Website Privacy Policy

How we collect, use, and protect information you share through our website.

Effective Date: September 25, 2025 | Last Updated: March 15, 2026

The Stigma Stand Down (SSD) (“we,” “us,” or “our”), a program led by the Kindbridge Research Institute (KRI), is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website and interact with our services.

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through stigmastanddown.com. Information shared here is for educational, screening, and referral purposes and does not establish a provider-patient relationship. Clinical services provided by our partners are governed by separate HIPAA-compliant policies. We observe HIPAA standards for all data transfers to our clinical partners.

SECTION 1

Important Distinction: Website vs. Clinical Services

Information collected through this website is not the same as information collected as part of clinical care.

• This website provides educational content, resources, and screening tools
• These tools are informational only and are not diagnostic assessments
• Use of this website does not establish a provider-patient relationship
• Any protected health information (PHI) collected in connection with clinical services is handled separately under HIPAA — see our Notice of Privacy Practices.

We do not use website tracking technologies to collect or process PHI.

SECTION 2

Categories of Information We Collect

Information You Provide

• Identifiers (e.g., name, email address)
• Communications (messages, inquiries)
• Responses to screening tools

Automatically Collected Information

• Internet activity (pages visited, navigation behavior)
• Device and browser information
• Approximate location (city or region level)
• Data collected through cookies, tracking pixels, and similar technologies (see “Cookies and Tracking Technologies” below)

Information from Third Parties

• Analytics providers
• Advertising platforms (for campaign attribution only)

How We Use Information

• Operate and improve our website
• Respond to inquiries and provide support
• Deliver educational content and resources
• Analyze usage trends and performance
• Measure effectiveness of outreach and campaigns

We do not use website-collected information to make clinical decisions.

SECTION 3

Cookies, Tracking Pixels, and Related Technologies

We use the following categories of tracking technologies on our website. Non-essential tracking technologies are activated only after you provide consent through our cookie consent banner. You may withdraw or modify your consent at any time — see Section 05.

What We Do Not Do

• Do not sell personal information
• Do not share for cross-context behavioral advertising
• Do not use session replay technologies
• Do not use keystroke logging tools
• Do not track form inputs for analytics or advertising

Information submitted through forms is transmitted directly to secure systems and is not shared with analytics or advertising platforms.

SECTION 4

Do Not Track (DNT) and Global Privacy Control (GPC) Signals

These are two distinct browser-based privacy signals. We treat them differently because they have different legal standing.

1. Global Privacy Control (GPC)

GPC is a legally enforceable opt-out signal under several U.S. state privacy laws. When your browser or browser extension transmits a GPC signal, it communicates that you do not consent to the sale or sharing of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

States that legally require recognition of GPC include: California (CCPA/CPRA), Colorado (CPA), Delaware (DPDPA), and Montana (MCDPA).

[✓ Stigma Stand Down honors GPC Signal]

2. Do Not Track (DNT)

Do Not Track is an older, voluntary browser signal with no consistent legal enforcement framework in the United States. There is no uniform standard for how DNT signals should be interpreted or implemented, and no U.S. state currently mandates that websites honor it.

Our website does not currently make specific legal commitments to honor DNT signals due to the absence of a uniform standard.

[⚠ No legal obligation — not currently honored]

How GPC works on our site:

• When our consent management platform detects a GPC signal transmitted by your browser, it automatically treats your visit as an opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information and suppresses all non-essential, non-strictly-necessary tracking — without requiring you to take any additional action.
• Only strictly necessary cookies remain active when a GPC signal is detected. Analytics cookies, marketing cookies, advertising pixels, and web beacons are all suppressed.
• GPC is detected at the browser or extension level. Compatible tools include Firefox with GPC enabled, Brave, DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser, and browser extensions. See globalprivacycontrol.org for a full list.
• Honoring a GPC signal does not affect your access to any content or services on our website.

✓ State Compliance — No Additional Steps Required

Residents of California, Colorado, Delaware, and Montana who use a GPC-enabled browser do not need to take any additional steps to exercise their opt-out right under applicable state law. The GPC signal is automatically detected and honored. You may also use the consent panel (Section 05) to manage preferences manually.

SECTION 5

Managing Your Preferences: Consent, Modification & Withdrawal

When you first visit our website, a consent banner allows you to accept or decline each category of non-essential tracking technology. You may change or withdraw your consent at any time — consenting once does not prevent you from withdrawing later.

