Privacy Policy

Effective Date: August 26, 2025
Last Updated: August 26, 2025

Introduction

Welcome to the Lilly Friend Project (“we,” “us,” or “our”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website lillyfriendproject.com and use our services, including our friend questionnaire and Discord community integration.

Important: This service is intended solely for users located in the United States. By using our website, you confirm that you are located in the United States. We do not knowingly collect data from individuals outside the United States, and this service is not intended for international users.

Information We Collect

Current Information Collection

When you fill out our friend questionnaire on this website, we collect:

  • Contact Information: Name (real or preferred pseudonym), email address, website or social media profiles, Discord username
  • Location Information: General location (city/state)
  • Questionnaire Responses: All answers to our preliminary questions, open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, and essay responses
  • Consent Preferences: Your agreement to share responses publicly and participate in our Discord community

Historical Information Collection

Some questionnaires displayed on our website were collected before this privacy policy was established, through different methods:

  • Physical Distribution: Some questionnaires were promoted through physical flyers distributed throughout the city
  • Varying Consent: Historical submissions may have had different consent mechanisms than our current process, historical submissions had acknowledgement of the purpose of the content collection. Including being used for the purpose of a video documentary, podcast and website submission.
  • Pre-Existing Content: These historical questionnaires have in some cases been published on our website with modified names

Important: If you submitted a questionnaire through a previous method and wish to modify how your information is used, please contact us using the information provided at the end of this policy.

Automatically Collected Information

  • Website Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent on site, referring websites, search terms used to find our site
  • Device Information: Browser type, device type, IP address (anonymized), screen resolution, language preferences
  • Security Data: Through Wordfence Security, we automatically collect IP addresses, browser information, page access logs, and security event data from all website visitors for threat detection and website protection
  • Analytics Data: Through Google Analytics, we collect visitor behavior, demographics (age range, gender, interests), geographic location (city/state level), and website performance metrics
  • Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use essential cookies for website functionality and analytics cookies for Google Analytics

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Create Public Content: With your explicit consent, we may share your questionnaire responses publicly on our website and in related content including social media and podcasts
  • Discord Community Integration: If you opt-in, we may share relevant information with our Discord community through automated Discord applications
  • Communication: Respond to your inquiries and provide updates about the project
  • Website Improvement: Analyze usage patterns to improve our services using Google Analytics data
  • Analytics and Research: Understand visitor demographics, behavior patterns, and site performance to enhance user experience
  • Content Creation: Use anonymized responses for podcast episodes and social media content

Information Sharing and Disclosure

Content Review Process

Submission Review All questionnaire submissions undergo a review process before publication:

  • Review Personnel: Questionnaire submissions are reviewed by project staff and authorized personnel
  • Review Criteria: Submissions are evaluated for appropriateness, privacy considerations, content quality, and alignment with project goals
  • Access During Review: During the review process, authorized personnel have access to your complete, unredacted submission including all personal information provided
  • Publication Decision: We reserve the right to accept, reject, or modify submissions at our sole discretion
  • No Publication Guarantee: Submission of a questionnaire does not guarantee publication on our website or inclusion in other content

Review Outcomes

  • Accepted Submissions: Published on our website with potential name changes and become part of our permanent content archive
  • Rejected Submissions: Are not deleted unless requested

Important: The review process requires human access to all submitted information. While we implement security measures, this human review creates additional data processing beyond automated collection.

Public Sharing

With Your Consent: If you agree during the questionnaire process, your responses may be:

  • Reviewed before publication, including evaluation for appropriateness, accuracy, and privacy considerations
  • Published on lillyfriendproject.com with your preferred name (which may be a pseudonym)
  • Shared on our social media platforms
  • Discussed in podcast episodes
  • Used in other related content and/or media

Privacy Protection: We may replace real names and sometimes locations with pseudonyms to protect your privacy, but this is not guaranteed. The decision to use pseudonyms is made at our discretion based on various factors including content sensitivity and privacy considerations.

Discord Community Integration

If you opt to join our Discord community, we may:

  • Share your Discord username with community moderators
  • Use Discord applications to facilitate community interaction
  • Share relevant questionnaire information to enhance community engagement

Other Disclosures

We may share your information:

  • Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect our legal rights
  • Service Providers: With trusted third-party services that help us operate our website (hosting, email services, etc.)
  • Safety: To protect the safety and security of our users and community

Marketing and Outreach

We may promote our questionnaire and services through:

  • Physical Materials: Flyers, posters, or other printed materials distributed in public spaces
  • Online Promotion: Social media, websites, and digital advertising
  • Word of Mouth: Encouraging current participants to share with others

Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your information, including:

  • Secure data storage
  • Limited access to personal information
  • Regular security assessments
  • Encryption of sensitive data in transit

