Privacy Policy

About this policy

This policy applies to the JailScope website, county directories, search tools, public API documentation, and links to external county or sheriff sources. JailScope is an independent information directory; it does not provide user accounts, private member areas, or a service for submitting personal custody records.

JailScope pages may display or organize public information published by an official county, sheriff, detention, or corrections source. That source controls its own records and privacy practices. This policy explains information handled by JailScope when you visit or contact us.

Information we receive automatically

When you visit JailScope, hosting, content delivery, and security systems may receive technical request data such as your IP address, browser and device details, referring page, requested URL, timestamp, response status, and security events. We use this information to deliver pages, prevent abuse, diagnose outages, measure reliability, and protect the service.

Search requests use a URL query so the directory can return matching state, county, or jail pages. A query may be visible in your browser history, an intermediary request log, or a shared link. Do not include sensitive personal information in a search box or URL.

Information you send to us

If you email JailScope, we receive the address and message content you choose to send. A correction or source request may also include a county, a JailScope URL, an official source URL, an agency affiliation, or supporting documents. We use those details to investigate the request, verify provenance, improve a page, and respond.

Please do not send Social Security numbers, medical information, financial account details, passwords, or other sensitive identifiers unless a lawful request specifically requires them. We do not ask visitors to email private inmate records or payment information.

Public source and county information

JailScope may normalize source-published names, booking fields, charges, custody labels, dates, and other public roster information. We do not use this information to create user profiles, make eligibility decisions, or infer guilt, release, transfer, or legal outcome. A source snapshot can be incomplete or time-sensitive.

Requests about a public record should include the exact JailScope page and a direct official source. We may retain the request and related correspondence as needed to verify a correction, prevent repeated abuse, or meet a legal obligation. The correction process is described on the Contact page.

Cookies, analytics, and advertising

Cookie-free usage measurement

JailScope uses Vercel Web Analytics for aggregate page counts without analytics cookies or a persistent browser identifier. It runs on approved directory and county guide pages after the initial page load, unless you have declined analytics or your browser sends Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track. Vercel derives a temporary visitor hash from incoming connection information and discards its visitor session after 24 hours. These visitor estimates are not a count of identifiable people. Normal network information, including your IP address and browser information, still reaches our hosting provider when a request is made.

We send approved page paths and exact, published social campaign labels. Unknown campaign values, click IDs, URL fragments, page titles, search text, inmate names, booking identifiers, form values, individual record URLs, and user identifiers are excluded. We count a small fixed set of county-page actions, such as using roster search, calling the jail, opening directions, and following an official source. Only the action category, approved page path and approved campaign labels are sent; no entered search values or individual records are included. Each action category is counted at most once per page load. Search-result and unknown pages are excluded. We also skip cookie-free measurement when an external referring URL contains a path or other data beyond its site origin. Outgoing page requests omit the Referer header. See Vercel’s analytics privacy information. We honor Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track browser signals. Previously saved declines remain effective until their recorded expiry. The current measurement code does not create a visitor identifier or save new analytics permissions in browser storage. Privacy questions and requests can be submitted through the Contact page.

Retired Google measurement

JailScope has removed its Google Analytics integration and does not load Google’s measurement tag or send visit events. If you previously allowed Google Analytics, its _ga and _ga_* cookies are removed when you load an updated page. A saved permission does not reactivate Google measurement. Earlier versions stored a choice and expiry time for up to 180 days; an existing saved decline is still honored until it expires.

If advertising services are introduced, third-party vendors, including Google, may use advertising cookies to serve ads based on a visitor’s prior visits to this site or other sites. Google and its advertising partners may use advertising cookies to measure and personalize ads in accordance with the visitor’s choices and applicable law. Information about Google’s use of data is available in Google’s partner-site privacy information.

You can review or change Google ad personalization settings at Google Ads Settings. You can also review an industry opt-out choice at YourAdChoices. Browser controls can block or clear cookies, although some site features may then work differently.

How we use information

• Deliver county pages, search results, documentation, and other requested site features.
• Monitor availability, investigate errors, and protect the service from scraping, fraud, and malicious traffic.
• Review source corrections, privacy requests, agency messages, and other support inquiries.
• Understand aggregate usage and improve navigation or source coverage when analytics are enabled.
• Comply with legal process, enforce our terms, and protect the rights and safety of JailScope and visitors.

Sharing and service providers

We may share limited information with hosting, content delivery, security, email, analytics, advertising, and monitoring providers that help operate JailScope. Those providers may process information under their own terms and privacy policies. We may also disclose information when required by law, valid legal process, or an emergency involving safety or security.

JailScope does not sell contact messages as a mailing list. We do not share a visitor’s search history with a county agency merely because the visitor searched for a name. When you follow a link to an official county or sheriff site, that site may receive normal referral or request information and its own policy applies.

Retention and security

Technical logs, security records, and support correspondence are retained for as long as reasonably needed for operation, troubleshooting, abuse prevention, correction review, legal obligations, or incident response. Retention depends on the type of record and is reduced when it is no longer needed for those purposes.

We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards, including access controls, secure transport, and monitoring. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Children’s privacy

JailScope is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children for accounts or membership services. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us so we can review and remove it when appropriate.

Privacy requests and state rights

Depending on where you live, privacy law may give you rights to request access, correction, deletion, portability, or information about processing. These rights have exceptions, especially for security logs, legal obligations, public records, and requests that cannot be verified. JailScope does not remove or alter an official public record solely because someone asks; documented corrections are reviewed against the responsible source.

To submit a privacy or correction request, email contact@jailscope.com with the exact page or communication involved, the request you are making, and enough information to verify it. We may ask for additional information before acting. Do not include unnecessary sensitive identifiers.

External sources and policy changes

County, sheriff, detention, court, analytics, advertising, and other linked websites are operated by third parties. Their content, security, cookies, and privacy practices are outside JailScope’s control. Review their policies before submitting information after leaving this site.

We may update this policy when the site, vendors, laws, or data practices change. The version published on this page is the current version. Questions about this policy can be sent to contact@jailscope.com.