Legal
Privacy Policy
Effective date: October 15, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how The Protocol Network LLC (“The Protocol Network,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a Texas limited liability company, handles personal information when you visit theprotocolnetwork.com, submit an inquiry or questionnaire, use provider features, or otherwise communicate with us. It also explains choices that may be available to you. This notice is not medical advice and does not create a provider-patient relationship.
1. Scope
This policy applies to our main website and services covered by it. Our site may link or send you to provider websites and to our store at store.theprotocolnetwork.com. The store and other third-party destinations may have separate operators, terms, technologies, and privacy practices. Review the notice shown by the destination before providing information. We are not responsible for independent third-party practices.
2. Information we collect
Optional educational newsletter. Article, homepage, and advertising landing-page signup forms collect only your email address, explicit consent, and a general signup surface (article, home, or landing). We store consent wording, its version, and the time of consent separately from provider leads. We do not attach questionnaire answers, article topics, browser identifiers, or advertising click identifiers to newsletter records. You can continue to the guide or store without subscribing.
Information you provide. Depending on how you use the service, we may collect your name, email address, telephone number, ZIP code, city or state, and messages. Questionnaire or matching submissions may include goals, age range, an issue or condition of interest, body area, urgency, budget tier, and payment or insurance preferences. We do not ask for payment card numbers in these matching questionnaires. Because free-text answers can include health-related details, please provide only information needed for your request.
Provider or clinic inquiries may include clinic and contact names, business email and phone, location, website, telehealth information, and a message. If optional provider or administrative login is used, Replit Auth may provide account identifiers and profile details such as email, first and last name, and profile image. An authentication session cookie maintains the signed-in session.
Information collected automatically. Our hosting provider and internet systems may process technical logs such as IP address, request time, requested page, browser or device information, referring page, and error or security events. The main site may request Google Fonts, which causes a visitor’s browser to contact Google and transmit ordinary request information such as IP address and user-agent data.
Our first-party measurement stores a random identifier named “tpn_vid” in localStorage and records it with a call-to-action event, page path, and source label. Events include questionnaire opens, accepted newsletter signup requests, skipped signup, guide downloads, and store handoffs. These events do not contain email addresses or questionnaire answers. Newsletter forms do not collect advertising click identifiers. LocalStorage may retain theme or intake completion status so the interface remembers your choices. These browser values remain until cleared or replaced according to the feature’s operation.
On article pages, we also record a random visit identifier, the article identifier, event and receipt times, visible reading-time milestones, scroll-depth milestones, button clicks, automatic prompt displays, dismissals, and initiated store redirects. If an article link contains supported generic campaign and ad identifiers, these are associated with that article visit only. We do not collect individual OpenAI click identifiers, full query strings, or referrers in this article measurement system, and do not join it to newsletter email records. These are anonymous browser estimates, not verified people or evidence of medical intent.
3. How we use information
With your explicit opt-in, we use your newsletter email to send educational and marketing emails about future protocol articles. This is not delivery of personalized results, medical advice, or a consultation request. We do not automatically enroll existing leads. Newsletter contact details are not sent to advertising platforms. An email service may process the opted-in list to deliver future campaigns.
We use personal information to receive and respond to requests; operate questionnaires and provider matching; route inquiries and connect interested people with providers; verify telephone submissions; administer provider accounts and sessions; maintain, troubleshoot, secure, and improve the service; measure content and campaign performance; prevent misuse; comply with law and enforce our terms; and communicate about a request, service, or relationship.
Questionnaire answers may reveal information about health interests. We use that information to process the request and facilitate matching, not to diagnose, treat, or replace a licensed professional. Communications about this policy are not consent to marketing. Where we send promotional email, you may use its unsubscribe mechanism. For SMS programs that support keyword requests, reply STOP. Transactional or requested communications may still be necessary to complete your inquiry or administer an account.
4. How we disclose information
We may disclose contact details and relevant request information to clinics, practitioners, or other providers to evaluate or respond to a matching request. Providers receiving an inquiry may independently control their subsequent communications and records; ask them about their privacy practices.
