ALM Circle Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

The Association for Linen Management (“ALM,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy of the members and participants of the ALM Member Community (the “Community”), our members-only online community hosted on the Circle platform. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you use the Community, how we use and share that information, and the rights and choices available to you.

This Privacy Policy applies solely to the Community. It supplements, and should be read together with, ALM’s general website privacy policy, which governs your use of almnet.org and other ALM services. If there is a conflict between the two policies with respect to the Community, this Privacy Policy controls.

By registering for, accessing, or participating in the Community, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our practices, please do not use the Community.

2. Who We Are and Our Role

ALM is a non-profit professional association that advances excellence in the textile care industry through education, certification, research, and best practices. For purposes of the data protection laws described in this Policy — including the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) — ALM is the “data controller” of the personal information processed in connection with the Community.

The Community is hosted by Circle Internet Services, Inc. (operating the Circle community platform at circle.so) (“Circle”). Circle processes Community data on ALM’s behalf as a “data processor” or “service provider” under a data processing agreement. Circle’s own privacy practices as a platform are described in its privacy notice at circle.so/privacy.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Provide to Us

•      Account and registration information. Your name, email address, and login credentials used to create and access your Community account.

•      Profile information. Photo, job title, employer or facility name, professional biography, credentials and certifications (e.g., RLLD, CLLM), location, and any other details you choose to add to your Community profile.

•      Content you contribute. Posts, comments, replies, questions, poll responses, images, files, and other materials you share in Community spaces, as well as direct messages you exchange with other members.

•      Event and program participation. Registrations, RSVPs, and attendance for Community events, live streams, courses, and discussion groups.

•      Communications. Messages you send to Community administrators or moderators, survey responses, and feedback you provide.

3.2 Information We Collect from ALM Membership Records

Because the Community is a members-only benefit, we use information from your ALM membership record — such as your name, email address, membership type, and membership status — to provision your account, verify your eligibility, and manage your access.

3.3 Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Community, certain information is collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies:

•      Device and connection data. IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, and mobile device information if you use the Circle mobile app.

•      Usage data. Pages and spaces visited, content viewed, links clicked, time spent, log-in dates and times, and general engagement activity within the Community.

•      General location data. Approximate location derived from your IP address.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information described above to:

•      Create, administer, and secure your Community account and verify your membership eligibility;

•      Operate the Community, including displaying your profile and contributions to other members, enabling discussions, direct messages, events, and courses;

•      Send service communications, such as notifications of replies, mentions, digests, event reminders, and administrative announcements (you can adjust notification preferences in your account settings);

•      Moderate the Community, enforce our Community Guidelines and Code of Conduct, and investigate reported violations;

•      Understand how the Community is used, measure engagement, and improve content, programming, and member experience;

•      Communicate with you about ALM programs, education, certification, and events, where permitted by law and subject to your right to opt out;

•      Protect the security and integrity of the Community and our systems, prevent fraud and abuse, and troubleshoot technical issues; and

•      Comply with applicable legal obligations and enforce our agreements and policies.

We do not use the personal information collected through the Community for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you.

5. Legal Bases for Processing (EEA and UK Members)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we process your personal information only where we have a valid legal basis under the GDPR:

•      Performance of a contract. Processing necessary to provide the Community as a benefit of your ALM membership, including account administration and delivery of Community features.

•      Legitimate interests. Processing to operate, secure, moderate, and improve the Community; to communicate with members; and to promote ALM’s mission — balanced against your rights and interests.

•      Consent. Where required, for example for certain marketing communications or non-essential cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting processing that occurred before withdrawal.

•      Legal obligation. Processing necessary to comply with laws that apply to us.

6. Community Content and Visibility

The Community is a members-only environment. Content you post, including your profile, posts, comments, and event participation, is visible to other authenticated Community members and to ALM administrators and moderators. It is not indexed by public search engines, but you should assume that anything you post can be seen, saved, or shared by other members. Please exercise good judgment and avoid posting sensitive personal information about yourself or others.

Direct messages are visible to the participants in the conversation. ALM does not routinely monitor direct messages but may access them where necessary to investigate a reported violation of our Community Guidelines, to comply with legal obligations, or to protect the safety of members.

7. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes. We share personal information only in the following circumstances:

•      With our platform provider. Circle hosts the Community and processes member data on our behalf. Circle uses subprocessors (such as cloud hosting and email delivery providers) under contractual safeguards.

•      With other service providers. Vendors that assist us with services such as analytics, communications, event management, and technical support, bound by obligations to protect your information and use it only on our instructions.

•      With other members. As described in Section 6, your profile and contributions are visible to other Community members.

•      For legal reasons. If required to do so by law, subpoena, or court order, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of ALM, our members, or others.

•      Business transitions. In connection with a merger, reorganization, or transfer of ALM’s assets, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

•      Aggregated data. We may share aggregated or de-identified information, such as overall engagement statistics, that cannot reasonably be used to identify you.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The Community uses cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, secure the platform, and understand how the Community is used. Essential cookies are necessary for the Community to function. Analytics cookies help us measure engagement and improve the member experience.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, and where a cookie consent banner is presented, through the preferences you select there. Disabling essential cookies may prevent you from signing in or using core features of the Community.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as your Community account is active and as needed to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy. When your ALM membership ends or your Community account is deactivated, we will deactivate your access and delete or de-identify your account information within a reasonable period, except where retention is required for legitimate business purposes (such as records of Code of Conduct enforcement), to comply with legal obligations, or to resolve disputes.

Content you posted to shared discussions may remain visible in the Community after your account is closed, in anonymized or attributed form, to preserve the continuity of conversations. You may request removal of your posted content as described in Sections 11 and 12.

10. International Data Transfers

ALM is based in the United States, and the Community is hosted on infrastructure located in the United States. If you access the Community from outside the United States, your personal information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.

For transfers of personal information from the EEA, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we and our service providers rely on appropriate safeguards, including the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK Addendum, where applicable), to protect your information.

11. Your Privacy Rights — EEA and UK Members (GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA or the United Kingdom, you have the following rights regarding your personal information, subject to the conditions and exceptions set out in applicable law:

•      Right of access. Request confirmation of whether we process your personal information and obtain a copy of it.

•      Right to rectification. Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information. You can update most profile information directly in your account settings.

•      Right to erasure. Request deletion of your personal information (the “right to be forgotten”).

•      Right to restriction. Request that we limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.

•      Right to data portability. Receive the information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and have it transmitted to another controller.

•      Right to object. Object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time.

•      Right to withdraw consent. Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

To exercise these rights, contact us using the details in Section 16. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority, although we would welcome the opportunity to address your concerns first.

12. Your Privacy Rights — United States Residents

Residents of California and certain other U.S. states (including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Utah) have rights under state privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA/CPRA”). Depending on your state, these rights may include:

•      The right to know what categories of personal information we collect, use, and disclose, and to access a copy of your information;

•      The right to correct inaccurate personal information;

•      The right to delete personal information, subject to legal exceptions;

•      The right to opt out of the “sale” of personal information or its “sharing” for cross-context behavioral advertising. ALM does not sell personal information collected through the Community and does not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising;

•      The right to limit the use of sensitive personal information. We do not use sensitive personal information for purposes requiring a right to limit; and

•      The right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising your privacy rights.

To submit a request, contact us using the details in Section 16. We will verify your identity before responding, typically by matching information you provide against our membership records. You may designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf; we may require proof of the agent’s authority.

13. Data Security

We and our service providers maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration, including encryption of data in transit, access controls, and role-based administrative permissions. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please use a strong, unique password for your Community account and notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorized access.

14. Children’s Privacy

The Community is intended for textile care supplier professionals and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child, we will delete it promptly.

15. Third-Party Links and Changes to This Policy

The Community may contain links to third-party websites and resources shared by ALM or by members. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify Community members through the Community, by email, or by other reasonable means before the changes take effect. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this Policy indicates when it was most recently revised. Your continued use of the Community after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us:

Association for Linen Management

P.O. Box 907, Richmond, Kentucky 40476, USA

Phone: +1 (859) 624-0177  |  Toll-Free (US/Canada): +1 (800) 669-0863

Email: info@almnet.org

Web: almnet.org