Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect the categories of information below. Some are required to create an account and use core features; others are optional or generated automatically.

Information you provide when you create an account

• Email address — required to register, to verify your account, and to recover access. We send a verification code or link to confirm the address is yours, and we may check the email domain's mail (MX) records and screen disposable or throwaway email domains to reduce abuse.
• Password — stored only as a salted, hashed value; we never store your password in plain text. (Not collected if you sign in through a third-party provider.)
• Public username / handle — a permanent display name shown publicly on your ratings and comments. Your handle is visible to everyone.
• Your real name (first and last) — used to personalize your account; it is kept private and is not shown publicly on your comments.
• ZIP code — used to determine your state and to automatically follow your U.S. senators, House representative, and governor. Your ZIP code is a permanent part of your profile because it drives which representatives the Service shows you.
• Political party affiliation — the affiliation you select (for example, Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Other).
• Gender — if you choose to provide it.
• Chosen emoji avatar — an emoji you select to represent yourself; shown publicly next to your handle.
• Optional contact details — phone number and mailing address, only if you choose to add them for account recovery or other optional features.

Content you create

• Ratings — each emoji verdict you cast on a politician. Ratings are public and are stored as a permanent, append-only record: every rating you ever cast is kept and counts toward a politician's running average (the "iRating").
• Comments — any text you post to explain or accompany a rating. Comments are public.
• Reports — if you report a comment, we receive the report and the context needed to review it.

Information from third-party sign-in (OAuth)

If you choose to sign in using a third-party provider (for example, a social or single-sign-on login), we receive basic profile information from that provider, such as your email address and name, as permitted by the provider and your settings with them. We use this only to create and authenticate your iRate account. We do not receive your password for that provider.

Information collected automatically

• IP address — used to apply rate limits, prevent abuse and spam, and protect the integrity of ratings. We may retain a record of recent request activity per IP address for these purposes.
• Session data — we use a session cookie and server-side session records to keep you signed in.
• Device and log information — standard technical details such as browser type, and server log data generated when you use the Service.

Information we derive

From your ZIP code we derive your state and the federal and state representatives who serve you, so their pages and verdicts surface first. We also compute aggregate, non-identifying statistics from ratings (for example, leaderboards and community insights).

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service, including creating your account and keeping you signed in across devices.
• Verify your email address and protect against fraudulent or automated sign-ups.
• Determine and follow the representatives who serve you, based on your ZIP code.
• Display your public username, avatar, ratings, and comments, and calculate community iRatings, leaderboards, and insights.
• Maintain the integrity of ratings and prevent spam, manipulation, harassment, and other abuse, including by applying per-IP rate limits.
• Moderate content and enforce our Terms of Service and community standards.
• Communicate with you about your account, security, verification, and important changes to the Service.
• Comply with applicable law and respond to lawful requests.

3. How Your Information Is Shared

Information that is public by design

iRate is a public platform. Your username (handle), emoji avatar, ratings, and comments are visible to anyone who uses the Service — including people who do not have an account — and may be indexed by search engines or collected, copied, or reused by third parties outside our control. Please do not post anything in a comment that you would not want to be public, and do not include sensitive personal information about yourself or others.

We do not sell your personal information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own advertising purposes.

Limited sharing

• Service providers — we use trusted vendors (for example, hosting and email delivery) who process information on our behalf and only as needed to provide the Service.
• Administrators and moderators — our authorized administrators can view account details, including your real name, handle, and email, in order to operate the Service, review reports, and enforce our rules.
• Aggregate or de-identified data — we may share statistics that do not identify you, such as overall rating trends and leaderboards.
• Legal and safety — we may disclose information if we believe it is reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of iRate, our users, or the public.
• Business transfers — if iRate is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Policy.

4. Cookies and Local Storage

We use a session cookie to keep you signed in and to operate core features. We also use your browser's local storage to remember interface preferences and a cached copy of your public profile so pages load quickly. We do not use third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can clear cookies and local storage in your browser settings, but doing so may sign you out or reset preferences.

5. Data Retention

We keep your account information for as long as your account is active. Because ratings are stored as a permanent, append-only record that feeds each politician's iRating, individual ratings are retained even after you change your verdict. We retain certain technical records (such as recent per-IP activity) for the limited time needed to prevent abuse. If you ask us to delete your account, we will delete or de-identify your personal account information, except where we must keep it to comply with law, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements. Public content you posted may persist in aggregate or de-identified form.

6. Your Privacy Choices and Rights

You can review and update much of your profile information from your account page. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of your personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. To make a request, contact us at irateusa@gmail.com and we will respond as required by applicable law. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights. Please note that some information (such as your ZIP code) is essential to providing the Service, and that public ratings retained as part of the permanent record may not be individually removable.

7. Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your information. Passwords are stored only as salted hashes, sessions are managed server-side, and we apply rate limiting and abuse controls. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for activity that occurs under your account.

8. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at irateusa@gmail.com and we will take steps to delete it.

9. Third-Party Content and Links

iRate displays information about politicians compiled from public sources, including photographs and biographical details drawn from sources such as Wikipedia and official government records. The Service may also contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, data collection, or content of those third parties, and this Policy does not apply to them. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site you visit.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Service after an update means you acknowledge the revised Policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, contact us at:

Dallas AI Metrics, LLC — operator of iRate
Dallas, Texas, United States
Email: irateusa@gmail.com