Privacy Policy

What we collect, why we collect it, and the choices you have.

Effective May 1, 2026 · Last updated May 1, 2026

1. Who we are

Honored Ancestors ("we," "us," "our") operates the website at honoredancestors.com (and related domains honoredancestors.net, .org, .info), a public memorial platform for African American heritage. You can reach us any time at info@honoredancestors.com.

2. Information we collect

From everyone who visits the site

Server logs. Our web server records standard access information — your IP address, the page you requested, the time of the request, your browser's user-agent string, and the referring page. We use this to operate and protect the site.
Cookies. We do not use third-party tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or analytics cookies that profile you. Any cookies we set are strictly necessary for the site to function.

When you sign up to be notified

Your email address. Used to send you launch updates and notice of new featured stories. Nothing else.

When you submit a story

The Submit a Story form collects:

Name of the person being honored, and their dates if you provide them
Your name and your email address
Your relationship to the person (optional)
A one-line story summary, the full story, and any photo/document follow-up note you write
Your privacy preference (how you want the story credited)
Your confirmation that you have the right to share the story
Whether we may email you with editorial questions
Technical metadata: the time of submission, your IP address, and your browser's user-agent string

3. How we use your information

To review submissions. A human on our team reads every submission. We may email you with editorial questions or to ask for clarification before publishing.
To publish approved stories. Once approved, your story is published as a featured page in accordance with the privacy preference you selected.
To communicate with you. If you signed up for updates or asked us to contact you, we will. We do not send marketing email beyond what you signed up for.
To operate and protect the site. Server logs and submission metadata help us defend against spam, abuse, and security threats.
To comply with the law. We may use or share information when required by valid legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Honored Ancestors, our users, or others.

4. What we publish vs. what we keep private

What appears on a published story page depends on the privacy preference you select:

Public with submitter credit. The honoree's name, the story, and your name as submitter are public. Your email address is never published.
Public, submitter anonymous. The honoree's name and the story are public. Your name and email are kept private.
Review with me before publishing. Nothing is published until we contact you and confirm.

Your email address, IP address, browser user-agent, and any private notes are never published, regardless of preference.

5. How we share information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We do not run advertising on this site. We share information only:

With service providers that host or operate the site (our VPS host, our domain registrar, and our email provider), strictly to deliver the service.
When you publish a story under a public privacy preference — in which case the parts you chose to make public become part of the public archive.
When required by law, or to protect rights, safety, or property as described above.

6. How long we keep information

Submissions awaiting review are kept until they are approved, declined, or withdrawn.
Approved and published stories are kept as part of the public archive. You can request changes or removal at any time (see Section 8).
Declined or withdrawn submissions are deleted from active intake; minimal records may be retained for abuse prevention.
Server logs are kept for a short window (typically 30–90 days) and rotated.
Email signups are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you.

7. How we protect information

The site is served over HTTPS. Submissions are stored on our private VPS in a directory not accessible from the public web. We restrict access to authorized people on our team. No system is perfectly secure, but we treat your story and your email with care.

8. Your rights and choices

At any time, you can email info@honoredancestors.com to:

Ask what information we have about you
Correct something on a story you submitted
Withdraw a pending submission
Request that a published story be removed or amended
Unsubscribe from email updates
Request deletion of your information, subject to limits we may need to keep for abuse prevention or to honor a separately submitting family member's rights

If you are a resident of a U.S. state with a comprehensive privacy law (such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, or Utah), the European Economic Area, or the United Kingdom, you may have additional rights — including the right to access, correct, delete, port, or restrict processing of your personal data, and the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Email us and we will honor those rights to the extent the law requires.

We do not sell personal information, do not "share" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and do not use it for automated profiling.

9. Children

The site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has submitted personal information, email us and we will delete it.

10. Stories about people who have passed away

Honored Ancestors is by design a memorial platform. By submitting a story you confirm that you have the right to share it (see our Story Submission Terms). Family members of an honored person may always contact us to request changes to or removal of a published story.

11. International visitors

The site is operated from the United States. If you visit or submit from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated version here with a new "Last updated" date. Material changes will be highlighted on the site or by email if you are subscribed.

13. Contact us

Questions or requests about this policy go to info@honoredancestors.com.

A note on this document: this Privacy Policy is written in plain language to be honest and useful, but it is not legal advice. We recommend any organization growing a public archive review its policies with qualified counsel before scaling.