Privacy Policy

Reviewed: September 6, 2025 • Scope: govtok.us and subpages • Status: Plain-language summary; not legal advice

We build GovTok so people can generate thoughtful comments and submit them on a separate government website. We collect as little data as possible to make that work, tell you what we do with it, and give you control. If anything here isn’t clear, ask us—we’d rather explain it than pretend it’s some secret industry spell.

What we collect

• Information you provide — email, name (if you choose), ZIP/postal code (optional), and the text you draft using our tools.
• Technical data — IP address, device/browser info, pages viewed, and basic diagnostics (error logs, performance metrics). This helps us keep the site running (and not in “Bad Blood” mode).
• Analytics — We use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand site traffic and improve features. GA4 sets cookies to collect pseudonymous info (page views, device/browser, approximate geography). We do not use GA for advertising or remarketing.

What we don’t collect

• No sensitive categories unless you put them in your comment (please don’t include private health/financial info).
• No government IDs, social security numbers, or payment data (we don’t take payments here).
• No sale of personal information. Ever.

How we use your information

• Provide the service — generate drafts, save your in-progress work (if you opt in), and route you to the right place to submit.
• Improve the site — understand feature usage and fix bugs (we prefer fewer bugs than a rally speech has tangents).
• Communicate — if you ask us to (support replies, opt-in updates). You can unsubscribe anytime.
• Safety & compliance — detect abuse, prevent fraud, and comply with law when required.

Analytics details

We run Google Analytics (GA4) in a basic configuration: no ads, no remarketing, shortest practical retention period. GA helps us know which features work and which ones fall flat. Data collected is pseudonymous and aggregated.

If you’d rather not be measured at all, you can block GA in your browser or install Google’s official opt-out browser add-on (opens in a new tab).

Legal bases (if you’re in the EU/UK)

• Performance of a contract — to provide the site you requested.
• Legitimate interests — to secure and improve the site (balanced against your rights).
• Consent — for optional analytics or marketing email. You can withdraw consent anytime.

Sharing & processors

We use trusted service providers (“processors”) to host the site, deliver email, defend against abuse, and measure performance. They can only process your data to provide those services to us, under contract. We don’t sell personal information or allow providers to use it for their own ads. Typical categories:

• Hosting and content delivery
• Security & DDoS protection
• Email delivery and support
• Analytics: Google Analytics (GA4)

regulations.gov and other third parties

Drafts happen here; submission happens on regulations.gov (opens in a new tab). Their terms and privacy rules apply there, not ours. We may also embed or link to platforms like YouTube or TikTok; their policies apply to those interactions.

Your choices

• Access/Correct/Delete — email privacy@govtok.us with your request.
• Opt out of emails — use the unsubscribe link or contact us.
• Analytics consent — manage on our Cookie Settings page; we respect your choice.
• Do Not Track — browsers vary; we prioritize your explicit cookie/consent settings.
• Analytics opt-out — block GA via your browser settings or Google’s opt-out add-on.

Data retention

• Accountless use — ephemeral logs are kept briefly for security and troubleshooting, then minimized/aggregated.
• If you opt to save drafts — we retain until you delete them or for a reasonable inactivity period, then purge.
• Legal holds — if we’re required by law to retain specific records, we’ll do so narrowly and for as short a time as possible.

Security

We use industry-standard protections: TLS in transit, hardened hosting, least-privilege access, audit logging, and periodic reviews. No system is perfect, but we take security seriously (we save the chaos for Congress, not our infra). If we discover a breach affecting you, we’ll notify you as required by law.

Children’s privacy

GovTok is for people 13 and older. We don’t knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child provided data, email privacy@govtok.us and we’ll delete it.

State privacy disclosures (USA)

Depending on where you live, you may have extra rights — like access, correction, deletion, portability, or opting out of targeted advertising/sharing. GovTok doesn’t sell data, but if you want to exercise state-level rights, email privacy@govtok.us.

If your state gives you a right to appeal our decision and you’re unhappy with our response, reply with “Appeal” in the subject and we’ll review it. If that still fails, you may have the right to raise it with your state’s Attorney General.

International transfers

If you use GovTok outside the U.S., your data may be processed in the U.S. or where our service providers operate. We use appropriate safeguards (like standard contractual clauses) when required by law.

Changes to this policy

We’ll update this page when our practices change. Consider it like a surprise Taylor Swift album drop — worth checking back for. The “Reviewed” date at the top always shows the latest version. If we ever make significant changes, we’ll highlight them more prominently.

Contact us

• Email: privacy@govtok.us
• Contact form: /contact

Controller: GovTok • Jurisdiction: Commonwealth of Virginia • Venue: Arlington, VA