Last updated: October 2026
The International Association for the Study of Affective Touch (IASAT) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal data responsibly.
This Privacy & Cookies Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we retain it, and your rights in relation to your personal data.
1. Who We Are
IASAT operates the website: https://iasat.org
The International Association for the Study of Affective Touch (IASAT) acts as the data controller for personal data processed through IASAT.org and related IASAT activities.
For questions about this notice or to exercise your data protection rights, please email: data@iasat.org
Requests are handled by the IASAT Webmaster & Executive Committee
IASAT processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 where applicable.
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2. Information We Collect
Depending on how you interact with IASAT, we may collect:
Contact Information
- Name
- Email address
- Postal address
- Telephone number
- Institution or organisation
Academic and Professional Information
- Institution
- Department
- Job title
- Career stage
- ORCID identifier
- Research interests
- Professional biography
- Social media profiles
Demographic Information
Where voluntarily provided, we may collect:
- Country
- Age or date of birth
- Gender
Event and Conference Information
Where you participate in IASAT events, conferences or related activities, we may collect:
- Registration details
- Attendance status
- Payment records
- Dietary requirements
- Accessibility requirements
- Photographic consent preferences
Website and Technical Information
When you use our website we may collect:
- IP address
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Referring website information
- Pages visited
- Date and time of access
- Device information
Information Submitted Through Forms Or Email
When you contact us through a website form or email, we may collect:
- Name
- Email address
- Institution
- Subject
- Message contents
- Any information you choose to provide
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3. How We Collect Information
We may collect information:
- Directly from you
- Through website forms
- Through event registration systems
- Through email communications
- Through mailing list subscriptions
- Through website usage and cookies
- From publicly available professional sources
- From conference organisers acting on behalf of IASAT
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4. How We Use Personal Data
We may use personal data to:
- Respond to enquiries
- Administer IASAT activities
- Manage conferences, meetings and events
- Distribute newsletters and announcements
- Maintain mailing lists
- Process registrations and applications
- Improve website functionality and security
- Prevent fraud and abuse
- Comply with legal obligations
- Maintain organisational records
Special Category Data
Where attendees voluntarily provide accessibility requirements, dietary requirements, or other information that may reveal health, disability, religious beliefs or other protected characteristics, IASAT will process that information solely for the purpose of facilitating attendance at the relevant event and meeting attendees’ requirements.
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5. Legal Basis for Processing
Where required under applicable data protection law, IASAT relies on one or more of the following lawful bases:
- Consent
- Performance of a contract or agreement
- Compliance with legal obligations
- Legitimate interests pursued by IASAT
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
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6. Mailing Lists and Communications
IASAT operates mailing lists for:
- Newsletters
- Conference announcements
- Community updates
- Membership-related communications
Mailing list services are currently provided through Mailchimp.
Where required, communications are sent only to individuals who have provided appropriate consent.
If you unsubscribe from a mailing list, limited information may be retained to ensure your preference not to receive future communications is respected.
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7. Events and Conference Information
IASAT may organise or support conferences, meetings, workshops and related events.
Event information hosted on our website may include:
Venue Information
- Name
- Address
- City
- Country
- Region or province
- Postal code
- Telephone number
- Website
- Geographic coordinates
- Description and Travel Directions
Organiser Information
- Name
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Website
Event Information
- Event title
- Description
- Dates and times
- Venue
- Cost
- Registration links
- Images and promotional materials
Where external registration systems such as Eventbrite are used, registration and payment information may be collected and processed directly by those providers subject to their own privacy policies.
IASAT does not store or process payment card details.
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8. Forms
Form submissions made through the website may be stored within the website database and sent to authorised IASAT administrators by email.
Information submitted through forms is used only for the purpose for which it was collected, unless otherwise stated.
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9. Comments
Website comments are not currently enabled.
If comments are enabled in future, IASAT may collect:
- Information submitted through comment forms
- IP addresses
- Browser user-agent information
This information may be used for moderation and spam prevention.
An anonymised hash of your email address may be sent to the Gravatar service to determine whether a Gravatar profile exists.
Gravatar’s privacy policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/
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10. Media Uploads
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images containing embedded location data (EXIF GPS).
Visitors to the website may be able to download and extract embedded metadata from publicly accessible images.
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11. Embedded Content
Pages on this website may contain embedded content from third-party websites, including:
- Video platforms
- Maps
- Social media content
- Event systems
Embedded content behaves in the same way as if you visited the originating website directly.
