Privacy Policy

Boots to Benefits is a veteran-owned website that provides free, plain-English education about VA disability claims, along with optional tools. We are not the VA and are not affiliated with the VA. This policy explains what information we collect, why, and what we do and do not do with it.

What we collect

• Your email address, if you join our newsletter or create a Copilot membership. That is the only personal detail we ask you for directly.
• What you put into the tools. If you use the free decoder or the VA Claims Copilot, you provide your VA letter (pasted text or an uploaded PDF), your questions, and any case details you choose to enter. This is covered in its own section below because it matters most.
• Messages you send us. If you use the contact form or email us, we receive your name, email address, and message so we can reply.
• Payment information, only if you subscribe to the paid Copilot. Payments are handled by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number.
• Basic technical data. Like almost every website, our host records standard server information such as your IP address and browser type to keep the site secure and working. We do not use this to build an advertising profile of you.

Your VA letter and case details

This is the part veterans care about most, so we are specific.

• The free decoder. When you paste or upload your letter, it is sent to Google's AI to write the plain-English explanation, which comes back to you. We do not save the letter on our servers, and we do not keep a copy after your explanation is generated.
• The VA Claims Copilot. To remember your case between visits, the Copilot stores your case details, conversation, documents, symptom log, and timeline in your own web browser, on your own device, using local storage. When you ask a question, your question, the recent conversation, and the case details you saved are sent to Google's AI to write the answer. We do not save them on our servers. You can erase what is on your device any time by clearing your browser data for this site.
• AI processing. Both tools use Google's paid Gemini API. Under Google's terms for paid services, Google does not use what you send to improve its products. Google keeps it for a limited period solely to detect abuse and meet legal requirements. Do not include anything you are not comfortable sharing for that purpose, and you never need your full Social Security number or VA file number to use the tools.

What we keep on our servers

Very little, and none of it is your letter or your case.

• Membership records. If you subscribe, we keep your email address, whether your membership is active, and which subscription and browser it belongs to, so your access works on any device. Stripe keeps the payment record.
• Free question counts. To limit free Copilot questions to a few a day, we count questions against a random ID your browser creates and a scrambled (one-way hashed) version of your network address. We never store the address itself, and the counts delete themselves after two days.
• Manage and unlock links. When you ask to manage your membership or unlock it on a device, we store a one-time link that expires after one hour.
• Device keys. Opening an unlock link, or finishing checkout, gives that browser a random key tied to your membership email, so you don't have to sign in again. A key stops working the moment your membership ends, and keys expire on their own after about 13 months.

How we use what we collect

• To send you the newsletter or resources you asked for.
• To provide and remember your Copilot membership, and to process your payment if you subscribe.
• To generate the explanations and documents the tools produce for you.
• To keep the site secure, fix problems, and understand which guides are useful so we can improve them.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We do not share it with advertisers.

The services that help us run the site

We use a small number of trusted providers, each for a single job. When you use a feature that involves one of them, your information is shared with that provider only to do that job:

• Cloudflare hosts the website and its tools, and counts visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, which sets no cookies.
• Kit (formerly ConvertKit) manages our email newsletter.
• Stripe processes membership payments.
• Google provides the AI that powers the decoder and Copilot.
• Resend sends account emails (your membership details, manage links, renewal reminders, and confirmations) and delivers contact-form messages to our inbox.
• Google Fonts serves the site's typefaces, so Google receives your IP address and browser details when a page loads.

Each of these companies has its own privacy practices. We do not control them, and we encourage you to read their policies if you want the full picture.

Cookies and local storage

We do not set advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. To count visits we use Cloudflare Web Analytics, which sets no cookies, does not follow you across sites, and reports things like which page was viewed, the referring site, and browser type in aggregate. What we store on your device is local storage: the Copilot's saved case, conversation, documents, symptom log and timeline, the random browser ID used for free question counts, a random device key that keeps your membership unlocked on that browser, and any deadlines you save in the deadline calendar. You can clear all of it through your browser settings at any time.

How long we keep your information

• Newsletter email: until you unsubscribe, which you can do from the link in any email.
• Membership email and status: while your membership is active, and for a reasonable period afterward to handle billing and support. Payment records are kept as long as tax and accounting rules require.
• Free question counts: two days. Manage and unlock links: one hour. Device keys: up to about 13 months.
• Messages you send us: in our inbox for as long as needed to help you. Ask and we will delete them.
• Your letter, questions, and case details: not retained on our servers, as described above.

Your choices and rights

You are in control of your information. You can:

• Unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time.
• Clear the Copilot's stored data by clearing your browser data for this site.
• Cancel your membership anytime at bootstobenefits.com/manage.
• Ask us what information we hold about you, or ask us to delete it, by emailing [email protected]. Depending on where you live, you may have specific legal rights to access or delete your data, and we will honor reasonable requests.

Do Not Track. Because we do not track you across sites, browser Do Not Track signals do not change anything here.

Children

This site is meant for adults dealing with VA claims. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16.

Security

We use reasonable measures to protect your information, including serving the entire site over an encrypted connection. No website can promise perfect security, but we work to keep what you share safe and to collect as little as possible in the first place.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle your information, we will update this page and the date at the top. If a change affects how we use the email address on your membership, we will email you before it takes effect.

Contact us

Questions about your privacy, or a request about your data, can go to [email protected] or through our contact page. We read every message.

This policy is written in plain language and reflects how the site actually works today.