Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 21/09/2026

1. Introduction

VolunteerNearMe ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with UK data protection law. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our volunteer networking platform and services ("Service"). The Service is available on the web and as a native mobile application on iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play Store).

This policy is written to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

VolunteerNearMe is a non-commercial project. We are the data controller for personal data processed to run the Service. Where a Group collects information from you through a Channel or an opportunity, that Group is also responsible for how it uses that information, as explained in Section 5.5.

Data Controller Details:

Email: privacy@volunteernearme.co.uk

2. Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR we must have a legal basis for each purpose for which we use your personal data. The table below sets out each purpose and the basis we rely on.

Creating and running your account, profile, and personal group: Contract. This is necessary to provide the Service you have signed up for.
Bookings, shift sign-ups, schedules, check-in, and attendance: Contract. This is necessary to let you book onto and take part in volunteering opportunities.
Logging and displaying your volunteer hours, endorsements, and badges: Contract.
Posts, comments, reactions, friends, and follows: Contract.
Channel membership, applications, announcements, chat, tasks, and shift swaps: Contract.
Availability responses and documents you upload in a Channel: Consent. You choose whether to provide these and can withdraw at any time.
Emergency contact details you add in a Channel: Consent. Where the details are used during an emergency, we and the Group may also rely on vital interests.
Push notifications, calendar sync, and device location: Consent, given through your device permission settings. You can withdraw it at any time in those settings.
Recording an activity with GPS, and the route it produces: Consent. You choose to start a recording, choose whether to track GPS, and choose whether to post the result.
Showing your name to an opportunity creator when you tap "I'm interested": Consent. You choose to express interest and can withdraw it by tapping again.
Performance and analytics cookies and similar technologies: Consent.
Newsletters and community updates: Consent.
Content moderation, handling reports and blocks, and preventing fraud and abuse: Legitimate interests. We have a legitimate interest in keeping the community safe.
Security logging and protecting the Service: Legitimate interests.
Improving the Service and producing aggregated statistics about volunteering: Legitimate interests. Aggregated statistics do not identify you.
Asking a parent or guardian to confirm the account of a user aged 16 or 17: Legitimate interests. We have a legitimate interest in protecting young users.
Responding to lawful requests and keeping records we are required to keep: Legal obligation.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, you have the right to object (see Section 7).

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Account Information

Account details: Name, email address, password, and profile picture.
Age confirmation: Your date of birth, which we use to confirm you meet the minimum age and to apply the protections described in Section 9.
Parent or guardian details: If you are aged 16 or 17, the email address of the parent or guardian you nominate, and a record of whether and when they confirmed your account.

3.2 Profile Details

Profile: Your UK postcode or area, used to show you opportunities and Groups nearby.

3.3 Volunteer Activity Data

Hours you log: Hours you record yourself, the activity type, and any Group you tag.
Hours logged automatically: When a Group marks a shift or event you attended as complete, the hours for that session are added to your record automatically.
Recorded activities and routes: If you use the activity recorder in our mobile app with GPS tracking switched on, we store the route you travelled, its length, and how long the recording lasted, alongside the activity. See Section 3.9 for what this means for your location.
Endorsements: Whether a Group has endorsed your hours.
Achievements: Badges and milestones you earn.

3.4 Bookings, Shifts, and Attendance

Bookings and shift assignments: The sessions and shifts you book onto, are assigned to, or cancel, and where the booking was made (for example, the map or an opportunity page).
Check-in and attendance: When you check in, whether you attended or were recorded as not attending, and the hours recorded for the session.
Availability: Your weekly availability pattern and any date-specific exceptions, including an optional reason, if you choose to provide them in a Channel.
Shift swap requests: Shifts you offer to other members, and shifts you offer to cover.

3.5 Saved Opportunities and Interest

Saved opportunities: Opportunities you save, and where you saved them from.
Expressions of interest: When you tap "I'm interested" on a Help Wanted opportunity, we record this and the opportunity creator can see your name and profile picture.

Posts and content: Photos, text, and media you share on the platform, and your comments and reactions.
Connections: Your friends and the Groups you follow or belong to.
Content reports: If you report a post, opportunity, or Group, we record the reported item, the reason you selected, any details you add, and your user ID. Reports are anonymous: your identity is never shared with the person or Group you report (see Section 5.8).
Blocked users: The list of users you have blocked. We use this to hide their content from you. Blocked users are not told they have been blocked.

3.7 Channel Data

A Channel is a team space created by a Group to coordinate volunteers for a specific opportunity. If you join a Channel, apply to join one, or are added to one, we collect:

Membership: Your membership, role, and the date you joined.
Applications: Your answers to any questions the Group asks when you apply, and the outcome of your application.
Chat and announcements: Messages and replies you post in the Channel discussion, and announcements you post if you are an administrator.
Tasks: Tasks assigned to you and their status.
Documents: Documents you upload, and whether you have read or accepted documents the Group asks you to review.
Emergency contact: The name, relationship, and phone number of a person you nominate as your emergency contact. Please do not include any other information, such as medical details, in this field.

3.8 Information About Other People

Some information we hold about you is provided by others, and some information you provide is about someone else:

Information Groups record about you: Group administrators can assign you to shifts, record your attendance, endorse or adjust your hours, and approve or reject your applications.
Your emergency contact: When you add an emergency contact, you are giving us personal information about another person. Please make sure they know you have done so and are happy for their details to be shared with the Group for use in an emergency.
Social login: If you sign in with Google, Facebook, or another provider, we receive basic profile information from them with your permission.

3.9 Technical, Device, and Location Information

Device data: IP address, browser type, operating system, and device identifiers.
Usage analytics: Pages visited, features used, and time spent on the platform, collected only with your consent (see Section 8). We use Google Analytics for this.
Finding things near you: With your permission, your device location is used to show opportunities and Groups near you. If you enter a postcode instead, we use that. Location used this way is not stored on your profile and is not shown to anyone else.
Recorded routes: The activity recorder in our mobile app is different, and it is worth reading carefully. If you start a recording with GPS tracking switched on, your device location is followed for the length of the recording and the resulting route is saved to your activity. A route is a precise trace of where you went, not an approximate area. It is kept private unless you choose to post that activity to the feed, in which case the route is drawn on a map that other users can see. You can record without GPS by turning off route tracking before you start, and you can delete a recorded activity, which deletes its route with it.
Push notification tokens: When you allow notifications in our iOS or Android app, we store a device token so we can send you notifications. It is removed when you sign out.
Calendar access: If you turn on calendar sync, we add your confirmed bookings and shifts to a dedicated calendar on your device. We do not read the other events in your calendar. On the web, you can instead download a calendar file.
Camera and photo library: Accessed only when you choose to take or upload a photo or document.

3.10 Information About Groups and Opportunities

Group location: A Group's location is either the address it chooses to set, or is calculated automatically from the locations of its published opportunities. It is used to show Groups near you.
Personal groups: Every account has a personal group, which is used when you publish an opportunity as an individual. Opportunities you publish show your name and profile picture.

4. How We Use Your Information

4.1 Platform Functionality

Create and maintain your account and personal group
Show you volunteer opportunities and Groups near you
Process bookings, shift sign-ups, cancellations, and shift swaps
Record check-ins and attendance, and log hours for completed sessions
Display your volunteer activity, hours, endorsements, and badges
Record an activity and draw its route while you volunteer, if you choose to use the recorder
Let you save opportunities and express interest in them
Run Channels, including applications, chat, announcements, tasks, documents, schedules, and availability
Allow Group administrators to access emergency contact details for use in an emergency during volunteer activities
Sync your confirmed bookings and shifts to your device calendar, if you turn this on
Send push notifications for activity you have chosen to receive, such as booking reminders, check-in reminders, new posts from Groups you follow, friend requests, and badge unlocks

4.2 Safety

Review reports and blocks, and take action on content or accounts that break our rules
Automatically filter known offensive language from posts
Apply additional protections for users aged 16 and 17 (see Section 9)
Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and suspicious activity
Enforce our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines

4.3 Communication

Send important account and service notifications
Tell you about moderation decisions affecting your content or account
Provide support and respond to enquiries
Send newsletters and community updates, if you have opted in

4.4 Improvement and Analytics

Understand how the Service is used so we can improve it, with your consent where required
Produce aggregated, non-identifying statistics about volunteering activity
Keep the Service secure

4.5 Legal Compliance

Comply with UK law and respond to lawful requests
Keep records we are legally required to keep

5.1 Other Users

The following may be visible to other users, depending on your privacy settings:

Your name, profile picture, and general area
Your volunteer hours, badges, and the Groups that have endorsed your hours
Posts, photos, and comments you share, including the route of a recorded activity if you post it to the feed
The Groups you belong to and your role in them

You can change these in your profile settings, under Privacy. If you are aged 16 or 17, stricter default settings apply (see Section 9).

