The Ancient Order of Druids in America recognizes the importance of confidentiality and privacy to our members. The AODA collects and maintains data about its membership to run the Order effectively, and security is a key consideration in how this data is accessed and stored. We appreciate that for some Druids, their spirituality and their membership in the Order is something they keep private, including for safety reasons, and AODA takes the protection of its members’ personal information seriously.
The AODA does not disclose the names of its members without explicit consent. Some members of the Grand Grove have access to the details of AODA’s membership list, and this information is only accessed for specific purposes for which it is required to serve members. The AODA from time to time may share very general statistics about its membership publicly (for example, the total number of members, or the total number of new members joining in a given year) but will never share identifiable member information publicly.
There are some cases in which the AODA might ask members if it is permissible to share their information with other members (for example, anyone participating in the mentorship program will be asked how their mentor/mentee can contact them) or with the public (for example, Grand Grove members may have a short bio on AODA’s website). All such requests are optional. Members are in no way required to have their personal information shared with other members or with the public in any way.
While using AODA’s online spaces (and any online space), we encourage being mindful of what you share as well as the extent to which these spaces are open to the public vs. closed to Order members. We encourage sharing personal details only with those you trust and to the extent to which you are comfortable. We also encourage you to be mindful of the extent to which you share details about other Druids that you learn in our online spaces; while it is understandable that one might want to share an interesting idea they’ve learned on the Discord or forum with family or friends, we do encourage anonymizing this information and refraining from sharing personal details about other members unless you have their clear consent to do so.
We encourage our Groves, Nemetons, and Home Circles to develop their own protocols around privacy and confidentiality in accordance with their members’ wishes. Such protocols should address topics like whether photo taking at events is permitted, which methods of communication to use for scheduling and corresponding, and how the group will reach out to and engage with prospective new members. The AODA Groups Guide contains useful information on how to approach this important issue in group context.
If you have a concern related to confidentiality and/or a complaint regarding a potential breach of confidentiality, do not hesitate to contact a member of the Grand Grove.
The AODA takes such concerns seriously, and recognizes that violations of privacy also may constitute violations of our Bylaws and Ethics Statement; in such cases AODA reserves the right to revoke access to AODA spaces, leadership/volunteer roles, and/or Order membership.
In addition to this policy, the following documents further address confidentiality in the Order:
- AODA’s Ethics Policy covers confidentiality expectations for Archdruids
- The AODA Mentoring Guide covers confidentiality expectations for mentors/mentees
We strive to keep this information and policy up to date; the services we use and data we store may change from time to time, and we update our policy as soon as feasible accordingly.
—–
Additional Relevant Privacy & Confidentiality Policies
The following are the current policies of software and websites that the AODA uses (current as of March 15, 2026).
Breeze
To store member information and complete the everyday administrative tasks of the Order, the AODA currently uses software called Breeze. Here are some examples of data stored in Breeze: Member data stored in Breeze includes:
- a member’s name, Druid name if applicable, pronouns, mailing address, and contact information (email, phone)
- a member’s degree and information
- a member’s participation, if any, in the GCC
- a member’s participation, if any, in the mentorship program
- a member’s orders of physical copies of AODA texts
Data stored in Breeze is viewable by specific members of the Order’s leadership for specific purposes (for example, by the Mentoring Coordinator for the purpose of matching mentors/mentees, by the Discord Admin for the purpose of confirming Discord server participants’ membership in the Order, and by our Newsletter editor to send out newsletters).
Members cannot view one another’s Breeze profiles or browse the database in any way. Members can opt into having their email address and zip/postal code shared with other members in their region, but this is entirely optional. Members can also opt in or out of receiving AODA quarterly newsletters in Breeze.
You can learn more about Breeze’s security here: https://www.breezechms.com/security
You can read Breeze’s privacy policy here: https://www.breezechms.com/legal/privacy-policy
Lulu
Lulu is a print on demand website used by the AODA to order, print, and ship copies of Order books such as the degree, mentoring, and group guides. When a member requests a paper copy of a text, their shipping information (name, address) is shared with Lulu for the purposes of having the book(s) sent to the address they have provided.
You can read Lulu’s privacy policy here: https://www.lulu.com/privacy-policy
All members can access PDF and EPUB guides via a Google Drive link. Discord
AODA has a Discord server in which members can chat, meet each other, plan events, and discuss their paths as Druids. Participation in the Discord server is entirely optional. Signing up for Discord does require the input of some personal information such as an email address in order to create a profile. Members who wish to be able to access member-only and degree-specific channels within the Discord are required to inform a member of the Discord admin team of their name and degree, which admin will then confirm within Breeze.
You can read Discord’s privacy policy here: https://discord.com/safety-privacy
Forum
The AODA has an online forum where members discuss Druidry. Like the Discord server, use of the forum is entirely optional. Participating in the forum requires inputting some personal information (such as an email address) to create a profile; many fields available to complete the profile are optional. Accessing degree specific areas of the forums requires confirming one’s membership and disclosing one’s name to a member of Forum admin. The AODA’s forums are hosted by a service called Discourse.
You can read Discourse’s privacy policy here: https://discourse.org/privacy
Zoom
AODA uses Zoom for some of its virtual events, for Grand Grove meetings, and for other members’ meetings such as occasional degree-specific video calls.
AODA will at times record these online events in whole or in part; when an event is to be recorded, those administering the event will make this clear to all attendees, including explaining which portion(s) of the event will be recorded and which, if any, will not. They will also make clear how this recording will be used and where, if anywhere, it will be posted online. Members are never required to turn on cameras or microphones for events, and participation in Zoom events and meetings is optional. AODA does not use AI Companion or other AI-based transcription software.
You can read Zoom’s policies here: https://www.zoom.com/en/trust/resources/
