Privacy Policy

Please note that data protection laws are changing and the date for compliance with the new regime (The General Data Protection Regulation) is 25 May 2018. We are working with the Online Dating Industry (ODA) and will update our privacy policy in the next few months to ensure compliance with the new regime so please check back regularly for updates.

Christian Connection ("We") take your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains the steps We take to ensure information about you is kept secure and confidential. We are owned and operated by Widernet Communications Limited who is the data controller in respect of this Website.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully as once you use the Website We will assume you have read and accept this Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions of use.

You must not use the Website if you do not accept this Privacy Policy and/or the Terms and Conditions.

1. Data Protection

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office who regulates how We store and use information about you. To view our registration information, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website. If you feel that We are in any way not conforming with the provisions of our registration, please contact us.

In addition, you have rights under the Data Protection Act 1998. For an overview of your rights under this Act, please see the data protection section on the GOV.UK website.

2. The Information We Collect

2.1 We will only collect personal information about you given by you when you register with Christian Connection. We will always let you have a copy of all personal information We have about you should you request it. We won’t do this in cases where fraud or abuses of the site is suspected.

2.2 When you register, we will ask you for your name, post code and email address. We may also collect sensitive personal data if you choose to provide such data. If, after the free trial, you decide to purchase a subscription we will ask you for your debit/credit card details or a cheque made payable to Christian Connection. We do not store credit card details.

2.3 You may change or delete personal information about you at any time by logging into your account on the site.

2.4 We use a number of different cookies on our site which collect technical data about you. Please read our Terms and Conditions for more information.

2.5 None of the contact information above will be given to other members.

2.6 We may also receive the following information about you from Facebook (if you are a Facebook user and your Facebook privacy settings allow this): name, date of birth, location, email address and photograph. The privacy of your personal data held with Facebook is subject to their privacy policies and your privacy settings with them.

2.7 We collect data about users’ behaviour for the following reasons:

  • to identify potential fraud by comparing genuine behaviour with known fraudulent behaviour;
  • to help us plan targeted marketing and advertising campaigns, by looking at how particular groups of users are using the service;
  • to help us understand what behaviours are more likely to result in a successful experience (typically finding a partner), so that we can pass on advice to members, and we can improve the design of the service to achieve a higher success rate by encouraging the kind of behaviour that is more likely to yield a success;
  • to identify users who may be receptive to a particular promotion or offer; and
  • to recommend users to other users based on their behaviour.

3. Online Dating Platform

3.1 None of the information in clause 2.2 will be given to other people via the Online Dating Platform. We will assign you a username which you can use on the Website. Other members will only know your username and other information should you choose to tell them.

3.2 When you fill in your personal profile, the information provided will be available to other users of this Website. This information will exclude anything that could allow you to be specifically identified or contacted outside the Website.

3.3 When completing your personal profile there are several questions and some of these are mandatory for you to be able to use the Website, the remainder are discretionary. Other users will not have your private email address, surname, address or other contact details unless you choose to send it to them via the messaging system. You can update them at any time.

3.4 People can visit parts of the site without being registered as a member. They will be able to see extracts from media articles, and testimonials from members. They will not be able to access the majority of the site and see full profiles.

4. Aggregate Statistical Information about our Users

We collect information about our users to help us improve and personalise the Website and any services provided to you through the Website. We may disclose aggregate but not individual statistics to potential advisors, for example number of users, typical ages, locations.

5. Passing on Information about you

5.1 Christian Connection discloses your personal information for the purposes of site administration, development and back-up to its contractors, agents, administrators, developers and programmers.

5.2 Some of parties listed above may be accessing this information internationally, in countries outside the European Economic Area. Some of these countries may offer differing levels of protection of personal information, not all of which may be as high as in the UK.

5.3 We do not pass your information to third parties for marketing purposes. We may use your details to contact you about other services we provide if you provide your consent for us to do so. You can of course ask us to stop providing such services to you at any time.