5.2 Opportunity Creators and Group Administrators

The administrators of a Group can see the following for that Group's opportunities and Channels:

Who has booked onto each session or been assigned to each shift
Check-in times, attendance, and hours recorded for each session
Who has expressed interest in a Help Wanted opportunity
Your answers to Channel application questions
Your availability, if you have provided it
Your emergency contact details, if you have provided them. These are visible only to administrators of that Group, not to other members.
Whether you are under 18, so the Group can apply its own safeguarding arrangements. Your date of birth is not shown.

5.3 Other Channel Members

Other members of a Channel you belong to can see:

Your name and profile picture in the member directory
Messages and replies you post in the Channel discussion
Shifts you are assigned to, where the Group's settings show this
Shift swap requests you create, including the shift you are offering

5.4 Joining a Channel Automatically When You Book

Some Groups choose to add everyone who books a session to the opportunity's Channel. Where this applies, you will be told before you confirm your booking. Once added, the information in Section 5.3 becomes visible to other Channel members. You can leave the Channel at any time without cancelling your booking.

5.5 Groups as Separate Data Controllers

Groups decide what information to ask for in their Channels and opportunities, such as application questions and availability, and how they use it to organise their volunteers. For that use, the Group is responsible as a data controller under UK GDPR, separately from us. Every Group administrator agrees to our Organisation Terms, which require them to use this information only to organise the volunteering and to keep it secure.

If you have a question or request about how a Group has used your information, you can contact the Group directly or contact us and we will help.

5.6 Service Providers

We use trusted service providers to run the Service. They process data only on our instructions and are bound by contracts that meet UK GDPR requirements. They include:

Google Firebase: Hosting, database, authentication, file storage, and push notifications.
Mapping services: Displaying maps and converting postcodes into locations.
Email services: Sending account and service emails.
Google Analytics: Understanding how the Service is used, only with your consent.

5.7 International Transfers

Some of our service providers, including Google, may process data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where this happens, we rely on UK adequacy regulations (including the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, where the provider is certified) or on the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. You can contact us for more information about these safeguards.

5.8 Reports and Moderation

Reports are anonymous. We never tell the person or Group you report who made the report. We store your user ID with your report so that our moderation team can prevent misuse of the reporting system and update you on the outcome. Only our moderation team can see it.

Block events are also sent to our moderation team and may be reviewed alongside other reports. Blocked users are not told they have been blocked.

5.9 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information where required by UK law, or where necessary to:

Comply with court orders or other lawful requests from UK authorities
Protect the rights, property, or safety of our users, the public, or ourselves
Investigate fraud or security threats
Respond to safeguarding concerns or emergencies involving a risk to someone's safety

6. Data Security and Retention

6.1 Security Measures

Encryption of data in transit and at rest
Secure authentication and access controls
Role-based access to Channel data, so that sensitive information such as emergency contacts is available only to the administrators of the relevant Group
Logging of administrative access to Channel data
Incident response procedures for security breaches

6.2 Data Breaches

If a security breach affecting your personal data is likely to put your rights and freedoms at high risk, we will tell you without undue delay. We will explain what happened, what information was affected, what we are doing about it, and what you can do to protect yourself.

6.3 How Long We Keep Your Information

Account and profile information: While your account is active.
Volunteer hours and endorsements: While your account is active, and for up to 7 years in aggregated or archived form for historical impact records.
Recorded activity routes: For as long as the activity they belong to is kept. Deleting the activity deletes its route.
Bookings, shift assignments, check-in, and attendance records: For as long as the related opportunity is kept (see below).
Event opportunities and their Channels: Until 1 year after the final scheduled session, after which they are deleted. Group administrators are shown the deletion date.
Ongoing and Help Wanted opportunities and their Channels: Until the Group deletes them.
Channel chat messages: For as long as the Channel exists. Deleted messages are hidden from other members straight away and removed permanently when the Channel is deleted.
Channel applications: While your membership is active. Rejected applications are deleted after 6 months.
Availability: Until you change or remove it, or leave the Channel.
Emergency contact details: Until you remove them, leave the Channel, or the Channel is deleted.
Saved opportunities and expressions of interest: Until you remove them or delete your account.
Parent or guardian confirmation records: Until the account holder turns 18, after which they are deleted.
Content reports: 2 years from the date of submission.
Blocked user lists: While your account is active.
Push notification tokens: Until you sign out.
Communications with us: Up to 3 years.
Technical and security logs: Up to 2 years.

