1. Scope and plain-language summary
This notice describes the current public Benefit Bridge Alpha website. It does not promise a future architecture. The working Benefit Bridge Native estimate, ledger, and scenario sweep run in your browser. A separate PolicyEngine comparison is optional and may transmit calculation fields only if you select that option.
The current interview does not ask for a name, email address, Social Security number, account login, case number, or document upload. That does not mean no technical information is transmitted when you visit an internet site.
2. Information used by the native Alpha calculation
The current browser-based interview may use:
- ZIP code and county;
- household size and number of children;
- current work hours, hourly wage, and proposed additional hours;
- self-employment revenue, business expenses, payment-method labels, optional short notes, and manually entered or estimated business mileage when you use the self-employment path;
- current and additional monthly work costs;
- whether SNAP, housing assistance, or childcare assistance is reported, and the approximate reported monthly amounts;
- whether rent or shelter cost applies, and the approximate amount; and
- calculation outputs, scenario ledgers, assumptions, and discrepancy indicators generated from those inputs.
The Benefit Bridge Native calculation is performed locally in browser JavaScript. Interview values are held in the active page while you use it and are not intentionally written by the app to a Benefit Bridge server database. If you choose the Daily Tracker and acknowledge its separate local-storage notice, those tracker records are saved in this browser as described below.
3. Optional PolicyEngine comparison
The Alpha agreement offers a separate, unchecked choice to allow a PolicyEngine comparison. If you select it, the browser attempts to send the calculation fields listed above to the same site at /api/calculate. The request may also include flags needed to map the current interview to the comparison engine.
The current static public Alpha does not normally provide that Python calculation endpoint, so the comparison may be unavailable. An attempted request can still pass through hosting infrastructure and may appear in technical logs. The native estimate continues to work when you do not consent or when the comparison fails.
You can change this choice through “Agreement & comparison choice” in the Alpha footer. The two calculation ledgers are kept separate and are not silently mixed.
4. Local browser storage
The app uses browser local storage for:
- the version of the Alpha agreement you acknowledged; and
- whether you allowed the optional PolicyEngine comparison; and
- Daily Tracker records you explicitly save after acknowledging the tracker’s browser-only storage notice.
Daily Tracker records can include dates, revenue, expenses, expense category, payment-method label, mileage, work/off status, and an optional short note. They are stored only in the current browser profile by this Alpha. They are not an account, are not synchronized between devices, are not backed up by Benefit Bridge, and are not promised to be encrypted by the browser. Anyone with access to this browser profile may be able to view them.
You can use “Remove tracker records from this browser” inside the Daily Tracker or clear this site’s browser data. Clearing site data also removes the saved agreement and comparison settings. Do not place customer names, addresses, account numbers, credentials, or other sensitive details in tracker notes.
5. Ordinary hosting and technical information
As with most hosted websites, the hosting and network providers may process technical information needed to deliver and protect the site. This can include an IP address, browser and device information, date and time, requested URLs, network and security events, and error or access logs.
The current application code does not include a dedicated advertising tracker, marketing pixel, account system, or product-analytics event stream. Benefit Bridge does not claim “we collect nothing,” because hosting infrastructure and optional comparison requests can still process technical information.
6. No current voluntary bug-report upload
The public Alpha does not currently provide an in-app bug-report or household-trace upload. Do not send sensitive records through an informal feedback channel.
If a voluntary report feature is added, it should show exactly what will be transmitted and require a separate, informed action before sending any household calculation information. A user’s acceptance of these general terms should not be treated as consent to an undisclosed future upload.
7. Third-party confidential information
Use your own information, information you are legally authorized to use, or fictional test information. Do not enter another person’s confidential information without authorization.
Healthcare, social-service, government, employer, business, and community testers must not enter patient, client, employee, applicant, customer, or other third-party confidential information without lawful authority and appropriate consent. Benefit Bridge is not presented as a system for regulated case records, medical records, personnel files, or official applications.
8. Data sharing and access
The current app does not provide employers, government agencies, benefit administrators, or other households with a dashboard or account through which they can view your interview answers. Hosting providers may process technical data to operate and secure the site. A PolicyEngine comparison request is made only after the optional choice described above.
Benefit Bridge does not currently operate an advertising or data-broker program. This statement describes the application as implemented now; it is not a promise about unrelated third parties or future features.
9. Retention
The app does not currently maintain a Benefit Bridge household or Daily Tracker server database. The project has not published a separate retention schedule for infrastructure logs that may be maintained by its hosting or network providers. Browser local-storage settings and Daily Tracker records remain in that browser profile until you remove them, clear site data, or the browser removes them.
10. Security and data minimization
The live site is delivered over HTTPS, but experimental software and internet services cannot guarantee perfect security. Use approximate values and do not enter credentials, official identifiers, records, or documents. The interview should ask only for facts that materially improve an estimate.
11. Children’s information
The calculator can use a number of children for household modeling, but it does not need their names or identifiers. Do not enter identifying information about a child. The Alpha is not designed for unsupervised use by children or for maintaining child records.
12. Your choices
- Use fictional or rounded values.
- Leave the optional PolicyEngine comparison unchecked.
- Use Quick Estimate instead of Daily Tracker if you do not want business records saved in the browser.
- Remove Daily Tracker records from this browser with the control provided in the tracker.
- Clear this site’s browser data to remove saved agreement and comparison settings.
- Stop using the Alpha if you are not comfortable with its current practices.
13. Changes and contact
Material changes to this notice should receive a new version and be presented again before continued use. Benefit Bridge is presently an independent founder-led project, not a corporation, nonprofit organization, or government service.
Until a public privacy contact is established, use the contact method supplied with your Alpha invitation and do not include sensitive household records.