The short version
We ask first
We ask for your consent before we use health information for a case, separately from the terms.
Never sold, never used for ads
We do not sell your information or share it for advertising.
No ad trackers
No third-party pixels or ad trackers on any page that sees your health information.
Deleted on a timer
Case files are deleted 30 days after the case closes, or at once when you delete the case or your account. An unpaid case: 30 days after your last change to it. Unsaved decoder uploads: 24 hours.
Delete any time
Delete a decoder result, or turn off its reminders, right away with the link you have.
The same rights for everyone
We give every user, in every state, the consent and deletion rights of Washington's My Health My Data Act.
1. Who this covers
This policy covers the AppealHaven website and app. The company responsible for your information is [company legal name and address: legal review], called "we" or "us" here.
2. What we collect
Account information
Your email address, and your settings, such as your reminder and email choices. You sign in with a 6-digit code we email you; there is no password. Signing in sets one cookie that keeps you signed in on that device. It lasts 30 days, and each time you use the site it moves to 30 days from then, so it ends after 30 days without use, or when you sign out. The free decoder needs no account: if you ask it for reminders, it keeps only your email address and your deadline dates, encrypted.
Health information you give us
The documents you upload, such as denial letters, EOBs (Explanations of Benefits), itemized bills and plan documents. Also what we read from them: your plan, member ID, claim numbers, dates of service, providers, services, reason codes and amounts. And what you type or edit, such as changes to a letter.
Payment information
Stripe, our payment processor, collects your card details directly. We receive a confirmation, the amount and the date. We do not store your card number.
Technical information
Your device and browser type, IP address and error logs, which we need to run and protect the service.
Analytics, only if you allow it
On our information pages (home, how it works, pricing, questions and the legal pages) we ask before we count anything. If you choose Allow, PostHog, an analytics service on its EU Cloud, records which pages you visit, clicks on links and buttons, errors and page speed. It also records about 1 in 10 visits as a replay of the page, with every form field hidden. If you choose No thanks, or choose nothing, it does not load at all. It never runs on the decoder, your result, the sign-in pages, your account and case pages, or the Delete my data page, so it never sees your letter or your case.
3. How we use it
We use your information only to:
- explain your letter and prepare your case and documents
- work out your deadlines and send the reminders you asked for
- take your payment
- keep the service working and secure, and fix errors
- meet our legal obligations
We do not use your health information for advertising. We do not use your documents to train AI models. [confirm against vendor contracts]
4. Consent for health information
Washington state's My Health My Data Act requires opt-in consent before collecting consumer health data, a separate consent before sharing it, and a right to have it deleted. Nevada and Connecticut have similar laws. We apply this standard to everyone who uses AppealHaven, wherever you live.
In practice:
- We ask for your consent before we read your documents for a case, separately from the terms. The decoder asks before it reads your letter.
- We share your health information only with the service providers in section 6, who process it for us and for no other purpose. If we ever wanted to share it for any other reason, we would ask you first, separately.
- You can withdraw consent at any time by deleting your data on the Delete my data page, or by emailing us. We then stop using your health information and delete it.
Sources: RCW 19.373.030; Washington Attorney General; Hunton, on Nevada and Connecticut
5. What we never do
- Sell your information, health or otherwise.
- Share it for advertising, or use it to target ads to you.
- Put third-party pixels or ad trackers on any page that sees your health information.
Under the FTC Health Breach Notification Rule, if a health app discloses health information without permission, including through an ad pixel, that counts as a breach. We build our pages so that the ones that see your health information load no third-party trackers at all.
Source: FTC, Health Breach Notification Rule
6. Who we share it with
We use a small number of service providers. They process your information only to do their job for us, under contracts that limit what they can do with it.
