Improve Your State (“we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how information is collected, used, stored, and shared when you use our website, create an account, complete community-service projects, submit evidence, participate in reviews, or use related HourLog and certification services.
1. Information We Collect
Account and Contact Information
We may collect information such as your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, city, state or province, country, county or region, ZIP or postal code, account credentials, service requirement information, target service hours, and anticipated completion date.
Community-Service Submission Information
When you submit a volunteer project, we may collect the selected project, service date, claimed service time, general location, written answers, descriptions of the work, before-and-after photographs, supporting evidence, and related review or verification records.
Image and File Metadata
Evidence files may contain or generate technical information such as original filename, file type, file size, image dimensions, cryptographic hashes, camera make and model, capture date and digitization date, camera settings, software information, browser file modification timestamps, and GPS coordinates when location metadata is present in the file.
We may also record technical indicators associated with screenshots, editing software, generation software, missing capture metadata, or discrepancies between browser and server file hashes. These indicators may be used to help evaluate the integrity of a submission.
Review and HourLog Information
We collect information about peer-review assignments and activity, supervisor decisions, approval or non-approval reasons, review notes, verified service credit, HourLog entries, administrative adjustments, and certification-related activity.
Device, Security, and Usage Information
We may collect IP addresses, browser and device information, login dates, account activity, security events, timestamps, audit logs, session information, and other technical information reasonably necessary to operate and protect the Platform.
Communications
We may retain communications you send to us, including support requests, account questions, verification inquiries, complaints, and other correspondence.
2. How We Use Information
We may use information to:
- Create, authenticate, maintain, and secure user accounts.
- Provide access to volunteer projects and Platform features.
- Evaluate submitted community-service work.
- Display evidence to authorized peer reviewers, supervisors, or administrators.
- Compare claimed service time with available evidence timestamps.
- Detect duplicate, manipulated, misleading, or potentially fraudulent submissions.
- Create and maintain HourLog records.
- Support official HourLog certification requested by the participant.
- Respond to support requests and other communications.
- Maintain audit, security, fraud-prevention, and system-integrity records.
- Improve Platform functionality and user experience.
- Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.
3. Peer Review and Limited Disclosure to Reviewers
Some submissions may be evaluated by other authorized Platform participants through peer review. Peer reviewers may be shown information reasonably necessary to evaluate the submitted work, including project information, answers, evidence, timing information, and limited metadata.
We design the review process to limit unnecessary disclosure of participant identity. Hired supervisors are intended primarily to review and approve submitted work and may be given less identifying account information than administrators.
4. Certification Partners
If you request official certification of your HourLog, relevant account and verified service information may be transferred to or made available through an authorized certification partner such as The People Foundation. The partner may use that information to link accounts, review verified work, collect applicable certification fees, prepare certification records, sign an official HourLog, and make the signed document available for printing or download.
Information handled directly by a certification partner may also be subject to that organization’s own privacy practices.
5. Service Providers
We may use third-party service providers to help operate the Platform, including hosting, email delivery, security, payment processing, document delivery, analytics, or other technical services. Those providers may receive information reasonably necessary to perform services for us and are expected to handle information consistently with their contractual and legal obligations.
6. We Do Not Sell Personal Information
We do not sell or rent participant personal information in exchange for money. We may disclose information as described in this Policy when necessary to operate the Platform, provide requested certification, comply with law, protect safety or security, or investigate misuse.
7. Mandatory, Protective, and Legal Disclosures
We may preserve or disclose account information, communications, activity logs, submissions, evidence, review records, IP information, or other relevant records when required or permitted by law or when we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to:
- Respond to lawful process, subpoenas, court orders, or government requests.
- Investigate suspected fraud, falsified community service, hacking, or other unlawful activity.
- Protect the rights, safety, or security of participants, reviewers, supervisors, staff, the Platform, or the public.
- Address threatening, abusive, harassing, intimidating, or dangerous conduct.
- Communicate with a supervising school, court, probation department, referral agency, employer, or other authority when authorized, requested, or legally permitted.
8. Cookies and Session Technologies
We may use cookies, session identifiers, and similar technologies to keep users signed in, maintain security, remember preferences, prevent abuse, and understand how the Platform is used. Disabling cookies may prevent some account features from functioning correctly.
9. Data Security
We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards intended to protect information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Examples may include access controls, private evidence storage, password hashing, authenticated evidence links, role-based staff access, cryptographic file hashes, audit records, and server security controls.
No method of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Evidence Storage and Retention
Original evidence files may be retained for a period reasonably necessary to review, verify, audit, or certify volunteer service and to address disputes, fraud, security, or legal requirements. We may later delete original evidence files while retaining records such as submission information, review decisions, file metadata, cryptographic hashes, verification history, and HourLog entries.
Retention periods may vary depending on account status, certification needs, legal requirements, operational needs, and whether a submission is under review or dispute.
11. Children's Privacy
Improve Your State is intended for individuals age 13 and older. We do not knowingly permit children under 13 to create accounts through the normal enrollment process. If we learn that personal information from a child under 13 was collected in a manner not permitted by applicable law, we may suspend or remove the account and delete information as appropriate.
12. Communications
We may contact you by email or other information you provide regarding account activity, submitted projects, reviews, HourLog status, security, certification, support requests, and important Platform notices. Where required, promotional communications will provide an available opt-out mechanism.
13. Your Choices and Requests
Depending on applicable law and the nature of the information, you may request access to or correction of certain account information, or request deletion of eligible information. Some records may need to be retained for fraud prevention, security, legal compliance, dispute resolution, completed certification, or preservation of accurate HourLog history.
Requests may be sent to help@improveyourstate.com. We may need to verify your identity before processing a request.
14. Account Information and Accuracy
Participants are responsible for keeping account information reasonably accurate. Administrators may correct account or HourLog information when appropriate, and material administrative changes may be preserved in audit records.
15. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. When we do, we will post the revised policy on this page and update the effective date. Additional notice will be provided when required by applicable law.
16. Contact Us
Questions, privacy requests, or concerns may be sent to help@improveyourstate.com.