1. Scope and Core Terms

Welcome to The Echoes Project. Here, we value your trust in us and our services. We take your privacy very seriously. This document (the "Privacy Policy" or "Policy") outlines how we collect, store, share, and protect your information from bad actors. This Policy pertains to your use of projectechoes.org (the "Site"), echomemories.org (the "Map"), and use any of the services provided therein (the "Services"). These Services include your use of our administrative portal, dashboards, and any other services provided by the projectechoes.org domain.

"We", "us", "our", and "Echoes" refer to The Echoes Project in this Policy. "You", "your", or "user" refers to anyone accessing the Services and any related actions therein.

2. Information We Collect

In order to operate the Services, we must gather some of your information. Here is what we collect:

2.1. Oral History and Archival Material

Our main focus is preserving and sharing the stories from our seniors. To do this, we collect and store some biographical and historical accounts. These includes:

• Written transcripts and summary notes of our interviews.
• Audio and video recordings of our interviews with senior residents.
• All files and pictures shared by participants or project coordinators.
• Locations, coordinates and historical descriptions submitted to the Map.

2.2. Information You Give Us Directly

We collect the details that you submit into our forms or dashboards. This includes:

• For Contact Forms: name, email, phone number, and whatever message you write to us.
• Account Registration: usernames, email addresses, password hashes and user roles.
• Applications: any information you submit when applying to start a new echo, or otherwise reach out.

2.3. Automated Log Data and Cookies

Our servers log technical information from your device. This data includes your IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps. This data is never sold and is used to monitor the Site’s security and bugs, if applicable.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies: To maintain users’ session states, we use first-party cookies and local browser caching. We do not use third-party cookies for purposes like advertising. We must, however, use third-party cookies if a third-party service, such as video player embeds, requires them. If you do not want any cookies to be collected, you can disable them in your browser settings, but you acknowledge that doing so may prevent the Site and its Services from functioning properly.

3. Why and How We Use Your Data

We use your data according to the following guidelines:

• Archiving for the Public Interest: We collect files and other content that our Echoes upload. This allows us to create the public digital archive that we do.
• Consent: We use data you explicitly agree to provide to us through the various forms on the Site. These forms include toolkit requests, contact requests, and others. We also use data from recorded interviews, in which participants must give written consent.
• Operational Security: We securely store coordinator account information. We do this to see which accounts are responsible for certain edits on the Site.

This collected data is used to create physical and digital books, manage local Echoes, and conduct other actions required by the Services.

4. Rights, Consent, and Minors/Deceased

All of our interviews are conducted in accordance with ethical practices. No interview will be published in any form (recordings, transcripts, photographs, etc.) without explicit written or recorded verbal consent. This consent can be given by an interviewee themselves or by legal guardians. In the event that an interviewee dies, their immediate family members or executors reserve the right to request that archived records of the interviewee be removed, modified, restricted, or otherwise changed. The Echoes Project will process such requests in accordance with applicable laws.

5. Sharing with Third Parties

As aforementioned, we do not sell, rent, or otherwise distribute your personal information. We do share some information only if it is strictly necessary for the Site and Services to function via its third parties. These third parties include:

• Servers and Databases: Code deployments are hosted on Vercel. Our database records are hosted on PostgreSQL.
• Email Services: Transactional messages are sent via Resend.
• Media Players: Video recordings of our interviews are hosted on YouTube and Instagram, while audio recordings may be hosted on other services. They will be added here if necessary.

6. Security and Data Breach Notification

We employ appropriate security standards on the Site and for its Services. All user passwords are securely hashed for safety, and all browser-to-server traffic is encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL/TLS). No database is completely secure against sophisticated attacks, however. Thus, the Echoes Project cannot guarantee the complete safety of personal information given to the Site or Services. In the unlikely event of a widespread data breach, we will assess its severity and comply with all applicable laws and regulations, which may include notifying users and authorities within 72 hours of our discovery of the breach. We will notify all affected parties of which data was affected and what we are implementing in response, if applicable.

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

You may possess specific statutory rights regarding your personal information. This varies based on your jurisdiction:

• EEA Data Subjects (GDPR): You have the right to request access to, correction of, erasure of, or other edits to your personal data. You also reserve the right to restrict or object to data processing, as well as the right to request data portability. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.
• California Residents (CCPA/CPRA): You reserve the right to request disclosure, deletion, or correction of your personal information. We do not and will not sell or share your personal information for advertising purposes. As a result, the Site does not include a “Do Not Sell My Info” mechanism.
• Children's Privacy (COPPA): The Site and Services are not intended for use by children under 13, and we do not knowingly or actively collect personal data from children under 13. If we find that we have inadvertently collected any data from a child under 13 without parental or guardian consent, it will be deleted immediately.

8. Contact and Requests

In the case that you want to view, modify, delete, or have other concerns regarding our archived records, or if you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please email us at: info@projectechoes.org.

