Privacy Policy – Active Join Groups

Your privacy matters to us. This Privacy Policy explains what information Active Join Groups ("we", "us" or "our") collects when you visit activejoingroups.com, how we use it, who we share it with, how advertising cookies work on our website, and the choices and rights you have. By using Active Join Groups, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Who we are

Active Join Groups is an independent directory of WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook groups, channels and pages, with educational guides on related topics. We are not affiliated with WhatsApp LLC, Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook) or Telegram. If you have any questions about this policy, contact us at contact@activejoingroups.com or through our Contact Us page.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, we record basic, anonymous visit statistics to understand how the site is used and to improve it. This may include:

the page you visited and the date and time of the visit;
the type of device you used (for example, mobile or desktop);
the website or search engine that referred you to us;
an approximate country based on your connection, where available.

We use this information only in summary form, such as "how many people visited the Telegram channels page today". We do not use it to identify you personally.

Like most websites, our hosting server also keeps standard technical logs, which may include IP addresses, browser type and the time of requests. These logs are used for security, troubleshooting and preventing abuse, and are kept only for a limited time.

2.2 Information you give us

Group submissions: when you suggest a group, channel or page, we store its public link, the name and picture shown by WhatsApp, Telegram or Facebook for that link, the category, description, language and tags you provide, and your IP address, which we use to prevent spam and repeated submissions.
Comments: when you post a comment, we store the name you enter, your comment, the time and your IP address. Your name and comment are shown publicly once approved. Please do not include personal information such as phone numbers or addresses in comments.
Contact messages: when you use our contact form or email us, we store your name, email address, subject and message so we can reply to you.
Reports: when you report a group, we store the report and an optional reason.

We do not ask for, and you should never send us, passwords, bank or card details, or identity documents.

3. How we use information

to operate, maintain and improve Active Join Groups;
to review, publish and moderate groups and comments;
to reply to your messages and requests;
to understand which pages and categories are useful to visitors;
to detect, prevent and respond to spam, fraud, abuse and security problems;
to comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information.

4. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser. Active Join Groups itself uses a single essential session cookie that keeps forms secure (for example, protecting the comment and contact forms from misuse). This cookie is deleted when you close your browser and is not used to track you on other websites.

Third parties, such as advertising partners, may also set cookies on your device when you visit our website, as described below.

5. Advertising

We work with third-party advertising networks to show advertisements and sponsored links on Active Join Groups. Advertising helps us keep the website free.

Advertising networks and their partners may use cookies, web beacons and similar technologies to show ads, limit how often you see the same ad, measure results and prevent fraud.
Some ads may be based on your visits to this website or other websites. The network that serves an ad decides what is shown, not Active Join Groups.
You can opt out of many networks' use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info or www.youronlinechoices.eu, and you can block or delete cookies in your browser settings.
Sponsored links and promoted groups may take you to websites run by others. Their terms and privacy policies apply once you leave Active Join Groups.

Where required by law, such as for visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, we will ask for your consent before personalised advertising cookies are used, through a consent message shown on our website. You can change your choice at any time using the privacy or cookie settings link provided by that message. If you do not consent, you may still see non-personalised ads.

Advertisers and ad networks are responsible for their own use of cookies and data under their own privacy policies. We do not control those cookies.

6. Analytics

In addition to our own anonymous visit statistics, we may use analytics services such as Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. These services may use cookies and collect information such as pages visited and time spent on the site. You can learn how Google uses this data in its privacy policy, and you can install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on if you wish.

7. WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and other external websites

When you press a Join or Follow button, you leave Active Join Groups and open WhatsApp, Telegram or Facebook. From that point, that app's own terms and privacy policy apply. What other people can see depends on the app and your settings:

WhatsApp groups: admins and members may see your phone number, profile name and picture, depending on your WhatsApp privacy settings. WhatsApp channels do not show followers' phone numbers to admins or other followers.
Telegram: members of a group can see your name and username; your phone number is hidden if you choose so under Privacy and Security. Channel subscribers are not visible to each other.
Facebook: members of a group may see your profile, and your activity in a public group can be visible to anyone. Check your Facebook privacy settings before joining.

Groups listed on Active Join Groups are run by their own admins, not by us. Please be careful about the personal information you share inside any group. Our website also links to other websites; we are not responsible for their content or privacy practices.

8. How we share information

We do not sell or rent personal information. We share information only:

with service providers that help us run the website, such as our hosting provider, under appropriate confidentiality;
with advertising and analytics partners as described in sections 5 and 6;
when required by law, a court order or a valid request from authorities;
to protect the rights, safety and property of Active Join Groups, our users or the public, including investigating fraud or abuse.

Public content you submit, such as approved comments and group listings, is visible to everyone who visits the website.

9. How long we keep information

Anonymous visit statistics: kept in summary form to understand long-term trends.
Group listings: kept while the group is listed; removed listings may be kept for a short time for moderation records.
Comments: kept while they are published, or until you ask us to remove them.
Contact messages: kept for as long as needed to handle your request and for reasonable record keeping, then deleted.
Server logs: kept for a limited time for security purposes.

10. How we protect information

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information, including secure HTTPS connections, protected admin access and limited access to stored data. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your information.

11. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal information, such as the right to:

request access to the personal information we hold about you;
ask us to correct inaccurate information;
ask us to delete your information, such as a comment, contact message or group you submitted;
object to or restrict certain processing;
withdraw consent for personalised advertising at any time.

To make a request, contact us at contact@activejoingroups.com. We may need to ask for information to confirm that the request is genuine. You can also control cookies through your browser settings, including blocking or deleting them, although some features may not work properly if essential cookies are blocked.

12. Children's privacy

Active Join Groups is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook also set their own minimum ages for using their services. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it. Parents and guardians should supervise young people's use of online groups.

13. International visitors

Our website can be accessed from many countries. Information may be processed and stored on servers located outside your country. By using Active Join Groups, you understand that your information may be transferred and processed in this way, with the protections described in this policy.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example when we add new features or when laws change. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page shows when it was last changed. Please review this page periodically. Continued use of the website after changes means you accept the updated policy.

15. Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle information, please contact us at contact@activejoingroups.com or use our Contact Us page.