Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Boston Made, Inc. and the Boston Made Foundation ("we," "us," or "our") operate the Platform at bostonmade.org. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices. By using the Platform, you agree to the practices described here.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

Account registration: name, email address, and password (stored as a secure hash)
Member profile: display name, bio, city, state, website, social links, skills, and interests — all optional
Business listings: business name, address, contact information, description, and other details you submit for the directory
Community content: posts, comments, group memberships, and event RSVPs
Contact inquiries: messages sent through our contact form

Information collected automatically

Session data: authentication tokens stored in secure HttpOnly cookies
Server logs: IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps — retained for security and debugging purposes

3. How We Use Your Information

To create and manage your account and authenticate your sessions
To display your public profile and business listings to other members and visitors
To send in-app notifications about activity relevant to you (follows, comments, listing status updates)
To review and moderate business listing submissions
To respond to your support or contact inquiries
To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
To improve the Platform based on aggregate, anonymized usage patterns

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for targeted advertising.

We share your information only in the following circumstances:

Public profile: Information you mark as public on your profile is visible to all Platform visitors. You control your visibility settings in your dashboard.
Business listings: Approved listings are publicly visible. Pending, draft, and rejected listings are visible only to you and our moderation team.
Service providers: We use infrastructure providers (hosting, database) who process data on our behalf under confidentiality obligations.
Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of our users or the public.

5. Profile Visibility Controls

You can control who sees your member profile. Options are:

Public: Visible to all visitors, including non-members
Members only: Visible only to signed-in members
Private: Not visible to other users; only you and admins can see it

Change your visibility setting at any time in Dashboard → Edit Profile.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate security purposes (such as moderation logs related to policy violations).

7. Security

We use industry-standard security practices including encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure HttpOnly session cookies, and hashed password storage. No system is perfectly secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security but take reasonable measures to protect your information.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights to:

Access the personal information we hold about you
Correct inaccurate information in your profile or listing
Request deletion of your account and associated data
Object to or restrict certain processing of your data

To exercise these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Cookies

We use a single session cookie to keep you signed in. This cookie is HttpOnly (not accessible to JavaScript), Secure (HTTPS only), and SameSite=Lax. We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics cookies.

10. Children

The Platform is not directed to children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at [email protected] and we will delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered members of material changes by email or by posting a notice on the Platform. The effective date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

12. Contact

Privacy questions or requests? Contact us at [email protected].