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) constitute a formal, legal agreement made between you (“User”, “You”) and The Echoes Project (“Echoes”, “We”, “Us”, “Our”). The Terms outline how you use the projectechoes.org website (hereinafter, the “Site”). Further, the Terms outline how you use the services provided within (collectively, the “Services”). By visiting or using the Site, you confirm that you understand and agree to these terms. You must discontinue use of the Site immediately if you disagree with these Terms.

2. Eligibility and Account Management

To use our administrative features, you must register a coordinator account. These administrative features include creating new echo pages or editing layout designs. When registering:

• You agree to give us accurate and up-to-date information.
• You agree to keep your login details and password secure. The Echoes Project is not responsible for account vulnerabilities caused by user negligence.
• You agree to take responsibility for everything that happens under your account.

The Echoes Project reserves the right to 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 (code, styling, databases, logos, etc.) wholly belongs to the Echoes Project or its licensors, and is protected under copyright laws.

3.2. Your Contributions and Licensing

When posting to our website or map, you retain ownership of your uploads. However, by sharing them, you grant the Echoes Project a royalty-free, worldwide, permanent, and transferable license. This license gives us the ability to display, edit, print, or otherwise use your submissions in any and all Echoes assets. These assets include physical and digital books, online archives, and others.

Subordination to Privacy Removal Rights: The license is subject to all rights set forth in the Privacy Policy, regardless of its perpetual nature. A contributor or representative may request the removal of their archive; in that case, we will terminate this license for the specified material, which will then be removed from digital Services, but cannot be removed from existing physical Services.

When uploading to the Site or Services, you must ensure that you own or have permission to share anything you upload.

4. Acceptable Use Policy

Our Services must only be used for lawful, educational, and historical purposes. When using the Services:

• You must not upload obscene, abusive, or otherwise offensive content.
• You must not upload viruses, malware, or destructive code, or attempt to hack our servers, databases, or user accounts.
• You must not use bots or web scrapers to copy site content.
• You must not infringe on anyone's intellectual property or privacy rights.

5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Content Restrictions

The use of automated generation tools is strictly regulated. This is done to preserve the authenticity and integrity of stories archived on The Echoes Project, so as to best retain the information found in our interviews.

5.1. Absolute Ban on AI-Generated Submissions

When uploading content to the Site or Services, you must ensure it has not been created using AI tools, including AI chatbots, image generators, and other tools. This ban applies to all final submissions. Any and all translations must be done by a human translator, if possible. If any questions arise about the use of AI for translations (only if human translation is not an option) please email us at: info@projectechoes.org.

5.2. Broad Definition of AI Tools

“AI tools” include, but are not limited to, large language models (LLMs), generative text creators, automatic paraphrase software, translation software, automatic transcribers without human correction, image, voice, or video synthesis platforms, or other automated writing or generative software. Grammar correction utilities are allowed as long as the final output remains human-created.

5.3. Coordinator Responsibility for Third Parties and Proxies

Coordinators are responsible for all submissions under their account and Echo. Coordinators may not use the fact that a submission was made by a student volunteer, interviewer, interviewee, or other third party as a defense for AI use. Coordinators are also responsible for ensuring AI was not used in their submissions.

5.4. Determination and Consequences of Violations

Echoes reserves the sole discretion to determine if submitted content violates the AI policy. If we find that content violates this policy using automated detection tools, stylistic reviews, or other investigative methods, we may take immediate action, which includes, but is not limited to:

• Permanent suspension of the responsible coordinator’s account.
• Permanent deletion of violating submissions, as well as any other submission associated with a violating account.
• Notification of the AI use violation to the violating account’s school, university, or community.
• Revocation of any certifications or project affiliations.

6. Indemnification

In using the Echoes Project Site and its Services, you agree to the following:

You agree to defend and indemnify The Echoes Project, its founders, and other volunteers from any claims, liabilities, or damages arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms or your use of the Services. You also agree to these actions regarding any content you submit, post, or upload to the platform.

7. Disclaimer of Warranties

While we do our best to maintain the Site and Services, we cannot guarantee that the Site will be online or free of bugs. You agree to hold the Echoes Project harmless from disputes arising from potential lack of service availability, and we will do our best to restore the Site to a functioning state if it is not already functioning.

8. Limitation of Liability and Savings Provision

The Echoes Project and its related persons or partners are not liable for damages resulting from your use of the Site.

Savings Provision: These Terms shall not exclude or limit liability for gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, or bodily injury, and will also not limit liability for anything prohibited by applicable local law. If any limitation is found invalid, the remaining limitations shall remain.

9. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms and the contract they compose are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA. Accordingly, any legal disputes arising under these terms must be resolved in state or federal courts in Massachusetts.

10. 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 large updates, we will notify coordinators at least fifteen (15) days before changes take place. Your continued use of the Site following such notifications constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.