Privacy Policy
How Niles Connect handles personal information.
Niles Connect uses accounts and community tools to support participation,
profiles, activities, connections, submissions, and business management.
This page explains the general privacy principles that apply to those features.
Overview
Use only the information needed to operate the community tools.
Niles Connect should avoid collecting unnecessary personal information
and should keep public participation separate from private account data
wherever practical.
Public browsing
Most public information can be browsed without creating an account
or community profile.
Accounts for participation
Accounts are used when interactive features need to be connected
to a specific participating user.
Community profiles are separate
A site account does not automatically mean that all account information
should be publicly visible as a community profile.
Information we use
Different features use different information.
The information associated with your use of Niles Connect depends
on which parts of the site you choose to use.
Account information
Basic account information may include details needed for login,
account identification, and participation in interactive features.
Community profile information
Participating residents may choose to provide profile information
used for activities, neighbor discovery, and community connections.
Community submissions
Information submitted through community tools may be associated
with the account that submitted it for moderation, management,
and accountability purposes.
Business information
Business listings may contain public business contact information
and may also be associated with approved accounts that manage them.
Activity & connection information
Community activities, connection requests, blocks, reports,
and related participation features may require account-specific data.
Technical information
WordPress, hosting, security, analytics, or other site systems
may process technical information needed to operate the website.
Community profiles
Profile participation is optional.
Community profiles are intended for residents who choose
to participate in neighbor discovery, activities, and connection tools.
Share only what you are comfortable sharing
Do not add sensitive or unnecessary personal information
to your community profile.
Profiles are not intended as a public people directory
Resident-discovery tools should remain focused on participating
members rather than exposing profiles broadly to all site visitors.
Blocking & reporting
Community tools may provide blocking and reporting options
when another participant’s behavior creates a concern.
Public content
Some information is intentionally public.
Community submissions, business listings, public records,
investigations, civic information, and other site content
may be publicly visible depending on the feature involved.
Community posts
Approved community posts may be publicly visible to visitors.
Do not include information you do not want published.
Business listings
Approved directory listings are intended to contain public-facing
business or organization information.
Public records
Public records and investigation materials may include information
obtained from public sources or public-record processes.
Protect sensitive information
Do not submit information that does not belong on the site.
Passwords
Never post or email account passwords or authentication credentials.
Financial information
Avoid posting bank-account numbers, payment-card information,
or other unnecessary financial data.
Government identifiers
Do not post Social Security numbers or similar sensitive identifiers.
Medical information
Avoid submitting private health or medical information
unless there is a legitimate need and an appropriate private channel.
Private information about others
Do not expose another person’s private information merely because
you have access to it.
Information unrelated to the purpose
Only provide personal information needed for the feature
or communication you are using.
Other sources & services
Niles Connect also relies on systems outside the community tools.
WordPress hosting, public-source feeds, maps, analytics,
email systems, embedded services, and other technical components
may have their own data practices.
Public-source content
Civic information and public datasets may come from external
public sources and may link back to those sources.
External links
Leaving Niles Connect through an external link means
the destination site’s own privacy practices apply.
Technical providers
Hosting, security, analytics, and infrastructure providers
may process technical information as part of operating the site.
Account & content control
Some information may need to remain for operational reasons.
Account information, moderation records, public submissions,
audit information, and other records may not always be removable
immediately simply because a user stops participating.
Published content
Public community posts, business information, or other published
material may require review before deletion or removal.
Moderation & safety records
Reports, blocks, moderation actions, or similar records may be
retained when needed to operate community-safety functions.
Public records
Authentic public records or source material are not the same
as private user-profile information and may be retained
as part of the site’s research functions.
Security
Reasonable safeguards matter, but no website is risk-free.
Niles Connect should use reasonable technical and operational
safeguards appropriate to the project, but no online system
can guarantee absolute security.
Protect your password
Use a strong password and do not share it with other people.
Be cautious with sensitive information
The safest sensitive information is often information
that was never unnecessarily submitted in the first place.
Report concerns
If you notice a privacy or account-security concern,
contact Niles Connect with enough information to investigate it.
Privacy questions
Contact Niles Connect.
If you have a privacy question or concern involving your account,
community profile, or information on the site, email:
Niles Connect is an independent community project.
Niles Connect is privately operated and is not affiliated with,
endorsed by, or operated by the Village of Niles
or any other government agency.
Related policies
Privacy is part of broader community participation.
Review the Community Guidelines, Moderation Policy,
and Terms of Service for additional site rules.