Privacy policy

1. Who is responsible

The controller for the data processing described here is:

For any question about your data, or to use your rights, write to us at info@startalumni.org.

2. Visiting the website

When you open a page, your browser sends technical data to the server: your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, the referring page, and your browser and operating system. We use this data only to deliver the website and to keep it secure, for example to stop attacks. This is in our legitimate interest in a working and safe website.

The website is hosted by Cloudflare, Inc. (USA), which processes this data on our behalf and may keep it in short-lived server logs. Cloudflare is certified under the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

We do not use cookies, analytics or tracking tools, and we do not show advertising. Fonts are served from our own server, so no data goes to font providers.

3. Requesting access to the alumni network

If you use the “Request access” form, we process the data you enter:

• your name, START chapter and the years you were active at START
• your email address and your LinkedIn profile
• your phone number, only if you give it

We use this data to:

• verify that you are a START alum, together with the alumni lead of your chapter
• add you to the alumni WhatsApp Community, only if you gave your phone number
• send you the alumni newsletter and invitations to alumni events

We process this data on the basis of your consent, which you give with the checkbox in the form. You can withdraw it at any time by writing to info@startalumni.org. Withdrawing does not affect processing that happened before.

Your request is seen only by the START alumni team and the alumni lead of your chapter. If you join the WhatsApp Community, WhatsApp (Meta Platforms) processes your phone number and messages under its own privacy policy. We keep your data while you are part of the alumni network. If your request cannot be verified, or you withdraw your consent, we delete your data unless the law requires us to keep it.

4. Contact by email

If you write to us, we use your email address and your message only to answer you. We delete the conversation when it is no longer needed.

5. Links to other websites

This website links to other services, for example LinkedIn, event pages and startglobal.org. Once you follow a link, the privacy policy of that service applies.

6. Data outside Switzerland

Some of our service providers, such as Cloudflare and WhatsApp, may process data outside Switzerland, including in the USA. We only use providers in countries with an adequate level of data protection, or with suitable safeguards such as the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or the standard contractual clauses recognised by the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

7. Security

The website is only available over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). We protect your data with technical and organisational measures, and only the people who need it to handle your request can see it.

8. Your rights

Under the FADP you can:

• ask whether we process data about you, and which data
• have incorrect data corrected
• have your data deleted, or object to its processing
• receive the data you gave us in a common electronic format
• withdraw your consent at any time

Write to info@startalumni.org. We may ask you to confirm your identity. If you think we handle your data wrongly, you can complain to the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC, edoeb.admin.ch).

If you live in the EU or the EEA, you also have the rights under the GDPR, including the right to restrict processing, and you can complain to the data protection authority in your country.

9. Changes

We update this policy when the website or the law changes. The current version is always on this page.