Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are and How to Contact Us

• Legal Entity Name: WeMakeDevs Limited
• Registered Office Address: 128 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX
• Primary Contact & Privacy Email: contact@wemakedevs.org

Under applicable privacy legislation—including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), the Indian Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA), and relevant United States state privacy laws—WeMakeDevs Limited acts as the Data Controller (or Data Fiduciary) for the personal data processed through our website and events.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us at contact@wemakedevs.org.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you provide to us directly, as well as technical data generated when you use our website backend or participate in our events:

• Account & Registration Data: When you create an account on wemakedevs.org or register for an event, we collect your full name, email address, job title, company/organization, location, social media or GitHub profile handles, and password credentials.
• Event Participation Data:Details regarding the virtual webinars, workshops, hackathons, or in-person conferences you sign up for, attend, or interact with (including Q&A submissions or live session feedback).
• Special Category Data (In-Person Events Only): If you attend a physical event, you may voluntarily provide dietary requirements or physical accessibility requests. This sensitive data is used strictly to provide event accommodations and is deleted shortly after the event concludes.
• Technical & Device Telemetry: IP address, browser user-agent, operating system details, device identifiers, essential session cookies, and backend application log data to keep our system secure and optimized.

3. How We Use Your Data and Lawful Bases

We process your personal data for the following specific purposes and under the following legal bases:

• To Provide Our Platform and Manage Events: To authenticate your backend logins, issue event tickets, facilitate hackathon team assignments, and host virtual or physical sessions. (Legal Basis: Performance of a Contract)
• To Send Event Updates & Marketing Communications: To send you updates about upcoming WeMakeDevs events, technical workshops, community news, and educational resources. (Legal Basis: Consent or Legitimate Business Interest)
• To Share Information with Event Sponsors: To allow official sponsors of events you attend to contact you with relevant opportunities or product updates, subject to your explicit choice. (Legal Basis: Explicit Opt-In Consent)
• To Maintain System Security: To protect our website backend against unauthorized access, cyber threats, and fraudulent activity. (Legal Basis: Legitimate Interest / Legal Obligation)

4. Event Updates and Unsubscribing

We like to keep our global developer community informed about upcoming hackathons, conferences, platform upgrades, and learning resources.

• How We Contact You: By registering an account or signing up for an event, we may send you administrative service messages (such as ticket confirmations and password resets) and promotional event updates.
• Your Right to Unsubscribe:You can opt out of receiving marketing emails or event updates at any time. Every promotional email we send includes an automated, single-click “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom. You can also update your email preferences directly in your backend account settings or email us at contact@wemakedevs.org to be removed from our marketing lists.

Note: Unsubscribing from promotional emails will not affect essential transactional messages (e.g., ticket confirmations or critical security alerts) related to events you actively register for.

5. Sharing Your Data with Event Sponsors

Our events are made possible through the support of corporate and technology sponsors.

• Sponsor Sharing Clause: When you register for an event sponsored by a third-party company or present your event badge for scanning at an in-person sponsor booth, we may share your contact information (such as your name, email address, job title, and company) with the specific sponsors associated with that event.
• Control & Choice: We will only share your contact information with sponsors if you explicitly opt in during registration (via an unticked checkbox) or voluntarily present your badge to be scanned at an event booth.
• Sponsor Communications: Sponsors who receive your data act as independent data controllers. They may use your data to reach out regarding developer tools, job opportunities, or services. You can opt out of communications from a sponsor at any time by following the unsubscribe mechanism in their emails.

6. Third-Party Service Providers and Global Transfers

We do not sell your personal data. We only share data with trusted third-party service providers (Data Processors) who assist us in operating our platform. The infrastructure providers we currently rely on, and the regions they operate in, are:

This list is kept current here and in our Terms of Service, and is updated whenever our infrastructure changes. Alongside these providers, we also use automated email delivery providers, video streaming platforms, and virtual event interactive software to run our communications and events.

International Transfers: Because our community is global, your personal data may be stored or processed on servers outside your home country. Our application hosting and primary database are located in Singapore, and our error monitoring is located in the European Union. Data may also be processed in the UK, the European Union, the United States, or India in the course of running our events and communications. Where cross-border transfers occur, we enforce recognized legal safeguards, including Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and robust data processing agreements with each provider listed above.

7. Data Retention & Deletion

We retain your personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or to comply with legal obligations:

• Account Data: Retained while your account is active. Accounts inactive for over 24 months are archived or deleted following notification.
• Event Data: General event participation registers are retained for up to 12 months post-event for feedback and certificate generation.
• Special Accommodations Data: Accessibility and dietary information for physical events is permanently purged within 14 business days post-event.
• Automated Pre-Erasure Notifications (India DPDPA): For users in India, when data reaches the end of its scheduled retention window or purpose, we issue an automated electronic notice at least 48 hours prior to permanent data erasure, giving you the opportunity to retain your account if desired.

8. Your Global Privacy Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction (including under UK/EU GDPR, Indian DPDPA, and US privacy laws), you have specific statutory rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and details of third-party sharing.
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): Request the permanent deletion of your personal data.
• Right to Object / Opt-Out: Object to the processing of your data for direct marketing or sponsor sharing at any time.
• Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, standard machine-readable format.
• Right to Nominate (India): Nominate an individual to exercise your privacy rights in the event of death or incapacity.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at contact@wemakedevs.org. We respond to all verified requests free of charge within statutory deadlines (generally within 30 days).

9. Children’s Data and Age Requirements

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and use our platform on your own behalf. If you are under 18, you may only use the platform with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, and you will be asked to confirm during registration that you are 18 or older or that you have obtained that consent. These age requirements are set out in full in our Terms of Service.

• Children under 13: Our platform is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them without appropriate consent. If we learn that we have done so, we will delete that information promptly.
• Verifiable parental consent (India DPDPA): For users in India who are under 18, we process personal data only on the basis of verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian. We do not undertake tracking, behavioural monitoring, or targeted advertising directed at children, as required by the DPDPA.
• Parental requests: If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, contact us at contact@wemakedevs.org and we will review and delete the data as appropriate.

10. Security Safeguards

We implement technical and organizational security controls to protect your data, including end-to-end Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3) for website traffic, AES-256 encryption at rest for backend databases, multi-factor authentication, and strict access controls. In the unlikely event of a security breach affecting your data, we will notify you and relevant supervisory authorities as required by law.

11. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy at any time, with or without notice, to reflect technical modifications to wemakedevs.org, new event formats, or regulatory changes. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version, so please check back periodically. Where a change materially affects how we process your personal data, we will aim to highlight it on our website and notify registered users by email, but we are not obliged to do so except where the law requires it. Your continued use of the platform after an update takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Supervisory Authority Complaints

If you feel we have not addressed a privacy concern adequately, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local regulatory authority:

• United Kingdom:Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk
• India: Data Protection Board of India (DPBI)
• European Union: Your local national Data Protection Authority (DPA)