Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 17, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how GovGuard Inc. ("GovGuard," "we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, and safeguards information when you use our public records and FOIA workflow platform and related services (the "Service").

GovGuard acts as a service provider to the government agencies and municipalities we serve. If you are using GovGuard as an employee of a city, town, county, or agency (the "Customer"), your use of the Service is also subject to your organization's internal data governance policies.

1. Information We Collect

The Service is designed to help government teams manage public records and FOIA workflows. In the course of providing the Service, we may process the following categories of information:

A. Account Information

Identity Data: Name, official government email address, job title (e.g., "City Clerk"), and login credentials (managed via secure authentication providers).
Organization Data: Information about the agency or municipality you represent, including billing address and tax-exempt status.

B. Usage Data

Audit Logs: IP address, time of access, and specific actions taken within the Service. These logs are available to the Customer for compliance auditing.
Performance Metrics: Metadata regarding search latency and system uptime.

C. Customer Data

Information provided by users and uploaded to the Service, including documents, emails, meeting archives, and public records request data. We process this data to provide the Service (e.g., search, redaction assistance, and response drafting).
Communications: Messages, support tickets, and other communications you send to us.

Uploaded records may contain personal information about third parties (such as members of the public who submitted public records requests or whose information appears in agency records). GovGuard processes this information on the Customer's behalf solely to provide the Service.

2. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

To Provide the Service: Indexing records, supporting search and redaction, assisting with response drafting, and generating workflow reports.
Security & Auditing: Monitoring for unauthorized access and maintaining audit trails for the Customer.
Support: Responding to questions and support requests from authorized users.
Product Improvement: Using aggregated, de-identified usage patterns to improve the Service. We do not use Customer Data to train publicly available AI models.

3. Cookies and Tracking

We use essential cookies for security and session management, including authentication and protection against cross-site request forgery. We do not use advertising cookies or tracking pixels.

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

GovGuard does not sell personal information. We disclose information only in the following circumstances:

Service Providers / Subprocessors: We use trusted vendors to support hosting, infrastructure, and email delivery. These providers are bound by contractual obligations to handle information consistent with this Policy and applicable law.
The Customer: The Customer's designated administrators have access to data and audit logs associated with their instance of the Service.
Legal Requirements: If required by a valid court order, subpoena, or other legal process. Where permitted, we will notify the Customer of such requests.

5. Data Security & Retention

GovGuard maintains reasonable technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect information against unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Retention: We retain Customer Data for the duration of the subscription. Upon termination, Customer Data is either returned to the Customer or securely deleted in accordance with the agreement and applicable law.

6. Your Choices

Because GovGuard processes data on behalf of the Customer, individuals seeking to exercise rights regarding their information (such as access, correction, or deletion) should generally direct those requests to the Customer. We will support the Customer in responding to such requests as required by applicable law.

7. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law or our Service. Material changes will be communicated to the Customer.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please email us at support@govguard.com.