Our privacy promise.
We collect only what we need, we don't sell your data, and we treat the photos and stories of children with the care they deserve. Plain English below.
What we collect
When you apply or volunteer
Name, email, phone, country, short answers to questions about you and your background. We keep application data for 24 months, then delete it.
When you donate or sponsor
Name, email, billing address, and a record of your gift. Payment details are handled by our processor (Stripe / Wise / our Thai bank) — we never see or store full card numbers.
When you subscribe to the newsletter
Just your email. You can unsubscribe from any email we send — one click, no questions.
When you visit the site
Basic analytics (page views, rough country, referrer). No tracking pixels, no ad networks, no cross-site cookies. Our analytics are self-hosted and anonymized.
What we do with it
- Review your application or match you with a role.
- Issue tax receipts and send thank-you notes.
- Send you the monthly newsletter if you signed up.
- Keep a tidy record for audit, legal, and fundraising transparency.
We don't sell, rent, or trade your information. Not to anyone. Not ever.
Photos & stories of children
We never publish a child's full name alongside a recognizable photo without written permission from a parent or guardian. Students can opt out of photography at any time. If you're a parent and want a photo removed, email us and it's gone within 48 hours.
Cookies
We use a single preference cookie (to remember if you've closed a banner). No analytics cookies, no third-party trackers. If your browser has a Do Not Track signal on, we honor it.
Your rights
- Access — ask us what we have on file.
- Correction — tell us if something's wrong.
- Deletion — ask us to remove you entirely.
- Portability — request a copy of your data.
Email info@wavesofwords.org. We respond within 7 business days.
Where your data lives
Servers in Singapore (primary) and a backup in the United States. We work with processors (Google Workspace for email, Stripe for payments, Notion for applications) who meet GDPR and Thai PDPA standards.
Changes to this policy
We update this page when something material changes. If it's a big change, we'll email people on our mailing list.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Write us at info@wavesofwords.org. A human answers.