Privacy & Cookies

Effective Date: 28 September 2026
Applicable to the following website: www.melissafoundation.org

Article 1 — Definitions

  • Applicable Website: This Privacy Policy refers and applies to the Website listed above, hereinafter referred to as the “Website.” Any listed Website may also refer to a corresponding mobile application, should one be currently in use or hereinafter developed.
  • Effective Date: The date this Privacy Policy comes into force and effect.
  • Parties: The parties to this Privacy Policy are the following data controller: MELiSSA Foundation (“Data Controller”) and you, as the user of this Website. Hereinafter, the parties will individually be referred to as “Party” and collectively as “Parties.”
  • Data Controller: MELiSSA Foundation, the publisher and owner of the Website and the Party responsible for the collection of information described herein, referred to either by name or as “Data Controller.” Where the Data Controller is referred to through first-person pronouns, this is through the use of: us, we, our, ours, etc.
  • You: Should you agree to this Privacy Policy and continue your use of the Website, you will be referred to herein as either you, the user, or, where second-person pronouns are required, “your,” “yours,” etc.
  • Personal Data: Personal data and information that we obtain from you in connection with your use of the Website which is capable of identifying you in any manner.

Article 2 — General Information

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect and use the Personal Data that we receive about you, as well as your rights in relation to that Personal Data, when you visit our Website and interact with it in any way, including passively.

This Privacy Policy does not cover any information that we may receive about you through sources other than the use of our Website. The Website may link out to other websites or mobile applications, but this Privacy Policy does not and will not apply to any of those linked websites or applications.

We are committed to the protection of your privacy while you use our Website. By continuing to use our Website, you acknowledge that you have had the chance to review and consider this Privacy Policy, and that you agree to it, including the use of your information and the method of disclosure as described here. If you do not understand or do not agree to this Privacy Policy, you agree to immediately cease your use of our Website.

Article 3 — Contact

The Party responsible for the processing of your Personal Data is MELiSSA Foundation. The Data Controller may be contacted as follows:

Email: datacontroller@melissafoundation.org
Address: Rue du Congrès, 35 · 1000 Bruxelles · Belgique

Article 4 — Location

The MELiSSA Foundation is based in Brussels, Belgium. The Website is hosted by WordPress.com (Automattic Inc.). Where Personal Data is processed outside the European Economic Area, this takes place under the safeguards required by the EU General Data Protection Regulation, such as the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses.

Article 5 — Modifications and Revisions

We reserve the right to modify, revise, or otherwise amend this Privacy Policy at any time and in any manner. If we do so, we will notify you and obtain your consent to the change in processing. Unless we specifically obtain your consent, any changes will only impact information collected on or after the date of the change. It is also your responsibility to periodically check this page for any such modification, revision, or amendment.

Article 6 — The Personal Data We Receive From You

Depending on how you use our Website, you will be subject to different types of Personal Data collected and different manners of collection:

  • Unregistered users: If you are a passive user of the Website and do not register, you may still be subject to certain passive data collection (“Passive Data Collection”), which may include cookies, IP address information, location information, and certain browser data, such as history and/or session information.
  • All users: The Passive Data Collection described above applies to all users and visitors of our Website.
  • Donations: When you make a donation through the Website, we ask for your name, your email address and the amount you wish to give. We use this information only to process your donation, to send you a confirmation and a thank-you message and, for monthly donations, to manage your recurring support. Payments are handled by our payment provider, Mollie B.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), which processes your payment details under its own privacy policy. We do not receive or store your card details. We keep donation records for as long as the law requires for accounting and tax purposes, and we do not use them for any other purpose without your consent.
  • Newsletter: If you subscribe to our newsletter, we ask for your email address and, if you wish, your first name, in order to send you news about MELiSSA research, events and the Foundation. The legal basis is your consent, which you give by ticking the consent box and confirming your subscription through the link in the confirmation email. We send the newsletter with Brevo (Sendinblue SAS, Paris, France), which acts as our processor and stores the data in the European Union. We keep your data until you unsubscribe. You can unsubscribe at any time, using the link in each newsletter or by writing to us.

Article 7 — Cookies and Data We Receive Automatically

Cookies are small text files that a website stores in your browser. This Website uses only a limited number of them, and never for advertising.

Essential cookies. Some cookies are needed for the Website to work properly and securely, for example to keep an administrator logged in, or to remember your cookie choice (the cookie mf_consent, kept for 180 days). These cookies are strictly necessary and do not require your consent.

Visitor statistics, only with your consent. The Website is hosted on WordPress.com. When you first visit, we ask whether you accept a cookie for visitor statistics. Only if you click “Accept” does the WordPress.com statistics service (Jetpack Stats, provided by Automattic) load, which may set a cookie with a random identifier (such as tk_ai). We then receive aggregated statistics, such as the number of visitors, the pages viewed and the country of origin. We cannot identify you from these statistics. If you click “Decline”, or make no choice, the statistics service is not loaded and no statistics cookie is set. You can change your choice at any time via “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page.

No advertising or profiling. We do not use advertising, tracking or profiling cookies, and we do not sell or share your data for marketing purposes.

External services. When you follow a link to another website, or when you are taken to our payment provider to make a donation, that service may set its own cookies under its own policy.

