Effective date: October 31, 2026
Privacy Policy
Membership is free. We use member information only to run the Society and to communicate with members for non-commercial purposes. We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.
Who we are
The Posterior Fossa Society ("the Society," "we") is responsible for the personal information described in this policy. In data protection terms, we are its "controller." The Society is a research collective seeking non-profit status.
Contact: info@posteriorfossasociety.org
What information we collect
When you apply for membership or update your preferences, we collect:
- your name and email address
- your country and professional role
- other contact information, if you choose to give it
- the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) you select
- your consent choices, and when and how you made them
The Board adds a small amount of administrative information: your membership status, the dates of your application and the decision on it, any role you hold in the Society (such as Board Member or SIG Chair), and brief notes needed to administer your membership.
We do not ask for sensitive information such as health details. Please do not include it in free-text fields.
How we use your information
We use your information only for the purposes below. For members in the European Economic Area, the UK, and Switzerland, the right column gives the legal basis under the GDPR.
| Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR Art. 6) |
|---|---|
| Reviewing your application and keeping an accurate register of members | Our legitimate interest in running a membership society (6(1)(f)) |
| Sending updates about events, collaborative research opportunities, and Society news | Your consent (6(1)(a)) |
| Adding you to the mailing lists of the SIGs you selected | Your consent (6(1)(a)) |
| Acting on your requests to update, correct, or delete your information, and keeping a record of your consent | Our legal obligations (6(1)(c)) |
We may also send a few essential messages about your membership itself, such as confirming that your application was approved or that we acted on a request you made. These are never promotional.
Membership decisions are made by people on the Board. We do not make automated decisions or build profiles about you.
Who can see your information
Within the Society, the Secretary and the Board can see member records. SIG Chairs receive the names and email addresses of members of their SIG who consented to SIG mailing lists.
We do not share your information with anyone for their own purposes. We use these service providers to store and handle it on our behalf:
| Provider | What it does for us | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Airtable | Stores the membership list, hosts the membership forms, sends automated membership emails | United States |
| Squarespace | Hosts our website, where the forms are embedded | United States |
| Google Workspace | Runs the Society email account we use to write to members | United States [confirm] |
We will disclose information if the law requires it.
International transfers. Because these providers are based in the United States, information from members in the EEA, the UK, and Switzerland is transferred outside those regions. We rely on the safeguards each provider offers, such as certification under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (and its UK and Swiss extensions) or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.
How long we keep it
- Members: for as long as you remain a member. Membership does not expire; it continues until you leave.
- If you leave: we delete your record within 30 days of your request. We keep only your email address and the date of your request, so that we do not contact you again.
- Declined applications: deleted within 12 months of the decision.
Copies may remain in our providers' backups for a short time before they are overwritten.
Your rights
You can ask us to:
- show you the information we hold about you
- correct it
- delete it
- restrict or object to how we use it
- give you a copy in a portable format
You can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing does not affect anything we did before you withdrew.
To use any of these rights, reply to any Society email, or write to info@posteriorfossasociety.org. We will respond within one month under normal circumstances.
If you are in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, you can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Website, security, and changes
Cookies. Our website runs on Squarespace, which uses cookies to make the site work and to measure site traffic. The embedded Airtable forms may set their own cookies. You can manage non-essential cookies through the banner on our site.
Security. Only people with individual accounts can see the membership list, and only a few of them can edit it.
Age. Membership is for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.
Changes. We will post any update to this policy on this page with a new effective date. If a change is significant, we will email members.