Privacy Policy

Beacon Alert Privacy Policy

Effective date: 15/08/2025

1. Who We Are

Beacon Alert is a UK-based voluntary service that issues urgent public alerts to help locate missing veterans, service personnel, and blue light workers who may be at risk.
Our website address is: https://beaconalert.co.uk

You can contact us via our contact form at https://beaconalert.co.uk/contact-us/

2. Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal data in accordance with:

  • UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

  • Article 6(1)(d) – Vital interests (to protect life).

  • Article 6(1)(e) – Public interest task.

  • Article 85 GDPR – Public interest journalism exemption.

  • DPA 2018, Schedule 1, Part 2, Paragraph 10 – Crime prevention exemption.

These exemptions allow us to share missing persons’ details when it is necessary to protect life or reduce the risk of suicide or self-harm.

3. What Data We Collect

a) Website visitors

  • Contact form submissions (name, email, message) – sent via email, not stored in WordPress.

  • Chat Messages from website, Powered by 3CX.

  • Server logs for those who message us (IP address, browser type) – used only for security and spam detection.

  • Google Analytics data (anonymised where possible).

b) Alerts (“Beacons”)

  • Name and description of the missing person.

  • Circumstances indicating concern for their welfare.

  • Approximate last known location.

This is stored in one secure cloud-based document for administrative purposes only. When shared for research, all identifying details are removed.

c) Social Media Interactions

If you message us on 3CX, Facebook or WhatsApp, the information you provide is processed in line with the respective platform’s privacy policy.

4. Media

If you upload images via the contact form, avoid including embedded location data (EXIF GPS).

5. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Our website may use:

  • Functional cookies – for site performance and remembering your preferences.

  • Google Analytics – to track anonymised visitor behaviour.

  • Google Ads & Facebook Ads pixels – for remarketing (if activated in future).

  • Google Maps API – to display maps, which may collect device location data via Google’s systems.

You can control cookies via your browser settings.

6. Embedded Content

Articles or pages may include embedded content (videos, maps, social feeds). These operate as if you visited the other site directly and may collect your data according to their own privacy policies.

7. Who We Share Data With

  • We do not sell or trade your personal data.

  • We may share information with law enforcement if required to protect life.

  • We give permission for others to share alerts publicly but require them to delete personal information once the individual is found.

8. Data Retention

  • Alert data: Retained in our secure cloud document, after a case is resolved, it is deleted from everywhere else.

  • Contact form submissions: Deleted after 90 days unless further communication is required.

  • Google Analytics data: Retained according to Google’s default retention settings.

  • Social media content: Controlled by each platform’s own retention policies; we cannot delete historic post revisions from Facebook.

9. Right to Be Forgotten

We have a dedicated process for the removal of personal information once a missing person is found and confirmed safe.
You can request removal by using:

Requests require proof of identity and may be refused if data must be retained for legal, security, or public interest reasons under GDPR exemptions.

10. Your Data Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access your personal data.

  • Rectify inaccurate data.

  • Request erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”).

  • Restrict processing in certain circumstances.

  • Object to processing based on legitimate interests.

  • Data portability for information you provided to us.

To exercise your rights, contact: [Insert contact email]

11. International Data Transfers

We use Gmail (Google LLC) for receiving contact form submissions. This may involve data being stored outside the UK/EU in compliance with the UK GDPR’s standard contractual clauses and Google’s Data Processing Terms.

12. Security Measures

  • Contact form submissions use WordPress’s mailto function to send directly to secure email.

  • Google Sheets containing alert data are stored in a password-protected Google Workspace account.

  • Access is restricted to authorised Beacon Alert volunteers.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy periodically. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.

14. Contact Us

Beacon Alert
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://beaconalert.co.uk

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