Handful of Angels, Inc. ("HOA," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you use our website at handfulofangels.com, our mobile application, and all related services (collectively, the "Platform"). By using the Platform, you agree to the collection and use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy.
1. Information We Collect
Information You Provide Directly
- Account Information: Full name, email address, password (stored as a one-way cryptographic hash — we never store your actual password), phone number (optional), date of birth (optional), and profile photo (optional).
- Campaign Content: Survivor's name and email, cancer type, campaign title, description, media (photos, videos), whether the Survivor knows about the campaign, and an optional goal amount.
- Donations: Donation amount, platform support amount, and whether the donation is anonymous. Payment card details are collected directly by our payment processor (Stripe, Inc.) and are not stored on our servers.
- Beneficiary Setup: The Beneficiary's name, email, and relationship to the Survivor. Identity verification (legal name, date of birth, address, Social Security Number) and bank account details are collected by Stripe on its own hosted pages and are never seen or stored by us. We receive only Stripe's verification status.
- User Content: Posts, comments, well-wishes, photos, videos, reactions, and email addresses of people you invite to campaigns.
- Social Login: If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email, and profile photo. If you sign in with Apple, we receive your name and email (which may be Apple's private relay email).
Information Collected Automatically
- Device & Browser Information: Device type (mobile or desktop), browser type and version, operating system, screen resolution, language preferences.
- Usage Information: Pages and features accessed, timestamps of activity, referring URLs.
- Network Information: IP address and approximate geographic location derived from IP address (city/region level, not precise GPS).
- Security Data: Device fingerprint (a hashed combination of device characteristics, used solely for fraud prevention — not for advertising), trusted device records, session information, and failed login attempt counts.
Information We Do NOT Collect or Store
- Full credit/debit card numbers, CVV codes, or expiration dates — these are processed exclusively by Stripe.
- Precise GPS location — we do not request GPS coordinates from your device.
- Contacts or address book — we do not access your device contact list.
- Health records or medical data — campaign descriptions referencing cancer diagnoses are user-generated content, not medical records.
- Advertising identifiers (IDFA/AAID) — we do not collect Apple's or Google's advertising IDs.
2. How We Use Your Information
- Creating and managing your account, processing donations and fund disbursements, and verifying your identity for payment purposes.
- Displaying campaign content, posts, and supporter information, and delivering campaign invitations and notifications.
- Sending transactional messages (verification, password resets, donation confirmations), campaign notifications, and security alerts by email, push notification, or SMS, according to your notification preferences.
- Detecting and preventing fraudulent campaigns, transactions, and accounts, including donation velocity limits and device verification.
- Suggesting captions and titles with AI when a campaign's posts and photos are compiled into a Memories video (see "With Service Providers" below).
- Understanding how the Platform is used in aggregate, improving its design, and diagnosing errors and crashes (via Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and Sentry, described below).
- Complying with applicable laws, responding to legal processes, and maintaining required financial records.
3. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal information.
With Other Users
Campaign pages are visible only to people who have been invited. Within a campaign, members see the Angel's name, the Survivor's first name, the campaign description, and supporter names. Posts and comments display the author's name and profile photo. Donations display the donor's name and amount to the Angel and Beneficiary, and to other supporters unless the campaign is sealed or amounts are hidden. Anonymous donations hide your name from other members, but your identity is retained in our records.
With Service Providers
- Stripe, Inc. — Payment processing and Beneficiary identity verification via Stripe Connect. Stripe receives card details and donation amounts from donors, and collects identity and bank details from Beneficiaries directly on its own pages. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
- Google Cloud Platform — Cloud hosting, file storage (all platform data, encrypted at rest and in transit)
- SendGrid / Twilio — Transactional and notification emails (email address, name, message content) and SMS verification codes and notifications (phone number, message content)
- Anthropic — AI caption and title suggestions when a Memories video is created (the post text and captions being compiled; no account or payment information)
- Sentry — Error and crash reporting on the website and mobile app (error data, device info, user ID; IP addresses stripped)
- Google Analytics (website only) — Aggregated usage analytics (page views, anonymized patterns)
- Microsoft Clarity (public marketing pages of the website only) — Aggregated usage analytics and session recordings (clicks, scrolling, page interactions), with text typed into form fields masked. Clarity is not loaded on sign-in, campaign creation, invitation, or campaign pages, or anywhere you are signed in.
