Last updated: December 2025
The Refugee Archive (“we,” “our,” “us”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect personal information when you visit this website (the “Site”), contact us, make a donation, apply for or participate in our programs, submit materials, or otherwise interact with us.
This Policy does not replace any separate consent form, release, research protocol, donor agreement, participation agreement, or submission agreement that may apply to a specific oral history, interview, archive project, fellowship, journal, event, or campaign. If a separate written agreement applies, that agreement will control for that specific activity.
We may collect personal information directly from you, automatically through the Site, and from trusted service providers or partners. The information we collect depends on how you interact with us and may include:
Because our mission concerns displacement, conflict, gender, family status, and lived experience, some materials may include sensitive personal information. We collect and use sensitive information only when it is reasonably necessary for our mission, where you provide it voluntarily, where we have appropriate consent, or where another lawful basis applies.
We treat oral histories, interviews, survivor narratives, and identifying details with heightened care. We do not publish, archive, or share participant stories in ways that go beyond the applicable consent, release, or project terms.
We may use personal information to:
If privacy laws such as the GDPR or UK GDPR apply, we process personal information based on one or more lawful bases, including consent, performance of a contract or pre-contractual steps, legitimate interests, compliance with legal obligations, and, where applicable, research, archiving, public-interest, or nonprofit mission-related purposes. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time, but withdrawal will not affect processing that already occurred lawfully.
We do not sell donor personal information. We do not share donor lists with third parties for their independent marketing or fundraising. We may recognize donors publicly only when permitted by the donor or where the donor has not requested anonymity. Donation transactions may be processed by third-party payment or fundraising platforms, and those platforms may process information according to their own privacy policies and terms.
We may use cookies, pixels, embedded content, and similar technologies to operate the Site, protect security, remember preferences, understand site usage, display embedded media, and support donation or form functionality. Some cookies are essential; others may be set by third-party services such as embedded videos, donation widgets, analytics, fonts, hosting tools, or social media content.
You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. If we use non-essential cookies or tracking technologies in a jurisdiction that requires consent, we will seek consent where required.
We may share personal information with:
The Site may link to or embed third-party services, including donation platforms, YouTube videos, social media posts, maps, forms, fonts, analytics, and partner websites. These third parties may collect information directly from you or your browser. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, not this Policy.
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Donation and accounting records may be retained for tax, audit, and nonprofit compliance purposes. Oral history and archive materials may be retained for long-term preservation where permitted by consent, release, project documentation, law, or ethical archive practices. When information is no longer needed, we will delete, de-identify, archive, or securely retain it as appropriate.
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. No website, platform, transmission, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If we learn of a security incident that requires notice, we will provide notice as required by applicable law.
The Site is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect online personal information directly from children under 13 without verifiable parental or guardian consent where required. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us through the Site without appropriate consent, please contact us so we can review and address the issue.
If a project involves minors, children, or family information in oral histories or related materials, we handle that information under the applicable consent, safeguarding, and project documentation.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access to personal information we hold about you, correct inaccurate information, delete information, receive a copy of information, restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, opt out of certain communications, or appeal a decision about a privacy request.
We do not sell personal information. We also do not knowingly use personal information for targeted advertising or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. If our practices change, we will update this Policy and provide any legally required choices.
To make a privacy request, contact us at [email protected]. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request. Some information may be exempt from deletion or access where we must retain it for legal, security, archival, research, ethical, or nonprofit recordkeeping reasons.
If you sign up for updates, register for an event, donate, or otherwise provide contact information, we may send you relevant organizational updates, campaign information, receipts, or administrative messages. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us. We may still send non-marketing messages, such as donation receipts, transaction confirmations, legal notices, or important service communications.
The Refugee Archive is based in the United States. If you access the Site or provide information from outside the United States, your information may be processed in the United States or other countries where we, our service providers, or our partners operate. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for international transfers.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date will change when we make updates. If we make material changes, we will provide additional notice where required by law.
Questions, concerns, or privacy requests can be sent to: [email protected]