Global Policy on Use of Personal Data
We collect, store, and use your personal data only for the purposes for which you submitted it, and we keep the data only as long as it is necessary for those purposes or for other legitimate purposes that may apply. In these situations, if you choose to withhold any personal data requested by us, it may not be possible for you to gain access to certain parts of the website or associated apps provided by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. or for us to respond to your request.
The data provided in a request or application is accessible to processors involved in the accomplishment of the purpose of data processing and/or to technical support specialists performing tasks related to the operation and maintenance of the technical system. We do not give your personal data to anyone else unless (1) it is necessary to do so in order to provide the service requested by you and we have made a full disclosure to you, (2) we have a good-faith belief that disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to satisfy any applicable laws or regulations, (3) it is in response to a request from law-enforcement authorities, or (4) it is needed to detect and prevent fraud for security or technical issues. By using this website and all associated apps, you consent to our disclosing your personal data to third parties for these purposes only. Any personal data you submit will not under any circumstances be sold, traded, or rented.
USE OF PERSONAL DATA
The majority of the content on this website is accessible without registering as a user and without submitting any information to us. However, some functions are only available for registered users, for users who submit requests or applications, or for users whose personal data is transmitted via jw.org by a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. We process your personal data on the basis of your consent. In certain cases, if you withdraw your consent, we may have a legitimate legal basis for the continued processing of your data, provided that the respective legal requirements are met.
Personal data submitted by you on the website is used solely for the purposes stated to you at the time of submission. These purposes may include the following:
Accounts. The e-mail address that you supply when creating an account on this website may be used to contact you regarding your account. For example, if you forget your username or password and request assistance with logging in, assistance will be provided by means of a message sent to the e-mail address entered in your user profile.
My Profile Page. After you create an account, your congregation secretary may provide you with access to the My Profile feature. If you choose to add additional personal information to your My Profile page on hub.jw.org, you will be asked whether you agree to the use of that additional information to identify you for possible expanded service and to contact you. If you assist with a project and add skills to your My Profile page, a skills assessor may assess your skills in relation to the project. For your information to be processed, it may also be shared, if necessary, with other branch offices of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, or other similar cooperating organizations used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in various countries.
Applications. If you qualify according to the beliefs and policies of Jehovah’s Witnesses, you may use this website to create your user account and submit an application, or your congregation may use this website to submit your application on your behalf. Each application identifies the purpose of its use, such as applying for expanded religious service, or requesting or offering accommodations related to conventions, assemblies, or other events. Your personal data that is included on an application may include personal information that is submitted by you, by local elders, or by a local circuit overseer. The data provided will be used only for processing and considering your application and for related administrative purposes, including creating your profile as part of the application process. If necessary for your application to be processed, your data on an application may also be shared with other branches, the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, or other similar cooperating organizations used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in various countries. In all cases, applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and are not subject to automated decision-making.
Special and International Conventions. If you qualify to apply for a Special or International Convention (“Convention”), you may use this website to submit an application. Please see additional information that applies to all applications under the subheading “Applications” above.
Delegates. The personal data used for the Convention will include your contact information, date of birth, group information, accommodation information, arrival and departure information, and any other data you submit that is necessary for the Convention. If you are selected as a delegate to a Convention, your personal data will be shared with and used by the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses hosting the Convention, including by those individuals serving on and working with the convention and hospitality committees. They will use your personal data for convention planning, to care for your travel and travel-related needs, and to organize the events and activities connected with the Convention. Your personal data will also be shared with your selected hotel, its associated entities, and third-party providers, for the processing of your reservations and any other necessary purposes for your stay at the hotel. Your personal data will also be shared with third-party providers who provide services related to your selected activities. If you choose not to provide your personal data or request that your personal data be deleted, you may no longer qualify to as a delegate to the Convention. We will delete your personal data as soon as it is no longer needed.
Special Preaching Campaigns. If you qualify to apply for a Special Preaching Campaign (“Campaign”), you may use this website to submit an application. Please see additional information that applies to all applications under the subheading “Applications” above. If you are selected to participate in the Campaign, your personal data will be shared with and used by the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses hosting the Campaign. The personal data used for the Campaign will include your contact information, group information, accommodation information, arrival and departure information, language proficiency, and any other data you submit that is necessary for the Campaign. The Special Preaching Campaign Committee in the host branch will use your personal data to organize the Campaign, assign you to a region, and arrange accommodations. The region contact and host congregation elders of your assigned region will use your personal data to organize the Campaign within the region. If you choose not to provide your personal data or request that your personal data be deleted, you may no longer qualify to participate in the Campaign.
