Privacy Policy

Data We Collect

The public Campus Alert Archive is a static website. Reading, searching, and downloading the data require no account, and that part of the site stores no database of visitor information; the maintainer keeps no personal profile of you. The one exception, described below, is Google Analytics, which measures how the site is used so we can tell whether it is worth maintaining.

Analytics

This archive uses Google Analytics (GA4). It was added for a single reason: the only practical way to learn whether the archive provides any value is to review how it is actually used. Google Analytics reports that to the maintainer in aggregate: which pages are opened, how long visitors stay, what they click (including when a data export is downloaded), the approximate city or region (derived from IP address, which Google does not share with us), and general device and browser type. It is used to judge whether the archive is worth maintaining and where to improve it, and it is not used to identify you. The information is collected and processed by Google as our analytics provider under Google's privacy policy. You can opt out at any time with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on or by blocking analytics cookies in your browser; the site works exactly the same either way.

In plain terms, the interaction events we record are: page views; searches on the archive (the search text, capped at 100 characters, and how many results it returned); filter and sort choices; data exports and downloads (format, detail level, and file size); citation copies; case shares (whether a link was copied or the device share sheet was used, never who it was shared with); opening a case page (recorded with that case's catalog attributes, such as its incident type, state, and confidence rating); opening the command palette and which palette command was run; brushing the timeline (the year range and type filter) or opening a comparison; starting or finishing the guided walkthrough on the experience page; clicks on the homepage “On this day” strip; expanding an explanatory section; theme switches; and clicks on outbound source links. Every one of these describes content and controls, not you: there are no accounts on the public archive, we add no cookies beyond Google Analytics' own, and the search text is the only typed content ever recorded. As with any web host, Vercel also keeps standard, anonymous server and edge logs (such as request counts and rough geographic region) for operational and security purposes, governed by Vercel's privacy policy.

The contact form

The contact form is the one place on the public archive where you can send us information. When you submit it, your message and the email address you provide are delivered to the maintainer through Web3Forms, our form-to-email provider. That information is used only to read and reply to what you sent; it is not added to any marketing list, and you can ask us to delete it at any time. The data processors for the public archive are therefore Google (analytics), Vercel (hosting), and Web3Forms (the contact form).

Cookies

Google Analytics sets a few cookies (such as _ga and _ga_*) so it can measure how the site is used; they do not store your name or contact details. You can refuse or delete them in your browser settings, or use the Google Analytics opt-out add-on linked above, and the site will work the same. Aside from these analytics cookies, the public archive sets no first-party cookies of its own; Vercel's hosting may set essential cookies required to serve the site (such as load balancing).

Public Record Information

This archive contains names of individuals (victims, suspects, and public officials) that are matters of public record as reported by news organizations, court documents, and official university communications. This information is not collected from private individuals and is available through publicly accessible sources. If you believe any information about you has been published in error, please reach out through the contact form.

California and State Privacy Rights

For most visitors the site collects only the limited, aggregate usage data gathered through Google Analytics (described in the Analytics section above, with opt-out instructions); the public archive keeps no personal profile of visitors. Residents of California (CCPA/CPRA), Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), Connecticut (CTDPA), and other states with consumer-privacy laws may exercise any rights that apply to them, including any applicable right to access, delete, or opt out, through the contact form.

Children's Privacy

This site is not directed to children and does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. Reading and downloading the public archive requires no account. Usage analytics is handled by Google as described above and can be opted out of at any time.

Changes to This Policy

If our data practices change, this policy will be updated. Material changes will be noted with an updated revision date below.