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Privacy Policy

MassLRF.org is committed to your privacy. It is important to us.

Our privacy policy describes how we collect and use information about you. This policy doesn't apply to other sites you reach through MassLRF.org. You should read the privacy policies of other Web sites to learn how they collect and use information about you.

We collect anonymous data about how the website is used. This data does not identify individual users. See the General Usage Statistics section below for information on what data we collect and how we use it.

We only collect personal information like your name, email address or phone number when you give it to us through our contact  or feedback forms, if you want to text or email your results or if you email it to us. We also collect information about your legal problem in your own words if you fill out the "describe your legal problem" field in the Fine Legal Help tool. You do not need to give us this information to use the site, although some of the site features might not work if you do not give us with that information.  

See the sections below for details on why we collect this information and how we use it.

Find Legal Help and Guide Me Tools

The information we collect from the Find Legal Help and the Guide Me tools on the Legal Resource Finder is used to help determine the best legal resources, information and referrals for your specific situation.  Resources and organizations base eligibility for services on factors such as income and where you live. We collect this type of information so we can give you the most helpful results . 

Describe your legal problem field

If you decide to describe your legal problem when using the Find Legal Help tool, that information will be shared with SPOT, a service that is run by Suffolk University Law School's Legal Innovation and Technology (LIT) Lab

We use SPOT to help the Find Legal Help tool give you suggestions about which legal term in our issue tree fits your legal problem. SPOT remembers your description, which it uses to help improve its service for the benefit of people who need legal help. This description  may be read by people on the SPOT team.  However, as long as you have not included any personally identifying information in the description of your legal problem,  this description will be anonymous. Learn more about data sharing with SPOT.

If you decide to use  the describe your legal problem part of the Legal Help Search, we will keep a record of that description. However, as long as you have not included any personally identifying information in the description of your legal problem,  this description will be anonymous. We may use and share your description in the same way that we use and share General Usage Statistics.

You can still use the Find Legal Help tool even if you decide not to describe your legal problem.  However, you will need to find your legal problem from the list, we will not be able to suggest what term to use unless you describe your legal problem.

Texting or Emailing Results 

If you decide to text or email the Find Legal Help or Guide Me results to yourself or someone else, we keep a record of the phone number or email addresses you give us, and the content of your message. This information is deleted in accordance with our retention policies. We are not responsible for any information accessed or stored by any third-party service providers, including internet or telephone.

General Usage Statistics

We collect statistics and data on how visitors use the Legal Resource Finder, including the Find Legal Help and the Guide Me tools, through Google Analytics. All information is anonymous so users cannot be identified.

We use Google Analytics to track visits to our site. Google Analytics uses cookies on your web browser to collect and track this data. Data is collected and presented in a way that keeps your identity hidden. We only see trends and statistics, not information about you as a specific visitor. We use Google Analytics to help improve our services.

You can opt-out of letting Google Analytics collect your data by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.  Learn more about Google Analytics Data Collection.

We share statistics about the Legal Resource Finder with:

  • Our funders and potential funders.
  • Partners in the legal aid and legal aid technology communities – for example, for  joint work on website improvement projects or for informational purposes and studies of legal aid website use.
  • Contractors and other third parties performing development, maintenance work and other services on our behalf.
  • Other entities that help further access to justice.

We will share information in order to comply with the law. For example, we will share information to respond to a court order or subpoena. We may also share if a government agency or investigatory body requests.

We do not sell or use data to sell things to you. We may use data to help us learn how to best promote our services or website. 

Contact and feedback forms, and emails

We do not give legal advice through this website, including through  contact or feedback forms, or email. Please do not give us personal information about yourself or your legal situation via contact or feedback forms, or email. 

If you do send us an email or complete a contact or feedback form asking for legal help, representation or advice, we may forward such email or form to other entities, including, but not limited to, other legal services organizations, that might be able to help you. 

Also, if you send us a contact or feedback form or email which mentions or involves another organization, including a contact or feedback form or an email with concerns or complaints about that organization, we may forward your contact or feedback form or email directly to that organization. 

We do not guarantee the privacy of any information that you send us via a feedback, contact form or email.

 We keep a record of feedback and contact forms and emails in order to manage the request and improve our services. 

Children

Our websites do not knowingly or intentionally collect personal information from children under age 13

If you are a parent or guardian and you believe our website has collected personal information about your child, please contact us.

Learn more about protecting your child's privacy online.

Links

Our sites contain links to third party sites. If you click on one of those links, you are taken to sites we do not control. This policy does not apply to the information practices of other websites.

Internet Safety

The Internet is not 100% secure. We cannot promise that this website is completely safe. Use caution when using the Internet! If you are using a public or shared computer, the information you enter could be stored on that computer and other people could find it later. Make sure to close out of the browser completely when you are done.

Policy Updates

From time to time we may change our privacy practices or policies. If there are changes, the latest version of our policy will be posted in this section.

Questions about this Policy

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data collection and usage, please contact us.