Privacy policy

Browsing

You can read every page without an account. We do not run ads or ad trackers, and we do not sell or share information about visitors. The server keeps standard short-lived technical logs (such as IP address and error messages) to keep the site running and to stop abuse.

Signing in

• Google: when you choose Continue with Google, Google tells us your verified email address and your name. We use the email only to recognize you, and your first name and last initial as your display name. We store a scrambled code (a keyed hash) made from your email, not the email itself.
• Email code: we send a one-time code to the address you enter. We store the same scrambled code, not the address.
• Phone (where used): the number is stored as a scrambled code plus its last four digits. If you turn on texts, the number is kept encrypted so we can send them. It is deleted when you turn texts off or reply STOP.
• Your account keeps the display name and neighborhood you choose. Your neighborhood is never shown next to your name.

What you post

Reports, stories, listings and shift sign-ups are reviewed before they appear. Public map pins are rounded to the block. Photos are pixelated for the public unless a review confirms no person is in them. Their location data is removed, and they are deleted after 72 hours. Notes for responders and Find my person requests are seen only by the site's moderators.

Adding an event

You can send an event without an account. We keep what you enter: the event details, the link, your name if you give it, and your email. A volunteer checks each event before it goes up. Once approved, the event details are shown on the Events page.

Your name and email are never shown on the site. They go to the volunteers who run the site, so we can ask a question about the event. If you paste a link, the site reads that public page to fill in the details. To stop abuse, we keep a scrambled code made from your internet address to limit how many events one connection can send.

Sharing your story

Share your story needs a sign-in. You choose how it is signed: your first name, your initials, or no name. A neighborhood is optional. If you add an email, only the volunteer moderators see it, to ask you a question about your story; it is never shown on the site. Every story is read by a moderator before it appears, and if you tick the box, it may be featured on the site and in Empower Santa Monica posts. To take a story down, write to us.

Joining and backing the initiatives

Join the movement, and I'm in on each initiative, need a sign-in. The public counts show how many people back each initiative and which neighborhoods they come from, using the neighborhood on your account. Your name is never shown publicly. The volunteers who run the site get a note with your display name and neighborhood. Small numbers are shown as they are, so in a neighborhood with few backers the count can be small. You can take your backing back at any time.

When you open a letter to Council, we count it once per connection, per initiative, per day, using a scrambled code made from your internet address. If you are signed in, your neighborhood is added to that count. The letter itself is sent from your own email, and we do not see it.

Requests you send to 311

When you use Fix it: send to 311 (or Send to 311 for me on a report), we email your request to Santa Monica 311 at 311@santamonica.gov. You see the exact email before anything is sent. It holds what you wrote, the spot (address or cross streets, neighborhood, map point and a map link), your photo if you added one, and your name, your email and your phone if you gave it. 311 gets your name and email so the City can reply to you directly; you are copied on the email and replies go to you. Once 311 has it, the City's own privacy rules apply to it.

These requests never appear on the public map. We keep a private copy so we can show it in My 311 requests, send you one reminder after 10 days and send one follow-up if you ask. Your name, email and phone are kept encrypted and deleted after 60 days. The photo has its location data removed, is never public, and is deleted after 30 days. The volunteers who run the site see only that a request was sent, with your first name and last initial. Public numbers show only counts by type and neighborhood. While you are signed in, your sign-in session remembers your email so the form can fill it in; it ends when you sign out. To delete a request sooner, write to us through Contact us.

Messages and the Ask helper

Messages sent through Contact us go to the volunteers who run the site and are not shared. Questions typed into the Ask helper are answered and not stored. When the site uses AI to review posts or answer questions, the text is sent to Anthropic for processing under its commercial terms.

Talking to the guide (voice)

The Talk to the guide button in the Ask panel connects you to a voice assistant run by ElevenLabs, a separate company. Nothing loads until you tap it, and your browser asks before it uses your microphone.

What you say is sent to ElevenLabs so it can be turned into text and answered. The audio of the call is not stored. ElevenLabs keeps the written transcript for 30 days and then deletes it. Do not say names, addresses or other personal details.

The voice guide is not an emergency service. If anyone is in danger, call 911. For a suicidal or mental health crisis, call or text 988.

Your choices

You can sign out at any time. To delete your account and what you posted, write to us through Contact us or at hello@empowersantamonica.com, and we will remove it.

Children

The site is not meant for children under 13. Nothing about a child is ever put on the public map.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top changes too.