Privacy Policy
Effective Date: September 8, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how This Is Why (“TIW,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal information when you visit thisiswhy.life, submit a form, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with This Is Why.
1. About This Is Why
This Is Why is a grief support platform and community focused on people affected by the loss of a parent during childhood or adolescence.
TIW is not a healthcare provider, therapy practice, crisis service, or emergency service.
Some information you choose to provide to TIW may be highly personal or sensitive. Because TIW is not acting as your healthcare provider, you should not assume that information submitted to TIW has the same legal protections as information you provide to a doctor, therapist, hospital, or health plan.
We nevertheless treat sensitive community information with care and seek to limit access and use to appropriate TIW purposes.
2. Information We Collect
The information we collect depends on how you interact with TIW.
Story Submissions
When you submit a story, TIW may collect your name or chosen display name, email address, the age group of the person whose story is being submitted, story title, story text, comment preferences, photographs or other media you voluntarily upload, publication-consent information, and parent or legal guardian information where applicable.
For minors, we may also maintain records relating to guardian verification, including verification status, date, and method.
Story submissions may include sensitive information relating to grief, death, health, mental health, trauma, family circumstances, violence, suicide, religious beliefs, or other personal experiences.
Please provide only information you are comfortable sharing with TIW and avoid including unnecessary personal information about other people.
Story Photos and Uploaded Files
If you upload a photograph through a TIW Story Submission form, the original uploaded file is stored with the Story Submission record in Airtable.
TIW does not automatically create additional copies of every uploaded image. If a story moves forward for review, publication, or another approved use and TIW needs to retain the image, an authorized TIW reviewer may create a restricted copy in the This Is Why Google Shared Drive. TIW may maintain a restricted internal link between the Story Submission record and that retained copy.
Any use of a submitted photograph remains subject to the applicable publication permission, privacy requirements, and TIW’s actual operational need.
Resource Requests
If you complete a Resource Request form, TIW may collect your name, email address, confirmation that you are age 18 or older, whether you are seeking resources for yourself or another adult, broad information about the parental loss, age ranges and timing, the types of support or resources that may be helpful, whether you prefer online or in-person options, general location information when local options are requested, and any optional additional information you choose to provide.
TIW intentionally limits this form to information reasonably useful for identifying potentially relevant resources or connections. You do not need to provide a detailed grief or mental-health narrative.
Resource Request information may still be personal or sensitive. TIW uses it to review the request, identify potentially appropriate resources or information, manage follow-up, and operate its resource-support processes.
Contact Us and Other Communications
If you contact TIW, we may collect your name, email address, phone number if provided, subject, message, and information contained in subsequent communications.
Partnerships, Programs, and Organizational Relationships
If you interact with TIW as a partner, venue, sponsor, nonprofit, provider, volunteer, professional contact, or representative of an organization, TIW may maintain business contact information, organization information, interaction history, follow-up information, and related operational records.
Newsletter and Optional Communications
If you choose to subscribe to a newsletter or other optional communication, we may collect your email address and communication preferences.
You may unsubscribe from optional communications using the unsubscribe method included in the message or by contacting TIW.
Website and Usage Information
When you visit the website, Squarespace and other technology providers may automatically process technical information such as your IP address, browser or device information, pages viewed, referring pages, approximate location derived from an IP address, cookies, identifiers, and similar diagnostic or usage information.
How We Use Personal Information
TIW may use personal information to operate and maintain its website and programs; receive, review, moderate, and manage submissions; respond to questions and communications; provide requested resource information; manage relationships and follow-up; verify publication consent and guardian permission; organize programs, collaborations, campaigns, events, and partnerships; send communications you have requested; protect the security and integrity of TIW systems; investigate suspected misuse or security incidents; comply with applicable legal obligations; maintain consent and administrative records; and improve TIW’s services.
TIW seeks to use personal information for purposes reasonably related to why it was provided.
We do not intend to use sensitive story narratives, Resource Request information, contact messages, guardian-verification information, or uploaded story photographs for unrelated commercial purposes.
4. Story Publication Is a Separate Decision
Submitting a story to TIW does not, by itself, give TIW permission to publish the story publicly.
TIW separately records publication permission.
A story is eligible for public publication only when the required publication consent has been recorded and any applicable age or guardian-verification requirements have been satisfied.
