Privacy Policy

Who we are

The American Medaka Association is a volunteer-led nonprofit community dedicated to ethical medaka breeding, education, and the preservation of true medaka lineage. We operate this website and a member community.

Information we collect

• Membership applications: your legal first and last name, an optional public nickname, email address, full mailing address (street, city, state, and ZIP), Instagram and Discord handles, website (optional), how long you've kept medaka, the strains you breed, your reason for joining, and the consent choices you make on the form.
• Newsletter sign-ups: your email address and, optionally, your name.
• Contact form: your name, email address, subject, and message.
• Member sign-in: to let approved members manage their own profile, we send a one-time sign-in link to your email. Administrators sign in with Google.
• Technical data: limited information such as IP address is processed automatically to keep the site secure and to limit abuse.

How we use your information

• To review and administer membership applications and the member roster.
• To operate the public member directory (subject to your choices below).
• To send membership-related emails and, if you subscribe, our newsletter.
• To respond to your inquiries and provide community support.
• To protect the security and integrity of the site.

We never sell, rent, or trade your personal information, and we never use it for commercial purposes.

Your mailing address

We collect your mailing address so the American Medaka Association can reach you by post when needed (for example, association mailings related to your membership). Your mailing address is kept strictly private: it is never shown in the public directory, is never sold or shared with third parties for their own use, and is never used for any commercial purpose. Only your U.S. state is ever displayed publicly — your street address, city, and ZIP are not.

The public member directory

Approved members may be listed in our public directory. The directory shows a display name, U.S. state, Instagram handle(s), and the strains you breed. To protect your privacy:

• If you provide a nickname, the directory shows the nickname instead of your legal name, and your legal name is not made public.
• You can choose not to be listed publicly at all, and you can change this preference at any time from your member account or by contacting us.

Aggregate member count

We display the total number of approved members in places such as our home page. This count includes every approved member — including those who have chosen not to appear in the public directory. Only the aggregate number is ever shown; we never reveal the identity, contact details, or any personal information of members who opted out of public listing.

Email & communications

We send transactional emails (such as application and membership updates) related to your participation. If you subscribe to the newsletter, every issue includes a one-click unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time.

Cookies

We use only the cookies necessary to keep you signed in and to secure the site. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

Service providers

We rely on a small number of trusted providers to operate the site — for example, Google for administrator sign-in, an email delivery service to send our messages, and our hosting provider. These providers process data only as needed to provide their service. We may also disclose information if required by law.

Data retention

We keep membership and application records for as long as needed to run the association and our community, and as required for our legitimate operational purposes. You may request deletion as described below.

Your choices and rights

• Approved members can review and update their profile from their member account.
• You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time.
• You can ask us to access, correct, or delete your personal information, or to remove you from the public directory, by contacting us.

Children's privacy

Membership is limited to individuals 18 years of age or older, and the site is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your information, but no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the “Last updated” date above.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information? Use our contact form and we'll get back to you.