Privacy notice and terms of use

Who we are

Bloc Captain is a neighborhood preparedness program based in Sheridan, Wyoming. For data protection purposes, Bloc Captain is the controller of the personal information described here.

Contact us at privacy@bloccaptain.com. Our postal address is 30 N Gould St Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801, United States. 

What we collect and why

Bloc Captain applications

When you apply to become a Bloc Captain we collect your name, email address, phone number, street or block, and anything you choose to tell us about your household. We use it to assess the application, schedule orientation, and stay in contact with you about your block. Applications are submitted through Google Forms, so Google processes them on our behalf.

Neighborhood and municipal licenses

When you register a neighborhood license we collect the neighborhood name, city, state or province, country, the name of the license holder, and an email address. We use it to issue and record the license number, to send you the materials, and to contact you about the license. Municipal inquiries include the information you send us about your boundary and neighborhood count.

The 26-week shopping list

When you subscribe to the 26-week shopping list we collect your mobile number, the day of the week you choose, and the date you subscribed. We keep a record of which week you are on and whether the subscription is active. We use this only to send the 26 messages and to honor a cancellation.

You subscribe by checking the consent box on the signup form. Standard text and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any message to cancel, or HELP for contact information. We send at most one message a week and the series ends after week 26.

Messages are delivered through our messaging provider, Telnyx, and then by your mobile carrier. Both process your number in order to deliver the message. We do not sell mobile numbers, and we do not share them with anyone for marketing.

Email

If you email us, or if we email you about your application or license, we keep that correspondence. If you sign up for program updates we use your email address for that purpose until you unsubscribe. Every update includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing does not affect messages we need to send you about your own application or license.

Website and technical information

Our hosting provider records standard server logs, including IP address, browser type, the pages requested and the time of the request. These logs help us keep the site available and secure. We keep them for 90 days. 

Cookies

A cookie is a small file a site stores in your browser. This site does not currently set any cookies and does not use analytics or advertising trackers. Nothing about your visit is stored in your browser by us. The table below records where we stand today. If we ever add cookies beyond the strictly necessary, we will ask for your consent first, give you a way to withdraw it, and update this notice.

Your browser settings let you block or delete cookies from any site, including this one.

Who we share it with

We do not sell personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We use a small number of service providers who process information on our instructions and are contractually bound to protect it.

• Telnyx, to deliver text messages, and your mobile carrier.
• Google, to collect and store form submissions.
• Our website host and database provider is Vercel.
• Our email provider is Gmail.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety. During an emergency, a Bloc Captain may share your contact details with your local NET or CERT team where that is necessary to help you. We tell captains to collect only what neighbors are comfortable sharing.

How long we keep it

We keep personal information for 90 days, then delete it. Text message subscriptions are deleted 90 days after the series ends or you cancel, whichever comes first. Applications that do not proceed, email correspondence and server logs are all deleted after 90 days. An active captain or license record is kept for as long as the license runs, and for 90 days afterwards.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can email privacy@bloccaptain.com to ask what we hold about you, to correct it, or to have it deleted. We respond within 30 days, or 45 days where the law allows us longer. We will not treat you differently for making a request.

Canada

Under PIPEDA and equivalent provincial laws you can ask for access to your information and challenge its accuracy, and you can withdraw consent subject to legal and contractual limits. You can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Our commercial messages follow Canada's anti-spam legislation, which is why we ask for express consent and identify ourselves in every message.

United States

Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia and other states with comprehensive privacy laws can request access to, correction of, deletion of, and a copy of their personal information, and can appeal if we refuse. We do not sell personal information, we do not share it for targeted advertising, and we do not use it for profiling that produces legal effects. You may use an authorized agent, and we may need to verify their authority.

Security, children, and changes

We limit access to personal information to the people who need it, use encrypted connections, and keep records only as long as we have a reason to. No system is perfect, and we will tell you and the relevant regulator if a breach affects you.

The program is for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has given us information, write to us and we will delete it.

If we change this notice we will update the date at the top of the page. If the change is significant we will tell subscribers and license holders directly.

Using this site

Use the site for its intended purpose. Do not attempt to break it, scrape it at volume, probe it for vulnerabilities, submit false information, or use it to send anything unlawful. We may suspend access if you do.

You must be at least 16 to apply, subscribe, or hold a license. If you are applying on behalf of a neighborhood association or a municipality, you confirm you are authorized to do so.

Text message terms

The 26-week shopping list is a recurring informational text message subscription from Bloc Captain about emergency preparedness. You receive one message a week for 26 weeks, each listing the supplies to buy that week, and the series then ends on its own. Message frequency is one per week.

Standard message and data rates may apply. We do not charge for the subscription. Your mobile carrier may. Delivery is not guaranteed and depends on your carrier and your device.

Reply STOP to any message to cancel. Reply HELP for contact information. Available for mobile numbers in the United States and Canada only. Subscribe only with a number you control.

For help with the subscription, reply HELP to any message or email privacy@bloccaptain.com. Neither Bloc Captain nor any mobile carrier is liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

Program materials and the license

Bloc Captain™ and the Bloc Captain mark belong to Bloc Captain. The program materials are licensed, not sold. A neighborhood license lets you run the program in your own neighborhood on the four conditions set out on the license page. Those conditions are part of these terms.

In short, run the program non-commercially, keep the mark intact, talk to your NET or CERT team before training anyone, and send us a captain count once a year. We may end a license that is used outside those conditions. Meshcore, NET and CERT marks belong to their respective organizations.

Preparedness information is not emergency advice

Everything Bloc Captain publishes is general preparedness guidance. It is not medical, legal, engineering or emergency response advice, and it is not a substitute for instructions from your local emergency management agency, your NET or CERT team, or emergency services.

In an emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number. Follow official instructions over anything you read here. Bloc Captains are volunteer neighbors, not trained responders, and they act on their own judgment rather than ours.

No warranty, and limits on liability

The site, the materials and the messages are provided as they are, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not promise the site will be available without interruption or free of errors.

To the fullest extent the law allows, Bloc Captain is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss arising from your use of the site, the materials or the messages. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to one hundred United States dollars.

Some jurisdictions do not allow these exclusions, so parts of this section may not apply to you. Nothing here limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

Links, changes, and governing law

We link to other organizations, including emergency management agencies and equipment suppliers. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for them.

We may update these terms. The date at the top of the page shows when they last changed, and continuing to use the site means you accept the current version. If a change is significant we will tell subscribers and license holders directly.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, United States, and the courts of Sheridan County, Wyoming have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer resident in Canada, you keep the protection of the mandatory laws of your own province and may bring proceedings there. Questions go to privacy@bloccaptain.com.