If publication permission is granted, approved story content, photographs, or portions of the submission may become publicly accessible through TIW channels covered by that permission.
Once information is published publicly, third parties may view, copy, screenshot, index, archive, quote, or independently share it outside TIW’s control.
If you request anonymous or limited-name attribution, TIW will make reasonable efforts to follow that preference. However, details contained within a story or information available elsewhere may still allow someone to infer the storyteller’s identity.
Publication permission and rights relating to submitted content are also addressed in TIW’s Terms and Conditions.
5. Children and Teenagers
Public TIW content may be viewed by people of different ages. Different rules apply when personal information or a story is submitted.
Age 18 or Older
An adult may submit their own story and make their own publication-consent decision.
Age 13–17
A person age 13–17 may submit a story where the TIW form permits it.
TIW will not publish or publicly share the story unless permission is independently verified with a parent or legal guardian.
Guardian contact information provided through the form may be used for verification and related administration.
Providing a guardian’s information through a form does not by itself mean guardian permission has been verified.
Under Age 13
A child under age 13 should not directly complete TIW’s Story Submission Form or personally provide information through that form.
A parent or legal guardian must complete the submission process on the child’s behalf from the beginning.
If TIW learns that a child under 13 personally submitted information contrary to this process, TIW may restrict, quarantine, or delete the submission and may require a new submission completed by a parent or legal guardian.
A parent or legal guardian may contact TIW regarding information submitted on behalf of a minor.
TIW may take reasonable steps to verify the requester’s identity and authority before disclosing, changing, deleting, or otherwise acting on information relating to a minor.
TIW does not knowingly sell personal information about minors or use Story Submission, Resource Request, or guardian-verification information about minors for targeted advertising.
6. Sensitive Information
Because of TIW’s mission, information voluntarily provided to us may include sensitive subjects such as grief, physical or mental health, trauma, suicide, violence, family relationships, disability, religious beliefs, and other deeply personal circumstances.
We ask that you provide only information reasonably necessary for the purpose of the form or communication.
Where applicable law requires specific permission before certain sensitive information may be processed, TIW will seek that permission as required.
Access to sensitive community-submitted information is intended to be limited to people who reasonably need access to perform TIW work.
7. How We Store and Process Information
TIW uses third-party technology providers to operate its website and manage information.
Squarespace is used to host TIW’s public website and may display or embed forms and other website content. TIW’s current Contact Us, Resource Request, and Story Submission forms are Airtable forms embedded within the TIW website.
Zapier may be used for certain TIW operational integrations and automations. TIW’s current Contact Us, Resource Request, and Story Submission forms write directly to Airtable rather than routing those submissions through Zapier.
Airtable is used as TIW’s operational database, relationship-management system, and current public form platform for Contact Us, Resource Requests, and Story Submissions. It may contain records relating to Story Submissions, Resource Requests, Contact Us inquiries, Contacts, Organizations, Interactions, Opportunities, Programs, Events, consent status, guardian verification, uploaded Story photos, and restricted links to retained files.
Google Workspace and Google Drive may be used for email, communications, documents, operational records, and approved content assets.
Notion is used for internal project management, tasks, roadmaps, procedures, and operational knowledge. TIW’s internal practice is to avoid placing sensitive community story narratives or personal intake details in Notion.
TIW may add, remove, or replace technology providers as its systems evolve.
These providers may process information according to their own terms, privacy practices, security controls, and contractual obligations.
8. When We Share Information
TIW may disclose personal information to service providers that reasonably need information to host the website, operate forms and workflows, store records, provide communications, secure TIW systems, or provide other operational services.
If you authorize publication and all applicable requirements are satisfied, the content covered by your permission may be shared publicly through TIW channels.
TIW may also share information when you ask us to do so or otherwise clearly authorize the disclosure.
We may preserve, use, or disclose information where we reasonably believe it is necessary to comply with applicable law or valid legal process; protect TIW, users, or others; investigate fraud, misuse, or security issues; establish or defend legal claims; or address an emergency where disclosure is permitted or required by law.
If TIW’s organizational or legal structure changes, relevant records may be transferred as part of that transition subject to applicable law and continuing privacy obligations.
9. Sale and Targeted Advertising
TIW does not sell personal information collected through the Service for money or other valuable consideration.
