Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

United Mineral Network, Inc. ("UMN," "we," "us," or "our") is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity committed to protecting the privacy of our users and members. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website at unitedmineralnetwork.org and use our services.

By using our website and services, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

• Account registration information (name, email address)
• Property legal descriptions (State, County, PLSS coordinates) for activity reports
• Forum posts and community contributions
• Payment information for membership donations (processed securely by Stripe)
• Communications you send to us via email or contact forms

Information Collected Automatically

• Browser type, operating system, and device information
• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Pages viewed, time spent on pages, and navigation paths
• Referral source and search terms used to find our site

3. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information exclusively to further our charitable mission:

• Generating property activity reports you request
• Sending permit alerts and educational notifications to members
• Operating and moderating community forums
• Processing membership donations and providing tax documentation
• Improving our educational content and platform usability
• Responding to your inquiries and support requests
• Complying with legal obligations

4. Information We Do NOT Collect or Sell

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We use the following third-party services to operate our platform. These providers only receive the minimum information necessary to perform their services:

• Stripe — Payment processing for membership donations
• Resend — Transactional email delivery (reports, alerts)
• Vercel — Website hosting and database services
• Anthropic — AI-powered forum moderation and Q&A assistance
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — Public federal data for property reports
• Google / Facebook — Optional OAuth sign-in (only if you choose these methods)

6. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information, including HTTPS encryption for all data in transit, secure database storage, Content Security Policy headers, and regular security reviews. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Cookies

We use essential cookies to maintain your session and authentication state. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Third-party services (such as Stripe) may set their own cookies as necessary to process payments securely.

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your account and associated data
• Opt out of non-essential email communications
• Download a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@unitedmineralnetwork.org.

9. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.