For Legal Reasons
We may disclose your information if required by law, subpoena, court order, or government request, or to protect our rights, prevent fraud, protect personal safety, or defend against legal liability.
Business Transfers
If HOA is involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your information may be transferred. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to maintain your session and keep you securely signed in:
- Essential Cookies: Authentication tokens (httpOnly, Secure), active campaign selection, and device type detection. These cannot be disabled without losing Platform functionality.
- Analytics Cookies: Google Analytics (GA4) and Microsoft Clarity cookies that help us understand usage patterns in aggregate. These do not collect personally identifiable information.
For detailed information about every cookie we use, see our Cookie Policy.
5. Push Notifications
With your consent, we may send push notifications to your browser or mobile device about campaign updates, new messages, and other activity. You can manage or disable push notifications at any time through your device settings or your notification preferences within the Platform.
6. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:
- All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS and encrypted at rest on Google Cloud Platform.
- Passwords hashed using Argon2, a memory-hard algorithm resistant to brute-force attacks.
- Multi-factor authentication available for all users and required for administrative accounts.
- Rate limiting on login attempts, API calls, and donation transactions.
- Strict Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, X-Frame-Options, and other security headers.
- Incoming payment webhooks verified using Stripe's HMAC-SHA256 signatures with timestamp validation.
- Append-only financial audit trail for all fund movements.
- Sessions automatically expire after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Despite these measures, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services. Transaction records and financial ledger entries are retained for a minimum of 7 years for legal and tax compliance. Deleted content (posts, comments) is soft-deleted and hidden from public view but retained in our database for audit purposes.
If you close your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within a reasonable timeframe, except where we are required to retain it for legal, regulatory, or fraud prevention purposes. Campaign content may be anonymized rather than deleted to preserve the community history for other participants.
8. Your Rights and Choices
- Access & Update: View and update your profile information through your account settings.
- Notification Preferences: Control which notifications you receive (security, campaign, social, marketing) through your notification settings.
- Trusted Devices: View and revoke trusted devices through your security settings.
- Marketing Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails via the "Unsubscribe" link in any marketing email or through your notification preferences.
- Account Deletion: Request deletion by emailing support@handfulofangels.com. We will delete or anonymize your information within 30 days, except for legally required retention (financial records, audit logs).
9. State Privacy Rights
California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act, California residents have the right to:
- Know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose about you.
- Request deletion of your personal information, subject to exceptions.
- Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell your personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
- Non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights.
- Limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information. We do not collect Social Security Numbers or bank account details; Stripe collects them directly for identity verification. Campaign content may reference a cancer diagnosis, which we treat as sensitive and show only within the campaign.
Categories of information we collect: Identifiers (name, email, phone, IP), financial information (donation amounts and Stripe transaction records), internet/network activity (pages viewed, device info), geolocation (approximate, from IP), audio and visual data (photos and videos), and health-related content that users choose to share in campaigns. None of these categories are sold or shared for advertising.
Other State Residents
Residents of Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), Connecticut (CTDPA), Utah (UCPA), Oregon (OCPA), Texas (TDPSA), Montana, and other states with consumer privacy laws may have similar rights. Since we do not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising or profiling, many opt-out rights are not applicable.
To exercise any privacy rights, contact privacy@handfulofangels.com with the subject line "Privacy Rights Request." We will verify your identity before processing your request and respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.
10. Children's Privacy
The Platform is not directed to children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn we have collected information from a child under 18, we will delete it promptly. Campaigns may be created on behalf of minors with cancer, but these campaigns are managed by adults (18+) and the minor is not required to create an account.
11. Email Tracking
Our email service provider (SendGrid) may use tracking technologies in emails, including open tracking (a small tracking pixel) and click tracking (links route through links.handfulofangels.com before redirecting). This helps us understand email engagement and improve communications. You can disable image loading in your email client to prevent open tracking.
12. Do Not Track
Some browsers transmit "Do Not Track" signals. There is no industry standard for how websites should respond to these signals. Currently, the Platform does not alter its data collection practices in response to DNT signals. We do not engage in cross-site tracking or targeted advertising.
13. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated policy with a new effective date and sending a notification to your email for material changes. Your continued use of the Platform constitutes acceptance of the changes.