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Home /PRIVACY & SAFEGUARDING
Safe to explore. Safe to belong.
How this hub protects your information, keeps the site secure and safeguards children and adults with Down syndrome, online and at events.
Worried about a child or adult right now?
- Immediate danger in Hong Kong: call 999
- Social Welfare Department hotline: 2343 2255
- A concern about ALBE, a volunteer, an event or a circle: email hello@albextra.org with “Safeguarding” in the subject. It goes to the safeguarding lead.
- Outside Hong Kong, contact your local emergency services or child protection line.
Forms never store your details
Contact, noticeboard and partnership forms prepare an email in your own app. Nothing is sent until you press send.
Children are never online members
Community circles are for adults aged 18+. No child’s photo, name, school or health detail is published without informed consent.
Videos load only when you choose
YouTube players use privacy-enhanced mode and load only after you press play.
What happens to your information
| When you | What is involved | How it is limited |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing pages | No account or personal details. Our hosting provider keeps standard technical logs (such as page requests and IP addresses) to keep the service secure and working. | Security and reliability only |
| Saved resources | Stored only in your own browser on this device. It is never sent to ALBE. | Clear it any time with the button below |
| Emails you send us | Only what you choose to include. We ask you not to include children’s names, photos or health details. | Used only to reply; deleted when no longer needed |
| Community circles (WhatsApp) | When you join, WhatsApp’s own privacy policy applies and other members may see your number and profile. | Admins never export member lists |
| Stories and photographs | Published only with informed, written consent from the person and, for children, a parent or guardian, plus the child’s own agreement where possible. | Consent can be withdrawn at any time |
| External websites and videos | Links open in a new tab without passing on which ALBE page you came from. Other sites have their own privacy policies. | We review sources before linking |
Built on Hong Kong’s data protection principles
We follow the six Data Protection Principles of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486), and respect equivalent laws for families in Singapore (PDPA 2012), Malaysia (PDPA 2010) and the Philippines (Data Privacy Act of 2012).
- DPP1
Collection
We collect only what is necessary and tell you why at the point of collection.
- DPP2
Accuracy & retention
We keep information accurate and no longer than needed.
- DPP3
Use
We use information only for the purpose you gave it, unless you agree otherwise.
- DPP4
Security
We protect information against unauthorised access, loss or misuse.
- DPP5
Openness
This statement explains our practices in plain language.
- DPP6
Access & correction
You can ask to see, correct or delete your information.
How the site is secured
- Served only over encrypted HTTPS.
- No logins, passwords or payment details are handled on this site; donations use ALBE’s official channels.
- Fonts and images are served from our own hosting, with no advertising or social-media trackers.
- External links use “noopener noreferrer”, and pages send only the minimum referrer information.
- WhatsApp joining only opens verified official invite links (chat.whatsapp.com).
- Found a security issue? Please tell us at hello@albextra.org. Our security contact is also published at /.well-known/security.txt.
How we safeguard children and adults
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Our approach follows the four Keeping Children Safe International Child Safeguarding Standards and Hong Kong law, and extends the same care to adults with Down syndrome, respecting their right to make their own choices with support.
Policy
A written child and adult safeguarding policy, reviewed by ALBE’s directors every year, covers online spaces, events and content.
People
Staff and volunteers working with children or with adults who may lack capacity agree to a code of conduct, receive safeguarding training and are screened, including through the Hong Kong Police Sexual Conviction Record Check where eligible.
Procedures
Events have a named safeguarding lead, photography consent with visible “no photos” options, and children always stay in the care of their parents or carers.
Accountability
Every concern is recorded, acted on and reviewed. We cooperate fully with the Social Welfare Department and Police, and support professionals with duties under the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance (Cap. 650).
Online
- Photographs of real children appear only with their family’s written consent; the only one on this hub is of ALBE’s founder and her son. Topic pages use clearly labelled illustrations instead.
- Community circles are adults-only, moderated by trained volunteer admins, and require agreement to guidelines before joining.
- Noticeboard posts are reviewed before they appear and must not identify any child.
- Stories use first names or pseudonyms only, never schools, addresses or medical records.
- Partners never receive personal information about families.
Images and representation
How people with Down syndrome are shown matters as much as the words we use. Our imagery follows guidance from Down syndrome and disability organisations, and we will keep reviewing it with self-advocates and families.
- Real people, real lives: people with Down syndrome are shown taking part in ordinary life (learning, working, travelling, socialising) as individuals, not as objects of pity or inspiration.
- Adults are shown as adults, with age-appropriate clothing, settings and independence.
- Every illustration is labelled “Illustration”. Illustrations show fictional scenes, never a real person’s likeness or story.
- We never publish photorealistic AI images, face-swaps or synthetic “people with Down syndrome”.
- Stock photographs are labelled as stock. Our aim is to replace them with photographs of real community members taken with their consent.
- Links shared on social media show people-free artwork, so no child’s or adult’s image travels beyond this site.
- Anyone pictured, or their family, can ask us to remove an image at any time by emailing hello@albextra.org.
Your choices
- Ask to see, correct or delete information you have sent us.
- Withdraw consent for a story or photograph, and we will remove it.
- Leave a community circle at any time.
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Version 1.0 · Prepared October 2026 for review and adoption by ALBE’s directors. Questions: hello@albextra.org.