01Who we are
Ruckr is the rugby club software service operated as Ruckr Rugby (“Ruckr”, “we”, “us”). Contact [email protected] about the service, these documents or Ruckr’s handling of personal information. Your club is a separate organisation; its name and contact details should appear in its own policies.
02Club decisions and Ruckr’s responsibilities
A club generally controls the information it collects to run memberships, teams, fixtures, communications, payments, welfare and events. It decides the purposes, lawful bases, authorised recipients and retention periods. Ruckr processes those club records on documented instructions under the data processing agreement.
Ruckr separately controls information it needs to run its own service, including account administration, subscriptions, support, security, abuse prevention and legal compliance. A payment, identity or social provider may also have independent responsibilities. Roles depend on what each party actually does, not just the label in a policy.
A club’s privacy notice, membership rules or consent request does not replace Ruckr’s notice, waive an individual’s rights or transfer Ruckr’s own legal duties to the club. Each organisation remains answerable for the processing and conduct for which it is responsible.
03Your club’s privacy notice and processing record
Identify the club’s legal/operator name, privacy contact, purposes, lawful bases, categories of data and people, recipients, international transfers, retention criteria and rights. Explain where data comes from when it is supplied by another club or organisation. Make the notice available before collecting information and in a form children and families can understand.
The in-app processing map is a starting point, not an approved lawful-basis assessment. Review it against your actual activities, governing-body requirements and use of exports or connected services. Record special-category and criminal-offence conditions, legitimate-interest assessments and any required appropriate policy document.
04Permissions, minimisation and ownership
Collect only what you need, keep it accurate and grant the smallest access appropriate to a person’s job. Review officer and guardian roles when responsibilities change. Protect downloaded reports, shared devices and emailed attachments as carefully as the records in Ruckr.
Your club controls its club records and retains rights in its content. That does not override members’ rights or give an incoming committee a new purpose for historic data. Decide who is authorised to approve exports, external disclosures, changes of purpose and erasure.
05Changing a policy or purpose
Before a change, identify what data, people, purpose and recipients are affected; assess necessity, compatibility and the lawful basis; update your notice; and communicate the practical difference before using the data in the new way. Consider a DPIA for higher-risk changes, particularly children’s, health or safeguarding information.
Where consent is the basis, publish a distinct, understandable version and obtain a fresh affirmative answer for the new use. Do not preselect yes, treat a read receipt as consent, or make unrelated optional choices a condition of membership. Keep the exact wording, version, person/guardian, time and any withdrawal as evidence.
Where another basis properly applies, explain it and any objection rights; do not ask for a misleading consent you intend to disregard. A safeguarding obligation is not suspended by an unacknowledged website notice. Your club’s policy must remain separate from Ruckr’s obligations and terms.
06Third parties, sponsors and other clubs
Review each connection before switching it on. Tell members what is sent and who receives it; obtain necessary consent and contracts, and check the provider’s own-controller functions. Do not upload a member list to a sponsor or social service merely because an officer can export it.
When sharing with another club, tournament organiser, governing body or professional, establish the relevant roles and a proportionate sharing arrangement. The other organisation may be its own controller. Your club remains responsible for disclosures and copies it makes outside Ruckr.
07Safeguarding remains a club responsibility
The club is responsible for its safeguarding arrangements, suitably appointed and trained leads, safer recruitment and appropriate checks, supervision, risk assessments, medical provision, reporting, escalation and compliance with its governing body’s rules. It must keep its own policies current and make them available to members and parents.
Ruckr provides tools to support that work: scoped permissions, guardian links, consent records, concern reporting, access records and welfare workflows. Software, an acknowledgement or a green status does not verify a person’s suitability, guarantee safety or replace professional judgement. Ruckr does not become the club’s safeguarding officer, clinician, event organiser or regulator by providing these tools.
This allocation does not excuse Ruckr from its own security, privacy, contractual or statutory duties. Ruckr may need to act on unlawful content, a credible risk or a lawful authority request within its own responsibilities. No clause prevents a necessary, proportionate safeguarding disclosure.
08Rights requests and incidents
Keep a clear contact route and a process for identity checks, finding all relevant records, appropriate redaction, response deadlines and recording decisions. A self-service download may not answer every aspect of a formal request. Medical, welfare and other protected records require the right authorised handler.
Report suspected Ruckr security issues promptly to Ruckr as well as recording the club incident. Assess whether a personal-data breach must be reported to the ICO, generally within 72 hours of awareness where the notification threshold is met, and whether people need to be told without undue delay. Do not wait for a dashboard timer or a complete investigation before taking necessary action.
09Retention, leaving and deletion
Club records follow the club’s documented retention schedule, the purpose for keeping each record and any applicable legal, safeguarding, accounting or dispute obligations. The app’s default periods and minimum settings are product controls, not a statement that every club is legally required to retain every record for that length of time. A club must review their suitability and contact Ruckr if a valid erasure request or legal requirement needs a different approach.
Closing a sign-in account, ending membership, withdrawing a permission and erasing a club record are different actions. Some records can be removed; others must be restricted or retained for a justified purpose. A child’s club record is not automatically erased when a parent deletes their own account or when the child removes their sign-in.
Local account closure and a provider’s deletion can finish at different times: the Ruckr record is removed first, and the sign-in held by the authentication provider and any stored files follow. Copies a provider keeps under its own terms are covered by that provider’s notice.
Exports, emailed files, calendar copies, published social posts and a recipient’s own records do not disappear when the original is removed from Ruckr. The controller must address those copies too. Backup copies remain protected and expire through the applicable backup cycle; they must not be restored for ordinary use in a way that defeats an erasure decision.
10Providers and international processing
The provider register separates core service infrastructure, sharing enabled by a club, and connections chosen by an individual. It explains the data, purpose, choice and provider role for each. An optional connection does not give that provider general access to a club’s records.
The main application database and API are configured in London. Uploaded object files use EU storage. This is not a promise that all processing stays in the UK: authentication, email, payments, device services, optional integrations and provider support can involve other countries.
Restricted international transfers require an applicable adequacy arrangement or appropriate contractual safeguards, together with any necessary transfer assessment and supplementary measures. A provider’s country or a privacy-policy link is not, on its own, a transfer safeguard. Clubs can request information about the relevant arrangements from Ruckr, subject to protection of confidential security and contractual information.
11Ruckr’s assistance and limits
The DPA sets out Ruckr’s security, confidentiality, sub-processing, incident assistance and return/deletion duties. Privacy tools help your club keep evidence and act on its decisions; they are not a certification that the club is compliant. Seek qualified advice where a decision requires it.
12Changes and the version you are shown
Each document shows its version date and review status. Material changes must be explained to the people affected before the new processing begins, with any further notice required by law. A public page is the current explanation; an acceptance record must identify the exact document or notice shown at the time.
Reading a privacy notice acknowledges information; it is not blanket consent. Where a club relies on consent for a changed purpose, recipient or activity, it must obtain a fresh, specific choice before that new use. Silence, continued membership and an earlier yes do not authorise an expanded consent-based purpose. Necessary processing based on a different lawful basis must be assessed and explained separately.