Privacy Policy — Common Acres

This Privacy Policy explains what information Common Acres collects when you use our website, why we collect it, and what choices you have.

1. Information we collect

Account information: name, email address, and password (stored as a salted hash by our authentication provider).
Profile information: farm name, state, acreage, practices, products, and anything else you choose to add to your profile.
Eligibility quiz answers: your state, acreage, practices, and producer types when you take the grants quiz.
Consultation requests: the name, email, phone (if provided), topic, and message you submit when requesting advisory help.
Community content: posts, comments, and any media you publish.
Technical data: IP address, device and browser information, pages visited, and basic usage events used to keep the Site secure and improve it.

2. How we use it

To operate and improve the Site and its features.
To match you with grants and resources based on your profile and quiz answers.
To respond to consultation requests and support questions.
To send transactional emails (account confirmations, replies, security notices).
To detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, and security issues.
To comply with legal obligations.

3. Legal bases

Where applicable law requires a legal basis, we rely on your consent, our legitimate interest in operating and improving the Site, and the need to perform a contract with you (providing the services you signed up for).

4. How we share it

Service providers who help us run the Site (hosting, database, email delivery, error monitoring). They only access what's needed to provide the service.
Other members see your public profile fields and anything you post in the community. Your email and consultation requests are never shown publicly.
Legal compliance: when required by law, court order, or to protect rights, safety, and property.
We do not sell your personal information.

5. Cookies and analytics

We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and to remember your preferences. We do not currently use third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. If that changes, we'll update this policy and, where required, ask for your consent.

6. Data retention

We keep account and profile data for as long as your account is active. Consultation requests are retained for our records and to follow up on your inquiry. You can request deletion at any time (see "Your rights" below); some records may be kept longer where required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., fraud prevention).

7. Your rights

You can:

Access or update your profile from your account page.
Request a copy or deletion of your data by contacting us.
If you're a resident of California, Colorado, Virginia, or another state with applicable privacy law, exercise additional rights such as access, correction, deletion, portability, and opting out of "sales" or targeted advertising (we don't engage in either today).

8. Children's privacy

Common Acres is not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe we have, contact us and we'll delete it.

9. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information, including encryption in transit and access controls. No system is perfectly secure; we can't guarantee absolute security.

10. International users

Common Acres is operated in the United States. If you access the Site from outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to and processed in the U.S.

11. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Effective" date above shows the latest version; material changes will be highlighted on the Site or by email.

12. Contact

Privacy questions or requests? Reach us via the about page. See also our Terms of Service and Disclaimer.