How to manage, modify, or withdraw your consent:

• Cookie Settings panel (on-site): Click “Cookie Settings” in the footer of any page on our website. This reopens the consent management panel where you can enable or disable each category of non-essential tracking independently — at any time, including after initially opting in.
• Browser GPC signal: Enable Global Privacy Control in a compatible browser or extension (see Section 04). Our system detects and honors this signal automatically, suppressing all non-essential tracking without any further action on your part.
• Browser cookie controls: Delete cookies already set on your device through your browser’s settings or developer tools. Note that deleting existing cookies does not prevent new ones from being placed on future visits — use the Cookie Settings panel to prevent new non-essential cookies from being set.
• Email marketing opt-out: Every marketing or newsletter email from Stigma Stand Down includes an unsubscribe link. Clicking it removes you from that specific mailing list. This does not automatically change your website cookie preferences — manage those separately via the Cookie Settings panel.
• Submit a withdrawal request: Email <compliance@stigmastanddown.com> to request withdrawal of consent. Include “Privacy Request — Consent Withdrawal” in the subject line. We will process your request and confirm completion within 15 business days.

What Happens When You Withdraw Consent

Withdrawing consent stops future non-essential tracking from the point of withdrawal forward. It does not automatically delete data that was already collected before you withdrew. To request deletion of previously collected tracking data, submit a deletion request as described in Section 08 (Your Rights). Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any data processing that occurred prior to withdrawal, and it does not affect your access to our website or services.

SECTION 6

Video Content & the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)

Our website may host or embed video content — including client testimonials and educational videos — served through third-party platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo.

The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2710, restricts the disclosure of personally identifiable information in connection with video content viewed by a consumer. Where tracking pixels or third-party scripts associated with embedded video players could transmit video viewing data alongside identifying information (such as a cookie identifier, email address, or IP address) to third parties, Stigma Stand Down takes the following steps:

• Consent before video tracking: Embedded video players that may transmit identifiable viewing data to third parties are only activated after you consent via our cookie consent banner. If you have not consented to non-essential tracking, embedded videos are presented as static previews requiring an explicit click to load the third-party player and any associated tracking.
• No disclosure without authorization: We do not knowingly disclose information about the specific video content you have viewed — combined with your personally identifying information — to any third party without your specific, informed consent, except as required by law.
• Privacy-enhanced embed modes: Where technically feasible, video content is embedded using privacy-enhanced or no-cookie configurations provided by the platform (e.g., YouTube’s youtube-nocookie.com domain).
• Third-party platform policies: Once a third-party video player is loaded, that platform’s own privacy policy governs data it collects directly. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of YouTube and Vimeo if you have concerns about video-platform data collection.
• Right to deletion of video viewing data: If you believe that video viewing data associated with your identity has been collected, you may submit a deletion request as described in Section 08.

⚠ Third-Party Video Platforms

Stigma Stand Down cannot fully control data collection by third-party video platforms once a player is loaded by you. For maximum privacy when viewing video content, we recommend using a GPC-enabled browser or declining non-essential cookies in the consent panel before playing videos.

SECTION 7

How We Share Information

We do not sell personal information. We may share information with service providers such as analytics providers, cloud hosting providers, and communications platforms, under appropriate safeguards and data processing agreements.

We may also disclose information to comply with legal obligations or to protect our rights, safety, or property, or that of others.

Data Security

We implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. 

While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. When information is no longer needed, it is securely deleted or de-identified.

SECTION 8

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have one or more of the following rights regarding data collected about you through our website. These rights apply to website and tracking data. Rights related to your clinical health records are governed by our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.

• Right to Know / Access: Request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, including through tracking technologies such as cookies, pixels, and web beacons.

• Right to Delete: Request deletion of personal data collected about you through our website — including data collected via cookies, pixels, web beacons, and video players. Deletion requests are processed within 45 days.

• Right to Opt Out of Sale / Sharing: Opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Also exercisable automatically via a GPC-enabled browser — see Section 04.

• Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information we hold about you collected through our website or digital communications.

• Right to Limit Sensitive Data Use: Request that we limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information to purposes strictly necessary for providing our services.

• Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any privacy right. Exercising these rights will not affect your access to our website or services in any way.

How to submit a request: Contact us at <compliance@stigmastanddown.com> with the subject line “Privacy Request — [Right You Are Exercising].” We will verify your identity before processing your request and respond within 45 days, with a possible 45-day extension where permitted by applicable law.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us immediately at <compliance@stigmastanddown.com>.

International Users

If you access our website from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using our website, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

SECTION 9

Updates 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. When we make material changes, we will post the updated policy with a revised effective date.

Questions about this Website Privacy Policy? We’re here to help.

<compliance@stigmastanddown.com>