6.4 Deleting Your Account

You can delete your account at any time from your account settings, in the app or on the web. When you do:

Your profile, posts, comments, reactions, saved opportunities, and expressions of interest are deleted
Your recorded activities and their routes are deleted
Your upcoming bookings and shift assignments are cancelled
Your Channel messages are deleted, and your emergency contact details and availability are removed
Your personal group and its opportunities are deleted
If you are the only administrator of a Group, you will be asked to transfer administration to another member first. If you do not, the Group and its opportunities and Channels will be deleted.
Attendance totals kept by Groups (such as the number of people who attended a session) are retained without identifying you
Most data is deleted within 30 days. Some information may be kept longer where we are legally required to keep it.

7.1 Individual Rights

Right of access: Request a copy of your personal data.
Right to rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate data, including hours recorded against you.
Right to erasure: Ask us to delete your data, subject to legal requirements.
Right to restrict processing: Ask us to limit how we use your data.
Right to data portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Rights relating to automated decisions: Ask for a person to review a decision made automatically (see Section 11).

7.2 Exercising Your Rights

Email: privacy@volunteernearme.co.uk

We will respond within one month, and there is no charge. If your request relates to information a Group holds in a Channel, we will help you direct it to the Group or handle it ourselves.

Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. You can remove availability, emergency contact details, and documents in the relevant Channel; delete a recorded activity to remove its route; turn off notifications, location, and calendar sync in your device settings; and change your privacy, cookie, and marketing preferences in your profile settings. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing carried out before you withdrew it.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

8.1 Types We Use

Strictly necessary: Keep you signed in and make the Service work. These cannot be switched off.
Functional: Remember your preferences and settings. Used only with your consent.
Performance and analytics: Help us understand how the Service is used. Used only with your consent. Analytics stay switched off until you accept: we do not collect them and then honour your choice afterwards.

Our mobile apps use equivalent technologies, such as software development kits, and the same consent choices apply.

Our cookie banner when you first visit
Your browser or device settings

9. Young People and Children

You must be at least 16 to use the Service. If we learn that someone under 16 has created an account, we will delete it.
If you are 16 or 17, we will ask for the email address of a parent or guardian and ask them to confirm your account. Until they do, you can browse opportunities but cannot book, join Channels, or post.
Accounts belonging to 16 and 17 year olds have high privacy settings by default: your public profile and your posts are hidden from other users, your area is not shown, and you are not suggested to anyone. You can change these in your profile settings once your account is confirmed.
Accounts belonging to 16 and 17 year olds do not use the friends feature. You cannot send friend requests and other people cannot send them to you, in either direction. Everything else — finding volunteering, booking, team channels, recording hours and badges — works normally.
We do not use the data of 16 and 17 year olds for personalised recommendations unless they choose to turn this on.
Group administrators can see that a member is under 18, so they can apply their safeguarding arrangements. They are never shown your date of birth.
We follow the Age Appropriate Design Code in how we design features used by people under 18.

10. Data Protection Impact Assessments

We carry out Data Protection Impact Assessments for processing that is likely to be high risk, including features used by people under 18.

11. Automated Decision-Making

Some decisions on the Service are made automatically:

Channel applications: A Group can set preset answers to its application questions so that applicants whose answers match are approved automatically. If your application is not approved automatically, it is reviewed by a Group administrator. You can ask the Group to review any decision.
Completing sessions and logging hours: A Group can choose to mark sessions complete automatically once they end, which logs hours for everyone recorded as attending. If your hours are wrong, ask the Group administrator or contact us to correct them.
Content filtering: Known offensive language is filtered from posts automatically.
Sorting by distance: When you search a postcode, opportunities are ordered by how far they are from it. We do not profile you to decide what to show.
Fraud and abuse detection: Automated checks help identify suspicious activity, which is then reviewed by a person before any action is taken on your account.

None of these decisions has a legal effect on you. You can ask for a person to review any automated decision by contacting privacy@volunteernearme.co.uk.

12. Third-Party Links and Services

Our platform may link to external websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please review their policies separately.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in the law, new features, or regulatory guidance. We will notify you of material changes by email or in the app before they take effect, and ask for your consent where required.

14. Complaints

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us and we will do our best to resolve it:

Email: privacy@volunteernearme.co.uk

15. Contact Information

VolunteerNearMe

Email: privacy@volunteernearme.co.uk

This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date listed above and applies to all users of the VolunteerNearMe platform in the United Kingdom.