Knowledgebase

    Privacy Recommendations

    Data protection is a shared responsibility of all parties that have access to that data. StarChapter employs technical methods to protect the data stored in your StarChapter system and does not share or sell Personally Identifiable Information (PII). PII is any data that would potentially identify a specific individual or organization and can be sensitive or non-sensitive in nature. Non-sensitive PII is easily gathered from public records, corporate directors, and/or websites and this is the type of information that should be stored within StarChapter. Sensitive PII is information which, when disclosed, could result in harm to the individual or organization. This would include biometric information, medical information, financial information (including tax IDs), and/or unique identifiers such as passport, drivers' license, or social security numbers. Sensitive PII should never be stored within StarChapter.

    Policies and procedures within your organization will strengthen or weaken your data protection, so it is important to be aware of best practices and your organization's approach to privacy and data protection. In addition to protecting data, it is important to make privacy policies available to any users of your system. That will include members and non-members, registrants, sponsors, and anyone else who has personal information stored within StarChapter. Having an up to date privacy policy, reviewing that policy on a regular basis, and placing recommendations in pertinent areas of the system allow you to be transparent.

    Familiarize yourself with privacy laws in your state, region, or country in order to ensure that you are adhering to all pertinent regulations. Depending on your organization's location, membership diversity, and scope, you may need to reference GDPR, CCPA, or other privacy laws.

    Below are some general best practices to enhance privacy standards on your StarChapter system:

    • Review and update your privacy policy. Be sure to include a contact address for questions or removal requests. Also, note any ways in which member information is shared. If your member directory, board of directors, and/or committees are public or members-only, for example, or if you publish a list of event registrants, note that here.

    • Update the member welcome email and verification emails to point people to the privacy policy. These updates can be made via Communications > Settings > Templates.

    • Place a note on any forms, such as member applications, asking people to review the privacy policy before submitting their information. StarChapter records the IP addresses associated with form submissions. These are not recorded on anonymous surveys. 

    • Make sure that your admin user list is up to date. Remove any outdated admins. 

    • Remove outdated contact information from the non-member list. Unverified and/or unsubscribed non-members, or those with old bounces that have not been resolved, should be deleted from your non-member list.