Privacy Policy

1. About SwapConnect

SwapConnect is an independent online community operated by Wolfe1.com LLC. The website is intended to help people affected by chronic kidney disease, dialysis, transplantation, caregiving, and living kidney donation connect with one another.

SwapConnect is not a healthcare provider, transplant center, organ-procurement organization, financial institution, or emergency service.

2. Information we collect

Account information

When an account is created, SwapConnect may collect a username, email address, member category, account status, registration date, and related account information.

Passwords are stored as one-way password hashes. SwapConnect does not store a readable copy of a member's current password.

Profile information

Members may provide profile information including:

• Display name
• Age
• City and state
• Member category
• Personal biography or story
• Profile image
• Blood type
• Dialysis or waiting-list status
• Caregiving experience
• Medical examination frequency
• Social-media, fundraising, or informational links

Members should provide only information they are comfortable making available according to their selected profile-visibility setting.

Private messages

Signed-in members may send private messages to other members. These messages are stored by SwapConnect and are not displayed in the public member directory.

Contact-form information

When the contact form is used, SwapConnect collects the name, email address, subject, and message supplied by the visitor.

Technical information

The website and its hosting provider may process technical information such as IP addresses, browser information, timestamps, request details, security events, and server logs. This information may be used to operate, secure, diagnose, and maintain the site.

3. Public profile information

A profile marked public may be visible to anyone who visits the website, including people who do not have a SwapConnect account.

Public information may include the member's display name, username, approximate location, member category, profile image, personal story, medical-profile fields, and links selected by the member.

Public information can be copied, saved, indexed, shared, or captured by other people or services. SwapConnect cannot control information after another person has copied or shared it.

Members may remove their profile from the public directory by turning off the public-profile setting.

4. How information is used

SwapConnect may use collected information to:

• Create and authenticate member accounts
• Display public member profiles
• Provide member search and directory features
• Deliver private member messages
• Process contact and support requests
• Protect the website against spam, fraud, and abuse
• Investigate errors and security incidents
• Maintain, improve, and administer the website
• Comply with legal obligations

5. Cookies and authentication

SwapConnect uses cookies needed for account login, authentication, session continuity, form security, and other essential website functions.

A persistent authentication cookie may be used when a member selects an option to remain signed in. Blocking essential cookies may prevent account and form features from working correctly.

6. Service providers

SwapConnect uses third-party service providers to operate portions of the website. These may include:

• The website-hosting provider, which stores and delivers website files and may maintain server logs
• Cloudflare Turnstile, which helps identify and reduce automated or abusive form submissions
• SMTP2GO, which processes and delivers contact-form email

These providers may process technical or submitted information as necessary to provide their services and are governed by their own privacy and security practices.

7. Sharing and sale of information

SwapConnect does not sell member account information, private messages, or contact-form submissions.

Information may be disclosed when reasonably necessary to operate the site, investigate fraud or abuse, protect the safety or rights of users or others, respond to lawful requests, or comply with applicable legal obligations.

Member-provided public profile information is intentionally shared through the public portions of the website when the member enables public visibility.

8. Advertising and analytics

SwapConnect does not currently use behavioral advertising based on private member messages or sensitive medical-profile information.

The website may introduce limited advertising, sponsorships, or analytics in the future. Advertising will be visually separated from member profiles and website content.

This policy will be updated before materially different advertising, analytics, or tracking practices are introduced.

9. External links and fundraising pages

Members may post links to external websites, social-media pages, informational resources, or fundraising campaigns.

SwapConnect does not control those external services and does not guarantee the identity of a member, the accuracy of a fundraising claim, or the safety of an external link.

Visitors should review the privacy and security practices of an external service before providing personal, medical, or financial information.

10. Medical and sensitive information

Profile fields may involve health-related information. Members should avoid posting detailed medical records, Social Security numbers, insurance identification numbers, government identification documents, financial-account information, passwords, or other highly sensitive information.

SwapConnect does not independently verify medical conditions, blood types, donor suitability, transplant eligibility, healthcare credentials, fundraising claims, or member identities.

Medical decisions should be discussed with a qualified healthcare professional or transplant center.

11. Data security

SwapConnect uses reasonable technical and administrative measures intended to protect stored information. These measures include password hashing, authenticated access controls, form-security protections, private server-side storage, and encrypted HTTPS connections.

No internet service or storage system can guarantee absolute security. Members are responsible for using a strong password, protecting their login credentials, and signing out of shared devices.

12. Account deletion and retention

Members may request account deletion through the account-deletion feature. When an account is deleted, its live account, public profile, messages, and profile image are removed from normal website use.

A private archived copy may be retained temporarily for backup recovery, security, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, administrative review, or legal obligations. Archived information is not displayed through the public website.

Some technical logs, backup copies, or records required for security or legal purposes may remain for a limited period after account deletion.

13. Children's privacy

SwapConnect is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly seek personal information from children under 13.

A parent or legal guardian who believes that a child has provided personal information may contact SwapConnect to request review and removal.

14. Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated when website features, service providers, legal requirements, or information practices change.

The revised date at the top of the page will be updated when material changes are published.

15. Contact

Questions, privacy concerns, and requests concerning personal information may be submitted through the SwapConnect contact page.