Our Data Covenant: Privacy as Collective Defense

Oakland Pride Website & Community Space

This is not a privacy policy. It is a promise.

In a world built on surveillance, where our data is stolen and sold, and where the state uses information as a weapon against our communities, we choose a different path. We believe that privacy is a fundamental requirement for liberation. It is the soil in which trust grows. It is the shield that protects the vulnerable.

This document outlines our sacred commitment to defending your data, your anonymity, and your story.

1. Our Core Principle: Your Life is Not a Data Point

We reject the capitalist premise that your data is a commodity to be harvested, analyzed, and exploited. Your interactions, your identity, and your presence in this community are not for sale. They are not for trade. They are not for analysis. They are yours alone. We operate on a principle of data minimization: the only data we want is the data you explicitly and freely offer in trust, and we will protect it fiercely.

2. The Anti-Log: What We Deliberately Do Not Collect

Our commitment to your privacy is defined by what we refuse to take. We reject the tools of digital surveillance.

No IP Logging: Your IP address is a digital fingerprint. We do not store it. Your visit here leaves no trace in our permanent records.
No Tracking Cookies: We do not use persistent, third-party tracking cookies. We will not follow you around the internet or allow corporations to do so. Any cookies we use are for essential site functions only and expire when you leave.
No Third-Party Surveillance: We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any other corporate surveillance tools. We would rather have fewer metrics than sell you out for a marketing demographic.
No Location Tracking: We do not track your physical location. Where you are is your business.

3. What We Collect & Why: Intentional & Transparent Exchange

In the rare instances we ask for information, it will be for a clear and specific community purpose.

Email Lists: If you choose to subscribe to a newsletter, we will collect your email address. Why? To send you the information you asked for. That is its only purpose. You can unsubscribe at any time, and your email will be permanently deleted.
Contact Forms: If you send us a message, we will have the information you provide in that message. Why? To respond to your inquiry. We will not add you to any list or use your information for any other reason without your explicit consent.

This is not a negotiation. It is a hard line.

We will never voluntarily share, sell, or trade your information with any third party, especially not with corporations or law enforcement. We consider any request for community data from a state agency to be an act of hostility. We will resist subpoenas, warrants, and other demands for information to the fullest extent of our ability, and we will be transparent with the community if we are targeted. We are a sanctuary, not an informant.

5. Your Power: The Right to Disappear

You are not a “user” of our “service.” You are a member of our community. You hold all the power over your own story.

The Right to Know: You have the right to ask us what information we have about you at any time. (Our answer will almost always be “none” or “only the email you gave us.”)
The Right to Be Erased: You have the right to demand the permanent deletion of any information we hold. No questions asked.

6. Anonymity, Pseudonymity & Collective Liberation

Your data is private, but our culture is public and copyleft. We encourage you to engage with our community in the way that feels safest for you. Anonymity and pseudonymity are honored here. They are vital safety tools for queer, trans, and dissident people. We will defend your right to exist here without being forced to tie your presence to a state-sanctioned identity.

This covenant is our promise to you. It is a small act of building a world where we can be free and safe, together.

Privacy