Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 18, 2026
Last updated: October 18, 2026

Who we are

This policy covers psc-sc.org, operated by the Photonics Society of Chinese Heritage, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation and a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, with its principal executive office in Chino Hills, California (“PSC,” “we,” “us”). Our website address is: https://psc-sc.org. Contact us about privacy questions at photonicschinese@gmail.com.

What personal data we collect, and why

Corporate sponsorship applications

When an organization applies to become a Corporate Sponsor via /sponsorship-apply/, we collect the information submitted in the application form:

• Organization name, and optionally its website and industry
• Primary contact first and last name, work email, and (optionally) phone number
• The sponsorship tier selected and the payment method chosen (card or check)
• Any message the applicant includes for PSC

When the applicant accepts the Sponsorship Agreement and this Privacy Policy, we also keep a record of that acceptance: the Agreement version, the date and time, the account and email address, the organization and tier, and the IP address and browser user-agent used to submit the application. We keep this record as evidence of what was agreed to and when.

We use this information to evaluate and process the sponsorship application, create the sponsor’s account, send invoices/renewal notices, and — for active, paid sponsors — to display the organization’s name/logo per the sponsorship benefits described in the Sponsorship Agreement.

Sponsor accounts and payments

Submitting the sponsorship application creates a WordPress user account (email address, chosen username, and a hashed password) and a sponsorship record tracking the sponsor’s tier, status, sponsor ID, and renewal date. Sponsors can view and update their name, company, email address, and password in their sponsor account (/sponsor-renew/).

• Card and bank payments are handled by Stripe. We do not receive or store full card numbers, CVV codes, or bank account numbers on this site — Stripe processes and stores that data under its own privacy policy and PCI-compliant systems. To start a card payment we send the applicant’s email address to Stripe to prefill the checkout page. We do receive and retain Stripe checkout session, transaction and invoice identifiers, payment method type, and payment status metadata.
• Check payments require Sponsor to mail a physical check; we retain the mailing correspondence (name, organization, amount, and payment status) needed to confirm and record receipt of payment.

Sponsor job postings

Sponsors can submit job postings from their sponsor account. We collect the job title, company, location, job type, an optional description, and the application URL or email address, along with the submitting account. Postings are reviewed by PSC staff; approved postings, including the application URL or email address, are published publicly on /job-opportunities/ until they expire or are removed. If a posting is returned for changes, we keep the reviewer’s note with it.

Contact forms and email

If you email us or use a contact form on the site, we collect the contact details and message content you provide, in order to respond to you. We send transactional emails related to sponsorship (application received, account created, payment confirmation, sponsorship activated, renewal reminders 30 and 7 days before a sponsorship expires, and job posting status) to the address on file.

Media

If you (as a sponsor) upload a logo or other image to the site, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Technical and security information

When you access or use the website, our hosting provider (Bluehost), WordPress software, and security tools (e.g., WP Defender and firewall/security plugins) may automatically process your IP address, browser and device type, login timestamps, pages requested, error logs, and security-event information. We use this information for website operation, fraud prevention, troubleshooting, and security.

Cookies

If you visit our login page, we set a temporary cookie to check whether your browser accepts cookies. It contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in — including logging in to a sponsor account — we also set cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last two days, and screen-option cookies last a year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login persists for two weeks. Logging out removes the login cookies.

Beyond these standard WordPress account/login cookies, we don’t currently use third-party advertising or analytics cookies (e.g., Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel). If that changes, we’ll update this policy.

Do Not Track signals

Our website does not currently respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals. We do not currently use advertising cookies or engage in cross-context behavioral advertising. Third-party embedded content (see below) may apply its own tracking technologies and privacy choices.

Embedded content from other websites

Pages on this site may include embedded content (e.g., YouTube videos). Embedded content from other websites behaves exactly as if the visitor had visited the other website directly, and that website may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Who we share data with

• Stripe — payment processing for card/ACH payments.
• Bluehost — hosting infrastructure for the site and its database, and for the mail server (mail.psc-sc.org) that delivers transactional emails (application confirmations, invoices, renewal notices).

If you request a password reset (e.g., for a sponsor account), your IP address is included in the reset email.

We do not sell sponsor or contact data to third parties, and we do not share it for third-party advertising purposes.

How long we keep data

We keep different categories of data for different periods:

• Financial records (invoices, payment records, and related tax documentation): 7 years.
• Sponsor account and profile data for lapsed sponsorships: up to 2 years after the sponsorship lapses (for renewal outreach and reactivation), then deleted or anonymized. If you ask us to stop renewal outreach, we will, keeping only a minimal suppression record.
• Sponsorship applications that are not approved or completed: up to 24 months.
• Security and server logs: up to 180 days, unless reasonably needed for an active investigation.
• General contact-form and email inquiries: up to 24 months after the inquiry is resolved.
• For users who register on our website (including sponsor accounts), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they can’t change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

Your rights over your data

If you have an account on this site, submitted a sponsorship application, or contacted us directly, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including anything you’ve provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include data we’re obliged to keep for administrative, legal, tax, or security purposes (e.g., completed payment records). Send requests to photonicschinese@gmail.com.

How we protect your data

The site runs over HTTPS/TLS. We use security and monitoring plugins to help guard against unauthorized access, and card payment data never touches our servers because it is handled directly by Stripe.

Where your data is sent

Sponsor application and payment data may be transmitted to and processed by service providers located outside of the country where you submitted it (for example, Stripe’s payment infrastructure). Such providers are bound by their own privacy and security commitments.

Children’s privacy

This site and its sponsorship program are directed at organizations and professional contacts, not children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the relevant age of consent in your jurisdiction).

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, e.g., if we add new tools or change payment processors. We will update the “Last updated” date above when we do. If we make material changes, we will post a prominent notice on the website and, where the changes materially affect active sponsor accounts, send notice to the primary contact email on file before or when the changes take effect.

Contact information

Questions about this policy or your personal data: photonicschinese@gmail.com