1. Who we are

The Metaphor Society is owned and managed by Andrew T. Austin and The Fresh Brain Company Ltd.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, The Fresh Brain Company Ltd is normally the data controller responsible for deciding how and why personal information connected with The Metaphor Society is used.

2. Information covered by this policy

This policy applies to personal information collected through:

• The Metaphor Society website
• Membership applications and membership accounts
• Online meetings, webinars, workshops and presentations
• Community discussions and member communications
• Email enquiries and mailing lists
• Bookings, payments and transaction records
• Website cookies, security logs and similar technologies

3. Personal information we may collect

Depending on how you interact with The Metaphor Society, we may collect the following types of personal information.

Contact and account information

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your postal address, where needed
• Your username and account details
• Your membership level, status and renewal information

Payment and transaction information

• Records of membership payments, purchases and refunds
• Invoices and transaction references
• Limited payment information supplied by a payment provider

Payments may be handled by an independent payment service provider. The Metaphor Society does not need to receive or retain your complete payment card details when payments are processed directly by that provider.

Membership and community information

• Information included in an optional member profile
• Your professional background or areas of interest
• Posts, questions, comments and other community contributions
• Attendance at meetings, presentations and events
• Feedback, surveys and correspondence

Online meeting and recording information

When you attend an online meeting or presentation, information may include your display name, profile image, voice, video image, chat contributions and anything else you choose to share during the session.

Technical and website information

• Internet Protocol address
• Browser and device type
• Pages visited and actions taken
• Login and security records
• Cookie preferences
• Approximate location derived from technical information

Marketing preferences

We may record whether you have agreed to receive newsletters, announcements, event information or other promotional communications, together with any request to unsubscribe.

4. How we collect personal information

We may collect personal information:

• Directly from you when you complete a form or create an account
• When you purchase or renew membership
• When you register for or attend an event
• When you contribute to a meeting or community discussion
• When you contact us by email or another communication service
• Automatically when you use the website
• From payment, membership, email or event service providers

5. How we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

• Create and administer membership accounts
• Provide access to member-only materials and recordings
• Process subscriptions, payments, renewals and refunds
• Organise meetings, presentations, workshops and events
• Send service messages about membership or booked events
• Respond to enquiries, requests and complaints
• Operate and moderate community spaces
• Maintain the safety and security of the website and membership systems
• Improve our website, membership services and educational materials
• Send newsletters and promotional information where permitted
• Maintain accounting, tax and business records
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations

6. Our lawful bases for using personal information

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each purpose for which personal information is used. The basis will depend on the particular activity.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether our use of the information is necessary, proportionate and compatible with the rights and reasonable expectations of the person concerned.

7. Sensitive and special category information

Discussions about metaphor, psychology and personal experience may occasionally involve information about health, beliefs or other sensitive matters.

Members should avoid sharing confidential clinical information, identifiable client information or personal information about another person unless they have a lawful and appropriate reason to do so.

We do not normally require members to provide medical records, diagnostic information or detailed health information. Where special category information is intentionally collected, we will identify an additional lawful condition for processing it, such as explicit consent, where required.

8. Online meetings and recordings

Some Metaphor Society meetings, presentations and question-and-answer sessions may be recorded and added to the member archive.

Attendees will be informed when a session is being recorded. A recording may capture:

• The attendee name displayed by the meeting platform
• Voice and video contributions
• Questions asked during the meeting
• Written chat messages
• Screen-shared material

Where appropriate, we will obtain consent before deliberately including an identifiable participant contribution in a published recording.

Recordings may be edited to remove private conversations, accidental disclosures, inappropriate material or content that is not relevant to the archive.

9. Email communications and marketing

We may send members administrative messages that are necessary to provide membership, such as account notices, renewal information, access instructions and changes to services.

We may also send newsletters, event announcements and promotional communications where you have consented or where another lawful basis permits us to do so.

You may unsubscribe from promotional emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link contained in the message or by contacting freshnewbrain@gmail.com.

Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent us from sending essential messages about an active membership, purchase, booking or account.

10. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep the website functioning correctly
• Enable account login and membership access
• Remember user and cookie preferences
• Maintain website security
• Understand how visitors use the website
• Measure the effectiveness of communications or website content

Cookies that are strictly necessary for the operation and security of the website may be used without consent. Where consent is required for analytics, advertising or other non-essential technologies, those technologies should not be activated until consent has been provided.

You can manage your choices through the cookie controls displayed on the website and through your browser settings.

11. Who we may share information with

We may share personal information with trusted organisations that help us operate The Metaphor Society, including:

• Website hosting and technical support providers
• Membership and account-management providers
• Payment and accounting service providers
• Email newsletter and communication providers
• Video meeting, webinar and recording platforms
• Cloud storage and document-management providers
• Professional advisers, including accountants and legal advisers
• Government, regulatory or law-enforcement bodies where required

Service providers are permitted to use personal information only for the services they provide to us and in accordance with their contractual and legal obligations.

We do not sell or rent personal information to third parties.

Personal information may also be disclosed where this is reasonably necessary to protect a person from harm, investigate fraud or misuse, enforce an agreement, comply with a court order or meet another legal obligation.

12. International data transfers

Some service providers may store or process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate safeguard is in place. This may include:

• A UK adequacy regulation
• An approved international data transfer agreement
• A UK addendum to approved contractual clauses
• Another lawful transfer mechanism recognised under UK law

You may contact us for further information about the safeguards used in relation to a particular service provider.

13. How long we keep personal information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, together with any period required for legal, accounting, security or dispute-resolution purposes.

Retention periods may include:

• Membership and account information for the duration of membership and for a reasonable administrative period afterwards
• Financial and transaction records for the period required by tax, accounting and company law
• Enquiries and general correspondence for as long as reasonably necessary to answer the enquiry and maintain an appropriate record
• Marketing information until consent is withdrawn, the person unsubscribes or the information is no longer useful
• Suppression records where needed to ensure that an unsubscribe request continues to be respected
• Meeting recordings for as long as they remain a relevant part of the presentation archive, unless a shorter period was stated
• Community posts for as long as the relevant community or discussion remains available, subject to moderation and deletion requests
• Security and website logs for a limited period appropriate to the detection and investigation of technical problems or misuse

Information may be securely deleted, anonymised or restricted when it is no longer required.

14. How we protect personal information

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

These measures may include:

• Password-protected accounts and systems
• Access controls based on operational need
• Secure website connections
• Software updates and security monitoring
• Backups and recovery procedures
• Contractual requirements for service providers
• Procedures for responding to suspected data breaches

No internet-based service can guarantee complete security. Members are responsible for protecting their passwords and should contact us promptly if they believe that an account has been compromised.

15. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis being used, you may have the right to:

• Be informed about how your personal information is used
• Request access to personal information held about you
• Ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected
• Ask for personal information to be erased in certain circumstances
• Ask us to restrict the way information is used
• Receive certain information in a portable format
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Object to the use of personal information for direct marketing
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

These rights are not absolute and may be limited by legal requirements, the rights of other people or the need to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

To make a request, email freshnewbrain@gmail.com. We may need to ask for information to confirm your identity before completing the request.

16. Complaints

Please contact us first if you have concerns about the way your personal information has been handled. We will try to investigate and resolve the matter.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

17. Third-party websites and services

Our website may contain links to external websites, meeting platforms, payment services or other third-party services.

Those organisations are responsible for their own privacy practices. We recommend reading their privacy notices before providing personal information to them.

18. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, systems, legal obligations or data-processing activities change.

The latest version will be published on this website with the date of the most recent update. Where a change materially affects members, we may also provide notice by email or through the membership area.