Privacy Policy

1. INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT

When you visit the website or voluntarily provide information, we may collect:

• Name
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Memories, stories, recollections, comments, corrections, or research leads
• Names of people or places included in a contribution
• Dates or approximate dates associated with memories or events
• Photographs, documents, writings, or other files voluntarily uploaded through the contribution system
• Information contained within submitted files
• Communication preferences and permissions selected on the contribution form
• Correspondence and follow-up information relating to a contribution
• Basic technical information generated through use of the website or its hosting infrastructure, which may include IP addresses, browser or device information, server logs, security records, or similar technical information

Visitors are not required to submit a contribution or provide optional contact information simply to browse the website.

2. WHY WE COLLECT AND USE INFORMATION

Information may be used to:

• Receive and preserve community memories, photographs, documents, and historical information
• Research and develop Before Tomorrow Was Gone and related historical, editorial, storytelling, speaking, or media projects
• Organize, identify, evaluate, authenticate, research, and archive submitted material
• Contact contributors for clarification, additional information, attribution, verification, fact-checking, permissions, or follow-up
• Investigate or correct historical information
• Respond to inquiries
• Operate, maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the website and contribution system
• Protect the project, its systems, contributors, and visitors from fraud, abuse, malicious files, or security threats

3. CONTRIBUTED MATERIAL

The BTWG contribution system allows adults to voluntarily provide stories, memories, photographs, documents, research leads, and other information. Submission allows BTWG to receive, store, organize, review, research, evaluate, and contact the contributor concerning the submitted material. Submission does not guarantee that material will be published, quoted, displayed, incorporated into the memoir, or otherwise used publicly. Questions concerning copyright, publication permission, licensing, attribution, editing, withdrawal, or public use of contributed material are also governed by the applicable Contributor Terms. Where additional permission is appropriate before reproducing copyrighted photographs, documents, writings, or other protected material, BTWG may seek that permission separately.

4. CONTRIBUTOR AGE

Direct use of the BTWG contribution system is intended for adults age 18 or older. People under 18 should not directly submit personal information, photographs, documents, or other materials through the contribution system. When material involving a minor is relevant to the historical or memoir project, an adult may contact BTWG or submit appropriate material on the minor's behalf, subject to any additional permission or verification that may be appropriate. This age policy is intended to avoid knowingly operating the contribution system as a service directed toward children.

5. PERSONAL CONTACT INFORMATION

Contributor contact information may be used to:

• Administer contributions
• Communicate with contributors
• Verify information
• Request clarification
• Discuss attribution or permissions
• Respond to inquiries
• Address privacy or withdrawal requests

BTWG does not intend to sell contributors' personal contact information to advertisers or data brokers. Providing contact information does not by itself authorize BTWG to publish that contact information.

6. PEOPLE NAMED OR DESCRIBED IN CONTRIBUTIONS

Before public use of such material, BTWG may:

• Conduct additional research
• Seek corroboration or clarification
• Evaluate whether information is private, sensitive, disputed, or potentially harmful
• Edit or omit unnecessary identifying information
• Seek additional permissions where appropriate
• Decline to publish material
• Refer sensitive material for editorial or legal-risk review

A person who believes that contributed material concerning them raises a privacy, accuracy, or identification concern may contact BTWG using the procedure in Section 10. A request will be evaluated based on the circumstances, including the nature of the information, its source, whether it has already been published, applicable legal obligations, legitimate historical or editorial interests, and the rights of other people involved. BTWG will communicate the outcome of its review to the person who raised the concern when reasonably appropriate, subject to privacy, confidentiality, legal, editorial, and other legitimate limitations on what information may be disclosed.

7. THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS

BTWG may use third-party service providers for functions such as:

• Website hosting
• Email delivery
• Domain services
• Security
• File storage
• Technical infrastructure

Those providers may process information as reasonably necessary to provide their services. Information handled by third-party services may also be subject to those providers' privacy policies and terms. BTWG does not intend to authorize service providers to use contributor information for purposes unrelated to operating, supporting, securing, or providing services for the BTWG website, contribution system, or related project infrastructure.

8. DATA STORAGE AND SECURITY

Depending on the nature of the material, safeguards may include:

• Restricting direct public access to uploaded files
• Limiting administrative access
• Maintaining contribution identifiers connecting files to submission records
• Maintaining appropriate access or security records where technically available
• Separating especially sensitive material from ordinary project material when warranted
• Reviewing uploaded documents for metadata or embedded information when appropriate before public distribution
• Maintaining backups or archival copies when appropriate

No website, email system, server, network, or electronic storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Contributors should not submit passwords, Social Security numbers, financial-account credentials, medical records, government identification numbers, or other highly sensitive information unless specifically requested and genuinely necessary for an authorized project purpose.

9. RETENTION AND ARCHIVAL MATERIAL

BTWG is a memoir, research, and historical-storytelling project. Some contributed material may therefore have continuing editorial, research, source-verification, historical, or archival significance. Information and contributed material may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, for project administration, source verification, legitimate recordkeeping, dispute resolution, security, or other lawful purposes. BTWG does not rely on this Privacy Policy alone to claim any particular statutory archival or research exemption. The appropriate retention or removal of particular material may depend on the circumstances and applicable law. The Contributor Terms and this Privacy Policy should be interpreted consistently regarding withdrawal and retention of submitted material.

10. PRIVACY, ACCESS, CORRECTION, AND DELETION REQUESTS

A contributor or other person may contact BTWG to request:

• Information about personal information associated with them
• Correction of inaccurate contact information
• Correction or review of potentially inaccurate information concerning them
• Deletion of certain personal information
• Withdrawal or removal of contributed material
• Review of a privacy concern involving a contribution

Requests should be sent to: info@beforetomorrowwasgone.com The request should provide enough information for BTWG to reasonably identify the person, contribution, or material involved. BTWG may request reasonable verification of identity before acting on a request, particularly where releasing, modifying, or deleting information could affect another person's rights or project records. BTWG aims to acknowledge privacy-related requests within a reasonable period, generally within a few weeks. This general goal does not replace or extend any response period required by applicable law. Requests will be evaluated individually. Some requests may be limited where information must reasonably be retained for legal obligations, security, recordkeeping, source verification, dispute resolution, material already published or distributed, or other lawful purposes. Where a request concerns contributed material, the withdrawal and retention provisions of the Contributor Terms will also apply. BTWG will not discriminate against a person merely for making a legitimate privacy request.

11. STATE AND OTHER PRIVACY RIGHTS

Residents of certain jurisdictions may have additional privacy rights under applicable law. BTWG intends to evaluate and respond to legally applicable privacy requirements as the project, audience, operations, and data practices develop. This Privacy Policy does not represent that every privacy statute applies to BTWG or that BTWG qualifies for or relies upon any particular exemption.

12. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

BTWG does not intend its contribution system for direct use by people under 18. BTWG does not knowingly seek to collect personal information directly from children under 13 through the contribution system. If BTWG learns that information from a child has been submitted in circumstances requiring removal or parental involvement, BTWG may take appropriate steps to restrict, review, or remove that information.

13. EXTERNAL LINKS AND SOCIAL MEDIA

BeforeTomorrowWasGone.com may contain links to social-media platforms and third-party websites. When a visitor follows an external link, the visitor becomes subject to the privacy practices and terms of the third-party service. BTWG is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or content of independently operated third-party websites or platforms.

14. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy may be updated as the website, contribution system, project operations, applicable laws, or data practices change. The current version will be posted on BeforeTomorrowWasGone.com with an updated effective or revision date. Material changes may be communicated through additional means when appropriate or legally required.

15. CONTACT

Privacy questions and requests may be directed to:

Before Tomorrow Was Gone
Email: info@beforetomorrowwasgone.com
Website: BeforeTomorrowWasGone.com

END OF PRIVACY POLICY