Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information to provide and improve Trackgov:

  • Account Information: When you register, we collect your email address and chosen username. We store a secure hash of your password, never the password itself.
  • Location Data (Temporary): We request your browser's latitude and longitude solely to identify your political representatives during the initial setup or when you request an update. We do not store or log your precise location coordinates after this lookup is complete. We do store the resulting representative information associated with your account.
  • Membership & Payment Information: If you subscribe to a membership, we collect information necessary to process payments, including membership tier, cost, status, and next billing date. Payment card details are handled directly by our secure payment processor (Stripe). We store identifiers provided by Stripe (Customer ID, Subscription ID) to manage your subscription, but we do not store your full credit card number.
  • Discord Account Information (Optional): If you choose to link your Discord account, we collect and store your Discord User ID and Discord Username to associate your accounts and potentially sync membership roles.
  • User-Generated Content: Any comments or content you post publicly on Trackgov are stored and displayed to other users.
  • Usage Data: We collect information about how you interact with our service. This may include:
    • Your IP address (for security, rate limiting, and general location analytics).
    • The pages you visit within Trackgov and the time spent on them.
    • Information about your device and browser (e.g., user agent string).
    • Server logs including request method and path accessed.
    • This data helps us diagnose issues, prevent abuse, and improve the service.
  • Representative Information: Based on the temporary location lookup, we store details about your assigned federal representatives (name, contact info, electorate, etc.) linked to your account.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Create and manage your user account.
  • Provide, maintain, and personalize our services.
  • Identify and display your relevant political representatives.
  • Process and manage your membership subscriptions via our payment processor.
  • Communicate with you regarding your account, membership, or service updates.
  • Link your Trackgov account with your Discord account (if you opt-in) and manage associated roles.
  • Display your public comments and facilitate community interaction.
  • Monitor service usage, prevent fraud and abuse (e.g., through rate limiting based on IP address).
  • Analyze usage patterns to improve Trackgov's functionality and user experience.
  • Ensure the security of our platform.

3. Cookie Policy

We use a minimal number of cookies essential for the operation of Trackgov:

  • Session Cookie: We use one essential first-party cookie to maintain your login session while you are using the site. This cookie is deleted when you close your browser unless you select "Remember Me" during login, which extends its duration.

We do not use third-party tracking or advertising cookies.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We only share your information in the following limited circumstances:

  • Payment Processor: We share necessary information (like email, membership details, and Stripe identifiers) with Stripe to process your membership payments securely. Stripe's use of your data is governed by their own privacy policy.
  • Service Providers: We may share data with essential service providers for functions like hosting, database management, email delivery (e.g., Mailgun for password resets/verification), and error monitoring, only as needed to perform these services for us.
  • Discord (Optional): If you link your account, your Discord User ID is shared with Discord's API to verify your identity and potentially with our Discord Bot (if applicable) to manage roles based on your membership status.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if we have a good faith belief that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
  • Public Content: Your username and any comments you post publicly are visible to other users of the service.

5. Your Rights

You have rights regarding your personal data, subject to local applicable laws (e.g., the Australian Privacy Act). These rights may include:

  • Access: Request access to the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data. You can update most account information directly in your Settings page.
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data. You can initiate account deletion from your Settings page. Note that some data may be retained for legal or legitimate business purposes (e.g., payment records).
  • Data Export: Request a copy of your data in a machine-readable format (contact us to request this).
  • Opt-out: You can opt-out of non-essential communications. Account and membership-related emails are generally required.

To exercise these rights, please visit your account Settings page or contact us at the email address provided below.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. If you delete your account, your personal data will be removed or anonymized within 30 days, except where retention is required by law (e.g., financial records) or for legitimate business purposes like security and fraud prevention. Aggregated or anonymized usage data may be retained indefinitely for analytical purposes.

7. Security

We implement robust security measures to protect your data from unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure. These include password hashing, encryption (where appropriate), secure hosting infrastructure, access controls, rate limiting, and regular security reviews. However, no system is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us at: admin@trackgov.com

9. Changes to Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the new policy on this page and/or through email or an in-app notification. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Last Updated: 2025-04-29