Privacy
How we handle visitor data
WhoDonated is a public research site. You can browse candidates, donors, maps and trends without creating an account. This page explains what we collect when you visit and when you write to us.
Browsing
Like most websites, our servers and network provider see standard request logs (IP address, user agent, URL and timing) to keep the site reliable and to block abuse. We use Google Analytics to understand aggregate traffic — which pages are read, rough geography and device type. Analytics cookies may be set by that service. You can block them with your browser or an extension.
Contact form
If you send a message through the contact form, we receive the fields you submit (including your email if you provide one) so we can reply. We do not publish a public inbox address on the site. Messages are used only to respond to your inquiry or to fix data issues you report.
FEC contributor data
Donor and candidate figures on WhoDonated come from public Federal Election Commission filings. That information is already on the public record. Under 52 U.S.C. 30111(a)(4), it may not be sold or used to solicit contributions or for any commercial purpose. We do not sell contributor lists.
Accounts
Most of the site is open. Sign-in is only for limited administrative tools. If you have an admin account, we store the credentials needed to authenticate you and nothing more than the service requires.
Search removal
Donor profiles with $5,000 or more in itemized FEC contributions may appear in search results. If you are the person named on a profile and want that page kept out of search engines, use the removal request form. We mark suppressed profiles noindex and drop them from sitemaps. The underlying FEC filing remains public elsewhere; we do not erase the public record.
Questions
Privacy questions can be sent through the contact form. See also the about page.