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Privacy Policy

Effective 2026

1. Introduction

How Congress Votes (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website and service at howcongressvotes.app (the “Service”). This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use the Service.

We are committed to transparency about our data practices. As a congressional transparency platform, we believe our own operations should reflect the same standard.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

  • Account information: Email address and password when you create an account.
  • Billing information: Payment details are collected and processed by our payment processor, Stripe. We do not store your credit card number, CVV, or full payment details on our servers.
  • User preferences: Your followed members, notification preferences, and other settings you configure within the Service.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage data: Pages visited, features used, and interaction patterns.
  • Device information: Browser type, operating system, and device type.
  • IP address: Collected for security purposes and to approximate your general location for congressional district lookup. We do not use IP addresses for targeted advertising.
  • AI usage data: Action type, timestamp, and whether the request was served from cache. Used to enforce daily usage limits and monitor service health. We do not store the text of your AI queries.

2.3 Information We Do NOT Collect

  • Advertising data: We do not collect data for advertising purposes and do not serve ads.
  • Biometric data: We do not collect fingerprints, facial recognition data, or other biometric identifiers.
  • AI query content: The text of queries you submit to the AI assistant is not stored after a response is generated.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Provide the Service: Personalize your experience, display your followed members, send notifications you have configured, and deliver AI responses.
  • Process payments: Manage your subscription through Stripe.
  • Improve the Service: Analyze usage patterns in aggregate to identify popular features, fix bugs, and prioritize development.
  • Communicate with you: Send account-related emails and, if you opt in, product updates.
  • Ensure security: Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access.

We do not use your information to serve advertisements, sell to third parties, build marketing profiles, or train AI models on your queries.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers (Stripe, hosting, email delivery, AI providers) under strict data processing agreements, and when required by law.

5. Data Retention

  • Account data: Retained as long as your account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion, except where retention is required by law.
  • Billing records: Retained for 7 years for tax and accounting compliance.
  • AI usage metadata: Retained for 90 days.
  • Usage analytics: Aggregated, anonymized analytics may be retained indefinitely.

6. Data Security

We implement encryption in transit (TLS/HTTPS), encryption at rest, and access controls limiting access to personal data on a need-to-know basis. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

7. Your Rights

7.1 All Users

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction: Update your account information through your account settings.
  • Deletion: Request deletion by contacting us at contact@howcongressvotes.app.
  • Data portability: Request an export of your data in a machine-readable format.
  • Opt out of communications: Unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email.

7.2 Colorado Residents (CPA)

If you are a Colorado resident, you have rights under the Colorado Privacy Act including the right to access, correct, delete, and obtain a portable copy of your personal data, and to opt out of targeted advertising (which we do not conduct). Contact us at contact@howcongressvotes.app. We will respond within 45 days.

7.3 California Residents (CCPA)

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to delete it, and to non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights. We do not sell personal information. Contact us at contact@howcongressvotes.app.

7.4 European Economic Area Residents (GDPR)

EEA residents have additional rights under GDPR including the right to restrict processing, object to processing based on legitimate interests, and lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Contact us at contact@howcongressvotes.app.

8. Cookies and Tracking

We use session cookies to keep you logged in, and preference cookies to remember your settings. We track page visits internally and use Google Analytics to understand feature usage and measure traffic. Google Analytics collects anonymized data such as pages visited, session duration, and approximate location. It does not receive your name, email, or account information. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking using browser extensions such as the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. We do not use third-party advertising trackers or cookies for advertising or cross-site tracking.

9. Children’s Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13. If we learn we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly. Contact us at contact@howcongressvotes.app if you believe this has occurred.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or through a notice on the Service at least 14 days before the changes take effect.

11. Contact

Email: contact@howcongressvotes.app
Website: howcongressvotes.app