Terms of Use (Rules) and Privacy Policy

Version - December 20, 2023

Welcome to the AccessRC platform. This digital platform provides an application (“AccessRC” and “the app”) by which individuals can create user accounts, learn about services offered by the Red Cross or Red Crescent society in the country they are in, apply for services, receive services, and communicate with the Red Cross/Red Crescent society.


Your use of the AccessRC platform and app constitutes your agreement to these terms of use. The IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) reserves the right to amend or change these Conditions at any time, at its sole discretion. You should consult them regularly to keep yourself informed of any changes.


Platform Services

  • The “AccessRC” app allows you (“the user”) to search and apply for services offered by the Red Cross or Red Crescent society in the country where the users are currently located.
  • The app displays a list of free programs and provides an application form that lets the user apply for services.
  • When you apply for a program, certain personal data must be provided to the local Red Cross or Red Crescent society that is offering the program. Further information about the collection and processing of personal data may be found in the “Privacy Policy” below and accompanying the specific programs for which you may apply.
  • You may receive messages about the outcome of your application from the Red Cross or Red Crescent society.
  • If approved, you may have the option to receive assistance digitally, or you may receive instructions on how to access your assistance at a physical location.

Account Management & Credentials

  • To access services on the "AccessRC" platform, you must create a user account.
  • As the user account holder, you can create a profile and verify your identity.
  • You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and apply for services.
  • Minors, i.e., people under 18 years old, cannot have an account.
  • You can add family members to your group and register together as a household.
  • You can invite individuals to join your group and affiliate together as a household.
  • Network Access and Devices:
    • You are responsible for providing your own mobile device, obtaining network access, and paying for data and messaging rates associated with the operational use of a mobile device.

User Conduct

  • By using the "AccessRC" platform and app, you agree that you will not use technological tools that digitally alter your personal identity and device identity.
  • Specifically, you agree that you will not:
    • Spoof your personal identity (this means any method of trying to hide your identity or make it appear that you are someone else)
    • Utilize the identity of a deceased person or minor person
    • Mock your geolocation
    • Improperly utilize personal identity documents of other individuals
  • You also agree not to engage in behaviors such as charging people for access to Red Cross services.

Account Suspension & Termination

  • The IFRC and national Red Cross & Red Crescent societies reserve the right to temporarily or permanently suspend your access to the "AccessRC" platform and app if we detect attempts to engage in fraudulent or abusive behavior while utilizing our services.

Warranty

  • The use of the "AccessRC" platform or app does not guarantee that service programs will be available or provided to you.
  • Service provided by national Red Cross & Red Crescent societies are as is and as available.
  • The IFRC and Red Cross and Red Crescent societies disclaim any warranty, express or implied, for the "AccessRC" platform, app, and service programs.

Privacy Policy

The Privacy Policy describes what information we collect in the "AccessRC" platform and app and how we make use of this information. It states the set of principles used to ensure that personal data is collected, used, and protected in a way that considers individuals' privacy and any risks that may come to them from not adequately safeguarding their data. Please read this policy fully.

The information presented in this Privacy Policy only applies to the AccessRC platform/app. Information on personal data processing related to specific programs for which you may apply will may be found in separate Privacy Policies accompanying those programs.


1
Who processes my personal data?

  • The International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) acts as the data controller (it determines the data that is necessary to be collected and the purposes for which it will be used). For AccessRC registration, deduplication and individual identity management, IFRC is the Controller. National Societies are not responsible for these stages, nor do they determine which personal data will be processed or how, except as identified in the next bullet point.
  • In some cases, a national Red Cross or Red Crescent society may process some of the AccessRC data (it may act as a controller for the implementation of specific programs for which you may apply to within AccessRC).
  • Where necessary to technically implement the application or its associated technologies, some data may be processed by our trusted providers, such as allowing financial service providers the ability to process financial transactions.

2
What is our legitimate basis to process your personal data?

We only process your personal data based on one or more of the following bases:

  1. Your vital interest - Humanitarian programs are intended to help you in an existential crisis that threatens your physical or mental integrity, health, dignity, or security.
  2. The public interest - We act under a humanitarian mandate that is recognized to be in the general public interest.
  3. Our legitimate interest - Certain processing activities are in our legitimate interest for example, they may serve administrative, organizational and for cooperation purposes that are important for us to ensure smooth and efficient processing. Where this is the case, we carefully balance our legitimate interest with your interests and rights to privacy.
  4. Consent - For the provision of certain non-essential services or to allow for voluntary continuation of, or referral for, services, we may rely on consent as the legal basis.

