1. Scope and Core Terms

Welcome to The Echoes Project. We value the trust you place in us and take your privacy seriously. This document describes how we collect, store, share, and protect your information when you visit projectechoes.org (the "Site"), use the "Echo Memories" map, log into our administrative dashboards, or interact with any related services we provide (together, the "Services").

In this policy, "we," "us," "our," and "Echoes" refer to The Echoes Project. "You," "your," or "user" refers to anyone accessing our Services, signing up for an account, taking part in our storytelling interviews, or uploading digital media to our website.

2. Information We Collect

We gather different types of information to document local histories, coordinate our echo activities, and keep our platform running safely. Here is what we collect:

2.1. Oral History and Archival Material

Our main focus is preserving senior stories. To do this, we collect and store biographical and historical accounts. This includes:

• Written transcripts and summary notes of our interviews.
• Audio and video recordings of conversations with senior residents.
• Old photographs, letters, newspaper clippings, and other files shared by participants or project coordinators.
• Map locations, coordinates, and historical descriptions submitted to the Echo Memories interactive map.

2.2. Information You Give Us Directly

We collect details you type into our website forms or dashboards. This includes:

• Contact Forms: Your name, email, phone number, and whatever message you write to our team or echoes.
• Account Registration: Coordinator usernames, email addresses, password hashes, and user roles.
• Applications: Information you submit when applying to volunteer or start a new echo.

2.3. Automated Log Data and Cookies

Our servers log basic technical information automatically when you browse our site. We use this data to monitor site security and fix bugs. It includes your IP address, browser type, referral links, pages visited, and timestamps.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use first-party cookies and browser local storage to maintain session states and administrative logins. We do not deploy third-party advertising cookies or cross-site tracking pixels. However, third-party features integrated into our platform, such as embedded video players or map interfaces, may set their own tracking cookies. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings, though doing so may prevent certain features of the Services from functioning.

3. Why and How We Use Your Data

We process your information under the following legal and operational guidelines:

• Archiving for the Public Interest: We collect and share historical narratives and multimedia files under our educational mandate. This helps us build a public digital archive of local history.
• Consent: When you request the toolkit, submit a message, or participate in recorded interviews, we process that data because you explicitly agreed to let us do so.
• Operational Security: We process coordinator credentials to manage system access, trace who edited which page, and prevent unauthorized dashboard entries.

Specifically, we use this data to print physical books, update the digital map, manage local echoes, and send system messages like password-reset emails.

4. Rights, Consent, and Minors/Deceased

We run all interviews following strict ethical practices. We will never publish recordings, transcripts, or photographs in print or online without documented written or digital release consent from the senior participant or their authorized legal representative. Verbal consent is not accepted as a valid legal basis. Minors participating as student interviewers or coordinators must obtain documented parental or guardian consent before submitting any materials or personal data. Immediate family members or executors of deceased individuals may submit a verified request to remove, modify, or restrict archived records, and we will process such requests in accordance with applicable laws.

5. Sharing with Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or lease your personal information. We only share essential details with third-party tools that run our digital systems. These include:

• Servers and Databases: Vercel and PostgreSQL host our application code and database records.
• Email Services: Resend handles transactional messages like password resets.
• Media Players: YouTube or audio platforms host our embedded podcasts and interviews.

6. Security and Data Breach Notification

We protect our servers and databases using modern web safety standards. We hash user passwords securely and encrypt all browser-to-server traffic using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL/TLS). While we work hard to protect your data, no network transmission or database is completely immune to security breaches. In the event of a data breach involving your personal data, we will assess the severity of the incident. If required by law, we will notify affected users and regulatory authorities within 72 hours of discovery, outlining the nature of the breach, the affected data categories, and the corrective actions we are implementing.

