Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective date: June 6, 2026  ·  Operator: Matthew Fogarty  ·  matthewdfogarty.net

This Privacy Policy describes how VoteUnionBot ("the Service," "we," "us") collects, uses, and protects information when you interact with our SMS service by texting (888) 516-3852.

1. Information we collect

When you text VoteUnionBot, we collect:

• A one-way hash of your phone number. We apply a SHA-256 hash to your phone number before storing it. This hash is used to maintain your conversation session and opt-out status. Your actual phone number is not stored and cannot be recovered from the hash.
• The content of your inbound messages. Your text messages (addresses, office queries, candidate names) are processed to return endorsement results. Message content may be retained in session state for the duration of your conversation and for a short period afterward for debugging purposes.
• Conversation history. A log of messages sent and received in your session is stored temporarily to support multi-turn conversations. Sessions inactive for more than 30 minutes are reset.
• Opt-out status. If you text STOP, your hashed phone number is recorded in a do-not-contact list. This record is retained indefinitely to honor your opt-out.

We do not collect your name, email address, location data beyond what you provide in a query, or any information from your device other than the message content you send.

2. How we use your information

We use the information collected solely to:

• Respond to your queries with candidate endorsement information
• Maintain your conversation session across multiple messages
• Honor opt-out requests
• Diagnose and fix technical errors

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to delivering the Service.

3. Information we do not collect or sell

• We do not sell, rent, or trade your phone number or message content to any third party.
• We do not share your information with political campaigns, candidates, or endorsing organizations.
• We do not use your information for targeted advertising.
• We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13 years of age.

4. Third-party services

We use the following third-party services to operate VoteUnionBot:

• Twilio — SMS message delivery and receipt. Twilio processes your phone number and message content to route messages. See Twilio's Privacy Policy.
• Google Civic Information API — Used to identify your voting districts when you provide a street address. Your address is transmitted to Google for this purpose. See Google's Privacy Policy.
• Anthropic Claude API — Used to interpret ambiguous queries. Query text may be transmitted to Anthropic for processing. See Anthropic's Privacy Policy.

We do not control the privacy practices of these third parties and encourage you to review their policies.

5. Data retention

• Active sessions: Session state is reset after 30 minutes of inactivity.
• Message logs: Retained for a limited period for debugging, then deleted.
• Opt-out records: Retained indefinitely to honor your request.
• Wrong-result reports: If you flag an incorrect result, the flagged message and result are retained for staff review.

6. Security

We take reasonable technical measures to protect the information we hold, including hashing phone numbers before storage and using encrypted connections for all data transmission. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your choices

• Text STOP to (888) 516-3852 at any time to opt out of all messages.
• Text START to opt back in.
• Text HELP for assistance.

To request deletion of any information associated with your hashed phone number, contact us at the address below.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent revision. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact

Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy can be directed to:

Matthew Fogarty
privacy@matthewdfogarty.net
matthewdfogarty.net