Connect'd Men (connectdmen.com) is a community built on trust. This policy explains, in plain language, what personal information we collect, why, who can see it, and the choices you have. We comply with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
1. What happens in a gathering stays there
Gatherings, in person and online, are not recorded, and what men share is held in confidence under our group agreements. The one exception: in our online rooms, a host can turn on Record or Transcribe for a meeting (see section 8). When that happens, everyone in the room is told and a red badge stays on screen the whole time. Otherwise we don't collect what's said in a gathering. Please still be thoughtful about what you share in any group setting.
2. Information we collect
- Your account: your name, email address and a password (stored only in scrambled, one-way form, so nobody can read it).
- How you found us: when you join, we note how you came to the site (for example, a Google search or a link someone shared), the first page you visited, the kind of device you used, your rough location (your city or region, worked out from your internet address, which we don't keep) and, if you choose to tell us, how you heard about us. It helps us know what's working and spot fake accounts. Only administrators, and the facilitators of your chapter, see it.
- Gatherings: the chapters you belong to, the dates you RSVP to, and, where a facilitator takes attendance, whether you were there.
- What you post: anything you choose to share in the member community, such as posts, comments, photos, videos and your profile. Phones often record where a photo or video was taken inside the file; we remove that, and any other camera details, before anything is stored.
- Connection Quiz: your answers are scored and saved without your name. If you then create an account or log in, the result is saved to your account so you can see it. See section 4.
- Messages to us: your name, email and message when you use our contact form.
- Records kept by those who run your chapter: facilitators and administrators can keep short notes on a member's record (for example, a follow-up after a first gathering) and see a log of the emails we've sent you.
- Videos: when you watch a video we share, we count views and how much was watched, to know what's helpful.
- Payments: if you choose to support Connect'd Men with a paid membership, your payment is handled by our payment processor. We never see or store your full card number.
3. How we use it
- To run your account and the gatherings you join, including RSVP confirmations and a reminder the day before.
- To send chapter emails from your facilitators and community updates. Every one of these emails has an unsubscribe link.
- To answer your messages and help you find a gathering.
- To understand, in totals, how the community is doing (for example, how many men attend each month), so we can do better.
We never sell, rent or trade your personal information, and we don't share it with advertisers.
4. Who can see what
- Nothing about you is shown to the public. Your profile and posts are visible only to signed-in members, and posts in a chapter's group only to that chapter.
- Your milestones (such as how many gatherings you've attended) stay private to you unless you choose to show them on your profile.
- Your chapter's facilitators can see who has RSVPed to and attended their gatherings, along with the member notes described above. Administrators can see this across all chapters.
- Your Connection Quiz result is private to you. It's shown only on your own Journey page. Facilitators and administrators never see it; we only look at totals, such as how many men landed in each stage.
5. Cookies
We use the cookies needed to keep you logged in and the site secure, and one that remembers how you first arrived (the site that sent you and the page you landed on) for 90 days, so we can note it if you join. On our public pages (not inside the member community), we also use Google Analytics, which sets cookies to count visits and see which pages are read, in totals. We don't use advertising cookies, and nothing from inside the member community is sent to Google. You can block analytics cookies in your browser without losing anything on the site. Your browser may also remember small things on your own device, such as which videos in a collection you've already watched.
6. Services that help us run the site
A few trusted providers process information on our behalf, only to provide their service to us:
- Our web host, which stores the site and its database.
- ToSend, which delivers our emails.
- Bunny.net, which stores and serves the videos we share.
- OpenAI, which turns the audio of videos our team records into captions, and turns speech into text when a host makes a transcript of an online meeting (see section 8). Nothing else about members is sent to it.
- Our payment processor, if you choose to make a payment.
- Google Analytics, which counts visits to our public pages (see section 5).
Some of these providers may store information outside Canada, where it's protected by their security commitments to us but may be subject to local law.
7. Google Calendar
Facilitators can choose to connect their Google Calendar in their settings. If you do, we use it only to:
- see the times you're busy, so your booking page doesn't offer them (we see only when you're busy, never what your events are), and
- add, update and remove events for the calls booked with you and the gatherings you host or RSVP to.
We only touch the events we add ourselves. Your calendar information isn't stored beyond what's needed for this, isn't shared with anyone, isn't used for advertising, and nobody at Connect'd Men reads it. You can disconnect at any time in Settings → Google Calendar, which removes the events we added; you can also remove our access in your Google account. Connect'd Men's use of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
8. Meeting recordings and transcripts
In our online rooms (gatherings and one-to-one calls), a host can choose to record a meeting or make a written transcript of it.
- Everyone is told. A notice appears when it starts, a red badge stays on screen while it runs, and anyone joining later sees it before they go in. If you'd rather not be recorded, you can turn your camera and mic off, or leave.
- A recording is made by the host's own browser: it captures what the host sees and hears in the meeting.
- For a transcript, each person's browser records only their own mic while it runs. That audio is sent to OpenAI, which turns speech into text, and the audio is deleted once the transcript is made.
- Who can see them: only the meeting's hosts, the person who started it, and Connect'd Men's administrators. Recordings and transcripts are never shown to other members or the public.
- How long: they're deleted automatically after 60 days, or sooner if a host or administrator deletes one.
9. Keeping it safe
We take reasonable administrative and technical steps to protect your information against loss, theft and unauthorized access, including encrypted connections, scrambled passwords, and limiting who can see member records to the people who need them.
10. How long we keep it, and your choices
- We keep your information for as long as your account is active.
- You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, correct it, or have your account and information deleted at any time.
- You can unsubscribe from chapter and community emails using the link in any of them.
To make a request, email us at admin@connectdmen.com.
11. Adults only
Connect'd Men is for adult men. You must be at least 18 to create an account or attend a gathering, and we don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Changes are posted on this page with a new "last updated" date.
13. Contact us
Questions or concerns about your privacy? Contact our Privacy Officer at admin@connectdmen.com.