Privacy Policy
Effective date: April 27, 2026
Parla Live, Inc. ("Parla," "we," "us," or "our") operates the Parla mobile application and website (collectively, the "Platform"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use the Platform.
We do not sell your personal data. We do not use your data for advertising. We do not share biometric data with anyone.
1. What Parla Does
Parla is a civic broadcast platform for the United States. Elected officials ("politicians") send broadcasts to verified citizens via the Parla iOS app and email. Citizens can respond to broadcasts by donating to the politician's campaign, volunteering, RSVPing to events, or pledging to vote. Donations route directly through Stripe Connect to the politician's own account. Parla does not handle donation funds.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Citizen Account Information
| Data | Purpose | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number (hashed) | One-person-one-account enforcement via SMS verification | Yes |
| State / region | Deliver broadcasts from politicians in your state | Yes |
| Profile photo | Display in app | Optional |
| Device push token | Deliver broadcast notifications | Yes (if notifications enabled) |
| Preferred language | Auto-translate broadcasts to your language | Auto-detected |
2.2 Politician Account Information
| Data | Purpose | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Email address | Account creation, login, broadcast delivery | Yes |
| Full name and title | Display on broadcasts and citizen-facing profile | Yes |
| Jurisdiction | Match politicians to citizens in their district or state | Yes |
| Government email address | Manual verification of elected status by Parla administrators | Yes |
| Stripe Connect account | Receive donations directly from citizens (Parla does not hold funds) | Yes, for donation features |
2.3 Biometric Data
We collect facial verification data during citizen signup to ensure each account belongs to a unique, real person. This is the most sensitive data we handle, and we treat it accordingly:
- What we collect: A 128-dimensional numeric embedding derived from your face scan. This is not a photograph and cannot be used to reconstruct your face.
- What we do NOT store: We do not store photographs, video, or raw facial imagery of any kind.
- How it is used: The embedding is compared against existing embeddings to verify uniqueness. It is never used for identification, surveillance, tracking, or advertising.
- Where it is processed: Face scanning occurs entirely on your device. Only the numeric embedding is transmitted to our servers over encrypted channels (TLS 1.3).
- Who has access: No third parties have access to your biometric data.
- Retention: Your biometric embedding is retained for as long as your account exists. Upon account deletion, it is permanently erased within 30 days.
- Your rights: You may request deletion of your biometric data at any time by contacting privacy@parlalive.com or through the app.
Your face is scanned on-device. Only an anonymous numeric signature leaves your phone. It cannot reconstruct your face and is permanently deleted when you delete your account.
2.4 Usage Data
- Broadcasts received and opened
- Actions taken: donations initiated, volunteer sign-ups, RSVPs, pledge-to-vote submissions
- Subscription status (active, lapsed)
- Device type and OS version
2.5 Location Data
We detect your state (e.g., "California") at signup to assign you to the correct district and show you relevant broadcasts. We use coarse device location or GPS at the state level only. We do not track your movements or collect continuous location data. Your state is locked at signup and cannot be changed.
2.6 Data We Do Not Collect
- Precise GPS coordinates or continuous location tracking
- Contacts or address book
- Browsing history
- Social media accounts
- Donation payment details (these go directly to Stripe Connect and the politician's account)
3. How We Use Your Information
- Authentication: Verify your identity and enforce one-person-one-account
- Broadcast delivery: Route and deliver politician broadcasts to citizens in the correct state via push notification and email
- Translation: When your device language differs from the broadcast language, we send the broadcast text to an LLM translation service to deliver it in your language. Only broadcast text is transmitted — no personal information is included.
- Payments: Facilitate the Stripe Connect flow so donation actions route directly to the politician's account. We do not process or hold donation funds.
- Push notifications: Deliver broadcast alerts via OneSignal if you opt in
- Analytics: Anonymous, aggregated usage events to improve the product (see Section 4.4)
- Subscription management: Manage politician subscription billing via Stripe
4. Third-Party Services
We use trusted third-party service providers to operate the Platform:
| Category | Data Shared | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | Phone number (citizens); email, name (politicians) | Account creation, login, session management |
| Payments | Stripe Connect account ID (politicians); no citizen payment data | Subscription billing; donation routing direct to politicians |
| Push notifications | Device token, pseudonymous user ID | Broadcast alerts |
| Email delivery | Citizen email address (if subscribed to email broadcasts) | Broadcast delivery for citizens without push |
| Translation | Broadcast text only (no user identity) | Auto-translate broadcasts to citizen's device language |
| Product analytics | Anonymous usage events | Product improvement (no individual tracking) |
| Cloud infrastructure | Account and broadcast data | Secure hosting, database, and API delivery |
All service providers are bound by data processing agreements. None of these services receive biometric data. A full list of sub-processors is available upon request at privacy@parlalive.com.
4.1 Push Notifications
If you enable push notifications, we use OneSignal to deliver broadcast alerts. Your device token and a pseudonymous user ID are shared with OneSignal for delivery purposes only. You can disable push notifications at any time in your device settings.
4.2 Payments and FEC Compliance
Parla uses Stripe Connect Standard to enable politicians to receive donations directly from citizens. When a citizen initiates a donation, they are directed to Stripe's secure payment flow. Parla does not receive, hold, or process donation funds. Donations go directly to the politician's connected Stripe account. Parla charges no transaction fee on donations, consistent with FEC regulations under 11 CFR 100.52 (which classify a payment processor's fee as an in-kind contribution if not waived).
Stripe's privacy policy governs the handling of payment information. Parla does not store credit card numbers, bank account details, or any payment instrument data.
4.3 Translation
When a citizen's device language differs from the original broadcast language, we send the broadcast text to an LLM translation service. Only the text of the broadcast is transmitted. No personally identifiable information — name, phone, location, account ID — is included in translation requests.
4.4 Analytics
We use anonymous product analytics (PostHog) to understand how the Platform is used, such as broadcasts opened and actions taken. Analytics data is aggregated and cannot identify you personally. You are not profiled or targeted based on analytics data.
5. Data Security
- All data in transit is encrypted via TLS 1.3
- All data at rest is encrypted
- Biometric processing occurs on-device
- Phone numbers are stored as irreversible SHA-256 hashes
- Face embeddings are stored as numeric arrays, not images
- Admin access to user data requires authenticated credentials
6. Data Retention
| Data Type | Retention |
|---|---|
| Account data | Until account deletion |
| Biometric embedding | Until account deletion (erased within 30 days) |
| Phone hash | Until account deletion |
| Broadcast action records | Until account deletion (donations, RSVPs, volunteer sign-ups, pledges) |
| Politician subscription records | 7 years (tax and regulatory compliance) |
| Anonymous usage analytics | 2 years |
7. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:
- Access: Request a copy of your personal data
- Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data
- Deletion: Request deletion of your account and all associated data, including biometric data
- Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
- Objection: Object to specific processing activities
- Biometric consent withdrawal: Withdraw consent for biometric processing at any time (this requires account deletion, as face verification is required for platform integrity)
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@parlalive.com.
8. Children's Privacy
Parla is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we have collected data from a child under 16, we will delete it immediately.
9. Geographic Scope
Parla is available only in the United States (all 50 states and Washington, D.C.). Access from outside the United States is blocked. Your data is processed in the United States.
10. U.S. State Privacy Laws
Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
If you are an Illinois resident, the biometric consent you provide during signup constitutes your written release under BIPA. You may revoke this consent at any time by deleting your account or contacting privacy@parlalive.com.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
California residents have the right to know what personal information is collected, request deletion, and opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.
Other State Laws
We comply with applicable biometric and privacy laws in Texas, Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, and other states with active privacy legislation.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via the app or email. Continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your data:
- Email: privacy@parlalive.com