The bit nobody reads
How we handle your data
One page, plain English, no lawyers. If anything here isn't clear, email me and I'll fix the wording.
The short version. If you open an Appreciation Account, I keep your first name, your email address and your sixty answers. I use them to build your profile and to write to you occasionally. I don't sell anything to anyone, ever. Ask me to delete it and I will, the same day.
What I keep, and why
- Your first name and email address. So I can open your account, send your statement if you buy one, and write to you now and again. You asked for that when you ticked the box, and you can untick it any time.
- Your sixty answers. They're what your profile is built from. Without them there's nothing to send you, and no way to produce the annual statement if you want one.
- The date you completed it. Only so the annual statement knows when a year is up.
- If you buy something: Lemon Squeezy handles the payment and holds the billing details. I never see your card. I see that an order happened, and the email address on it.
What I do with it
Your answers are used to build your own profile, and nothing else that identifies you.
Anonymously, and in aggregate, they also feed research into what makes people laugh — the sort of thing that ends up in a talk, a report, or a room full of people who commission wellbeing services. That means numbers and patterns across everybody who's taken it. It never means your name, your email, or your individual profile.
If you'd rather your answers weren't counted even anonymously, say so and I'll exclude them.
Who else sees it
- Brevo sends the email. They hold your name and address to do it.
- Lemon Squeezy handles payments, if you buy something.
- PythonAnywhere runs the code that builds your profile.
- Nobody else. Your details are not sold, rented, swapped or shared with advertisers. There are no advertisers.
How long
Until you tell me otherwise, or until three years pass without you opening anything I send. Then it goes.
Getting rid of it
Every email has a working unsubscribe link, and it works first time — no "are you sure", no survey.
To have everything deleted, including your answers, email barry@laughtherapy.lol and ask. You don't need to give a reason. You're also entitled to a copy of what I hold; ask and you'll get it.
The legal bit, briefly
The Laughter Bank is run by Edacity Ltd, trading as Laugh Therapy. Under UK GDPR, Edacity Ltd is the data controller. The lawful basis is your consent, given when you ticked the box, and you can withdraw it at any time. If you think I've handled your data badly, tell me first and I'll put it right — and if I don't, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
One thing worth saying plainly. The Appreciation Account asks about your taste in comedy. It never asks how you're feeling, and it isn't a health tool. Nothing here is health data, and I don't hold any.