Privacy Policy

Different Strokes is operated by Different Strokes, LLC (“Different Strokes,” “we,” “us”), based in Illinois. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through the Different Strokes website and app, how we use it, and the choices you have. If you don’t agree with this policy, please don’t use Different Strokes.

Different Strokes is for stroke survivors, caregivers, family members, therapists, and others directly connected to someone’s stroke recovery. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. New profiles are reviewed by an administrator before becoming visible to other members, to help keep this a genuine peer-support community.

Account information. Your email address and password, handled by our authentication provider (Firebase Authentication). We never see or store your password in plain text.

Profile information. First and last name, a profile photo (optional), your relationship to stroke (survivor, caregiver, significant other, family member, therapist, etc.), your personal story, gender, age range, stroke/injury type, date of injury (optional), general location (city/state, optional), and which types of connections you’re open to (optional).

Content you create. Feed posts and photos/videos, comments, forum threads and replies, comments on other members’ profiles, and private messages you send to other members.

Reports and moderation records. If you report another member or piece of content, we keep a record of that report (who filed it, what it was about, and any note you add) so our moderation team can review it.

Technical information. A small number of cookies that keep you signed in and control which pages you can access (for example, whether you’ve completed your profile). These are functional cookies only — we do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

• To operate the community: create your profile, show it to other approved members, and let you connect, post, message, and participate in the forum and support groups.
• To match you with relevant connections, if you opt in to that feature.
• To review new member applications and keep the community safe (moderation and reports).
• To communicate with you about your account or respond to questions you send us.

Other approved, active members can see your profile and the content you post publicly (feed posts, forum threads/replies, profile comments). Private messages are only visible to the people in that conversation. Our administrator can view all profiles and reported content in order to moderate the community. You control some visibility yourself — for example, turning off “Allow message requests” or your active-status indicator in Settings.

We don’t sell your information. We share it only as needed to run the service:

• Firebase / Google Cloud — our authentication, database, file storage, and backend infrastructure provider. Your account and profile data is stored on their servers.
• Vercel — hosts the Different Strokes website.
• Zippopotam.us — if you enter a ZIP code to auto-fill your city/state, that ZIP code (nothing else) is sent to this free public lookup service.
• YouTube — instructional exercise videos in the Therapy section are embedded from YouTube, subject to Google’s own privacy practices when you play them.
• Other pages (Resources, Nutrition, Research) link out to third-party websites we don’t control and aren’t responsible for.

We may also disclose information if required by law, or if necessary to protect the safety of our members or the public.

You can block another member at any time, which prevents them from messaging you and hides their content from you. You can report a profile, post, message, or comment for our moderation team to review. We keep report records confidential and visible only to administrators.

You can permanently close your account at any time from Settings. When you do, we immediately and permanently delete your login credentials (you can never sign back in), and we anonymize your profile — your name is replaced with “Deleted User,” your personal story and photo are removed, and it’s marked as deleted so it no longer appears in the community.

Because Different Strokes is a shared community space, posts, forum replies, and messages you sent to other members are not erased when you delete your account — removing them would also remove pieces of other people’s conversations and threads. That content remains, but will show as authored by “Deleted User” rather than your name.

• Edit or update your profile at any time.
• Turn off message requests or your active-status indicator in Settings.
• Choose which, if any, connection types you’re discoverable for.
• Delete your account as described above.
• Contact us (below) with questions about your information, or to request a copy or deletion of data beyond what self-service tools cover.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local privacy law regarding your personal information; contact us and we’ll do our best to help.

Different Strokes is intended for adults 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn a profile belongs to someone under 18, we will remove it.

We use industry-standard safeguards (including Firebase’s access-control rules) to protect your information. No online service can guarantee perfect security, so please also take care with what you share, especially in a peer-support setting.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we’ll update the effective date above and, where appropriate, let members know.

Questions about this policy or your information? Email us at f.hunnicutt.com@gmail.com.