| Provider | What they do | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Document reading (OCR) [vendor] | Reads the text in your uploads | Zero retention: keeps no copy after processing [confirm in contract] |
| AI language model [vendor] | Explains your letter and drafts text | Zero retention: keeps no copy after processing [confirm in contract] |
| Payment processor: Stripe | Takes your payment | Gets your card details and email, not your documents |
| Email delivery [vendor] | Sends sign-in codes and reminders | Gets your email address and the email text [confirm] |
| Analytics: PostHog (EU Cloud) | Counts visits, clicks and errors on our information pages, only if you allow it | Never on pages that see your health information. Form fields are hidden in replays |
| Hosting and storage [vendor] | Stores your account and files | Encrypted storage [confirm] |
We may also disclose information when the law requires it, such as under a valid court order. [legal review: legal requests, and what happens if the company is sold]
7. How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| A decoder upload, what we read from it, and the result | 24 hours after you upload it, or sooner if you delete it. A file we cannot read is deleted as soon as we know. |
| Decoder reminders (your email address and deadline dates) | Until your deadline passes, then deleted. They stay after the 24-hour result is deleted, because you asked for them. Turn them off any time with the turn-off link we give you, which deletes them. Deleting your account also deletes every decoder reminder sent to its email address. |
| Proof of deletion | A record that something was deleted, and when, with nothing in it that points back to you |
| Files in a case | Deleted 30 days after the case closes, or at once when you delete a file, the case or your account |
| A case you have not paid for, and its files | Deleted 30 days after your last change to it, such as an upload, an edit or a choice. Any change starts the 30 days again. |
| Your sign-in on a device (the session cookie) | 30 days after you last use the site on that device; each use moves it 30 days on. Signing out ends it at once. |
| Your account (email and settings) | Until you delete your account on your Account page. That deletes every case and file in it, and any decoder reminders sent to the same email address, and signs you out everywhere, at once. |
| Payment records | As long as tax and accounting law requires [legal review] |
| Database restore history | Our database keeps a restore history for up to 30 days, so a deleted record can stay there, still encrypted, for up to 30 days. We use it only to recover from an outage, and delete again anything that had already been deleted. |
| Technical logs | Up to 7 days. They record what happened, such as "file deleted", never what your documents say. |
8. Your rights and choices
- See and download the information we hold about you.
- Correct anything that is wrong.
- Delete your decoder result and reminders, at any time, on the Delete my data page. In a case, remove any file on its Documents step or its overview. Delete a whole case on My cases or its overview, or your account and everything in it, with any decoder reminders sent to its email address, on the Account page.
- Withdraw your consent to our use of your health information, at any time.
- Limit the use of sensitive information. California's privacy law treats health information as sensitive and lets you limit its use. We already limit it for everyone: we use it only to provide the service you asked for.
- Choose your email. Marketing email is off unless you turn it on.
- Choose about analytics. It is off unless you allow it, and you can change your mind at any time.
We do not sell or share your information for advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of. We will not treat you differently for using any of these rights.
To use a right, use the Delete my data page, or email contact@optimumtechfusion.com. We will reply within [legal review: response time required by state law].
Source: California Civil Code 1798.121
9. HIPAA, and what we do instead
HIPAA is the federal law that protects health information held by health plans, most doctors and hospitals, and the companies that work for them, called business associates. A tool you choose to use yourself is usually none of those. So HIPAA usually does not apply to AppealHaven.
That is why we never describe AppealHaven as covered by HIPAA. It would suggest a protection the law may not give you. What does apply to us, and what we do:
- The FTC Health Breach Notification Rule, which has covered health apps outside HIPAA since July 29, 2024.
- State health-data laws, such as Washington's My Health My Data Act, whose standard we apply to everyone.
- California's rules for sensitive personal information.
- Our own rules: consent first, no ad trackers, vendors that keep no copy [confirm in contract], and deletion on a timer.
Your plan and your doctors still follow HIPAA for the records they keep.
Source: HHS, covered entities and business associates
10. Security and breaches
We protect your information with [engineering review: encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, staff access]. No system is perfectly secure.
If your health information is accessed or disclosed without your permission, we will tell you, and report it, as the FTC Health Breach Notification Rule and state laws require.
11. Children
AppealHaven accounts are for adults. If you upload documents about a child's care as their parent or guardian, you confirm you have the right to do so. [legal review]
12. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. Before any change in how we use health information, we will ask for your consent again. [legal review]
13. Contact
Privacy questions or requests: contact@optimumtechfusion.com. By mail: [company postal address].
[legal review: whether Washington, Nevada and Connecticut law need a separate consumer health data privacy policy linked from the home page]