Privacy policy

• You can search, read and print without an account or email.
• No advertising tools are used. Google Analytics is optional, off by default, and runs only if you allow it, only on five general pages, never on health guides, searches, provider pages or the Starter Kit.
• Searches are part of the page address, so they appear in your browser history and in our hosting provider's standard request logs.
• Saved comparisons stay in your browser.
• You can ask for the Starter Kit by email. We send it once and use your address only for that request. Keratoconus Updates is a separate, optional choice that starts only after you confirm it.
• Please don't send us medical records or diagnosis details.

When you search, the location and service you choose go into the page address (for example /providers?q=Dallas, TX&service=cxl-onsite). That address is stored in your browser history, can be bookmarked or shared, and is received by our web host when the page loads.

We don't build profiles from searches or link them to a person. Search does not ask for your name, email, diagnosis or other health details.

When you save providers to compare, your browser stores only their public listing IDs, under a local storage item on your device. It is not sent to us. Remove listings or use "Clear all" on the Compare page, or clear your browser's site data, to delete it.

Both email options are separate. Where no email field is shown, nothing is collected. You can always download or read the Starter Kit without giving an email, and downloading the PDF does not send us any personal information.

This is how it works:

• Guide request (one time): we store your email address and the time of the request so we can send the guide once, prevent duplicates and handle delivery problems. Requesting the guide never signs you up for anything else.
• Keratoconus Updates (optional): occasional updates on keratoconus care. You can ask for them with the separate sign-up form, or with a separate, unchecked box on the Starter Kit request. We store the exact consent wording, its version, where on the site you asked and the time, then email you a confirmation link. Opening that link does not subscribe you; you are only subscribed after you press the Confirm button on the confirmation page.
• Unsubscribe: every Keratoconus Updates email has an unsubscribe link, and you can also email us. Opting out is recorded right away and we keep it so you are not re-added by mistake.
• To limit abuse, we keep a short-lived scrambled, shortened form of request network information for rate limiting, deleted after about two days.

Analytics stays off unless you choose "Allow analytics". You can change your choice at any time with "Analytics preferences" at the bottom of every page. If your browser sends Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track, analytics stays off.

If you allow it, Google Analytics loads only on About, Contact, Sponsor, For Providers and How Listings Work, on keratoconusregistry.com. It never loads on the homepage, health guides, the overview, resources, provider search or profiles, Compare, the Starter Kit, Keratoconus Updates, or this page.

• What Google receives: a page-view count with a fixed page name (for example keratoconusregistry.com/about) and a generic page title, plus the technical information any web request carries, such as your IP address, browser and device type, screen size and language. This is not anonymous: Google processes it as our service provider under its terms.
• What Google never receives from us: the page address you actually visited, search terms, locations or ZIP codes, the page you came from, page titles, provider IDs, health or lens topics, email addresses, names, form contents or link tokens.
• Cookies: Only after you allow analytics, Google sets first-party cookies (named _ga) holding a random identifier for your browser for up to two months. It is pseudonymous, not your name or email, but it does let Google recognize repeat visits from the same browser. Google signals, advertising features, ad personalization, user IDs and user-provided data are all off. Collected data is kept for two months.
• Your browser stores your choice and its date on your device so we don't ask again. Choosing "Keep analytics off" stops further analytics and deletes the _ga cookies from this site.

We use a small number of companies to run the site. They process information on our behalf to provide their service:

• Render, our web host, which serves pages and keeps standard request and security logs (such as IP address, browser type, page address and time).
• Resend, our email delivery service. It receives the address and message needed to deliver email and reports delivery events such as bounces.
• Google, for optional Google Analytics only if you allow it, as described above.
• TiDB Cloud, which hosts a database used only by this site to store the email records described above.

Like most websites, the site and its hosts may record technical information needed to keep it running and secure, such as error reports and request logs. We use it to fix problems and prevent abuse, not to advertise.

• We don't sell, rent or share email addresses for others' marketing.
• We don't use advertising pixels or cross-site tracking, and we never send health details, searches, locations or email addresses to an analytics provider.
• Sponsors don't receive information about visitors.

Access is limited to the site operator and the service providers above, as needed to run the service. We keep information only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected for: guide requests while needed for delivery and duplicate prevention, newsletter consent while you are subscribed and as a record of consent, and opt-out records for as long as needed to honor them. Hosting logs follow the hosting provider's retention.

Listings show business information that offices publish on their own official pages, with links to those pages. Offices can request corrections; see For Providers.

We link to provider websites, health organizations and research. Those sites have their own privacy practices, which we don't control.

This site is meant for adults, including parents and caregivers. It is not designed to collect information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

You can ask what information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or unsubscribe at any time, by emailing help@keratoconusregistry.com. We may need to confirm the request comes from the owner of the email address.

If our practices change, we will update this page and its date before the change takes effect.