TIW does not use Story Submissions, Resource Request information, Contact Us messages, publication-consent records, guardian-verification information, or submitted story photographs to build targeted-advertising profiles.
If TIW materially changes these practices in the future, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide any notice, consent, or opt-out rights required by applicable law.
10. Data Retention and Deletion
TIW retains personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and for legitimate operational, consent-audit, security, dispute-resolution, legal, or compliance needs.
Retention periods may vary by record type.
A pending story may be retained while it is reviewed or while TIW awaits consent or guardian verification.
A protected story-photo upload may remain associated with the original form submission while the submission remains under review or while TIW reasonably needs the original file.
A published story or approved publication asset may remain available until it is unpublished or a removal request is processed.
Publication-consent and guardian-verification records may be retained longer than public-facing content so TIW can document authorization, withdrawal, or revocation history.
Operational and relationship records may be retained while a request, relationship, program, or legitimate administrative need remains active.
When information is no longer reasonably needed, TIW may delete, anonymize, or otherwise dispose of it consistent with its internal retention practices and applicable law.
Deletion from TIW-controlled systems cannot guarantee deletion of information previously copied, cached, indexed, archived, screenshotted, or independently retained by third parties.
11. Security
TIW uses reasonable administrative, organizational, and technical measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or loss.
These measures may include access restrictions, account-security controls, managed technology providers, protected file access, and separation of sensitive community data from general project-management systems.
No website, electronic transmission method, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
You should use care when deciding what information to submit online.
12. Your Privacy Choices and Requests
Depending on where you live and which laws apply, you may have rights regarding your personal information, including rights to request access, correction, deletion, information about how personal information is used or disclosed, withdrawal of certain consent, or review of a privacy-request decision.
Even where a particular statutory right does not apply, TIW may consider reasonable access, correction, or deletion requests consistent with privacy, security, legal, and recordkeeping obligations.
To make a privacy request, contact: inquiry@thisiswhy.life
You may also use the TIW Contact Us page.
Please describe your request and provide enough information for us to locate the relevant records.
TIW may need to verify your identity before completing a request.
If you are requesting information on behalf of another person or a minor, TIW may also verify your authority to act for that person.
If applicable law provides a right to appeal a privacy decision, you may reply to TIW’s decision or email [**inquiry@thisiswhy.life**](mailto\:inquiry@thisiswhy.life?) with the subject:
Privacy Appeal
Publication withdrawal is different from deletion of TIW’s internal records.
A request to stop future publication may result in removal of public content while limited consent-audit, legal, security, or administrative records are retained where reasonably necessary.
13. Communications
TIW may send communications reasonably necessary to administer a submission, verify guardian permission, respond to an inquiry, provide requested resource information, or manage an existing relationship.
Optional newsletters or promotional communications will be sent according to the preferences associated with those communications.
You may opt out of optional promotional communications without preventing TIW from sending non-marketing messages reasonably necessary to administer an existing request, submission, permission, verification, or relationship.
14. Cookies and Website Analytics
TIW’s website and its technology providers may use cookies or similar technologies for website functionality, preferences, security, diagnostics, and analytics.
You may be able to limit or delete certain cookies through your browser settings or website consent controls where available.
Restricting certain cookies may affect website functionality.
TIW does not use sensitive information submitted through Story Submission, Resource Request, Contact Us, or guardian-verification workflows for advertising profiling.
15. Third-Party Websites and Services
TIW may link to third-party organizations, healthcare providers, grief-support resources, social networks, event services, fundraising platforms, podcast services, or other websites and services.
TIW does not control those third parties.
Their collection and use of personal information are governed by their own privacy policies and practices.
When a payment, donation, ticket purchase, registration, or other transaction is completed directly through a third party, that provider may collect transaction or payment information according to its own privacy policy.
TIW does not necessarily receive or store complete payment-card information.
16. Changes to This Privacy Policy
TIW may update this Privacy Policy as its services, systems, or legal obligations change.
When changes are made, we will update the Effective Date at the top of this Privacy Policy.
For material changes, TIW may provide additional notice where reasonably appropriate or legally required.
Changes to this Privacy Policy do not by themselves create new permission to publish a story.
Publication permission remains separately recorded.
17. Contact Us
Questions, privacy requests, or concerns may be sent to:
This Is Why
Email: inquiry@thisiswhy.life
Website: https://thisiswhy.life/contact