Privacy Policy
The Addiction Counsellors of Ireland is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy outlines how we handle information collected through our website.
The Addiction Counsellors of Ireland (also referred to as “ACI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is Ireland's leading accrediting body for addiction professionals. We represent members across counselling, supervision, and addiction work.
ACI is based at Denshaw House, 120 / 121 Baggot Street, Dublin 2, D02 FD45. If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, you can contact us at info@addictioncounsellors.ie.
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect:
- The data provided in the comments form
- The visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string (for spam detection)
An anonymized string (hash) from your email address may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you are using it. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available here. Once your comment is approved, your profile picture will be visible publicly alongside it.
Automated Spam Detection
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service to maintain the integrity and safety of the site.
Media
If you upload images to the website, please avoid embedding location data (EXIF GPS), as others may download and extract this information.
Our website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience, enable functionality, and collect anonymized analytics.
Types of cookies we use
- Save your name, email, and website when you leave a comment (expires after 1 year)
- Manage login sessions and screen display preferences
- Assess whether your browser accepts cookies (temporary cookie)
- Support functionality like editing or publishing articles
Notes
- If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your details in cookies for convenience
- On the members login page, we set a temporary cookie to check if your browser accepts cookies (discarded when the browser closes)
- Login cookies last 2 days; “Remember Me” login persists for 2 weeks
- Screen options cookies last for 1 year
- Editing or publishing articles sets a 1-day cookie with no personal data (indicates post ID only)
You can manage or disable cookies in your browser settings
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). These behave as if you visited the third-party website and may:
- Collect your data
- Use cookies or third-party tracking
- Monitor your interaction if you have an account with them
We do not control the data collection practices of these third-party services
We use website analytics tools to understand how visitors use our website. These may collect information such as:
- Pages visited
- Browser type and device used
- IP address (which may be anonymised)
This helps us improve our services and website experience. Where required, we obtain your consent before enabling non-essential cookies.
We process your data under one or more of the following legal bases:
- Consent: e.g. accepting cookies, signing up for a newsletter
- Contract: e.g. creating a user account
- Legal obligation: e.g. retention for administrative purposes
- Legitimate interests: e.g. improving services or securing our website
We do not sell or rent your personal data. However, we may share it with:
- Service providers who host our site or provide analytics and email services
- Spam detection and security systems
- Gravatar (if using comments)
- Authorities, when legally required
If you request a password reset, your IP address may be included in the reset email
Some third-party tools we use (e.g., email or analytics services) may transfer your data outside the European Economic Area (EEA). When this occurs, we ensure your data is protected through:
- Standard Contractual Clauses
- Adequacy decisions by the European Commission
- Binding corporate rules or similar safeguards
- Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely
- Registered users’ personal data is stored in their user profile and retained as long as the account is active or required for legal purposes
- Cookies vary in duration (from session-based to 1 year)
Users can delete their data at any time or contact us for support
Under GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access your personal data
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
- Request erasure of your data
- Restrict or object to processing
- Request data portability
- Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)
To exercise these rights, contact us at: info@addictioncounsellors.ie
If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, you can contact the Data Protection Commission (DPC) www.dataprotection.ie
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.
Last updated: 22 May 2025