Training Classes. If you qualify to assist with projects, including construction projects, a training class organizer may invite you to attend a class. You may accept or decline an invitation or cancel attendance before the start of the class. If you accept an invitation, the trainers of the class will keep a record of your attendance, determine what objectives you met by attending the class, and they may leave comments. The organizers and trainers of the classes will also be able to review and assess the skills you added to your My Profile page on hub.jw.org. For your information to be processed, it may also be shared with other branch offices of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, or other similar cooperating organizations used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in various countries.
Donations. If you make a monetary donation online, we collect your name and contact information. To accept donations via credit card, we use accredited online payment-processing services with world-class security and data-privacy policies. We may receive financial information, such as a credit card number or financial account numbers necessary to process your donation, and send the needed information to those processing services. We process your donation securely using measures that comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI DSS”). The donation recipient retains donation records for as long as necessary according to the donation recipient’s legitimate interests or according to any applicable legal requirements. This includes records of the date of the donation, amount donated, and method of donation. This will enable us to comply with accounting standards and respond to any questions from you that arise during that period. We will not contact you to request additional donations.
Request a Visit. You may also request a visit from one of Jehovah’s Witnesses to learn more about the Bible or about Jehovah’s Witnesses. We will use the personal data you submit through your request only in relation to your specific request. Once you confirm your request, your data may be shared with other branches or cooperating organizations used by Jehovah’s Witnesses if necessary to satisfy your request.
Other Purposes. You may submit personal data (such as your name, postal address, and telephone number) for purposes other than creating an account, submitting an application, or making a donation. In each case, the purpose for which you are invited to give us information is made clear. We will not use your information for purposes that are not made clear when you provide your data.
USE OF PERSONAL DATA IN JW LIBRARY
The use of your personal data in JW Library is described on the page How JW Library Uses Your Data.
As described on that page, the app works by downloading data from the jw.org website. The website has access to a user’s IP address during those downloads. The data collected by the website is intended to provide the app services, to improve app services, and to maintain a secure environment. The specific uses are as follows: enabling the user to access and run the app, managing the operation and optimization of the app, preventing and detecting fraud and malicious software, and managing security incidents.
TRANSFER OF DATA ABROAD
The religious organization operates globally through various local entities. Some of the servers that host the website and associated apps are located in the United States of America. We may transfer your data outside your country of domicile, potentially including countries whose laws provide different levels of data protection that are not always equivalent to the level of data protection in the country in which you currently reside. In the course of handling and transferring your personal data, we take measures designed to protect your data. We expect all organizations used by and supporting the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses to follow our data-protection policies and the effective laws and regulations on personal data.
By visiting this website and communicating electronically with us, you consent to these cross-border transfers. In many cases, we also use agreements for such transfers, such as standard contractual clauses.
YOUR RIGHTS
Whenever we process personal data, we take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal data is kept accurate and up-to-date for the purposes for which it was collected. Depending on the country you live in and the applicable local data protection laws, you may have the following rights regarding the personal data you have submitted to us:
You can request information about the collection and use of your personal information according to applicable local laws;
You can request to access, block, or erase your personal information, or to correct it if it is incomplete or inaccurate;
Where you have legitimate grounds for doing so, you can object to the processing of your personal information and request us not to process further your data.
If the country in which you reside has applicable data protection laws and you wish to access, correct, or delete your personal data, you may find the contact information on the Data Protection Contacts page.
Upon receipt of your written request, after you provide sufficient evidence of your identity and enough information to permit us to identify your personal data, the applicable data controller will fairly consider granting the request by balancing the interests of the individual in gaining access to data or correcting or deleting data against the legitimate interests of the organization, including whether granting the request would endanger the organization’s right to religious freedom and practice. We will also notify any third-party recipients of the necessary changes.
Please note that your data may not be erased if processing is required by law or if the data may be kept on other legal bases. For example, the religious organization has an interest in maintaining data regarding an individual’s status as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Deleting such information would unduly infringe on the organization’s religious beliefs and practices. Requests to delete personal data are subject to any applicable legal reporting or document retention requirements imposed on us. You may also lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority about the processing of the data you have provided through this website.