5.4 In certain circumstances we may need to disclose information about you if you breach this privacy policy and/or the Terms and Conditions of this Website. We may also disclose or access your account if required to do so by law or any other Governmental body.

5.5 In the event that we sell any of our business or assets, we will disclose your personal data to the prospective buyer of such business or assets.

5.6 If Widernet Communications Limited or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, any personal data held by it in relation to its customers (including you) will be one of the transferred assets.

5.7 We are a member of the Online Dating Association (ODA). The ODA helps to ensure the safety, and protect the vital interests, of those who use dating sites in the UK. In helping to ensure the safety of users, if a user's actions or behaviour on Christian Connection cause us to become aware of or reasonably suspect that that the user may be guilty of, or may commit, a serious offence then we may (at our sole discretion) share information about such user (which may include sensitive personal data) and the serious offence with the ODA who may in turn share this information with other members of the ODA. Where we do share such user's information we will only disclose such information as is strictly necessary for the purpose of the ODA and its members reviewing the serious offence and whether or not it would be appropriate to block such users from any sites. In certain circumstances we may disclose information about a user in relation to a serious offence to the police or users at risk where we believe it is in the vital interests of those users. In this section the term "serious offence" includes, but is not limited to: racist, sexist or discriminatory, physically or sexually threatening actions or comments; actually or attempting to defraud other users; actions such as stalking or harassment which could cause a user serious distress; and repeated offences which in isolation are not considered serious but collectively display a pattern of behaviour which may cause other users harm or serious distress.

6. How we use the personal information we collect about you

6.1 Contact information is used to communicate with you. This includes notifying you about messages from other members, providing information about our events, products and service, responding to any questions or requests you may make, confirming receipt of communications from you, or if we need to contact you for any reason.

6.2 Profile information is posted on the Christian Connection website and is used to promote you to our other members. As such, it may be viewed by any individual who is registered to use the website.

6.3 If you send emails to other members they are sent to those members automatically. They are also stored on our own systems and are visible to us. Other personal information provided voluntarily by you is used to better understand our members and to help us improve and promote our services. We may disclose aggregate but not individual statistics to potential advisors, for example number of users, typical ages, locations.

6.4 Success stories are posted on our website and included in emails to members to help promote our services. Christian Connection assumes that both partners mentioned in a success story are happy for the success story to be used in this way, but we will always notify you in advance, if we use your success stories and if you request that we remove the success stories we will do so.

6.5 Complaints are investigated as appropriate. The fact of the complaint may be recorded and details stored in case of future complaints against the same member.

6.6 If you close your account we may retain the profile and personal contact details for security reasons, and to ensure the site is not used fraudulently. If you have closed your account, and we still have your information, you can request copies or access, subject to an appropriate fee.

6.7 If a visitor or other member of the site copies or distributes information on your profile, they are in breach of copyright and acting illegally. If the media uses information from any part of the site without permission, they are in breach of copyright, but Christian Connection cannot be held responsible where this has occurred.

7.Christian Connection staff and contractors’ use of and access to information

7.1 Christian Connection employees and contractors may also be members of the site, and their employment may give them access to information not generally available to other members of Christian Connection or the general public.

  • They will not use personal contact information or other personal information held by Christian Connection for any purpose other than the performance of their jobs.
  • If in contact with another member, they shall disclose the fact that they are working for Christian Connection in one of the first two emails.

8. Where your data is stored

8.1 The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy. Our current hosting provider has signed up to Privacy Shield.

8.2 Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

9. Security

Keeping information about you secure is very important to Christian Connection. We exercise great care in providing secure transmission of all your information from our computer servers. However no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure. As a result, whilst we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information which you send to us, and you do so at your own risk.

Please refer to our FAQs for more information.

Any changes to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by email or when you log in to your account. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.

If you have any questions relating to this Privacy Policy or how we use the personal information we have about you, please contact us.