Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Silver Gild is a professional registry for the art and heritage conservation field. It brings together four kinds of participants: conservators who practise the craft, those seeking a conservator (museums, galleries, foundations, auction houses, and private collectors), suppliers to the conservation trade, and those exploring the field such as students and researchers.

This policy explains what information we collect when you create an account and use the registry, how we use it, and the choices you have. By joining Silver Gild, you agree to the practices described here.

2. Information we collect

We collect only what we need to establish your place on the registry and to make the registry useful. Specifically:

Information you provide at sign-up

• Your name and email address.
• A password, if you register with email. We store it only in a securely hashed form and can never read it back.
• The category you join as — conservator, seeking a conservator, supplier, or exploring the field.
• A short follow-up answer that depends on your category — for example, whether a seeker is an institution or a private collection (and, for institutions, whether government or private); whether a supplier sells online and an optional website; or whether someone exploring the field is a student, researcher, or enthusiast.
• Your country (required) and, optionally, your state or city. Location helps other members find conservators and services in their region.

Information generated through use

• Verification codes (OTP). When you register with email, we send a six-digit code to confirm the address belongs to you. These codes are short-lived and are deleted once your account is created.
• Profile content you choose to add later, such as your areas of specialism, descriptions of your work, and images you upload to your archive.
• Basic technical information such as your session and login state, used to keep you signed in and to keep the service secure.

3. Signing in with LinkedIn

You may choose to join or sign in using "Continue with LinkedIn." When you do, LinkedIn shares only a limited set of identity details with us through its Sign In with LinkedIn (OpenID Connect) service:

• Your name;
• Your email address; and
• Your profile picture, if available.

We do not receive your LinkedIn connections, work history, posts, or any other profile data. LinkedIn sign-in is used purely to confirm your identity and to save you from creating a separate password — nothing more. We still ask you to choose your category and country so your account is complete.

4. How we use your information

We use the information described above to:

• Create and maintain your account and keep you signed in;
• Verify that an email address belongs to you;
• Place you in the correct part of the registry and present your profile to the relevant audience;
• Help members discover one another by discipline, material, and location;
• Send you account-related messages, and occasional prompts to help you complete or improve your profile;
• Keep the registry safe, prevent abuse, and meet our legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not run third-party advertising on the registry.

5. Profile visibility

Silver Gild is a registry, and its value comes from members being discoverable. Depending on your category, parts of your profile — such as your name, category, specialisms, location, and any work or services you publish — may be visible to other members and, where relevant, to the public.

Those exploring the field are not listed as a searchable category; their accounts are for access and learning rather than discovery. You control what optional content you add, and you can edit or remove it at any time.

6. Contact between members

When one member first reaches out to another — for instance, an institution contacting a conservator — that first contact is made through Silver Gild, and we record its status (such as sent, viewed, or closed) so both sides have a clear record. After that initial contact, members are free to continue the conversation directly, off the platform.

Any transactions, quotes, or commissions that follow happen directly between the members involved. Silver Gild is not a party to those dealings and does not process payments between members.

7. Verification

Joining the registry only requires confirming your identity. Certain privileges may, in future, require an additional step appropriate to your category — for example, an institution confirming an institutional email address, or a supplier authenticating a business registration before publishing a listing. Where we collect such details, we use them solely to assess and record that verification, and we tell you what is needed at the point we ask for it.

8. When we share information

We share personal information only in limited circumstances:

• With other members, as part of how the registry works (see Profile visibility above).
• With service providers who help us operate the platform — for example, email delivery for verification codes — and only to the extent needed to perform that service.
• With LinkedIn, only if you choose to sign in with LinkedIn, and only as part of that sign-in.
• Where required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of Silver Gild and its members.

9. Data retention

We keep your account information for as long as your account is active. Verification codes are deleted once they are used or expire. If you close your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information within a reasonable period, except where we must retain certain records to meet legal or security obligations.

10. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information. Passwords are stored only as secure hashes, access to data is restricted, and connections to the registry are encrypted in transit. No method of transmission or storage is ever completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your information and to respond promptly if an issue arises.

11. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you;
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• Request deletion of your account and associated personal information;
• Object to or restrict certain uses of your information; and
• Withdraw consent where we rely on it.

You can exercise most of these directly in your account settings, or by contacting us using the details below.

12. Children

Silver Gild is intended for professionals, institutions, and adult learners in the conservation field. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 16. If you believe a minor has provided us with information, please contact us so we can remove it.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time as the registry develops. When we make material changes, we will revise the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you. Your continued use of Silver Gild after an update means you accept the revised policy.

14. Contact us

If you have questions about this policy or about how your information is handled, please contact us at privacy@silvergild.com.