Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Know Your Candidate (“we”, “our”, or the “Service”) handles information when you use our nonpartisan U.S. voter-information service. We aim to collect the least data needed to run the Service and to be clear about what we do with it.

1. Information We Collect

• Account information. If you create an account, we store your email address and, if you sign in with Google, your display name. We do not store your Google password.
• Your activity in the app. We store things you intentionally save, such as your “My Ballot” list, followed candidates, and your plan/status.
• Payment status. We record whether you have a paid plan. Card and payment details are handled directly by our payment processors (Stripe and PayPal); we do not see or store your full card or payment account numbers.
• Contact messages. If you use the “Talk to the team” form, we receive whatever you send us.
• Technical data. Standard server logs and basic usage data (such as IP address and browser type) may be collected to keep the Service secure and reliable.

2. How We Use Information

• To let you sign in and keep your account working.
• To save and restore your ballot list and preferences.
• To manage subscriptions and process payments (via Stripe or PayPal).
• To send you essential notices, verification codes, and replies to your messages.
• To keep the Service secure and prevent abuse.

We do not sell your personal information and we do not use it to build advertising profiles.

3. Nonpartisan Voter Information Is Not Personal Data

Know Your Candidate shows factual information about U.S. federal races, candidates, and voting records from public sources. We never recommend or rank candidates or parties. The civic information we display comes from public datasets and is not used to profile you.

4. Payment Processing

Payments are processed by Stripe and PayPal. When you pay, the relevant processor receives the data needed to complete the transaction under its own privacy policy. We do not store your card number, CVC, or payment-account credentials.

5. Service Providers

We use trusted third parties to operate the Service, including: hosting and database providers, email delivery, Google sign-in, and payment processors (Stripe, PayPal). Each processes data only as needed to provide their service and under their own terms.

6. Public Data Sources

Candidate, election, voting-record, and news content is retrieved live from public sources (for example, the Federal Election Commission, Congress.gov, and news providers). This is publicly available information and is not your personal data.

6b. YouTube API Services

Some candidate topic pages embed publicly available YouTube videos (for example, speeches, floor remarks, and interviews in real candidates’ own words). This content is provided through the YouTube Data API using a server-side API key. We do not require you to sign in with a Google Account to view it, we do not upload, edit, or repost videos, and we do not collect or store any personal data about you through the YouTube API.

Your use of YouTube content is also governed by Google’s Privacy Policy and the YouTube Terms of Service. To review or delete data that Google holds about you, visit your Google data & privacy page or Google Takeout. Because we do not collect or store any YouTube API personal data about you, there is nothing about you for us to delete from our side; if that ever changes, you can request deletion at any time through the “Talk to the team” form.

7. Cookies and Local Storage

We use browser local/session storage to keep you signed in and remember your preferences on your device. We do not use it to track you across sites.

7a. Site Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand, in aggregate, how many people visit the site and which pages they view. Google Analytics may use cookies or similar identifiers and may collect a device/network-level identifier and your IP address (anonymized) to provide these aggregate reports. Google processes this data under its own Privacy Policy and Google Analytics terms. This analytics data is aggregate and is not used to build political or personal profiles of you, and it never influences, ranks, or recommends any candidate, party, or ideology.

8. Your Rights & Deletion

You can view and delete your data yourself in the app. You can close your account at any time, which cancels billing and permanently deletes your account data. You may also contact us to request access to or deletion of your information.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

10. Data Retention

We keep account data only as long as your account is active or as needed for legitimate business, security, or legal purposes. When you delete your account, your data is removed.

11. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The “last updated” date above tells you when it changed. Continued use of the Service after changes means you accept the updated policy.

13. Contact

To ask questions, exercise your privacy rights, or request deletion, use the “Talk to the team” form in the app, or submit a data-deletion request through the Service.

Know Your Candidate — nonpartisan U.S. voter information.