Privacy Policy

This policy explains what information TrueCOLA collects when you use www.truecola.org, why we collect it, and who else can see it. It covers the public pages, the contact form, the press notice signup, the emails those forms send, the report downloads, and the donation page.

It does not cover the government agencies, data providers, and other websites we link to. Each of those has its own policy. The rules for using the site are in our Terms of Service.

When you read the site

You can read every public page without signing in, including the monthly report and all 435 district pages. Reading a page is recorded by the two analytics services below. They are the only analytics services on the site. If we add another, it will be named on this page first, and any that sets cookies will wait for your choice in the cookie notice.

Google Analytics. TrueCOLA uses Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages people use. Google Analytics records the pages you view, how you arrived (for example, a search or a link), your general location at the city or country level, your device type, browser, and screen size, and how long you stay. If you accept, it sets cookies in your browser so it can tell a new visit from a return visit. Until you accept, it does not set those cookies. Google Analytics does not receive your name, your email address, anything you type into a form, or any numbers you enter in the calculator. TrueCOLA also uses it to count completed report requests and contact messages, so we know whether people who find us through Google go on to use the site.

Cloudflare Web Analytics. Cloudflare counts page views and measures how fast pages load. It sets no cookies, stores nothing on your device, and does not use your internet address or browser details to follow you from one visit to the next.

When you use the contact form

The contact form is how you reach a person at TrueCOLA. Using it is your choice.

Required

Your name, email address, and message

Optional

Inquiry type; your office, outlet, or organization; a deadline and time zone; a state or district

Why

To read and answer your message, look into a possible correction, and keep a record of what was asked and answered

What is saved

The date and time, your name, email, message, and the internet address the form came from. This record is kept in a private folder the web server will not show to the public

Where it goes

Your message is emailed to TrueCOLA, and a confirmation is emailed to you

When you download a report

The full report and its AI Companion are free, plain files. Click the button and the file downloads. We do not ask who you are.

Required

Nothing. There is no form, no email address, and no account

What is saved

The host's ordinary access log: the time, the file name, and the internet address, kept the same way as every page view

Why

To serve the file and to count how often each report is read

When you sign up for press notices

The press notice signup collects your name, email address, and any optional details you enter, such as your outlet. We use it only to send you notice of new reports.

Server and security logs

Like any website, ours keeps ordinary server logs: the internet address of each request, the time, the page requested, and the browser. Our hosting company and Cloudflare use these logs to deliver pages, fix faults, and block attacks.

Our forms also limit how many messages can be sent in an hour, to stop spam floods. This check keeps recent internet addresses and recipients for one hour. A mail log records when each email was sent, where it went, and whether it was accepted, so a missing message can be traced. A hidden field on each form catches spam robots. When a robot fills it in, the submission is dropped and nothing is saved.

No form on this site asks for Social Security numbers, dates of birth, income, bank or card numbers, medical information, or government ID numbers. Please do not send them to us.

The ZIP lookup and the calculator stay on your device. When you enter a ZIP code or type your own numbers into the report's calculator, the math happens in your browser. Those entries are never sent to TrueCOLA, to Google, or to anyone else.

• Analytics cookies. If you accept, Google Analytics sets cookies so it can tell a new visit from a return visit. Until you accept, it does not set those cookies. Cloudflare Web Analytics stores nothing. See "Cookies and your choices" below to block them.
• Your cookie choice. The site remembers whether you accepted or declined, so the notice does not return on every page. This note stays in your browser and is never sent to us.
• A saved copy of the site. The site keeps recent pages, the monthly data file, and design files in your browser's cache so it still opens with a weak connection. This is site content, not information about you. It stays on your device and is never sent back to us.
• The installed app. If you add TrueCOLA to your home screen, deleting the icon and its data removes the saved copy. The install button remembers nothing between visits.

Clearing your browser's site data for truecola.org removes all of these.

TrueCOLA uses the information described above only to:

• answer messages and look into corrections;
• email reports and resend a link that goes astray;
• send press notices to people who asked for them;
• see how many people use the site, which pages help them, and which pages are slow or broken;
• measure whether TrueCOLA's search ads on Google lead people to request a report or contact us;
• keep the site secure and stop spam and abuse.

These service providers help run the site. Each one sees only what its job requires.

Google handles the data it receives under the Google Privacy Policy. Google explains how it uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Beyond these providers, TrueCOLA shares information only when the law requires it, when valid legal process demands it, or when needed to stop fraud or abuse or to protect people from harm.

• We do not sell personal data. No one has ever paid us for it.
• We do not share personal data with anyone for their own marketing. We do not rent, trade, or publish mailing lists.
• We do not show ads on this site. We do not use advertising cookies, remarketing, or audience lists built from our visitors.
• We do not turn on Google Analytics features that link your visits to your Google account or build advertising profiles.
• We do not create user accounts, so we hold no password of yours.

A cookie notice lets you accept or decline analytics cookies. Until you accept, Google Analytics does not set cookies. Cloudflare Web Analytics sets no cookies, so the notice does not apply to it. You can change your choice here at any time. You can use every page of the site with analytics blocked. To block it:

• install Google's free Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on; or
• block or delete cookies for truecola.org in your browser settings; or
• use a browser or extension that blocks analytics.

The site does not currently respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals, because no common standard exists for them. Blocking analytics as described above has the same effect.

Every page and form is sent over an encrypted HTTPS connection. Form records are kept in a folder the web server will not show to the public. No system is perfectly secure, but we collect as little as we can, so there is little to lose.

You can ask us to show you, correct, or delete anything you sent through a form. Use the Contact Us page or email admin@truecola.org. We will answer within 30 days. To stop press notices, reply to any notice or contact us.

TrueCOLA is a general-audience public education site. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child sent us information, tell us and we will delete it.

If this policy changes, the new version will appear on this page with a new "Last updated" date. Any change to what we collect or who can see it will be described in plain language at the top of the page.