Those third parties may collect data, place cookies, and monitor your interaction according to their own privacy notices.
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12. Cookies
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.
They help websites function correctly, remember preferences, improve performance and, where applicable, provide analytics or advertising functionality.
Essential Cookies
IASAT uses essential cookies required for core website functionality, including:
- Login and authentication
- Security features
- User preferences
- Website administration
These cookies cannot generally be disabled without affecting site functionality.
WordPress Cookies
If enabled, WordPress may set cookies relating to:
- Login Cookies: When users sign in, cookies may be used to maintain authenticated sessions.
- Screen Preference Cookies: WordPress may save display preferences and administrative settings.
- Comment Cookies: If comments are enabled in future, visitors may choose to save their name, email address and website details in cookies for convenience.
Third-Party Service Cookies
Third-party services used on IASAT.org, including embedded maps, event registration systems, affiliate networks, spam protection services, and mailing list providers, may also place cookies or similar technologies on your device in accordance with their own privacy and cookie policies.
Cookie Consent
Where non-essential cookies are used, they will only be placed where appropriate consent has been obtained.
You may manage cookies through your browser settings.
Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.
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13. Analytics and Website Statistics
IASAT currently relies primarily on:
- Web hosting statistics
- Google Search Console
- Limited website performance and diagnostic information
If additional analytics platforms or content delivery services are introduced in future, this notice will be updated accordingly.
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14. Affiliate Links
Some pages may contain affiliate links relating to:
- Conferences
- Travel
- Accommodation
- Books
- Other resources relevant to the affective touch research community
If you follow an affiliate link and make a purchase, the advertiser may pay a commission at no additional cost to you.
Affiliate providers may use cookies or similar technologies according to their own privacy policies.
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15. Spam Protection & Security Monitoring
Spam Protection
IASAT uses automated spam detection services, including Akismet.
Information submitted through forms or comments (where enabled) may be be transmitted to Automattic Inc. and processed for spam detection purposes and may include:
- IP address
- Browser information
- Referrer information
- Submitted content
The Akismet privacy policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/
Security Monitoring
IASAT uses website security tools, such as WPMU DEV Defender to help protect the website against spam, malicious activity, unauthorised access attempts, and denial-of-service attacks. These tools may process technical information such as IP addresses, browser information, request metadata, and security logs for the purpose of detecting, preventing, and investigating security incidents.
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16. Sharing Personal Data
IASAT may share information with trusted service providers where necessary to operate its activities.
These may include:
- ADMX.uk (website development, maintenance and support)
- Unlimited Web Hosting UK Ltd (website hosting and backups)
- Local Conference Organisers
- Mailchimp (mailing list communications)
- Event management & booking services such as Eventbrite (event registration where applicable)
- Auttomatic Inc. and WPMU Dev (Spam Protection & Security Monitoring)
- Payment processors such as PayPal, Stripe or Square where applicable
- Google Maps for location services
We do not sell personal data.
We may also disclose information where required by law or where necessary to protect IASAT, its members or the public.
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17. International Transfers
IASAT is an international academic association.
Members of the IASAT Executive Committee and authorised administrators are currently located in the United Kingdom and European Union.
Some third-party providers may process data outside your country of residence. Where this occurs, we seek to ensure that appropriate safeguards are applied in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
Some service providers used by IASAT may be located outside the United Kingdom and European Economic Area, including in the United States. Where applicable, transfers are made subject to appropriate safeguards under relevant data protection legislation.
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18. Data Retention
We retain information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required by law.
Examples include:
- Mailing list suppression records retained indefinitely where necessary to honour unsubscribe requests.
- Event records retained for administrative and historical purposes.
- Contact form enquiries retained for as long as reasonably necessary.
- Website logs retained according to hosting and security requirements.
Where website accounts are used in future, users may request deletion subject to legal and administrative requirements.
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19. Security
IASAT takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure.
Website traffic is secured using SSL/TLS encryption where supported.
Access to personal data is restricted to authorised individuals who require access for legitimate IASAT purposes.
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20. Your Rights
Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:
- Access your personal data
- Correct inaccurate personal data
- Request deletion of personal data
- Restrict processing
- Object to processing
- Withdraw consent
- Request portability of certain information
- Lodge a complaint with a relevant supervisory authority
To exercise your rights, contact: data@iasat.org
We may request information necessary to verify your identity before responding.
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21. Changes to This Notice
IASAT may update this Privacy & Cookies Notice from time to time.
The most current version will always be published on IASAT.org with the revision date shown at the top of the document.