How we collect, use and protect your information
CivicLens LLC operates the civic technology platform at civic-lens.com. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use and protect information when you use our platform.
CivicLens is designed for public use. We are committed to collecting as little personal information as possible while providing a useful service to residents and government clients.
This policy applies to three types of users:
CivicLens does not require residents to create an account or provide personal information to access translated content. When you visit civic-lens.com we may automatically collect:
This information is collected through standard server logs and analytics tools and is used only to improve the platform. We do not use tracking cookies for advertising purposes.
When a city government subscribes to CivicLens, staff members who use the operator dashboard may provide:
This information is used solely to provide access to the operator features and to communicate with the city about its account.
Agenda PDF files uploaded by city clients are processed to extract text and generate plain English translations. These documents are government public records. We do not treat uploaded agenda content as private information.
If you contact us by email, we retain that correspondence to respond to your inquiry and improve our service.
We use the information we collect to:
We do not use personal information to serve targeted advertising. We do not sell personal information to third parties.
We use third-party service providers to operate the platform, including cloud hosting (DigitalOcean) and AI processing (Anthropic). These providers access information only as necessary to provide services on our behalf and are bound by confidentiality obligations.
If you interact with a city government's CivicLens-powered page, the city may have access to aggregate usage data such as how many residents viewed a translated agenda. We do not share individual visitor data with city clients.
We may disclose information if required by law, court order or government authority, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, safety or property of CivicLens, our users or the public.
If CivicLens is acquired, merges with another company or transfers substantially all of its assets, user information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify affected users by posting a notice on our website.
We retain information for as long as necessary to provide the Services and comply with legal obligations:
We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. These measures include encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls and regular security reviews.
No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
CivicLens is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly. If you believe we may have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at info@civic-lens.com.
City client staff may request access to their account information or correction of inaccurate information by contacting info@civic-lens.com.
City clients may request deletion of their account data by contacting us. We will process deletion requests within 60 days subject to legal retention requirements.
You may opt out of non-essential communications from CivicLens by following the unsubscribe instructions in any email we send or by contacting info@civic-lens.com.
California residents may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). To exercise these rights, contact us at info@civic-lens.com with the subject line California Privacy Request.
Nevada residents may opt out of the sale of their personal information. CivicLens does not sell personal information. To confirm this or submit a request, contact info@civic-lens.com.
civic-lens.com may contain links to government websites and other third-party resources. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.
CivicLens uses artificial intelligence to generate plain English translations of government documents. Translations are automated and are not individually reviewed by a human before publication. We use Anthropic's Claude AI to power translation features. Government document text is transmitted to Anthropic's API for processing. Please review Anthropic's privacy policy at anthropic.com/privacy for information on how they handle data.
Translations are provided for informational purposes only. The official government agenda document remains the authoritative record of government action.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy at civic-lens.com/privacy with a new effective date. For material changes, we will notify city clients by email at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us: