Porchlight for Communities
Privacy Policy
Version 1.0 (2026-06-21) · Effective June 21, 2026. This policy explains, in plain language, how Porchlight (a product of Levelbrook Consulting) handles the audio recordings, personal stories, and account information entrusted to it. For data we process on behalf of a community, the community is the “controller” and Porchlight is the “processor”; the binding data terms are set out in our Data Processing Addendum.
Who this policy is for
Porchlight is sold to assisted-living and senior-care communities (“communities”) and used by three groups of people: residents who record their life stories, community staff (activity directors and coordinators) who use the dashboard, and family members who listen and reply. This policy describes how each group's information is handled.
Roles: controller and processor
For resident and family content, the community decides who is enrolled and why, and is the data controller; Porchlight processes that content under the community's instructions as its processor (see the Data Processing Addendum). For our own account, billing, and website data — for example staff sign-in details and basic site analytics — Porchlight acts as the controller.
What we collect
- Resident content. Audio recordings of life-story answers, transcriptions of those recordings, and AI-generated summaries, highlights, and topic tags.
- Resident profile facts. Basic facts used to make the interview gentle and relevant (for example, hometown, or whether the resident was married or served in the military), provided by the community.
- Family content. Voice messages recorded by family members for a resident, and the contact details (name, email, phone, relationship) used to connect and notify them.
- Staff account data. The name, email, and password (stored only as a salted hash) of community staff who sign in.
- Operational and technical data. Notification logs, IP address, device/browser information, and similar data needed to deliver, secure, and troubleshoot the service.
How we use information
We use information to provide and operate the Service (run the interview, transcribe and summarize recordings, deliver family messages and notifications), to authenticate staff and secure accounts, to bill communities, to provide support, to maintain and improve the Service, to detect and prevent fraud and abuse, and to comply with law. We do not sell resident or family data, we do not “share” it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not use resident recordings to advertise to anyone. We do not use resident or family content to train third-party AI models for their own purposes.
Legal bases (where GDPR/UK GDPR applies)
Where European or UK data-protection law applies, the community establishes the legal basis for processing resident and family personal data (typically consent or another lawful basis it has obtained). For data where we are the controller, we rely on the performance of our contract with the community, our legitimate interests in operating and securing the Service, and compliance with legal obligations.
Who can access content
- Coordinators at a resident's community can see that resident's stories, summaries, and highlights to support enrichment programming.
- Family members see only the residents they have been connected to, through a private, per-family access link. Family and public pages can be password protected.
- Porchlight staff access content only as needed to operate, support, and secure the service, and under confidentiality obligations.
- Access runs through private links and tokens rather than a public directory. We never make resident recordings publicly searchable.
Service providers (subprocessors)
To deliver the product we use a small set of trusted processors: speech-to-text transcription, an AI model that selects interview questions and writes summaries, email and SMS notification providers, and our hosting and payment processor. These providers handle data only to perform their function for us under contract, and are not permitted to use resident or family content for their own purposes. The current list is maintained under the Data Processing Addendum.
International transfers
We and our subprocessors may process data in the United States and other countries. Where data is transferred internationally, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses) where required by law.
Security
We apply reasonable, industry-standard safeguards appropriate to a service handling sensitive personal stories: encrypted transport, access controls so that staff and family see only what they are authorized to see, hashed passwords for staff accounts, and token-gated (and optionally password-protected) family pages. No system is perfectly secure, but protecting elders' voices and families' messages is central to how we build. If we become aware of a breach affecting personal data, we will notify the affected community without undue delay so it can meet its notification obligations.
Retention and what happens to a story over time
Recordings are meant to last — that is the point of the product. We retain resident content while a community's account is active, and we honor the wishes of the community and the family regarding ongoing access, export, or removal of content, including after a resident passes away. After an account ends, content is handled as described in our Terms and Data Processing Addendum. We treat requests about a late resident's stories with particular care. We retain account, billing, and log data only as long as needed for the purposes above or as required by law.
Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, port, or restrict personal data, and to object to certain processing. Because the community controls resident and family content, residents and families should direct such requests to their community, and we will assist the community in responding. For data where we are the controller, contact us at the address below. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. California residents: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA.
Notifications and communications
The Service sends email and SMS notifications (for example when a new story or message arrives) to the recipients a community configures. Recipients can opt out of these messages; the community is responsible for having the right to contact those recipients.
Participation is voluntary
Recording is always voluntary. A resident may decline or stop at any time, and the audio toggle lets those who prefer reading skip the spoken prompts. Communities decide which residents are enrolled and which families are connected.
Cookies
We use only the cookies needed to sign staff in and keep the Service secure (for example a session cookie). We do not use advertising cookies.
Children
Porchlight is intended for use by communities, their adult staff, adult residents, and the family members they connect. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.
Not a medical service
Porchlight is a life-story, enrichment, and family-connection tool. It is not a medical device and does not provide clinical, diagnostic, or therapeutic services. It is meant to work alongside the judgment of a community's care and life-enrichment staff.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the product evolves. Material changes will be communicated to the communities we serve, and the version and effective date above will be updated.
Contact
Questions about privacy, or a request regarding a resident's or family's content, can be sent to levelbrookteam@gmail.com (Levelbrook Consulting / Porchlight).