3
What kinds of information do we collect?

When you use AccessRC, we collect personal and other information:

  • Personal Information: We collect personal data for you and for each member in your household. This data includes your name, date of birth, gender, facial image, identity document attributes (including but not limited to numbers, photos, place and country of issuance), physical location, IP address, mobile number, and email address. Where your profile closely matches another profile, additional data may be collected and processed to verify that your profile is unique.
  • Device and Log Data: We collect device ID, device type, mobile operating system, crash data, device event information, access dates & time to help us understand how to fix problems and improve the service.
  • Geolocation Info We collect IP address, mobile GPS, and other information to help establish what Red Cross and Red Crescent society can provide services to you.

4
How do we use this information?

  • We collect this information for the following reasons:
  • To register/create a profile in AccessRC;
    • To verify the accuracy of the information you provide (government-issued identity, location, and other biographical information, for instance);
    • To deduplicate and verify your identity;
    • To enable communication with you about the platform and about programs for which you may apply;
    • For global statistical analysis (for instance to understand how people are interacting with the app, and the general demographic data of users);
    • Other analysis to ensure the integrity of the platform and any programs accessed through the app (these uses, for instance will include fraud detection, system security, program delivery deduplication); and o In order to facilitate your application for specific programs listed in the application (for instance to determine your eligibility for Red Cross/Red Crescent national society assistance).

5
Who has access to my personal data?

  • None of the personal data that you share with the IFRC is available to the public.
  • Access to personal information is restricted to certain organizational roles within the IFRC and Red Cross/Red Crescent national societies so they can perform certain functions, such as reviewing applications, providing customer support, or performing program and financial monitoring.

6
How do we share this information?

  • The IFRC serves as administrators of the platform and shares a subset of your personal data with local national Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies with which the IFRC has data sharing agreements.
  • Where necessary to implement the application or its associated technologies, some data may need to be processed by our trusted providers. For example, financial transactions are processed by financial services providers.
  • We will strive to minimize and pseudonymize (or otherwise add technical protection measures) to data that must be processed externally.
  • We will never sell your data.
  • We will never share your data with a partner that does not provide adequate protection of personal data.
  • Where appropriate, we may ask you for your consent before sharing data with other parties.

7
Data retention, inactive accounts, and deletion

The IFRC retains user data and transaction data as long as necessary for the purposes described above in order to provide our services and to comply with legal, financial, and reporting obligations regarding the humanitarian services we provide. The length of time that data is retained is based on applicable requirements, for fraud prevention, and safety and security purposes, and for other issues related to the user's account such as an active or unresolved claim or dispute.


A. Inactive Accounts

  • If you have not logged into your account for more than 1 year, it will automatically be deactivated and archived (see Section VII(B)(2)).
  • If your account has been deactivated and you want to request services, you must register again and verify your identity again.
  • If your account is deactivated, your data is still retained and may be used for internal analyses, such as to measure impact, and to comply with relevant obligations.

B. Data Deletion

You may request the deletion of your user account at any time. IFRC will retain certain user data for reasons stated in this policy (for instance, we may retain this data in order to: maintain a record of deletion requests to ensure that no further communications are made; demonstrate compliance with internal policies or contractual commitments; monitor irregular account creation, access or deletion activity.

  1. You may request the deletion of your user account within the AccessRC at any time by going to the Settings > Login & Security menus in the mobile app.
    • When you initiate the deletion of your user account, the IFRC takes the following actions:
      • The user account immediately is deactivated,
      • Any active applications for assistance are cancelled, and
      • Any active financial assistance payments are cancelled.
  2. The IFRC deletes the data associated with your account in accordance with the following requirements:
    • If you created an account but haven’t applied for cash assistance, your data will be deleted in 30 days after you initiate deletion.
    • If you have applied and been approved or rejected for cash assistance, your data is retained for up to 1 year after you initiate deletion.
    • If your account is associated with fraudulent activity – for example, but not limited to: manipulating data to gain access to a program for which you are not eligible, or misusing another individual’s identity data, your data is retained 3 years after you initiate deletion.
    • In all cases, financial transaction data, non-personal (anonymized) program data, GPS data, and metadata are retained for up to 8 years after you initiate deletion for reporting purposes.

8
Data location

Your data is stored in the European Union.


9
Privileges and Immunities

Nothing in these Terms of Use or Privacy Policy shall be deemed a waiver of any of the privileges and immunities of the IFRC.


10
Contact Information

For questions about the AccessRC privacy policy and how we handle your data, you can contact us through the AccessRC app in the Help section.

For questions about how your data is handled for a specific program, please contact the appropriate Red Cross or Red Crescent national society program that you applied to. Their contact is in the Questions section of the program.