What cookies does the site use?

We use only first-party cookies set by Google Analytics for aggregate traffic measurement. We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics cookies.

Does OBP share data with advertisers or marketers?

No. The Open Bankruptcy Project does not share, sell, rent, or otherwise transfer user data to advertisers, marketers, or any commercial third party. The project does not run advertising on its sites and does not include third-party tracking pixels for ad networks. Some basic analytics (page views, referring sources) are collected to operate the site, but the data is not linked to identifiable users and is not shared externally. The full data-handling commitments are detailed in this privacy policy.

What information does OBP collect when I use the search tools?

Search queries are processed on the server to return results but are not linked to a user identifier or stored in a way that can be tied to an individual. Aggregate query patterns (popular terms, top dockets searched) are used to improve the search experience but not connected to user accounts because users do not create accounts. IP addresses are processed for rate limiting and abuse prevention and are not retained beyond what is necessary for security. No data from the search tools is sold or shared.

Can I use OBP services anonymously?

Yes. The Open Bankruptcy Project does not require account creation for any tool. Search, downloads, screeners, and educational content are all available without registration. Donations can be made anonymously by check or money order. The contact form requires an email address only if you want a response - one-way feedback can be submitted without identification. The project's design assumes users may be researching sensitive personal financial questions and minimizes identification requirements accordingly.

How does OBP handle data subject requests from California or EU residents?

The Open Bankruptcy Project responds to legitimate data subject requests under the California Consumer Privacy Act and the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Because the project collects minimal personal data and does not sell data, most requests are quickly answered - typically with confirmation that no profile or data record exists for the requester. Public-record information (federal court filings) is not subject to deletion under either statute because it is exempted as government-provided public information. Requests are processed via the contact form on the privacy page.

Privacy Policy - Open Bankruptcy Project

No, never. The Open Bankruptcy Project does not sell, share, or distribute any user data to any third party. We do not run advertising, use retargeting, or share data with attorneys, law firms, or legal service providers.

Data We Collect

We use Google Analytics (GA4) to measure aggregate site traffic. This includes page views, session duration, approximate geographic region, and device type. We do not collect names, email addresses, or personally identifiable information through analytics.

Aggregate event data from Google Analytics is also exported to Google BigQuery for research use. The BigQuery data is used only for internal trajectory analysis and network health reports, is not shared with third parties, and is not used for advertising.

Search

The site offers a search bar that lets visitors find specific records in our public-records mirrors (SBA PPP and EIDL recipients, bankruptcy court captions, and similar datasets). Search queries are processed by an Open Bankruptcy Project service hosted on Cloudflare. We log each query alongside standard request context provided by Cloudflare — the query text, your approximate geographic region, network provider (ASN/ISP), user-agent string, referring page, and the request timestamp — so that we can monitor service quality, study how researchers and journalists use the data, and support our own research. We do not log first-party cookies or any personally identifying information beyond what Cloudflare exposes to ordinary web servers. Search logs are stored in a Cloudflare D1 database accessible only to project administrators; we do not share, sell, or distribute search logs to any third party.

Contact Form

When you submit our contact form, we receive your name, email address, topic selection, and message. This data is processed through Google Apps Script and delivered to our Gmail inbox. We do not share, sell, or distribute contact form submissions to any third party.

Email Subscriptions

Some sites in our network include an optional email subscription form (powered by Formspree). Subscribing requires only an email address. We use this solely to send research updates. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Cookies

We use only first-party cookies set by Google Analytics. We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics.

What We Don't Do

We do not sell data. We do not run advertising. We do not collect financial information. We do not use retargeting. We do not share any user data with attorneys, law firms, or legal service providers.

Third-Party Services

Google Analytics (GA4) - traffic measurement
Google BigQuery - aggregate event data warehouse for research use only; not shared with third parties, not used for advertising
Google Search Console - search query measurement (clicks, impressions, rankings on our own pages)
Google Apps Script - contact form processing
Formspree - email subscriptions
GitHub Sponsors - donations (processed entirely on GitHub's platform)
GitHub Pages - hosting
Cloudflare Workers + D1 - search service (query handling + audit log of queries + request context)

We do NOT use Google Signals, Google Ads integration, User-ID collection, or any cross-device tracking feature. Google Analytics operates in aggregate-traffic-measurement mode only.

Children's Privacy

Our sites are not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

Data Retention

Analytics data is retained per Google's standard retention policies (14 months). Contact form submissions are retained in our email inbox indefinitely for correspondence purposes.

Your Rights

You may request deletion of any personal data we hold by contacting [email protected]. California residents have additional rights under CCPA. EU residents have additional rights under GDPR.

For requests concerning information republished from public bankruptcy court dockets (PACER/RECAP), see our Public-Record Deletion Requests policy, which explains how OBP handles such requests under the public-records framework and what in-court remedies apply.

Contact

[email protected]

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

Effective Date: March 30, 2026 | Updated: April 11, 2026