This Privacy Policy explains how Pledgescore ("we," "us," "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects information about you ("you," "user") when you use our website at pledgescore.com and related services (collectively, the "Service").
We take privacy seriously and comply with applicable data protection and privacy laws based on where our users are located and how our Service is used.
01What information we collect
Information you provide directly
- Email address — when you request your free Campaign Readiness Assessment or purchase a Campaign Improvement Plan
- Quiz responses — your answers to the Campaign Readiness Assessment questions (campaign category and stage, funding goal realism, story clarity, audience understanding, warm reach, story/proof & trust signals, competitive & market awareness, plus a few additional questions tailored to your campaign's stage). These same answers power the paid Campaign Improvement Plan — no separate questions are asked.
- Campaign description and URLs — any text or links you provide as part of your Campaign Readiness Assessment. Please do not include sensitive personal information, passwords, payment card information, or information about other individuals unless it is necessary for your use of the Service.
- Payment information — collected and processed directly by Stripe. We do not store your credit card details on our servers.
- Contact information — information you provide when you contact us directly at info@pledgescore.com
Information collected automatically
- Device and browser data — IP address, browser type, operating system, screen resolution
- Usage data — pages viewed, time spent, referring URLs, actions taken (e.g., quiz completion)
- Bot and spam protection — we use Google reCAPTCHA v3 on our forms. It runs in the background and may collect device and interaction data to distinguish real users from automated abuse, subject to Google's Privacy Policy and Terms.
- Cookies and similar technologies — as described in Section 08 below
02Why we collect this data
We use your data for specific, legitimate purposes:
- Provide the Service — generate your personalized Pledgescore and deliver reports to your email
- Process payments — for Campaign Improvement Plan reports via Stripe, including purchases made with a Studio referral discount
- Communicate with you — send reports, respond to inquiries, deliver customer support
- Improve the Service — analyze aggregated, de-identified usage patterns to refine our scoring model
- Marketing — with your consent where required by law, send occasional updates about new features, educational content, or relevant offers
- Legal compliance — comply with tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations, maintain appropriate business records, and protect our legal rights
- Security and fraud prevention — detect and prevent misuse of the Service, maintain the security and integrity of our systems
03European privacy rights and legal bases
Where applicable, individuals in the European Economic Area and United Kingdom may have rights under applicable data protection laws. Where GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we process personal data using one or more of the following legal bases:
- Contract — processing necessary to deliver the Service you request (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR)
- Consent — for marketing communications and non-essential cookies (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR)
- Legitimate interest — for purposes such as securing the Service, preventing fraud and abuse, understanding and improving how the Service is used, and protecting our legal rights, where those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests
- Legal obligation — for tax and accounting records (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR)
04Who we share data with
We use these providers to process information on our behalf for the purposes described below. Where required by applicable law, we enter into appropriate data protection terms with our service providers.
We do not sell or share your personal data with third parties for advertising or other purposes.
Legal disclosures. We may also disclose information to service providers, professional advisers, law enforcement, regulators, courts, or other parties when reasonably necessary to comply with legal obligations, enforce our agreements, prevent fraud or abuse, or protect our rights or safety.
05How long we keep data
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to provide the Service, maintain appropriate business and financial records, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and abuse, enforce our agreements, and protect our legal rights.
Paid reports and Launch Kits. When you buy a report, we email you the report and your Launch Kit as PDFs, along with a calendar file and an outreach tracker. Those files are yours to keep. We also host an online copy of the report, an online copy of the Launch Kit, and a calendar link. We keep these hosted copies for 12 months from the day we send your report, then delete them automatically; after that the online links stop working. Your order and payment records may be kept longer where needed for accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, or legal reasons.
When personal information is no longer reasonably necessary for these purposes, we will delete it, de-identify it, or otherwise handle it in accordance with applicable law and our retention practices.
Certain information may be retained for longer where required or permitted by law, or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
You can request earlier deletion of your data at any time — see Section 07 below.
06International data transfers
Pledgescore is operated in the United States. Some of our service providers may process personal information in countries other than the country where you are located. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your jurisdiction.
Where required by applicable law, we use appropriate safeguards for international data transfers, which may include legally recognized contractual or other transfer mechanisms.
07Your rights
European Economic Area and United Kingdom
Depending on applicable law, you may have rights to:
- Access
- Correction
- Deletion
- Restriction
- Portability
- Objection
- Withdrawal of consent
- Complaint to a supervisory authority
California
If the CCPA applies to us, California residents may have rights to:
- Know/access
- Delete
- Correct
- Opt out of sale/sharing
- Limit certain uses/disclosures of sensitive personal information
- Non-discrimination
Virginia
If the VCDPA applies to us, Virginia residents may have applicable rights including:
- Access
- Correction
- Deletion
- Portability
- Opt out of certain processing
- Appeal a decision
To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@pledgescore.com. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law. We may ask you to provide information reasonably necessary to verify your identity before completing certain requests securely.
08Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies to run the Service and understand how it's used:
- Essential — needed for the site to function, such as remembering your progress through the quiz and carrying your score between pages. These are always on.
- Analytics — used to understand how visitors use the Service and improve its performance and functionality.
- Security — set by Google reCAPTCHA to tell humans apart from bots and prevent spam.
You can manage or block cookies at any time through your browser settings. If a cookie consent banner is displayed on the Service, you can also manage your preferences there. Blocking essential cookies may prevent parts of the Service from working.
Global Privacy Control (GPC). If your browser or a browser extension sends the GPC opt-out signal, we treat it as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information under the CCPA and equivalent state privacy laws, for that browser.
09Data security
We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including:
- Encryption of data in transit using industry-standard security protocols where appropriate
- Access controls limiting who can view personal data
- Regular reviews of security practices
We evaluate service providers based on the nature of the information they process and use contractual or other appropriate safeguards where required.
However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
If we determine that a security incident has resulted in unauthorized access to personal information, we will investigate the incident and provide notifications to individuals, regulators, or other parties when and as required by applicable law.
10Children's privacy
Pledgescore is not intended for children to use. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age at which parental consent is required by applicable law. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child in circumstances where collection was not permitted, we will take reasonable steps to delete it. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us.
11Third-party links
Our Service may contain links to third-party websites (e.g., Kickstarter, Indiegogo, help articles). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. Please review their privacy policies before providing them with any personal data.
12How we use AI
Pledgescore uses third-party AI services to help generate personalized reports. When you request a report, certain information you provide about your campaign may be sent to our AI service provider for processing.
13Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. The revised policy will be effective as of the "Last updated" date shown at the top of the policy. When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
- Where appropriate or required by law, notify you by email (if we have your email address)
- Post a prominent notice on the Service
14Contact us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
For EU/EEA residents, if we are unable to resolve your concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
See also our Terms of Use and Refund Policy.