However, no internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your Rights and Choices

Access and Control

You have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we have about you
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your information (subject to legal requirements and published content limitations)
  • Opt-Out: Withdraw consent for public sharing or Discord community participation
  • Analytics Opt-Out: Disable Google Analytics tracking using Google’s opt-out tool or browser settings
  • Cookie Control: Manage or delete cookies through your browser settings
  • Historical Data: If you submitted a questionnaire through our historical collection methods and wish to modify how your information is used, please contact us

Important Limitations:

  • Published questionnaire responses (both current and historical) that are already part of our content archive may not be removable due to their integration into our permanent content
  • We cannot guarantee that names will be replaced with pseudonyms in future publications
  • Historical data collected under different consent mechanisms may have different modification limitations
  • You must contact us through the email provided in your original submission, requests made through not matching emails will not be considered

Feedback and Contact

We maintain a feedback system where you can:

  • Submit questions or concerns about our privacy practices
  • Request changes to how your information is used
  • Report any privacy-related issues

Data Retention

We retain your information:

  • Published Content: Indefinitely, as it becomes part of our permanent content archive (this includes both current and historical questionnaire responses)
  • Unpublished Responses: For up to 2 years unless you request deletion
  • Contact Information: Until you request removal or we determine it’s no longer needed
  • Google Analytics Data: Automatically deleted after 26 months
  • Cookies: Various durations (session cookies expire when you close your browser, persistent cookies have set expiration dates)
  • Historical Data: Some questionnaire responses were collected and published before this privacy policy existed and are considered part of our permanent archive

Children’s Privacy

Our service is not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect information from minors. If we discover we have collected information from a child under 18, we will delete it immediately.

Geographic Limitations and GDPR

US-Only Service: This website and service are intended solely for users in the United States. We do not offer services to individuals in the European Union, United Kingdom, or other regions with specific data protection laws like GDPR.

International Users: If you are accessing this site from outside the United States, please discontinue use immediately. We are not equipped to handle data protection requirements outside the US.

Third-Party Services

Our website uses several third-party services:

Website Functionality

  • WordPress: Content management system
  • Web hosting services: For website operation (DreamHost)
  • Bootstrap: For website styling (MIT License)
  • Google Fonts: For typography (SIL Open Font License)
  • Wordfence Security: Website security monitoring and protection service that collects visitor IP addresses, browser information, and website activity for threat detection and prevention

Analytics and Advertising

  • Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. Google Analytics collects information anonymously and reports website trends without identifying individual visitors. Google may also use this data for their own advertising purposes.
    • Data Collected: Page views, session duration, bounce rate, traffic sources, user demographics, device information, and geographic location
    • Data Retention: Analytics data is retained for 26 months
    • Google’s Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
    • Opt-Out: You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Security Services

  • Wordfence Security: We use Wordfence to protect our website from security threats. Wordfence automatically collects and analyzes visitor data including:
    • IP addresses and geographic location
    • Browser and device information
    • Pages accessed and access times
    • Security-related events (blocked requests, login attempts)
    • Data Sharing: This information is shared with Wordfence LLC for threat analysis and to maintain their security database
    • Purpose: To protect our website and users from malicious activity, spam, and security threats
    • Wordfence Privacy Policy: https://www.wordfence.com/privacy-policy/

These services have their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

Cookies Policy

We use different types of cookies and tracking technologies:

Essential Cookies

  • Purpose: Required for website functionality (login, form submission, security)
  • Duration: Session-based or until manually deleted
  • Control: Cannot be disabled without affecting website functionality

Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics)

  • Purpose: To understand how visitors use our website and improve user experience
  • Data Collected:
    • Visitor behavior (pages viewed, time on site, bounce rate)
    • Traffic sources (how you found our site)
    • Device and browser information
    • Geographic location (city/state level)
    • Demographics (age range, gender, interests) if available
  • Duration: Up to 26 months
  • Control: You can opt out using:
    • Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
    • Your browser’s cookie settings
    • “Do Not Track” browser setting (we respect this setting)

Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through:

  • Browser Settings: Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies
  • Google Analytics Opt-out: Use Google’s official opt-out tool
  • Do Not Track: Enable in your browser preferences (we honor this setting)

Note: Disabling essential cookies may affect website functionality, while disabling analytics cookies will not impact your ability to use the site.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. When we do:

  • We’ll post the new policy on this page
  • We’ll update the “Last Updated” date
  • For significant changes, we may notify you via email or website notice

Contact Information

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your rights, contact us:

Email: contact@lillyfriendproject.com
Website: lillyfriendproject.com/feedback

This Privacy Policy is governed by United States law and is intended solely for US residents, as is the product itself.