What we collect
- If you apply to list a team: team name, your name, your email, your team’s home ZIP code, an area name, travel distance, bio, investigation write-ups, photo and logo links, website links, and your tick-boxes (including your permission for promotions).
- If you ask a team for help: your name, email, ZIP code, the team you picked, and what you tell us is happening.
- Basic technical data (such as IP address and browser type) that our host and WordPress keep for security and spam protection.
Who sees it
- Public: only what is on an approved team profile (team name, area, travel range, bio, write-ups, photos, logo, links) and a map pin blurred to about 1 km at the middle of the home ZIP code. Your email, your name as a contact and any street address are never published.
- Us: every form goes to our email inbox, and a copy is kept in our website dashboard.
- Teams: if you ask for help, and you agreed on the form, we pass your name, email, ZIP code and message to the team you picked, or to teams near you if you picked none. They may contact you directly. We cannot control what a team does after that.
- Promotions: content a team publishes in its profile (name, photos, write-ups, logo, links) may be used in promotional material for our sites, with credit, as the team agreed in the Terms. A team can ask to be removed from future promotions at any time.
- We do not sell your details or use them for advertising.
Tools that handle data
The forms use Jetpack Forms (Automattic), which may use spam-filtering services. The map uses OpenStreetMap tiles and the Leaflet library. ZIP code search uses a public U.S. Census list, with Zippopotam.us as a backup for ZIP codes not in that list (it only sees the ZIP code you type). Loading a map shows your IP address to those services, as with any embedded map.
How long we keep it
We keep an application while the team is listed and for a reasonable time afterward, then delete it. Help requests are kept for a short time (about 12 months) so we can follow up, then deleted. [Placeholder: Bret to confirm these periods.]
Your choices
Email paranormaldepartment1@gmail.com to see, correct or delete your details, to remove a team listing, or to stop us using a team’s content in future promotions. This site is not for children under 13, and teams must be run by adults.