Privacy policy

Who we are

This is the website of DECULT, a cult awareness conference event.

Our website address is: https://decult.net/.

Newsletter Subscription

When visitors subscribe to the newsletter on the site we collect the data shown in the subscription form.

Donations

Donation services are provided by Open Collective. The Open Collective privacy policy is available here: https://opencollective.com/privacypolicy.

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Analytics

When you browser this site, non-personally-identifying information of the sort that web browsers and servers typically make available, such as the browser type, language preference, referring site, and the date and time of each visitor request, is collected.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Who we share your data with

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

When submitting a comment, an anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

When subscribing to the newsletter, the information submitted is provided to the Brevo service, which is used for managing subscriptions and sending newsletters. The Brevo service privacy policy is available here: https://www.brevo.com/legal/privacypolicy/.

When requesting a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

How long we retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

What rights you have over your data

If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Spiritual Abuse

What is spiritual abuse?

Spiritual abuse occurs when religious or spiritual beliefs are manipulated to control, frighten or harm someone. It can silence questioning, enforce submission and exploit faith for power. Survivors often face deep emotional and psychological scars.

Our blog in your inbox

Sign up to the Decult newsletter for the latest from the cultiverse: books, articles, campaigns and reflections on topics that matter to us.