Managing cookies. You can block or delete cookies at any time in your browser settings. If you block essential cookies, parts of the Website may not work as intended.

Server logs. Like most websites, our hosting provider automatically records technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the time of your visit, in order to keep the Website secure and running. This information is kept for a limited period only.

Article 8 — Third Parties

We may utilise third-party service providers (“Third Party Service Providers”), from time to time or at all times, to help us with our Website and to help serve you. This may include assistance with information storage (such as cloud storage), tracking usage data (such as referral websites, dates and times of page requests) to understand and improve usage of the Website, and hosting the Website, in which case the Third Party Service Provider will have access to your Personal Data.

Some of our Third Party Service Providers may be located outside of the country in which you reside and may not be subject to the same privacy laws. The countries or regions in which our Third Party Service Providers may be located include Germany and Belgium.

We only share your Personal Data with a Third Party Service Provider if that provider agrees to our privacy standards as set out in this Privacy Policy. Your Personal Data will not be sold or otherwise transferred to other third parties without your approval. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Privacy Policy, we may provide your Personal Data to a third party in order to protect the rights, property, or safety of us, our users, or third parties, or as otherwise required by law. We will not knowingly share your Personal Data with any third parties other than in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If your Personal Data might be provided to a third party in a manner other than as explained here, you will be notified, and will have the opportunity to request that we not share that information.

Article 9 — Social Network Plugins

This Website incorporates plugins and/or buttons for social networks, to allow easy sharing of content on your favourite social networks. These plugins are programmed so as not to set any cookies when accessing the page, to safeguard the privacy of users. Cookies may be set, however, if you make voluntary use of the plugin. If you browse while logged into a social network, you have already consented to the use of cookies conveyed through this Website at the time you registered with that social network. The collection and use of information obtained through the plugin are governed by the respective privacy policies of the social networks:

Article 10 — How Personal Data Is Stored

We use secure physical and digital systems to store your Personal Data when appropriate, to protect it against unauthorised access, disclosure, or destruction. No system involving the transmission of information via the internet, or the electronic storage of data, is completely secure, but we take the protection and storage of your Personal Data seriously and take all reasonable steps to protect it.

Personal Data is stored throughout your relationship with us. We delete your Personal Data upon request for cancellation of your account, or any other general request for deletion. In the event of a breach of your Personal Data, you will be notified within a reasonable time frame, and in no event later than two weeks, and we will follow all applicable laws regarding such a breach.

Article 11 — Purposes of Processing of Personal Data

We primarily use your Personal Data to help us provide a better experience for you on our Website and to provide the services and/or information you may have requested. Information that does not identify you personally, but that may assist in providing us broad overviews of our user base, will be used for market research or marketing efforts, which may include interests based on your cookies. Personal Data that may be considered identifying may be used to: improve your personal user experience; market and advertise to you, including via email; and advise you about updates to the Website or related activities.

Article 12 — Disclosure of Personal Data

Although our policy is to maintain the privacy of your Personal Data as described herein, we may disclose it if we believe it is reasonable to do so, in our sole and exclusive discretion, including but not limited to:

  • to satisfy any local, regional, or national laws or regulations;
  • to respond to requests, such as discovery, criminal, civil, or administrative process, subpoenas, court orders, or writs from law enforcement or other governmental or legal bodies;
  • to bring legal action against a user who has violated the law or violated the terms of use of our Website;
  • as may be necessary for the operation of our Website;
  • to generally cooperate with any lawful investigation about our users;
  • if we suspect any fraudulent activity on our Website, or activity which may violate our terms or other applicable rules.

Article 13 — Opting Out of Communications From Us

From time to time, we may send you informational or marketing communications related to our Website, such as announcements or other information. If you wish to opt out of such communications, you may contact us at info@melissafoundation.org, or click the opt-out link provided at the bottom of any such communication. Even after opting out, you may still receive communications specifically about your use of our Website or your account with us.

Article 14 — Modifying, Deleting, and Accessing Your Information

If you wish to modify or delete any information we may have about you, or simply access any information we hold about you, you may contact us at datacontroller@melissafoundation.org.

Article 15 — Acceptance of Risk

By continuing to use our Website in any manner, you manifest your continuing assent to this Privacy Policy. You further acknowledge and accept that no transmission of information or data via the internet is always completely secure, no matter what steps are taken, and that we do not guarantee or warrant the security of any information you provide to us, which is transmitted at your own risk.

Article 16 — Your Rights

You have a number of rights in relation to your Personal Data, including:

  • the right to be informed about the processing of your Personal Data;
  • the right to have access to your Personal Data;
  • the right to update and/or correct your Personal Data;
  • the right to portability of your Personal Data;
  • the right to oppose or limit the processing of your Personal Data;
  • the right to request that we stop processing and delete your Personal Data;
  • the right to block any Personal Data processing in violation of applicable law;
  • the right to lodge a complaint with your national or regional data protection authority.

These rights can be exercised by contacting us at the relevant contact information listed in this Privacy Policy.

Article 17 — Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the way we collect information from you, or if you would like to lodge a complaint about anything related to this Privacy Policy, you may contact us at datacontroller@melissafoundation.org.