We also disclose information to vendors that help host, store, authenticate, analyze, secure, or operate the service. Current infrastructure includes Replit hosting and Replit Auth, and service data and sessions may be stored in a PostgreSQL database. Certain consultation forms send submitted contact information and campaign or context data, such as source, click identifier, service category, location, and notes, to our lead-service provider AdGenius, which may support SMS verification.
When our optional Google Analytics test is enabled, Google receives online identifiers and page-view information. Our page-view setup omits URL query strings, fragments, referrers, and individual lead identifiers. We do not send questionnaire answers or newsletter contact details through this integration, and it does not enable Google Ads conversions or cross-domain linking to the store. We may also disclose information in a corporate transaction; to professional advisers; when required by valid legal process; or when reasonably necessary to protect rights, safety, security, and the integrity of the service.
We retrieve aggregate advertising impressions, clicks, and spending from the OpenAI Ads API to compare with our first-party article measurement. This reporting connection is read-only: it does not send article events, newsletter contacts, or questionnaire answers to OpenAI, and does not install an OpenAI pixel. Article store redirects do not forward our visit, campaign, or ad identifiers.
Some privacy laws define “sale,” “sharing,” or targeted advertising broadly and may treat certain advertising, analytics, or lead-transfer arrangements as covered activity, including depending on the benefit or compensation involved. Where applicable, you may request to opt out as described below.
6. Your choices and privacy rights
Newsletter signup is optional. Each future newsletter must include an unsubscribe link. You can use that link without logging in, or contact support below to request removal. We retain a suppression record so an unsubscribed address is excluded from active newsletter exports and cannot be reactivated by an anonymous signup. Opting out of newsletters does not affect access to articles, the guide, or store.
Depending on your residence and applicable law, you may have rights to request access to, correction of, deletion of, or a copy of personal information; to opt out of certain sale, sharing, targeted advertising, or profiling; to withdraw a prior consent where processing relies on consent; and to appeal our decision on a request. Rights and exceptions vary.
Submit a request or appeal by emailing support@theprotocolnetwork.com with “Privacy Request” or “Privacy Appeal” in the subject line. Describe the right you wish to exercise and the email, phone number, or other details needed to locate your records. We may ask for information reasonably necessary to verify identity and authority, and an authorized agent may be required to provide proof of authority. We will respond as required by applicable law. If a Texas resident’s appeal is denied, the resident may contact the Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.
7. Retention
New visit-level article measurement uses a 90-day retention window. Expired records are excluded from reports and removed during measurement maintenance. Aggregate advertising delivery reports do not contain individual browser identities and may be retained longer for business reporting. This article retention rule does not change the separate retention of legacy call-to-action records, newsletter consent and suppression records, or provider inquiries.
We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose collected, including maintaining an active account or request, facilitating a provider relationship, preserving business and transaction records, resolving disputes, protecting the service, and meeting legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. The period varies with the information’s sensitivity, operational need, contractual requirements, legal requirements, and whether the information can be deleted or deidentified. Vendors and matched providers may apply their own retention schedules.
8. Security
Our public website uses HTTPS to protect information in transit, and authenticated features use session cookies with security settings. No internet transmission, database, or security measure is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. Avoid sending highly sensitive or emergency information through website forms. If you believe information submitted to us has been compromised, contact us promptly.
9. Minors
The service is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly solicit personal information from minors. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a minor provided personal information, email us so we can review and, where appropriate, remove it.
10. Location of processing
We operate in the United States. Information may be transferred to, stored, or processed in the United States or other locations where our service providers operate, subject to applicable law. If you access the service from another country, privacy laws in the processing locations may differ from those where you live.
11. Updates to this policy
We may update this policy as our services, vendors, or legal obligations change. We will post the revised policy here and change the effective date. If required by law, we will provide additional notice or seek consent for a material change. Reviewing this page periodically is the best way to stay informed.
12. Contact us
For privacy questions, requests, or complaints, contact:
The Protocol Network LLC
Texas, United States
support@theprotocolnetwork.com