Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

VoteSmart LA is a free, nonpartisan mobile app that provides rankings, live city service data, candidate profiles, and voter registration resources for Los Angeles City Council districts and the Mayor's race.

The app is operated by VoteSmart LA, LLC, a California limited liability company. We are not affiliated with the City of Los Angeles, LA County, any government agency, or any political candidate or party.

2. Information We Collect

Information you voluntarily provide (optional):

Information collected automatically:

Information we do not collect:

• Precise GPS location
• Contact lists or address book
• Camera, microphone, or photos
• Health or financial data
• Browsing history outside this app
• Social Security numbers or government IDs

3. How We Use Your Information

• To personalize your experience — showing your council district's data first when your ZIP code is known
• To remember your preferences between sessions (sort order, topics of interest)
• To send optional election reminders and district service alerts if you opted in during onboarding
• To display advertisements via Google AdMob, which funds free access to the app
• To improve the app over time based on aggregate, anonymized usage patterns (no individual tracking)

We do not use your information for political profiling, voter targeting, campaign contributions, or any partisan purpose.

4. Data Storage & Security

Your profile data (name, email, ZIP) is stored entirely on your device using the browser's localStorage API with XOR encoding. We do not operate user databases or store personal information on our servers.

Because data is local to your device:

• Uninstalling or clearing the app removes all your data permanently
• Your data does not transfer between devices
• No account or login is required — your data cannot be compromised through a server breach

5. Third-Party Services

VoteSmart LA integrates with the following external services. Each has its own privacy policy governing data it collects:

6. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.

The only circumstances under which we might disclose information are:

• Legal compliance: If required by a valid court order, subpoena, or applicable law — though since we store no server-side user data, we have no user records to produce
• Safety: To protect the safety, rights, or property of VoteSmart LA, LLC or the public, where required by law
• Business transfer: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user data policies would be disclosed to any acquiring party and maintained under the same or greater protections

7. California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

As a California-based company serving California residents, we comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).

California residents have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect and how it is used
• Delete personal information we hold — you can delete your on-device profile by clearing app storage, or by contacting us
• Opt out of sale — we do not sell personal information
• Non-discrimination — we will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@votesmartla.com. We will respond within 45 days as required by law.

8. Children's Privacy (COPPA)

VoteSmart LA is a civic information app designed for adults 18 and older, specifically registered or eligible voters in Los Angeles.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided personal information, we will delete it immediately. If you believe a child under 13 has submitted information through our app, please contact us at privacy@votesmartla.com.

9. Advertising & Your Choices

VoteSmart LA is free to use and supported by advertising served through Google AdMob. Ads help us keep all features free for everyone.

To opt out of personalized ads on iOS:

• Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking and turn off "Allow Apps to Request to Track"
• Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising and turn off "Personalized Ads"
• Visit adssettings.google.com to manage Google ad preferences

Opting out of personalized ads means you may still see ads, but they will not be tailored to your interests.

10. Data Retention

Since all user profile data is stored on your device, you control retention entirely:

• Clear app storage in your device settings at any time to erase all local data
• Uninstalling the app removes all locally stored data on iOS
• We retain no server-side copies of your profile or preferences

Aggregate, anonymized app usage patterns (such as which features are used most) may be retained indefinitely to improve the app, but cannot be traced back to individual users.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as the app evolves or as legal requirements change. When we make significant changes, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
• Show a "What's New" notice in the app on the next launch
• Post the updated policy at votesmartla.com/privacy

Continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy. If you disagree with a change, you may delete the app and your local data at any time.

12. Contact Us

For any privacy questions, data deletion requests, or concerns, please reach us at:

We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 5 business days and all formal CCPA requests within 45 calendar days as required by California law.