Finmunity beta privacy notice

Version: 31 October 2026

Richard Summerfield runs Finmunity and is responsible for its use of your personal information. Contact support@finmunity.com for privacy questions or requests.

What we collect and why

We collect your first name, username, email address, a securely hashed password, age confirmation, country and any interests you choose. We record when you accept the terms and which version you accepted. We use these to create and secure your account, verify your email, identify you in the community and operate the service. Optional profile images, tank journals, photos, readings, posts, messages and interactions are stored when you use those features. Your signup country stays private and helps us choose relevant adverts. If online visibility is enabled, we store your most recent activity time and show a green dot to other members for up to five minutes. You can hide this in Settings; switching it off clears that timestamp. This indicator does not store a history of your visits.

Account and content processing is necessary to provide the service you request. Sign-in and explicit sign-out dates and times are recorded for account security and are available only to the administrator. Closing a tab is not recorded as a sign-out. Security logs, reports and moderation records support our legitimate interests in preventing abuse and keeping the community safe. Optional notifications can be managed in Settings. Following Richard is optional and can be switched off; the welcome friendship can also be removed.

Who can see it

Your display name, username, avatar and profile interests are visible to members. Public posts, questions, their replies and public journal entries are visible to anyone, including search engines. Author display names are shown with them. Existing posts remain members-only unless their author chooses public visibility. Shared tank profiles remain member-only; each journal entry has its own audience. Records marked “Only me” are not shown to other members. Private messages are available to their participants, subject to blocks and account restrictions. If you report an incoming message, a copy of that message and your explanation are shared with authorised moderators for review; this does not grant them access to the rest of your conversation. You can disable direct messages and incoming friend requests in Settings. Safety reports and staff review notes are stored to investigate abuse. Reporter identities and private review notes are not shown to the reported member. Your email and password are not displayed to members.

The operator can access stored information to run the service, resolve support issues and meet legal obligations. Hosting, mail delivery and backup services process information needed to operate Finmunity. Hosting is provided by Unlimited Web Hosting. We may disclose information when legally required. We do not sell your personal information.

Polls

We store the answer you choose against your account to enforce one vote per member. Other members see totals and percentages, not who voted for each option. The operator can access stored votes when needed to run and protect the service.

Drafts, deleted posts and feedback

Unfinished text and post details are saved privately as drafts in your account and temporarily in your browser tab. They are not published automatically. Photos are not saved in drafts. Posts you delete are hidden and retained so you can restore them; backup copies may also remain. Feedback and problem reports are visible to you and authorised staff. Staff may email you about the outcome.

Advertiser accounts

Advertiser accounts are separate from community membership. We collect the business name, contact name, email, securely hashed password, verification status and confirmation that the advertiser has read our guidelines. We store submitted artwork, wording, targeting, preferred dates, review feedback and approval records to manage campaigns. Advertisers see only their own submissions, campaigns and aggregate performance totals; Finmunity administrators can review and manage them. Verification and password reset emails help secure these accounts. Contact support to request account changes or deletion.

Sponsored adverts

Finmunity may show adverts selected by the administrator. We use your saved country and the fishkeeping interests you list on your profile to choose relevant adverts. We do not use your private messages or a browsing history for targeting. We do not share your country or individual interests with advertisers; they see overall campaign totals. Guests see only worldwide adverts set to All interests. Members without a saved country or matching interests see only adverts without those restrictions. We store overall advert impression and click totals, not an individual advertising history. Short-lived placement checks prevent counting the same placement repeatedly. No advertising network or advertising cookies are used for these adverts. Visiting an advertiser’s website takes you to that service and its privacy practices.

Cookies and links

Finmunity uses essential cookies to keep you signed in and protect forms. Choosing “Remember me” keeps you signed in on that device for longer. External links take you to other services with their own privacy practices.

Optional Google Analytics

With your permission, Google Analytics helps us understand page visits, engagement, device types and approximate visitor regions. Google processes this usage information and sets analytics cookies, lasting up to six months. Analytics stays off until you choose “Allow analytics”. Choosing “Reject analytics” leaves the site fully usable. You can change your choice using “Cookie settings” at the bottom of any normal page. We remove analytics cookies when you reject them. We do not send your name, email address, account ID, post or message content, search terms, or verification and password reset links. Page addresses are reduced to route categories and contain no individual member or content IDs. Google advertising features and automatic form tracking are disabled. Our own sponsored adverts operate separately from Google Analytics. See Google’s privacy policy for its processing practices.

How long we keep information

We keep account and content information while needed to provide your account and its records. Archiving a tank preserves its records. If you request deletion, Richard will review what can be removed and explain anything that must be retained for security, outstanding reports or legal obligations. Backup copies are kept separately for recovery and may retain previous versions until they are replaced or removed.

Your choices and rights

You can edit your profile, manage notifications, unfollow or block members, delete your own comments and choose journal visibility. You can request access, correction, deletion, restriction or a copy of your personal information, and object to processing where applicable. Use the account request form in Settings or contact Richard using the details above; we may need to confirm your identity.

You can also raise a privacy complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. Finmunity does not make automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on members.