Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

Welcome to the website of Blind Information Technology Solutions (BITS), an affiliate organization of the American Council of the Blind (ACB). Protecting your privacy and the security of your personal information is paramount to us.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It applies to our members, our donors, and to anyone who visits bits-acb.org.

This page is provided for your information. It is a notice, not a contract, and we do not ask you to sign or agree to anything in order to read it or to use our website.

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide to us

When you join BITS, renew your membership, contact us, or support us financially, we may collect:

  • Your name
  • Your mailing address
  • Your email address
  • Your telephone number
  • Membership and dues records, including your membership status and history with BITS and with the American Council of the Blind
  • Records of your participation in BITS activities, such as committees, elections, and events
  • The contents of messages you send to us, including email and feedback you submit through our website
  • Your subscription to, and messages you send to, our email discussion lists
  • Records of payments you make to us, including dues, donations, and product purchases, and the amount and date of each

We process all payments through Stripe and PayPal. When you pay dues, make a donation, or buy a product, your payment card or bank details are entered directly with Stripe or PayPal. BITS does not receive or store your full payment card number. We receive only a confirmation of the payment and the billing details needed for our records.

Information we collect automatically

Like most websites, our website collects some information automatically when you visit, even if you never fill out a form. This may include:

  • Your Internet Protocol (IP) address
  • Your browser type, operating system, and assistive technology or device characteristics reported by your browser
  • The pages you view on our site, the date and time of your visit, and the site you came from
  • Information stored in cookies and similar technologies, described in Section 5

We collect this information through our web server logs and through the services that host and secure our website.

Information shared with the American Council of the Blind

BITS is an affiliate of ACB, and membership in BITS is connected to membership in ACB. BITS enters member information into AMMS, the ACB National membership system, as part of our obligations as an ACB affiliate. Information you give us for membership purposes is therefore also held by ACB and is subject to ACB’s own privacy practices.

2. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Administer membership, including processing applications, renewals, and dues
  • Maintain accurate membership and organizational records
  • Communicate with you about BITS business, meetings, elections, publications such as the BITS Bulletin, and other activities
  • Provide access to members-only areas of our website and to member services and benefits
  • Respond to your questions, requests, and feedback
  • Acknowledge donations and meet our recordkeeping obligations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
  • Recognize our Lifetime members on our members-only BITS for Life page, as described in Section 3
  • Operate, secure, maintain, and improve our website
  • Comply with applicable law

We process this information because it is necessary to administer your membership in BITS, to operate our organization, and to meet our legal obligations.

3. How We Share Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We do not sell or share your personal information for advertising purposes, and we do not disclose it for money or other valuable consideration under any definition used by state privacy laws.

We share personal information only in the following circumstances:

  • Service providers. We use outside companies to operate BITS and our website. These providers process information on our behalf and are permitted to use it only to provide services to us. They currently include Stripe, PayPal, and Square, which process our payments; Auth0, which manages member sign-in; Postmark, which delivers our email; Groups.io, which hosts our email discussion lists; Automattic, whose Jetpack service provides website features and statistics; WordPress, which hosts our website; Apple, whose services we use to develop and release free and paid apps on the App Store; and Akamai Technologies, whose Linode platform stores our media files. This policy also includes any additional third-party providers who we partner with now and in the future.
  • The American Council of the Blind. As an ACB affiliate, we enter member information into the ACB National membership system (AMMS). Your information is then held by ACB and handled according to ACB’s privacy practices.
  • Other subscribers to our email lists. We operate email discussion and announcement lists through Groups.io. When you subscribe to one of our lists, or send a message to it, your name and email address are visible to the other subscribers of that list, and your message is kept in the list’s archive. Most of our lists are open only to BITS members. One of our lists is open to both members and non-members, which means that a message you send to that list, and the email address you send it from, may be seen by people who are not BITS members. If you are unsure which list you are subscribed to, or you want to unsubscribe, contact us and we will help.
  • Other BITS members. Our BITS for Life page honors our Lifetime members. It lists each Lifetime member’s first and last name, their state or country, and the date they became a BITS member. This page is in the members-only area of our website, so it is visible to other BITS members who are signed in, but it is not available to the general public. If you are a Lifetime member and you prefer not to be listed, contact us and we will remove your entry.
  • Legal requirements. We may disclose information if we are required to do so by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of BITS, our members, or the public.
  • Organizational changes. If BITS merges with, or transfers its activities to, another organization, membership records may be transferred as part of that change, subject to this Privacy Policy.

4. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Essential cookies. These are required for the website to function. They keep you signed in when you log in to the members-only area, remember your session, and help protect the site against abuse. The website cannot work properly without them.
  • Analytics. We use Jetpack Stats, a service provided by Automattic, to understand how our website is used. Jetpack Stats records information such as your IP address, the pages you view, and the site you came from, and reports it to us in aggregate. We use this to see which pages and resources our members find useful.

We do not use cookies for advertising, and we do not allow advertising networks to track you on our website.

Most web browsers and screen reader-compatible browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies through the browser’s own settings. Please be aware that if you block essential cookies, you will not be able to log in to the members-only areas of our site.

5. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include encrypted connections to our website, access controls that limit member data to the BITS officers and volunteers who need it, and the use of established service providers who maintain their own security programs.

No method of transmitting or storing information is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with BITS is no longer secure, please contact us at the address in Section 11.

6. Data Retention

We keep your personal information only for as long as we need it for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, or for as long as the law requires.

We keep membership records for the duration of your membership. After your membership ends, we keep a limited record of your past membership for organizational, historical, and reporting purposes, and we keep donation records for as long as required by tax and nonprofit recordkeeping rules. When information is no longer needed, we securely delete it or remove the details that identify you.

7. Your Rights and Choices

You may:

  • Ask what we hold. Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correct it. Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or out of date.
  • Delete it. Ask us to delete your personal information. Please note that we cannot maintain your BITS membership without your basic contact and membership information, so a deletion request may mean ending your membership. We may also need to keep certain records to meet legal and nonprofit reporting obligations.
  • Opt out of non-essential email. You may ask us to stop sending you announcements, newsletters, and other non-essential messages at any time. We will still need to send you essential membership communications, such as dues notices and election materials, for as long as you remain a member.
  • Ask to be removed from the BITS for Life page. If you are a Lifetime member, you may ask us to remove your name from that public listing.

To exercise any of these choices, contact us using the information in Section 11. We will respond within a reasonable time, and we will not treat you differently as a member for making a request.

8. Children’s Privacy

Our website is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

9. Members Outside the United States

BITS is based in the United States, and our website and records are hosted in the United States. If you are a member outside the United States, including in the European Union or the United Kingdom, please be aware that your personal information is transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your own country. We handle your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy wherever you are located, and members in the EU and UK may contact us to exercise the rights described in Section 7.

10. Third-Party Websites

Our website contains links to websites operated by other organizations, including the American Council of the Blind and other resources of interest to our members. BITS is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any website before providing personal information to it.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, or about how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

  • Email: it-admin@bits-acb.org
  • Telephone: 614-382-4876
  • Mail: Blind Information Technology Solutions, 1631 West Maplewood Drive, Tucson, AZ 85746

For questions about the BITS website itself, you may also write to support@bits-acb.org.

Accessible formats. If you would like this Privacy Policy in an alternative format, please contact us and we will provide one.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page and post the new version here. If we make a material change to how we collect, use, or share your personal information, we will notify members directly before the change takes effect.

Thank you for trusting BITS with your personal information.