Privacy
HaloRides Privacy Policy
1. Scope and operator
HaloRides at halorides.org is a community ride-coordination service operated personally by Zhen Han ("HaloRides," "we," "us," or "our"). This policy explains how this service collects, uses, discloses, and retains personal information. This update identifies the personal operator; it does not introduce new purposes for collecting or sharing personal information. Previous policy.
2. Information we collect
Depending on the features you use, HaloRides may collect the following categories of information:
- Account and profile information: name, selected age category, email address, phone number and verification status, password credentials in protected form, profile photo, home address or default pickup location, emergency-contact details when required, and account settings. A birth date previously provided through an earlier account flow may remain associated with that legacy account, but the current profile flow asks for an age category instead.
- Community and social information: community membership and role, invitations, connections, group and private messages, reactions, requests, moderation records, and information submitted by community administrators or other members.
- Ride-coordination information: requested origin, destination, stops, route, timing, driver and passenger roles, ride status, confirmations, cancellations, incident or support reports, and related messages.
- Location information: saved pickup locations and, when you grant device permission and use a live ride feature, precise or near-precise device location and location updates.
- Participation Credit information: general and community-scoped balances, grants, debits, contribution entries, reversals, the community to which a restricted credit belongs, and related audit records. Participation Credits are not money, and HaloRides does not currently collect card-payment information.
- Communications information: email and SMS delivery records, phone-verification requests, optional recurring-SMS consent and revocation records, STOP, START, and HELP commands, and support correspondence.
- Device and usage information: IP address, browser and device information, session and security data, cookies or local storage needed for sign-in and preferences, timestamps, feature interactions, and diagnostic or abuse-prevention logs.
3. Where information comes from
We receive information directly from you; automatically from your browser or device when you use the service; from community administrators and other members when they invite, coordinate, message, or report an issue involving you; and from vendors that help us deliver, secure, map, message, or support the service.
If you provide information about an emergency contact, invitee, passenger, or another person, you are responsible for having permission to provide it and for giving that person any notice required by law.
4. How we use information
HaloRides uses personal information to:
- create, verify, secure, and support accounts;
- operate communities, invitations, connections, chat, and moderation;
- create and coordinate member-arranged rides, show relevant routes and locations, provide status updates, and maintain ride records;
- maintain the Participation Credit ledger, enforce community restrictions, prevent duplicate settlement, correct errors, and investigate abuse;
- send requested verification messages and optional ride-related SMS or email notifications;
- provide support, respond to safety reports, detect fraud or security threats, enforce our terms, and protect users and the service;
- debug, measure, and improve service reliability and accessibility; and
- comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.
5. Location information
Location can reveal sensitive information. HaloRides uses a saved home or pickup location to help you create ride requests. If you enable device location during a ride, HaloRides may process live location updates so authorized ride participants can coordinate pickup and progress. Do not enable live location if you do not want it used for that purpose.
You can control device-location permission through your browser or device settings, although disabling it may prevent live-location features from working. Turning permission off stops new device-location access but does not automatically delete locations already stored in ride, message, safety, or audit records. HaloRides does not sell precise location information or use it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
6. AI and automated processing
HaloRides may send relevant messages, ride context, and instructions to an AI or automated-processing provider so the service can interpret a request, suggest an action, organize ride details, detect misuse, or help answer a support question. Automated results can be wrong. Users should review proposed rides, routes, participants, times, and credit effects before confirming them. We do not provide this information to an AI provider for the provider to market to you.
7. When we disclose information
HaloRides may disclose personal information in the following circumstances:
- To other users: community profile and role information may be visible to relevant members; messages are visible to their recipients; and ride details, pickup information, status, and live location may be visible to the members participating in or authorized to coordinate that ride.
- To community administrators: administrators may receive membership, moderation, grant, and activity information needed to manage their community. They are responsible for their own use of information they access.
- To service providers: hosting, database, security, email, SMS, maps, geocoding, AI, diagnostics, and support providers may process information only to perform services for HaloRides under appropriate restrictions.
- For legal, security, or safety reasons: we may disclose information when we reasonably believe disclosure is required by law, necessary to respond to lawful process, or appropriate to protect the rights, safety, and security of users, Zhen Han, or others.
- In a business transaction: information may be transferred as part of a merger, financing, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of relevant assets, subject to applicable law and appropriate notice.
- At your direction: we may disclose information when you request or authorize it.
HaloRides does not sell personal information and does not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not share, sell, or otherwise provide mobile phone numbers or messaging consent information to third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes.
8. Payments and Participation Credits
HaloRides does not currently accept card payments, sell paid credit top-ups, or offer cash-out. We keep internal ledger and audit information so users can see eligible balances and so community restrictions remain attached to granted credits. If we later introduce a paid feature, we will identify the payment provider and update the applicable disclosures and terms before payment information is collected.
9. Retention
We retain each category of personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including operating an active account, preserving community and credit-ledger integrity, handling safety or abuse reports, resolving disputes, enforcing agreements, meeting legal obligations, and maintaining security.
Retention depends on the record. Account and profile data is generally kept while the account is active. Messages, ride details, location records, community history, credit-ledger entries, consent records, and security logs may be kept longer when needed for other members' records, reversals and audit integrity, incident response, fraud prevention, suppression of unwanted messages, legal claims, or compliance. Deleted information may remain temporarily in restricted backups until those backups are overwritten in the ordinary course. We may retain deidentified information that cannot reasonably be linked to you.
10. Security
We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information, including access controls and protected communications where appropriate. No service, transmission, or storage method is completely secure. Protect your credentials, use a unique password, and tell us promptly if you believe your account or location information has been misused.
11. Your choices and privacy rights
Text-update instructions clarified September 5, 2026. This clarification does not change your saved notification preferences or account permissions.
You can review or update certain profile and notification information in HaloRides. You can disable browser or device location access, leave a community where the service permits, and request account help or deletion by contacting us. Some information may remain where retention is necessary for another user's ride or message record, ledger integrity, safety, security, legal compliance, or a legal claim.
Text message updates are off for new accounts. You can choose them after signing in through Settings → Text message updates; they are not required for signup or use of HaloRides. Turning them off does not hide your rides or chat messages in the app. Reply STOP to opt out, START to opt back in after opting out by text, or HELP for help. Message and data rates may apply.
Depending on where you live and whether a particular law applies, you may have rights to know or access personal information, correct inaccurate information, delete information, receive a portable copy, opt out of sale or certain sharing, limit certain uses of sensitive information, or appeal a decision. HaloRides does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We may verify your identity and authority before completing a request. We will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right granted by law.
Text message frequency varies with your community and ride activity. See the text messaging details for enrollment and support instructions.
12. Children and teens
HaloRides is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly permit a child under 13 to maintain an account. Users who are 13 through 17 may use HaloRides only with the informed permission and supervision of a parent or legal guardian. If you believe a child under 13 provided personal information, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.
13. United States processing
HaloRides is operated in the United States. If you access it from another country, your information may be processed in the United States or other locations where our service providers operate, subject to applicable safeguards and law.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the service changes. We will change the effective date and policy version and provide any additional notice required by law. Material new uses of information or a future payment feature will be disclosed before they take effect where required.
15. Contact us
Privacy, account, or safety requests: support@halorides.org. These requests are handled by the service operator, Zhen Han.
See the HaloRides Terms and HaloRides SMS Program for additional information.