PRIVACY POLICY

Effective date: 13 December 2025

1. Who We Are

This privacy policy applies to The Healing hands center i ehf (Company ID / Kennitala: 650123-2980, Iceland) and The Healing Hands Center France (SIREN: 941 982 472 / SIRET: 941 982 472 00016, France). Together we operate the website www.thehealinghandscenter.com.
Contact: info@thehealinghandscenter.com

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and how we safeguard your data when you visit our website or use our services.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect personal information to provide our services and improve your experience:

Contact details – Name, email, phone number, and address when you book events, sign up for newsletters, or contact us.
Emergency contact – Name and phone number of someone we can contact in case of emergency during workshops or retreats.
Booking and payment info – Payment details, booking history, event preferences, motivation, experience, and language knowledge.
Travel & logistics information - Arrival and departure dates/times.
Communication data – Messages and interactions via email, SMS, WhatsApp, or social media.
Consent for group communications – Information about your preferences regarding newsletters, marketing communications, WhatsApp groups, surveys, and feedback forms. Consent is collected when you actively choose to receive such communications (for example, by signing up, checking a box, or joining a group).
Social media activity – Any comments, messages, or interactions on our social media channels, including existing platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube, as well as any additional social media platforms we may use in the future.
Website usage – Data collected through cookies and analytics, like pages visited, time spent, and device/browser information.
Feedback and surveys – Voluntary information you provide to help us improve our services.
Photos and videos – Photographs and video recordings taken during workshops, retreats, or events in which you may be identifiable. These may include images or recordings of you participating in group activities or events.
Legal compliance – Information needed to meet legal obligations in Iceland and France.

3. How We Use Your Information

Contact details

We use your name, email, phone number, and address to:

-   process bookings and registrations
-   communicate with you about events, updates, or changes
-   respond to your inquiries
-   send newsletters and promotional emails if you have consented

Emergency contact

We use emergency contact details only to:
- reach the designated person in urgent situations during workshops or retreats

Booking and payment information

We use payment details, booking history, event preferences, motivation, experience, and language information to:
-   manage registrations and payments
-   organize workshops, retreats, and events
-   tailor activities based on your preferences and needs
-   maintain internal records

Travel & logistics information

We use arrival and departure dates/times to:
- monitor when participants have arrived
- provide support such as coordinating travel or carpooling between participants with their consent

Communication data

We use email, SMS, WhatsApp, and social media messages to:
-   communicate with you about your bookings or questions
-   provide important updates before, during, or after events
-   manage customer support

Consent for group communications

We send newsletters, marketing communications, invitations to WhatsApp groups, surveys, and feedback requests only where you have given your consent or where permitted by applicable law.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at info@thehealinghandscenter.com or by using the unsubscribe option included in our communications.

Social media activity

We use comments, messages, and interactions on our social media pages to:
-   respond to your posts or messages
-   monitor engagement and improve our social media presence
-   understand audience interests

Website usage (cookies & analytics)

We use website usage data to:
-   analyze how visitors use our site
-   improve website functionality, performance, and user experience
-   develop new features or services

Feedback and surveys

We use voluntary feedback to:
-   understand satisfaction levels
-   improve workshops, retreats, programs, and communication
-   develop new services based on your input

Photos and videos

We may take photos or videos during workshops, retreats, or events for the following purposes:
-   documenting the activities and atmosphere of our events
-   internal use (e.g. training or quality improvement)
-   promotional and communication purposes (such as our website, newsletters, or social media), only where you have given your consent

Participation in photos or videos is voluntary. You will be informed when photos or videos may be taken and may object at any time. If you do not wish to appear in photos or videos, you can indicate this on the consent form provided or inform us before or during the event, and we will take reasonable steps to respect your preference.

Legal compliance

We use required information to:
-   fulfill legal obligations under Icelandic and French law
-   maintain regulatory records
-   ensure we follow health, safety, and financial reporting requirements

Security

We use relevant data to:
- protect our systems from fraud or misuse
- ensure the safety and integrity of our services

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal data only when we have a legal reason to do so. The main legal bases we rely on are:

1. Performance of a contract

- For booking and payment of workshops, retreats, and events.
- To provide the services you requested, manage your registration, and communicate event details.

2. Consent

We process certain personal data based on your consent, in particular for newsletters, marketing communications, invitations to WhatsApp groups, surveys, and feedback requests.

You provide your consent when you actively opt in to receive these communications (for example, by signing up, checking a box, or joining a group).

Providing consent is voluntary and is not required to book or participate in our workshops, retreats, or events.

You may withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal. To withdraw your consent, please contact us at info@thehealinghandscenter.com or use the unsubscribe option included in our communications.

This consent basis also applies to the use of photos or videos in which you may be identifiable.

3. Legitimate interests

- To improve our website, services, and customer experience.
- To manage social media interactions, respond to inquiries, and prevent fraud or misuse of our services.

4. Legal obligations

- To comply with accounting, tax, consumer protection, and other legal obligations in Iceland and France.

5. Data Sharing & Transfers

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with:

Our Companies – Your information may be shared between The Healing hands center i ehf and The Healing Hands Center France as necessary to provide our services.
Service Providers – Payment processors, booking platforms, IT providers, and other third-party services that help us operate our business may process your data on our behalf.
Website Hosting and Cloud Services – Our website is hosted on Wix, which may store or transfer data outside the European Economic Area (EEA), for example to the USA or Israel. Other service providers may also store or process data outside the EEA. All such transfers are protected by appropriate legal safeguards.
Legal or Regulatory Authorities – We may disclose personal data when required to comply with laws or regulations in Iceland, France, or the EU.
Social Media Platforms – Your data may be shared with social media platforms only as part of your interactions with us.

Data is shared only for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and as required by law.
All third parties are obliged to process your data securely and only for the purposes we specify.
Transfers outside the EEA are protected by appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data to provide our services, comply with legal obligations, or resolve disputes. We periodically review stored personal data to ensure we retain it only as long as necessary. Typical retention periods include:

Booking and Payment Information: Retained for the duration required by law (e.g., accounting and tax purposes) and as needed to provide our services. Retention periods may be extended if required by law or contractual obligations.
Newsletter and Marketing Data: Retained until you unsubscribe or withdraw your consent.
Website Analytics and Usage Data: Retained in anonymized or aggregated form for analysis, reporting, and service improvement. Anonymized data is not considered personal data and may be retained indefinitely.
Feedback and Surveys: Retained as long as necessary to evaluate and improve our services.

You may request that your personal data be deleted or restricted, subject to applicable legal obligations. Retention policies also apply to the data shared with third parties as described in the “Data Sharing & Transfers” section.

7. Security of Personal Data

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it.

Personal data is stored in password-protected cloud systems with access restricted to authorized personnel of The Healing hands center i ehf and The Healing Hands Center France who require it to provide services or fulfill legal obligations.
Where appropriate, personal data is protected using industry-standard technical measures, including encryption during transmission and storage, as supported by our service providers.
We regularly review and update our security practices to ensure ongoing protection of personal data.
In the unlikely event of a personal data breach, we will comply with applicable laws regarding notification to the relevant data protection authority and affected individuals.

While we strive to protect your personal data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

8. Your Rights

Under applicable data protection laws, including the GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Access and rectification – Request access to your personal data or correct any inaccuracies.
Erasure – Request deletion of your data where applicable.
Restriction of processing – Ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Data portability – Receive a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
Withdrawal of consent – Withdraw your consent at any time (e.g., newsletters, WhatsApp groups).
Objection – Object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
Complaint – Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe your rights have been violated.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@thehealinghandscenter.com.
We will respond in accordance with applicable law, typically within one month. Some rights may be subject to legal exceptions or limitations.
If you have any concerns or believe your privacy rights have been violated, we encourage you to contact us first at the same email address. We will do our best to resolve your concerns promptly and fairly.

You also have the right to file a complaint directly with your national data protection authority:

France: CNIL – https://www.cnil.fr
Iceland: Persónuvernd – https://www.personuvernd.is

9. Minors (Children’s Personal Data)

Our services are primarily intended for adults.
Where workshops, retreats, or events are open to participants under the age of 18, the processing of personal data relating to minors will take place only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian.

Parents or legal guardians must complete the registration on behalf of the minor and accept this Privacy Policy.
Photos or videos of minors will not be used for promotional or communication purposes without explicit, prior consent from the parent or legal guardian.

If you believe that we have collected personal data from a minor without appropriate consent, please contact us at info@thehealinghandscenter.com so that we can take appropriate action.

10. External Organisations

We sometimes collaborate with external organisers in countries such as Switzerland, Belgium, and Nepal, and may work with organisers in other countries in the future.
Personal data may be shared with these external organisers solely for the purpose of delivering workshops, retreats, or related services.
Please note that these external organisers have their own privacy policies and practices. The Healing hands center i ehf and The Healing Hands Center France cannot guarantee how they process or protect your personal data and are not responsible for their policies.
We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external organisers before providing them with personal information.

11. Cookies & Tracking

Our websites may use cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience, provide essential functionality, and analyze website usage. Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit our websites.

1. Essential / Functional Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly and to provide the services you request, such as:

Processing payments for workshops, retreats, and events.
Managing registration and booking forms.
Sending newsletters or subscription confirmations.

These cookies are essential for service delivery and do not require your consent, but we disclose them here for transparency.

2. Analytics Cookies

We use analytics tools provided by Squarespace and Wix to understand website traffic, visitor behavior, and improve our services. Analytics cookies track information such as:

Pages visited and time spent on the website.
Device and browser type.

If we implement additional third-party analytics tools (such as Google Analytics), we will ask for your consent before tracking. These third-party providers may have their own privacy policies.

3. Marketing / Advertising Cookies

We may use marketing cookies when interacting with social media platforms (e.g., Instagram, Facebook) to measure ad effectiveness or retarget website visitors.
These cookies require your explicit consent before they are activated.

Managing Cookies

You can manage, accept, or disable cookies through your browser settings. If you do not see a cookie banner appearing on the website, it is your responsibility to set your preferences using your browser. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality or the services we provide.

For guidance on managing cookies:

Users in France: https://www.cnil.fr/en/cookies-and-tracking
Users in Iceland: https://www.personuvernd.is
Other EU/EEA users: https://edpb.europa.eu
Users outside the EEA: You can manage cookies using your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect website functionality or services.

12. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as the applicable national data protection laws in the countries in which we operate:

Iceland: Act on Data Protection and the Processing of Personal Data (No. 90/2018)
France: French Data Protection Act (Loi Informatique et Libertés)

The applicable national law (Icelandic or French) depends on which of our entities provides the service you use.

For users outside the EU/EEA, the GDPR may still apply where relevant—for example, when accessing our services from within the EU/EEA or where our services target EU/EEA residents.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “last revised” date.

13. Contact Us

If you wish to view, correct, delete, or change how we use your personal data, or if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at:

The Healing hands center i ehf

Lágmúla 5
108 Reykjavík
Iceland
Email: info@thehealinghandscenter.com

The Healing Hands Center France
11 rue Darwin
75018 Paris
France
Email: info@thehealinghandscenter.com

We will respond to your inquiry as quickly as possible and always in accordance with GDPR requirements.