Privacy Policy
Elberta German Sausage Festival App — Effective Date: June 1, 2025
Overview
This Privacy Policy describes how the Elberta German Sausage Festival ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares information about you when you use our mobile application and website (the "App"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in an open and transparent manner.
By using our App, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.
Information We Collect
We collect the following categories of personal and non-personal information:
- Account Information: When you register or log in, we collect your name, email address, and account credentials.
- Vendor/Applicant Information: If you submit a vendor application, we collect your name, business name, mailing address, phone number, email, website, tax ID (non-profits), menu/product descriptions, photos of your work, and payment information required to complete your application fee.
- Profile Information: Vendors may optionally provide a business website and additional contact details via their profile.
- Donation Information: If you make a donation, we collect your name, email, phone number, and the donation amount. Payment processing is handled by Stripe; we do not store full card details.
- Check-In Data: When you check in to the festival as a vendor, we record your confirmation code, booth number, and check-in timestamp.
- Push Notification Tokens: If you opt in to push notifications, we store a device token to deliver festival announcements and updates.
- Usage Data: We may collect anonymized analytics data about how you interact with the App (e.g., page views, feature usage) to improve the App experience.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect solely for the following purposes:
- To process and manage vendor applications and communicate application status updates.
- To facilitate vendor check-in at the festival.
- To process donations and send donation confirmations.
- To send festival announcements, schedule updates, and relevant notifications (only if you have opted in).
- To display an approved vendor directory to festival attendees.
- To maintain and improve the App and its features.
- To comply with applicable legal obligations.
We do not use your personal data for advertising purposes, and we do not sell your personal information to third parties.
How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We may share your data only in the following limited circumstances:
- Service Providers: We use trusted third-party services to operate the App, including Stripe (payment processing), Resend/Mailgun (transactional email), Firebase (push notifications), and Base44 (app infrastructure). These providers access only the data necessary to perform their services and are bound by confidentiality obligations.
- Public Vendor Directory: Approved vendors' business names, booth numbers, and general descriptions may be displayed publicly within the App's vendor directory.
- Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal requests by public authorities.
Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss. All data is transmitted over secure HTTPS connections. Payment data is handled by Stripe and is never stored on our servers in full.
While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.
Push Notifications
The App may request permission to send push notifications to your device for festival announcements and updates. This collection of your device token to enable push notifications is disclosed here as a prominent in-app disclosure:
"The Elberta German Sausage Festival App collects your device push token to enable delivery of festival announcements, schedule changes, and vendor updates."
You may opt out of push notifications at any time through your device's notification settings. Opting out will not affect your ability to use any other feature of the App.
Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law. Vendor application data is retained for the duration of the festival season and may be retained for prior-event reference in subsequent years. You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time by contacting us.
Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.
- Opt-Out: Opt out of push notifications or non-essential communications at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the address below.
Children's Privacy
Our App is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately and we will take steps to delete it.
Third-Party Services
The App uses the following third-party services, each with their own privacy policies:
- Stripe — Payment processing: stripe.com/privacy
- Firebase (Google) — Push notifications: firebase.google.com/support/privacy
- Resend / Mailgun — Transactional email delivery
- Base44 — App hosting and infrastructure: base44.com/privacy
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the new policy within the App with an updated effective date. Your continued use of the App after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
Elberta German Sausage Festival
Elberta, Alabama
Email: festival@elbertafire.com