstances, you may request access, correction, erasure, or restriction, and object to processing based on legitimate interests. Contact us at hello@wygaysocial.co.uk . We may need to verify your identity without disclosing your membership to anyone else. You can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk. We do not use automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.
9. Changes
We will post a dated updated notice and bring material changes to members’ attention before they take effect where practical. New purposes requiring consent will require a new choice.
Membership, Website and Event Terms
Effective date – 31-10-2026
Edition – 1.1
Last Update – 31-10-2026
These terms apply when you join West Yorkshire Gay Social (WYGS), use its members’ website and attend its events. WYGS is currently an informal, unincorporated community group operated by Benjamin Jackson. It exists to help queer men make friends and build community. It is not a counselling, matchmaking, transport or professional outdoor activity service.
1. Joining and accounts
Membership is for queer men aged 18 or over. This includes trans men who identify as queer and non binary people. You must give accurate registration details, safeguard your login and tell us promptly about unauthorised access. We may refuse, restrict, suspend or end membership for a lawful, proportionate reason, including serious or repeated breaches. We will ordinarily tell you why unless doing so would put someone at risk or prejudice an investigation. Access is personal and must not be shared.
Membership is currently free. Some events have a stated charge to meet organising costs or to enable the purchasing of tickets together. Each event listing must say what is included, who collects payment, booking deadlines, cancellation and refund terms, and what happens if the organiser or a venue cancels. Statutory consumer rights remain unaffected. A future membership fee requires advance notice of its price, renewal and cancellation rules, and your agreement before you are charged; posting a revised version of these terms alone will not authorise a charge.
2. Events and members’ decisions
An official event is expressly identified by WYGS as organised by an authorised administrator or organiser. The listing for an official WYGS event will be created and posted by the prime admin user, Benjamin Jackson. A member event is independently arranged by members, even if mentioned on the forum or in the Events section. A private meeting is arranged directly between individuals, regardless of whether this is on the WYGS forum or private/persoinal means of communication. WYGS does not organise or supervise member events or private meetings merely because people connected through the website.
Attendance is voluntary. Before attending, check the event description and decide whether its physical demands, terrain, weather, accessibility, travel, equipment and other circumstances suit you and that you are up to the demands of any given event or activity. Tell the organiser of an access need or relevant issue you want considered, without disclosing more than necessary. Follow reasonable safety directions and venue rules. You remain responsible for your conduct, travel, belongings and any decision to drink alcohol or use other substances. Take appropriate care when travelling with, meeting or relying on someone you met through the group. Events can change or be cancelled when necessary; we will communicate changes through the stated booking channel.
Outdoor and physical activities can involve slips, falls, weather exposure, injury and other ordinary risks. For a higher risk event we may require a separate, event-specific description and acknowledgement at booking. Such an acknowledgement records awareness of risks; it does not remove a legal duty of care.
3. Liability and legal rights
WYGS, its founder, administrators and authorised volunteer organisers do not guarantee that events, venues, members, the website or third-party services will be free from all risks. They do not take responsibility for acts or omissions of independent members, venues, ticketing companies or transport providers merely by advertising an event or providing a meeting space. Members should take reasonable care of their own property. To the extent the law allows, the protected parties are not liable for loss of or damage to property, indirect financial loss, or ordinary risks of voluntary participation where no duty has been breached. Any limitation is subject to applicable fairness and reasonableness requirements.
If your deliberate or negligent breach of these terms or unlawful conduct causes a direct, reasonably foreseeable loss to WYGS or another person, you may be responsible for that loss to the extent permitted by law. This is not an unlimited indemnity.
4. Content and conduct
You are responsible for the material you post or send. Do not threaten, harass, intimidate, stalk or unlawfully discriminate against others; impersonate people; post illegal content, malicious links or fraudulent solicitations; or use the community for unauthorised commercial promotion. Respect consent and physical and interpersonal boundaries at events. Respectful disagreement is allowed; another member being offended does not by itself establish a breach.
Do not reveal someone’s membership, identity, sexuality, personal circumstances, messages or private site content outside the group without that person’s permission. Do not share screenshots or identifiable images of members outside the group without their permission. Get permission before posting an identifiable image of another member in the group and before publicly publishing any identifiable event image. Do not copy the member directory for another purpose or contact members in bulk without authorisation. These rules also apply when a member’s identity could be inferred indirectly.
You keep ownership of content you create, and give WYGS a non-exclusive permission to store and display it within the service for its operation. We may remove content under these terms. You confirm that you have the rights needed to post it. Other members may quote your posts in part or in full.
5. Forum reports and moderation
Posts are normally published without advance approval. We do not promise to monitor every post or conversation continuously. Members should report concerning content using the report button on the post in question or by emailing review@wygaysocial.co.uk, identifying the post and explaining the concern. An administrator reviews the report, the context and any relevant response, and may leave content in place, ask for changes, remove it, warn a member, restrict access or suspend or terminate membership. We may act without a member report if we become aware of apparently illegal content, a serious safety issue or another serious breach. We may preserve evidence and refer urgent matters to the relevant authorities where lawful and appropriate.
The administrator’s moderation decision is final for WYGS’s ordinary internal review, subject to any complaints, appeals or other rights required by law. Use emergency services for an immediate threat; the forum report channel is not an emergency response service.
Members may encounter upsetting or offensive views posted by others. Posting by a member is not WYGS’s endorsement. WYGS does not promise that every contribution will be accurate, agreeable or free of offence. To the extent lawful, WYGS, its founder and administrators are not liable merely because third-party content causes offence or distress. This does not excuse unlawful discrimination by WYGS itself, failure to meet any applicable online safety duties, or any other responsibility that the law does not permit us to exclude. We may moderate or remove content without becoming its author.
6. Privacy and website operation
Our Privacy Policy describes how personal information is handled. Profiles and forum content designated as members-only are accessible to signed-in members, who must respect the confidentiality rules above. We cannot guarantee that another member will comply with these rules. The website may be interrupted for maintenance or technical faults; we will take reasonable steps to restore it. External links and venues have their own terms and practices.
7. Changes and contact
We may update these terms at any time for any reason, including a change in services or legal requirements. We will tell members about material changes and the date they take effect, and seek fresh agreement where required. If you do not accept a material change, you may leave and close your account, subject to any outstanding event booking rights. If one provision is unenforceable, the rest continue to apply as far as lawful. The laws of England and Wales govern these terms, without removing mandatory rights or legal rules on where a claim may be brought.
Questions, reports and complaints: review@wygaysocial.co.uk.
