Privacy Policy

War Against HS (WarAgainstHS.com) is a patient-led educational website dedicated to providing information, resources, and community support for people living with Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS). We are not a medical provider, insurer, or pharmaceutical company.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information with transparency, care, and respect. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you when you visit our website, how we use that information, and the choices available to you.

By using WarAgainstHS.com, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. References to "we," "us," or "our" throughout this policy refer to the War Against HS website and its operators.

We collect only the minimum information necessary to operate the site and communicate with our community. The types of information we may collect include:

Information You Provide Voluntarily

When you interact with certain features of our website, you may choose to provide us with personal information, including:

• Name and email address when subscribing to our newsletter or research alerts
• Contact form submissions including your name, email address, and the content of your message
• Comments or community contributions if you submit feedback or participate in community features
• Account information if you create an account via our authentication provider, including your name and email address

Important: We do not ask for, and you should not submit, sensitive health information such as your medical history, diagnosis, or treatment details through this website.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, certain information is collected automatically by our servers and analytics tools, including:

• IP address and approximate geographic location (country or region level)
• Device and browser information such as browser type, operating system, screen resolution, and device type
• Pages visited and navigation patterns within the site
• Referring URL (the website that linked you to ours)
• Date and time of your visit
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies (described in Section 4)
• Analytics data such as session duration, pages per session, and content engagement metrics

The information we collect is used solely to operate and improve this website and to serve our community. Specifically, we may use your information to:

• Respond to inquiries submitted through our contact form
• Send newsletters or updates to subscribers who have opted in to receive them
• Improve website performance and user experience based on how visitors interact with content
• Analyze website traffic to understand which content is most helpful to our community and where to focus new resources
• Provide educational resources and personalized content recommendations
• Maintain security and detect or prevent spam, fraud, or abuse
• Comply with legal obligations where applicable

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. We do not use your data to make automated decisions that have legal or significant effects on you.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to understand how visitors use our website and to improve site performance. Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser.

Types of Cookies We Use

Analytics Tools We Use

• Google Analytics - We use Google Analytics to collect anonymized data about site traffic and visitor behavior. IP addresses are anonymized before storage. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Anonymous visitor analytics - We may use privacy-respecting analytics tools that do not track visitors across other websites or build individual behavioral profiles.

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling strictly necessary cookies may affect your ability to use certain features of the site, such as staying logged in.

5. Third-Party Services

We use a limited number of trusted third-party services to operate this website. Each of these services has its own privacy policy and data practices, which we encourage you to review:

• Email newsletter providers - We use a third-party email delivery service to send newsletters and updates to subscribers. Your email address is shared with this provider solely for the purpose of delivering communications you have opted into.
• Analytics platforms - As described in Section 4, we use Google Analytics and similar tools to understand site traffic. These platforms may set their own cookies and collect data in accordance with their privacy policies.
• Authentication provider - If you create an account, your login is handled by a third-party OAuth provider. We receive only the basic profile information (name and email) that you authorize.
• Content delivery network (CDN) - Images, documents, and downloadable resources are served via a CDN (AWS CloudFront/S3) to improve performance.
• Embedded content - Some pages may include embedded content such as videos, research article previews, or social media posts from third-party platforms. These embeds may collect data about your interaction with them, subject to the privacy policies of those platforms.

We do not embed third-party advertising networks, behavioral retargeting pixels, or social media tracking scripts that follow you across the web.

We take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect the personal information you share with us against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our servers
• Secure, signed session cookies for authenticated users
• Access controls limiting who can access stored personal data
• Regular review of our data handling practices

However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. By using this website, you acknowledge and accept this inherent risk.

7. Children's Information

WarAgainstHS.com is not directed at, and is not intended for use by, children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us immediately at [email protected]. We will take prompt steps to delete such information from our records.

Our website contains links to external websites, including medical research publications, clinical trial registries, patient advocacy organizations, and healthcare provider directories. These links are provided for informational purposes only as a convenience to our visitors.

War Against HS does not control, endorse, or take responsibility for the content, privacy practices, or data handling of any linked third-party website. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any external site you visit before providing personal information.

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data under applicable privacy laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for visitors in the European Economic Area, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) for California residents. These rights may include:

• Right to access - request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to correction - request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Right to deletion - request that we delete your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restrict processing - request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances
• Right to data portability - request a machine-readable copy of your data
• Right to object - object to certain types of data processing, including direct marketing

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected] or via our Contact page. We will respond to verified requests within 30 days.

If you have subscribed to our newsletter or research alerts, you will receive periodic emails from War Against HS containing educational content, research summaries, community news, and site updates.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link included in the footer of every email we send, or by visiting our Unsubscribe page. We will process your unsubscribe request promptly.

We do not send unsolicited commercial email. We will never sell or rent your email address to third parties for marketing purposes.

11. Changes to This Privacy 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 update the "Effective Date" at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of WarAgainstHS.com after any changes to this policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

For significant changes that materially affect how we use your personal data, we will make reasonable efforts to notify newsletter subscribers by email.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: