Privacy Policy

JudgeWire ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect information about you when you use our platform at judgewire.com. By using JudgeWire, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

• Account information — When you register, we collect your name, email address, and password. Judges and competitors may also provide biographical information, studio affiliation, and profile photos.
• Dancer information — When submitting competition entries, you may provide dancer names and dates of birth for age group calculation. This information is stored in your account roster and used solely for competition purposes.
• Submitted content — Videos, photos, and other content you submit to competitions or the critique marketplace.
• Usage data — Information about how you interact with the platform, including pages visited, competitions viewed, and votes cast.
• Payment information — When you make purchases, payment details are processed by our third-party payment processor (Stripe). We do not store full card numbers on our servers.
• Communications — Messages sent through the platform, including critique requests and contact messages to judges.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate and improve the JudgeWire platform
• Facilitate competition entry, voting, and judging
• Process critique requests and payments
• Calculate age groups for competition divisions using date of birth
• Send transactional emails such as account confirmations and critique delivery notifications
• Display competition results and leaderboards as configured by competition administrators
• Respond to support requests and inquiries
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your information for targeted advertising.

3. Children's Privacy

JudgeWire accounts are for users 18 and older. However, our platform is designed for the dance competition industry, which involves minors as competitors. Dancer profiles (names and dates of birth) may be created by parent/guardian or studio accounts on behalf of minors. We collect only the minimum information necessary for competition purposes. Date of birth is used solely to calculate age groups and is not displayed publicly. If you believe we have collected information about a minor without appropriate authorization, please contact us at hello@judgewire.com.

4. Information Sharing

We share information only in the following circumstances:

• With competition administrators — Entry details including dancer names, studio, age group, and division are visible to competition administrators for the competitions you enter.
• With judges — When you request a critique, the judge receives your entry details and contact information as needed to deliver the critique.
• Publicly on the platform — Competition entries are displayed publicly as configured by competition settings. Display fields (such as routine name, studio name, and dance style) are controlled by the competition administrator. Dancer DOBs and personal details are never displayed publicly.
• Service providers — We use third-party services including Firebase (Google) for authentication and database, Mux for video hosting, Stripe for payments, and SendGrid for email. These providers process data only as needed to provide their services.
• Legal requirements — We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of JudgeWire, our users, or others.

5. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored using Google Firebase, which provides industry-standard security infrastructure. We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your information against unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password for your JudgeWire account.

6. Video and Photo Content

Competition videos are hosted via Mux, a professional video infrastructure provider. Photos submitted to photogenic competitions are stored in Firebase Storage. Content you submit remains accessible as long as the associated competition or critique is active on the platform. You may request removal of your submitted content by contacting us at hello@judgewire.com.

7. Your Rights and Choices

You have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your account and associated data
• Opt out of non-transactional email communications
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@judgewire.com. We will respond within 30 days. Note that deletion requests may be limited where data retention is required by law or to complete pending transactions.

8. Cookies and Tracking

JudgeWire uses Firebase Authentication, which uses local storage to maintain your login session. We do not use third-party advertising cookies or tracking pixels. We may use basic analytics to understand platform usage patterns. You can clear local storage in your browser settings, which will log you out of your account.

9. Third-Party Links

The platform may contain links to external websites, including judge social media profiles. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you visit.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify registered users of material changes by email or through the platform. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of JudgeWire after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, contact us at hello@judgewire.com.