Privacy notice
The short version is that we collect only what you choose to give us, we use it only to keep in touch about the chapter, and we never sell, rent, trade, or share it with anyone. The rest of this page says the same thing in more detail.
Last updated: 5 October 2026
Who we are
This website is run by the Sigma Xi San Diego Chapter (“the chapter”, “we”, “us”), a volunteer-run local chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, based in San Diego, California, USA. We are the data controller for the personal information described here. Questions about this notice, and any request about your information, go to sigmaxisd@gmail.com.
Our commitment
We do not sell, rent, lease, trade, license, or otherwise distribute your personal information to anyone, for any purpose, ever. We do not share it with advertisers, data brokers, sponsors, or other organisations, including Sigma Xi’s national office except where you ask us to (for example, a membership nomination). We use it for one thing: to keep in touch with you about Sigma Xi San Diego, in the way you asked us to.
What this website collects on its own
Nothing. The site sets no cookies, runs no analytics, and does not load fonts, scripts, tracking pixels, or images from third parties. Nothing you do here is tracked across other websites, and we do not build profiles of visitors.
Our hosting provider, Render, records standard web server logs (IP address, pages requested, browser type, and time) to keep the site running and to detect abuse. We do not use these logs to identify individual visitors, and they are retained only for Render’s standard operational period. The administration area at /admin/ is used only by chapter officers.
What you give us deliberately
You may choose to give us information through the forms on this site:
- Sign-up for updates. First and last name, email address, your Sigma Xi membership status, and optionally a phone number. Used to send you chapter news, event announcements, and reminders. Kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it.
- Contact form. Your name, email address, chosen topic, and message. Used to answer you. Kept for up to 12 months so we can follow up, then deleted.
- Event suggestions. The event details, your name, and your email address. Used to review and, if approved, list the event. Your name and email are kept for up to 12 months in case we need to ask you about it.
- Spam prevention. Each form includes a hidden field that people never see. If it is filled in, the submission is discarded as automated and nothing is recorded.
Submissions are delivered to the chapter by email through our email delivery provider, Resend, and arrive in a chapter officer’s mailbox. We do not store them in a database on this site.
How we use it, and why that is allowed
We use what you give us only for the purpose you gave it. Under the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation, our lawful bases are your consent (sign-ups, which you can withdraw at any time) and our legitimate interest in answering messages you send us and running the chapter. We do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling.
Who else sees it
Chapter officers who need it for the task in hand, and the service providers who process it on our behalf:
- Render (hosting, United States)
- Resend (email delivery for form submissions, United States)
- GitHub (stores the website’s source files; receives no visitor data)
Each is bound by its own privacy and security terms and acts only on our instructions. We may also disclose information if the law requires it, for example in response to a valid legal process.
International transfers
The chapter and its service providers are in the United States. If you contact us from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, or anywhere else, your information is transferred to and stored in the United States, where data protection law may differ from your own. We rely on your consent for that transfer, and we protect your information the same way regardless of where you are.
How long we keep it
Only as long as needed for the purpose above: sign-up details until you unsubscribe or ask for deletion; messages and event suggestions for up to 12 months; and membership or financial records as long as chapter governance and accounting rules require.
Security
Forms are sent over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Access to submissions is limited to the officers who need them. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, and if we ever became aware of a breach affecting your information we would tell you and, where required, the relevant authority.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us at any time to:
- tell you what information we hold about you;
- correct it;
- delete it;
- stop emailing or texting you (every message we send tells you how, or just reply “unsubscribe”).
Email sigmaxisd@gmail.com. We will act within 30 days and will not charge a fee or ask you to justify the request.
California residents (CCPA/CPRA). You have the right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it, to request deletion, to correct inaccuracies, and to not be discriminated against for exercising these rights. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in California law, and we have not done so in the preceding 12 months, so there is no opt-out to offer. We do not collect sensitive personal information. Other US states (including Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, and others with privacy laws) grant similar rights, and we honour them for everyone.
EEA, UK, and Switzerland (GDPR/UK GDPR). In addition to the above, you have the right to restrict or object to processing, to receive your information in a portable form, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting what was done before. You may also complain to your national data protection authority, though we would welcome the chance to resolve any concern first.
Canada (PIPEDA) and Australia (Privacy Act): you have the right to access and correct your information and to withdraw consent, and we honour those rights in the same way.
Email and text messages
We send email only to people who signed up or wrote to us, and every message identifies the chapter, includes a working way to unsubscribe, and honours unsubscribe requests promptly, as required by the US CAN-SPAM Act and equivalent laws elsewhere. If you give us a phone number we use it only for occasional event reminders by text, never for marketing calls, and you can opt out by replying STOP or emailing us.
Children
This site and our mailing list are not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA and UK), and we do not knowingly collect information from them, in line with the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and GDPR. Where the chapter works with school students, for example at science fairs, records are handled by the fair organisers under their own policies, not here. If you believe a child has given us information, tell us and we will delete it.
Links to other sites
This site links to other organisations’ websites and social media (Sigma Xi national, event organisers, LinkedIn, and others). Their privacy practices are their own; this notice covers only sigmaxisd.org.
Changes
If this notice changes we will update the date at the top and, for significant changes, tell mailing list subscribers. The current version always lives at sigmaxisd.org/privacy/.