Privacy & Cookies Policy
Last updated: 24.11.2025
1. Who We Are
The website vfaw-ngo.org is published by:
Voices for Animal Welfare (VfAW)
Non-profit association governed by the French law of 1 July 1901
Registered in the French Sirene register under number SIREN 933 972 614
RNA (National Association Register) number: W751275592
Registered office:
27 rue des Meuniers
75012 Paris
France
For the purposes of applicable data protection laws (including the EU General Data Protection Regulation – "GDPR"), VfAW acts as the data controller for the personal data collected via this website.
You can contact us regarding this policy or your data at:
E-mail: contact@vfaw-ngo.org
2. Personal Data We Collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data via this website:
Identification and contact data
For example: first name, last name, e-mail address, telephone number, country of residence, organisation, role/position.
Data related to your messages or requests
For example: subject and content of your message, any information you provide in contact or enquiry forms, and any files you may attach.
Data related to applications (volunteering, internships, collaborations, programmes)
For example: education, experience, skills, motivation, availability, country of residence, languages spoken, areas of interest.
Newsletter and communication data
For example: your e-mail address and any preferences or interests you share when subscribing to our news or updates.
Browsing and technical data
For example: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, pages visited, date and time of visits, referring URLs, approximate location (based on IP), collected through cookies or similar technologies, in accordance with the choices you make in our cookie banner.
We do not intentionally collect "special categories" of data (such as data relating to health, political opinions, religious beliefs, etc.) via our website. Please avoid including such information in your messages unless it is strictly necessary.
3. Purposes and Legal Bases for Processing
We process your personal data for the following purposes and on the following legal bases:
Handling contact requests and general enquiries
Purpose: to receive, review, and respond to your messages and requests (information, partnerships, media, cooperation, etc.).
Legal basis: our legitimate interest in communicating with people who contact us and ensuring the follow-up of our activities (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).
Managing applications (volunteers, interns, collaborators, participants)
Purpose: to receive and evaluate applications, communicate with candidates, prepare and manage participation in our projects and programmes.
Legal basis:
- Taking steps at your request prior to entering into an agreement (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR), and
- our legitimate interest in organising our teams, partnerships, and projects (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).
Sending newsletters, updates, and invitations
Purpose: to send you news about our projects, campaigns, events, opportunities, and ways to support or collaborate with VfAW.
Legal basis:
- Your consent when you subscribe to our mailing list or tick a specific box allowing us to send you communications (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), and/or
- our legitimate interest in informing our existing contacts (partners, collaborators, donors) about closely related activities, while always allowing you to opt out (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).
Operating, securing, and improving the website
Purpose: to ensure the proper functioning and security of the website, to measure audience and performance, and to improve our content and user experience.
Legal basis:
- for strictly necessary cookies: our legitimate interest in providing a secure and functional website (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR);
- for analytics or other optional cookies: your consent collected through our cookie banner and preferences tool (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR).
4. How Long We Keep Your Data
We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described above, and for the time required to comply with our legal obligations or defend our rights in case of disputes.
Indicative retention periods:
Contact requests and general enquiries:
Kept for up to 3 years after the last interaction or final response to your request, unless a longer period is required in case of a dispute or legal obligation.
Applications (volunteers, interns, collaborators, participants):
- For unsuccessful applications: normally up to 2 years after the last contact, unless you ask us to keep your profile longer or to delete it sooner.
- For accepted applications and collaborations: for the duration of the project or relationship, then archived for up to 5 years after the end of the relationship, to comply with legal obligations and for evidence purposes.
Newsletter and communication data:
Kept until you unsubscribe or withdraw your consent, or until we delete inactive contacts after a certain period of inactivity.
Browsing and cookies data:
Kept for the duration specified in our cookie management tool and in accordance with legal requirements (for example, some analytics cookies may be kept for up to 13 months after consent).
Data may be stored for longer periods in an anonymised form, which does not allow you to be identified.
5. Who Can Access Your Data
Your personal data may be accessed by:
- Authorised members of the VfAW team, who need the data to carry out their tasks (for example: responding to enquiries, processing applications, managing communications and events).
- Service providers acting on our behalf, for example:
- website hosting and maintenance,
- email and newsletter platforms,
- form tools or project management tools,
- analytics or security tools (if used).
These service providers act as data processors and are bound by contractual obligations to:
- process your data only on our instructions,
- implement appropriate security measures, and
- never use your data for their own purposes.
We do not sell your personal data.
We may also disclose your data if required by law, regulation, or court order, or to protect our rights and those of our members, volunteers, and partners.
6. Transfers of Data Outside the European Union
Some of our service providers or technical tools may be located outside the European Union or may store data on servers outside the EU.
In such cases, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:
- an adequacy decision from the European Commission for the country in question, and/or
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and other contractual and technical measures to ensure a level of protection essentially equivalent to that in the EU.
You can contact us if you wish to obtain more information about these safeguards.
7. Your Rights
In accordance with the GDPR and applicable data protection laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
Right of access:
You can request confirmation that we process your personal data and obtain a copy of the data we hold about you.
Right to rectification:
You can ask us to correct data that you consider inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"):
You can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances (for example, when the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or when you withdraw your consent).
Right to restriction of processing:
You can request that we restrict the use of your data in certain cases (for example, while we are checking the accuracy of data you contest).
Right to object:
You can object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of your data based on our legitimate interests.
You also have the right to object at any time to the processing of your data for direct communication or outreach purposes (e.g. newsletters). In this case, we will stop sending you such communications.
Right to data portability:
When processing is based on your consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you can request to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, and ask us to transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.
Right to withdraw your consent:
Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, you can contact us at:
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) or with your local supervisory authority in the EU if you believe that your rights have not been respected.
8. Cookies and Similar Technologies
A cookie is a small text file stored on your device (computer, smartphone, tablet) when you visit a website. It can help the website recognise your device, remember your preferences, or collect information about your browsing.
On vfaw-ngo.org, we use:
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are essential for the website to function properly and securely (for example: session cookies, language preference, security-related cookies).
They do not require your consent and cannot be disabled via our cookie banner, although you can disable them in your browser settings (which may affect how the site works).
Analytics or performance cookies (if activated)
These cookies help us understand how visitors use our website (which pages are visited, how long visitors stay, which links are clicked, etc.), so that we can improve our content and services.
These cookies are only placed on your device if you accept them via our cookie banner and preferences tool.
Third-party or social media cookies (if used)
Some pages may include content or features from third parties (for example, embedded videos, social media sharing buttons). These third parties may set cookies on your device when you view such content.
These cookies are also subject to your prior consent.
When you first visit our website, a cookie banner appears and allows you to:
- accept all optional cookies,
- refuse all optional cookies, or
- customise your choices by category.
As long as you have not given your consent, optional cookies (such as analytics or social media cookies) are not placed on your device.
You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking on the link such as "Cookie settings" or "Manage cookies" available in the footer of the site, which will reopen the cookie preferences tool.
You can also configure your browser to block cookies or to notify you when a site uses them. However, disabling certain cookies may affect the functioning or display of some parts of the site.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy & Cookies Policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes in our practices, in our tools, or in applicable legislation.
When we make significant changes, we will indicate this by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy regularly.
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