Poetry in the Parks

Locus Poetica Privacy Policy

​

Locus Poetica is a project of Poetry in the Parks, a nonprofit organization registered in the State of Wisconsin. Locus Poetica is a place-based literary platform that helps people discover, read, listen to, and contribute poetry connected to parks, trails, historic sites, cultural landscapes, and other meaningful places.

 

Locus Poetica is committed to collecting the minimum information reasonably necessary to provide a useful place-based poetry experience. We believe that people should be able to explore the relationship between poetry and place without being unnecessarily tracked, profiled, or commercially monitored. This Privacy Policy explains what information Locus Poetica collects, how we use it, when we share it, and the choices available to you.

​

1. Information We Collect

Locus Poetica minimizes the collection, storage, and retention of precise location information that is not necessary to provide for access to the public humanities project housed on the app. The information we collect depends on how you use Locus Poetica.

 

A. Location Information

Locus Poetica uses location information to provide location-based features, including helping you discover poems near your current location. If you grant the app permission to access your device's location, we may receive information about your approximate or precise location, depending on the permissions you grant through your device. We use location information solely to provide the location-based features of Locus Poetica. We do not sell your precise location information.  You can disable location permissions at any time through your device settings. If you disable location services, some Locus Poetica features may not function properly.​

​

​B. User-Submitted Content

Locus Poetica allows users to submit Poems; Poet's names; GPS information for the locations that inspires poems; Links to audio recordings; Publishing history of poems. ​If you submit a poem or other creative work, information associated with that submission may be publicly displayed as described in our submission terms.Please do not submit personal information about another person unless you are legally authorized to do so. You should also consider carefully whether a poem, recording, or other submission contains information that could identify you or another person.

 

C. Automatically Collected Information

When you use the Locus Poetica website or app, certain technical information may be collected automatically by Locus Poetica or by service providers that help us operate the platform. This information may include: Device type; Operating system; App version; IP address; General usage information; Crash reports; Diagnostic information; Information about interactions with the app. We use this information primarily to operate, maintain, secure, and improve Locus Poetica.

​

2. How We Use Information

We may use information we collect to: Provide Locus Poetica's features and services; Display poems and other content associated with public and sacred lands; Provide location-based discovery; Process and manage submissions; Communicate with users who contact us; Respond to questions and requests; Improve the app and website; Diagnose technical problems; Protect the security and integrity of the platform; Prevent abuse, fraud, or unauthorized activity; Conduct research and evaluation related to the Locus Poetica project; Develop educational and public-humanities programming; Comply with legal obligations. We will not use personal information for purposes materially different from those described in this Privacy Policy without providing appropriate notice.

 

3. Public Information and Published Submissions

Locus Poetica is a non-profit public humanities project. Some information you voluntarily submit may therefore be made publicly available. For example, if you submit a poem for publication, the published version will include:Your name; The poem; The place associated with the poem; A prior publishing acknowledgement or description you provide; Other information you specifically authorize us to publish. Do not include private or sensitive personal information in a public submission unless you intend for that information to be publicly available. If you wish to withdraw or modify a submission, contact us using the information provided below. We will consider requests to remove or modify content, although we cannot guarantee removal from copies, screenshots, archives, search-engine indexes, or other locations outside our control.

​

4. Location-Based Poetry

A central feature of Locus Poetica is the connection between poetry and public, sacred, and communally held lands. A poem may be associated with a specific geographic location, such as a park, trail, historic site, or other stewarded land community. The location associated with a published poem is not the location of the poet or person who submitted it.  If you submit a work that includes location information, please review the information carefully before submitting it.  Contributors are expected to use a public land community rather than a private residence or other sensitive location. Submissions which are linked to private and commercial places will not be accepted. 

​

5. Sharing Information With Service Providers

We may use trusted third-party service providers to help us operate Locus Poetica. These providers may process information on our behalf for purposes such as: Cloud hosting and storage; Mapping and geographic services; Database management; App distribution; Email communications; Analytics; Error and crash reporting; Security; Technical support. We seek to use service providers that provide appropriate safeguards for personal information. Service providers are authorized to use information only as necessary to provide services to Locus Poetica or as otherwise permitted by law.

​

6. We Do Not Sell Your Personal Information

Locus Poetica does not sell personal information. We also do not sell users' precise location information. As a nonprofit literary and public-humanities project, our purpose is to connect people with poetry and place—not to create commercial profiles of our users.

​

7. Advertising and Behavioral Tracking

Locus Poetica is not designed as an advertising platform. We do not use precise location information to serve behavioral advertising. If we introduce advertising, sponsorship, analytics, or other technologies in the future that materially change how personal information is collected or used, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide any notices or choices required by applicable law.

​

8. Analytics

We may use limited analytics and diagnostic services to understand how Locus Poetica is functioning and how users interact with the platform. Analytics may help us understand information such as: Which features are being used; Which parts of the app are experiencing technical problems; General patterns of app usage; App performance and crashes. We seek to configure analytics services to collect only information reasonably necessary for these purposes. Where possible, we will use aggregated or de-identified information rather than information that directly identifies individual users.

​

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies or similar technologies necessary to operate the site, remember preferences, understand general usage, or improve performance. You may be able to control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

​

10. Children's Privacy

Locus Poetica is intended for a general audience and is not specifically directed toward children under 13.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without legally required parental consent. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that a child under 13 has provided personal information to Locus Poetica without appropriate consent, please contact us. We will take reasonable steps to investigate and, when appropriate, delete the information. 

 

Because Locus Poetica is an educational and literary project that may be used in schools and by students, we take children's and students' privacy seriously. Users should not submit identifying information about minors without appropriate permission. Federal law places particular requirements on services that collect personal information, including geolocation information, from children under 13.

​

11. Student and Educational Submissions

Locus Poetica may collaborate with schools, colleges, universities, writing programs, environmental humanities programs, and other educational organizations. When student work is submitted, we encourage participating educators and institutions to obtain appropriate permissions and releases before publication. Student contributors should be given clear information about: What information will be publicly displayed; Whether their name will appear with their work; Whether audio may be published; How their work may be used; How they may request changes or removal. Additional consent requirements may apply depending on the age of the student, the institution, the nature of the project, and applicable law.

​

12. Translations of Poems

Locus Poetica may offer or support translation of poems into languages other than the language in which they were originally submitted. When a translation feature is used, the original poem and, where necessary to provide the translation, associated text may be processed by Locus Poetica or by a third-party translation service. Translated poems may be displayed alongside the original poem so that users can experience place-based poetry across languages and cultures. 

​

A. Use of Translation Services

If Locus Poetica uses a third-party translation service, the text submitted for translation may be transmitted to that service for the purpose of generating the requested translation. We will seek to use translation services whose practices are consistent with our commitment to privacy and responsible use of user-submitted content.

Locus Poetica will not intentionally submit a user's private account information, location history, or other unrelated personal information to a translation service simply to translate a poem.

​

B. Published Translations

Translations generated or reviewed for Locus Poetica may become part of the public Locus Poetica literary archive.

Where a translation is generated using automated translation technology, Locus Poetica may identify it as an automated, machine-assisted, or machine-translated translation. Because literary translation involves interpretation as well as language conversion, automated translations may contain inaccuracies or differences in meaning, tone, imagery, cultural references, or poetic form. Locus Poetica may allow poets, editors, translators, or other qualified contributors to review or revise translations.

​

C. Copyright and Translation Rights

Submitting a poem to Locus Poetica does not transfer ownership of copyright in the poem to Poetry in the Parks or Locus Poetica. By submitting a poem for publication, however, contributors may grant Locus Poetica the permissions described in the Contributor Terms and Submission Agreement that is located within the app's submission form, which may include permission to translate, reproduce, display, and distribute the work as part of the Locus Poetica platform. Contributors should review the applicable submission terms before submitting work. If you do not want your poem translated, please follow the submission preferences provided by Locus Poetica or contact us before or after publication.

​

D. Translation and Personal Information

Contributors should avoid including unnecessary personal information within poems or accompanying materials submitted for translation. If a poem contains names, addresses, telephone numbers, private correspondence, or other personal information belonging to another person, contributors should consider whether they have appropriate permission to submit that information for translation and publication.

​

E. Requesting Changes or Removal

If you believe that a translation contains a privacy concern, copyright issue, significant error, or other problem, please contact: communications@poetryintheparks.org We may correct, revise, label, restrict, or remove a translation when appropriate.

 

13. Privacy of Audio

If you submit links to audio media, those materials may contain personal information, including voices or other identifying information. You are responsible for obtaining appropriate permission from identifiable individuals when required. Locus Poetica may remove or restrict content that creates a significant privacy or safety concern.

 

14. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no internet transmission, application, database, or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We encourage users to protect their account credentials and to avoid submitting sensitive personal information through public-facing features.

​

15. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including providing the service, maintaining records, resolving disputes, enforcing agreements, protecting the platform, and complying with legal obligations. Publicly published literary content may be retained as part of the Locus Poetica archive even after a poem is removed from the site.

​

16. Your Privacy Choices

Depending on where you live and applicable law, you may have rights concerning your personal information, including the ability to: Request access to personal information we maintain about you; Request correction of inaccurate information; Request deletion of personal information; Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; Request information about how your personal information is used or shared; Opt out of certain forms of sharing or processing where applicable. You may also control access to your device's location through your phone or tablet's privacy settings.

​

California residents may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including rights to know, delete, correct, opt out of certain sales or sharing, and limit certain uses of sensitive personal information. Precise geolocation is among the categories California law identifies as sensitive personal information. Locus Poetica does not sell personal information.

​

17. How to Submit a Privacy Request

To ask a privacy question or exercise a privacy right, contact:

​

Poetry in the Parks/Locus Poetica Privacy
Email: communications@poetryintheparks.org
Website: poetryintheparks.org

​

Please include enough information for us to understand and respond to your request. We may need to verify your identity before providing or deleting certain information. We will respond to valid privacy requests within the time required by applicable law.

​

18. Third-Party Websites and Services

Locus Poetica may contain links to websites, applications, maps, cultural organizations, parks, literary organizations, or other third-party resources. This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected by Locus Poetica. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or content of third-party websites or services. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

​

19. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in the Locus Poetica platform, applicable law, or our privacy practices. When we make material changes, we will provide appropriate notice, which may include updating the policy within the app or website. The date at the bottom of this Privacy Policy indicates when it was most recently updated.

​

20. Contact Us

Questions, concerns, or requests concerning privacy may be directed to:

 

Locus Poetica/Poetry in the Parks, Inc.
Locus Poetica
PO Box 166

Elm Grove, WI 53122

USA

 

Email: communications@poetryintheparks.org
Website: poetryintheparks.org

​

We welcome questions about how Locus Poetica handles information and encourage users to contact us if they have concerns about a particular poem, recording, location, or other submission.

​​​

​

Effective Date: August 27, 2026
Last Updated: August 27, 2026