Privacy Policy

1. Overview

OpenPress is a structured accountability platform that enables users to file, validate, and escalate grievances against companies, institutions, and government entities. Because the platform is designed to produce real-world accountability outcomes — including formal written notices delivered to named targets — the nature of information collected is more sensitive than a typical social platform. We take that responsibility seriously.

We are headquartered in New Jersey and our practices are governed by applicable U.S. federal and New Jersey state law, including the New Jersey Data Privacy Act (NJDPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) where applicable, and other relevant statutes.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

• Account registration: Name, email address, password (hashed), and username.
• Identity verification: Phone number (for SMS OTP); government-issued ID document scans processed by our third-party identity verification provider (Stripe Identity). We do not store raw ID images on our servers beyond what is necessary to complete verification.
• Issue content: Text, supporting documents, and media you upload when filing or contributing to an issue.
• Stake transactions: Wallet top-up amounts, stake amounts, and withdrawal requests. Payment instrument data is processed by our payment processor; we do not store full card numbers.
• Communications: Messages you send us via email or the contact form.
• Profile information: Optional biographical data, location (city/state), and avatar image.

Information collected automatically

• Log data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and timestamps.
• Device identifiers: Browser fingerprint data used for fraud and abuse detection.
• Cookies and local storage: See Section 5.
• Usage data: Interactions with issues (views, validations, supports, stakes), search queries within the platform.

Information from third parties

• Identity verification results (pass/fail status and trust tier assignment) from Stripe Identity.
• Fraud signals from payment processors in connection with wallet transactions.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use information collected to:

• Create and maintain your account and verify your identity.
• Operate the OpenPress Pulse scoring engine and display issue status to users and the public.
• Deliver formal accountability notices to named targets when an issue reaches escalation eligibility.
• Process stake transactions and maintain your wallet balance.
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Use.
• Send transactional communications (account verification, OTP codes, stake activity, issue milestones).
• Send optional platform newsletters and product updates (you may unsubscribe at any time).
• Comply with legal obligations including court orders, subpoenas, and regulatory requirements.
• Improve and personalize the Service through aggregate, de-identified analytics.

We do not sell your personal data to third-party advertisers or use your data to serve behavioral advertising.

4. Sharing & Disclosure

Public content

Issue titles, categories, pulse scores, and participant counts are public by design — that is the accountability mechanism. Your display name or pseudonym may appear on public issue pages if you choose a public profile. Your government ID information, email address, phone number, and wallet data are never made public.

Service providers

We share data with vendors who help us operate the Service, including:

• Stripe, Inc. — payment processing and identity verification.
• Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers (e.g., AWS, Cloudflare) — under appropriate data processing agreements.
• Transactional email providers — for account and system notifications.
• Error monitoring and logging services — under confidentiality agreements.

These providers are contractually prohibited from using your data for their own independent purposes.

Legal and safety disclosures

We may disclose your information where required by law or valid legal process, or where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to prevent imminent physical harm, protect our legal rights, or comply with a court order or government directive.

Business transfers

If Bridgepointe Inc. is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice before your personal data is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5. Cookies & Tracking

We use first-party cookies and browser local storage for:

• Session management: Keeping you logged in across page loads.
• CSRF protection: Preventing cross-site request forgery attacks.
• Preference storage: Theme settings and UI preferences.

We do not currently use third-party advertising cookies or cross-site tracking pixels. If we introduce analytics tools in the future we will update this policy and, where required, obtain your consent.

You may disable cookies in your browser settings. Disabling session cookies will prevent you from logging in.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 30 days except where retention is required by law (e.g., financial transaction records, which we retain for seven years as required by applicable tax and financial regulations).

Public issue records that have reached escalation may be retained in anonymized form to maintain an accurate historical record of the platform's accountability outcomes.

7. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards including TLS encryption in transit, bcrypt password hashing, role-based access controls, and regular security assessments. No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. In the event of a data breach affecting your rights, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Deletion — Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements).
• Portability — Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection / Restriction — Object to or restrict certain processing activities.
• Withdraw consent — Where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@openpress.media or via the contact information in Section 12. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

9. California Residents — CCPA / CPRA

California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act:

• You have the right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell (we do not sell personal information).
• You have the right to delete your personal information, subject to exceptions.
• You have the right to correct inaccurate personal information.
• You have the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• You have the right to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information.
• You have the right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights.

To submit a CCPA request, contact us at info@openpress.media with the subject line "CCPA Request." You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf; we will require proof of authorization.

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child under 13, contact us immediately at info@openpress.media and we will delete it promptly.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will post the revised policy with a new effective date and, where required by law or where appropriate, notify you by email or prominent platform notice. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns: