Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

EMSGrades LLC ("EMSGrades," "we," "us," or "our") operates the EMSGrades platform at emsgrades.com and related subdomains (collectively, the "Platform"). EMSGrades is a public transparency platform that publishes ratings, reviews, and information about emergency medical services agencies, providers, and related entities in Georgia.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit our website, create an account, submit a review, or otherwise interact with the Platform.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

We collect information you voluntarily provide when you:

Create an account: name, email address, and password (stored in hashed form).
Submit a review: your written review content, star ratings, and any optional verification information (employment relationship, identity verification).
Make a payment: billing name, payment card information (processed by our third-party payment processor - we do not store raw card data), and billing address.
Contact us: name, email address, and the content of your message.
Sign up for early access or notifications: email address and, optionally, your name.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Platform, we and our service providers may automatically collect certain technical information, including:

IP address and approximate geographic location (country/state level);
Browser type and version, operating system, and device type;
Pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring URLs;
Cloudflare analytics data (aggregated, non-personally-identifying web traffic data).

We currently use Cloudflare for hosting, security, and basic web analytics. We do not currently use Google Analytics or other third-party behavioral tracking services. If that changes, this policy will be updated.

2.3 Public Data We Publish

EMSGrades publishes licensure and credential information about EMS agencies and providers sourced from the Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma public registry. This is government-published public data. If you are an EMS provider or agency whose information appears on the Platform and you have questions, please contact us at [email protected].

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Create and maintain your account and authenticate your identity;
Publish and display reviews and ratings you submit (subject to our Community Guidelines);
Process payments for agency subscription tiers;
Send transactional communications (account confirmation, password reset, payment receipts);
Send platform updates and early access notifications if you have opted in;
Respond to your inquiries and support requests;
Monitor for fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service;
Improve the Platform and analyze usage patterns using aggregated, non-personally-identifying data;
Comply with applicable legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your information to serve you advertising.

Important limitation: EMSGrades is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Information on this Platform is not intended for use in employment screening, tenant screening, credit decisions, insurance underwriting, or any other purpose governed by the FCRA. Do not use this Platform for those purposes.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

Service providers: We share information with third-party vendors who help us operate the Platform, including cloud hosting (Cloudflare), payment processing, and email delivery services. These providers are bound by data processing agreements that restrict their use of your data to the specific services they perform for us and require them to maintain appropriate security measures. These providers are contractually prohibited from using your data for any purpose other than providing services to us.
Reviews you submit: Reviews you submit to the Platform are published publicly and associated with your chosen display name. If you verify your identity or employment, a "Verified" badge may appear next to your review, but your legal name is not disclosed without your consent.
Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of EMSGrades, our users, or the public.
Business transfers: If EMSGrades is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on the Platform before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with services. Specifically:

Account data is retained for the life of your account plus up to 3 years after account closure, to comply with legal obligations and resolve disputes.
Reviews and ratings you submit may remain on the Platform after account closure in de-identified or anonymized form, consistent with the public interest purpose of the Platform.
Payment records are retained for a minimum of 7 years to comply with tax and accounting obligations.
Cloudflare analytics data is retained per Cloudflare's standard retention policies (aggregated data, not personally identifying).

You may request deletion of your personal account data at any time by contacting [email protected]. Note that deletion of your account does not automatically remove reviews you have submitted, which may be retained in de-identified form.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use a minimal set of cookies and similar technologies:

Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the Platform to function, including session authentication cookies that keep you logged in. These cannot be disabled without breaking core functionality.
Cloudflare cookies: Cloudflare sets certain cookies for security and performance purposes (e.g., bot detection). These are set automatically and are governed by Cloudflare's privacy policy.

We do not currently use advertising cookies, social media tracking pixels, or third-party behavioral analytics cookies. If this changes, we will update this policy and, where required by law, seek your consent.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling strictly necessary cookies will affect your ability to log in and use account features.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:

Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Correction: You may request that we correct inaccurate personal information.
Deletion: You may request deletion of your personal account data, subject to our data retention obligations.
Opt-out of marketing: You may unsubscribe from non-transactional emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email we send, or by contacting [email protected].
Data portability: You may request a machine-readable copy of your account data.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

Georgia residents: Georgia does not currently have a comprehensive consumer data privacy statute equivalent to the CCPA. We nonetheless extend the rights described above to all users as a matter of policy.

8. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not directed to individuals under the age of 18. Georgia law requires a minimum age of 18 for EMS licensure, and the Platform is designed exclusively for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a person under 18, we will promptly delete that information. If you believe a person under 18 has provided us personal information, please contact [email protected].

9. Security

We implement commercially reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include HTTPS encryption for data in transit, hashed storage of passwords, and access controls limiting who within EMSGrades can access personal data.

No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify affected users within 72 hours of confirming the breach, or as otherwise required by applicable law. Notification will include a description of the nature of the breach, the types of information involved, and the steps we are taking in response.

10. International Data Transfers

EMSGrades is based in the United States. Your information may be processed on servers located outside your country of residence, including in the United States, as part of the normal operation of our hosting and security infrastructure (including Cloudflare's global network). By using the Platform, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other jurisdictions where our service providers operate. We take commercially reasonable steps to ensure that your information receives an adequate level of protection in the jurisdictions in which we process it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the effective date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, by sending an email notification to registered users. Your continued use of the Platform after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically.