Privacy Policy

The Deaf Hotline

is the department under ADWAS which provides all advocacy services on thedeafhotline.org, through chat, email, and 24-hour video phone services at 855-812-1001. All contacts are a one-time confidential contact between a caller and advocate in which no identifying information is verified.

The Hotline Provides Digital Services

Engaging in our digital services constitutes an agreement and understanding of privacy policy. Digital services are defined as web based chat, email, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, The Hotline website or web-based comment section. If at any time, a digital service user feels that their safety or privacy may be compromised due to their use of these services, the interaction can be escalated to phone-based services.

Opt-Out Policy

The Hotline gives users options for non-digital services when necessary and practical. Such choices include opting not to engage in digital services and opting not to provide identifiable information during interactions with advocates. Users concerned for their physical safety and well-being are encouraged to contact The Hotline at 855-812-1001.

Confidential and Anonymous Chat

Our live chat services are provided by Tidio as a service (SaaS) provider. IP addresses are required to facilitate a connection. Information collected from a user on a voluntary basis can include:

Organization
Name
Gender
Age
City
State
Zip
How user heard about the service

The Deaf Hotline collects limited demographic and geo-locational information in order to provide services. The Deaf Hotline defines anonymous communication as a onetime individual contact where digital services are provided between a chatter and advocate in which no information is collected that can connect the user to the individual service interaction. Dialogue transcripts of chats are purged regularly. Any information that is temporarily maintained is core to our evaluation of services provided to persons contacting the Deaf Hotline. Identifying information is in no way cross-verified. A chat user’s information, including any personally identifiable information, will only be shared with persons implicitly linked to The Hotline’s operations. We do not sell, trade or rent personal information that chat users provide. All advocates, including volunteers, are required to sign a client confidentiality policy.

Software as a Service and Application Service Providers (3rd party)

The Hotline will undertake an annual review of any third party privacy policies affecting Hotline services. The Hotline is not responsible for changes or updates made in the interim.

Cookies

The Hotline may use cookies to enhance your experience while using our site. Cookies are pieces of information that some websites use to transfer to the user's computer and are used for record-keeping purposes. Use of cookies makes web navigation easier by performing certain functions such as saving your passwords, your personal preferences and to make sure you don't see the same advertisement repeatedly. Many consider the use of cookies to be an industry standard. We do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information you submit while on our site. Your browser is probably set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you can alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies. If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of our site will not function properly when you view them.

Legal Disclosure

We may access and/or disclose personally identifiable information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or (b) comply with legal process served on us.

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

The Hotline abides by the COPPA law to ensure we protect the privacy and safety of minors under the age of 13. We have no means of gathering personal information regarding their names, ages or addresses. Our live chat protocol for minors under 13 involve referring them toward services more specialized toward working with young children. This is to ensure compliance with law, as well as confidentiality and safety for young children seeking online resources and services.

Mandatory Reporting

The Hotline's advocates are considered mandatory reporters by law. Users will be made aware that in situations regarding the welfare of a minor, any locating information disclosed will be reported to child protective services as required.

Technical Information

Our web servers automatically collect non-personal information such as the domain name of the Internet access provider, the Internet protocol address used to connect the computer to the Internet, the average time spent on our website, pages viewed, information searched for, access times and other relevant statistics.

Other Websites

Our site and services offer links to other websites. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are entering another website for which The Hotline has no responsibility. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on all such sites as their policies may differ from ours.

Donations

When you make a donation on The Hotline's website by clicking the Donate link in the menu, we must share some of your personally identifiable information with third parties in order to process the transaction. These third parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services. We do not share any of your personally identifiable information with unrelated third parties for their own marketing purposes without your consent.

Notification of Policy Changes

We reserve the right to change, modify or add to our privacy policy to protect the ethical standards provided or to meet the changing demands of digital advocacy. Notification of any changes to The Hotline's privacy policy will be posted to the website (at thedeafhotline.org) or other appropriate location so as to adequately inform digital service users of these revisions. We encourage you to please review it frequently.

Contacting the Website

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this site, please contact us at 855-812-1001.