7. Global Regulations and Statutory Rights (GDPR, CCPA, COPPA)

Depending on your jurisdiction, you possess specific statutory rights regarding your personal information:

• EEA Data Subjects (GDPR): You have the right to request access to, correction of, or erasure of your personal data, as well as the right to restrict processing, object to processing, request data portability, and lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.
• California Residents (CCPA/CPRA): You have the right to request disclosure of the personal information we collect, request deletion of that information, and request corrections. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and therefore do not provide a "Do Not Sell My Info" opt-out mechanism.
• Children's Privacy (COPPA): The Services are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors under 13. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13 without verifiable parent or guardian consent, we will delete that data immediately.

8. Contact and Requests

If you want to view, modify, or delete your archived records, or if you have questions about these privacy terms, email us at: info@projectechoes.org.

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a legal agreement between you ("User," "You") and The Echoes Project ("Echoes," "We," "Us," "Our"). They govern how you use the projectechoes.org website (the "Site") and the archiving services we provide (the "Services"). By visiting or using the Site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to all of these Terms. If you disagree with any part of these Terms, you must stop using the Site immediately.

2. Eligibility and Account Management

You must register a coordinator account to use our administrative features, including creating new echo pages or editing layout designs. When registering, you agree to:

• Give us accurate and up-to-date information.
• Keep your login details and password secure.
• Take responsibility for everything that happens under your account.

We can suspend or delete your account if we discover false details, malicious behavior, or violations of our terms.

3. Intellectual Property Rights

3.1. Our Materials

The Site itself—including code, styling, databases, logos, and graphic layouts—belongs to The Echoes Project or its licensors. These materials are protected under intellectual property laws.

3.2. Your Contributions and Licensing

You keep ownership of the stories, photos, and coordinates you post to our website or map. By sharing them, you give us a royalty-free, worldwide, permanent, and transferable license. This allows us to display, edit, print, and share your submissions in our printed books, online archives, and educational kits.

Subordination to Privacy Removal Rights: Notwithstanding the perpetual nature of the license granted herein, it is explicitly subject and subordinate to the deletion and erasure rights outlined in the Privacy Policy. If a senior resident, contributor, or their authorized legal representative requests the removal of an interview, photo, or recording, we will terminate this license for the specified material and remove it from the digital Services.

You must ensure that you own or have permission to share anything you upload. Your posts must not violate anyone else's copyright or privacy rights.

4. Acceptable Use Policy

Use our Services only for lawful, educational, and historical purposes. You must not:

• Upload obscene, abusive, threatening, or offensive content.
• Upload viruses, malware, or destructive code.
• Try to hack our servers, databases, or other user accounts.
• Use bots, web scrapers, or scripts to copy site content without our permission.
• Infringe on anyone's intellectual property or privacy rights.

5. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless The Echoes Project, its founders, coordinators, and volunteers from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, losses, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms, your use of the Services, or any content you submit, post, or upload to the platform (including copyright infringement or defamatory remarks).

6. Disclaimer of Warranties

We provide this Site "as-is" and "as-available." While we do our best to keep historical records accurate and the site online, we make no promises about its reliability or completeness. We cannot guarantee that the service will never have bugs, experience downtime, or be completely free of technical errors.

7. Limitation of Liability and Savings Provision

The Echoes Project, its founders, volunteers, and partners are not liable for any damages that come from using this Site. This includes issues like server downtime, lost stories or photos, security breaches, or any mistakes in the historical files we publish.

Savings Provision: Nothing in these Terms shall exclude or limit liability for gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, or bodily injury to the extent that such exclusions are prohibited by applicable local law. If any portion of this limitation is found invalid, the remaining limitations shall remain in full force.

8. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA. If a legal dispute arises under these Terms, you agree to resolve it exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Massachusetts.

9. Modifications to Terms

We reserve the right to update these Terms at any time. For minor updates, we will update the "Last updated" date. For material updates, we will notify registered coordinators via email at least fifteen (15) days before the changes take effect, or request click-through acceptance upon your next login. Your continued use of the Site following notifications of modifications constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.