Privacy policy

Effective Date: May 30, 2026

Purpose

The purpose of the AskCA Privacy Policy for the Office of Data and Innovation (ODI) is to explain how ODI collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards information when interacting with our services. ODI is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency about how your personal data is handled through our “consumer first” approach.

Authority

This policy complies with the following:

All other applicable laws related to privacy

ODI limits the collection of personal information. We safeguard the privacy of personal information we collect or maintain. This privacy policy only applies to ODI. We may change our privacy policy. When changes are made, we will promptly post those changes and implement them 30 days from that posting date.

If you have any questions about using AskCA, please see our conditions of use.

Scope and Applicability

The scope of this policy extends to all Californians.

Policy Directives

Personal information

ODI collects personal information that identifies or describes a person. It includes, but is not limited to:

Name
Social Security number
Physical description
Home address
Home telephone number
Education
Financial matters
Medical history
Employment history
Password
Email address
Information that reveals any network location or identity

Why use the AskCA Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assistant

The AI Assistant, powered by Anthropic, is an all-in-one resource platform designed to help Californians quickly find government services without navigating multiple websites.

Important: Please do not provide personal or sensitive information unless it is specifically requested by our services. This includes social security numbers or private health information. Sharing such information when it is not required may put your privacy at risk.

How ODI collects and uses your information

What we collect with the AskCA AI Assistant

Your Conversation: We save information you provide to the AI Assistant to record previous responses during your chat.
Basic Information: If you provide your zip code, we may use it to assist in locating local services near you. Providing this information and using ODI services is voluntary. Choosing not to use our services will not affect your ability to use other website features.

If we collect personal information from you for reasons other than communication, you will be informed before we collect it and:

How we may use it
What we may use it for
Our authority to collect it
How we protect your information
If your information will be shared with anyone else
Your rights to access, review, and correct your personal information

Your personal information will only be used for the purpose you provided it for. The use of your personal information and data will be limited to and consistent with the purpose provided at collection. ODI will not share or sell electronically collected personal information about you to a third party without your written consent. We may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as provided by law. If we do, all relevant legal protections still apply to your information. You have the right to have your personal information corrected or deleted, without reuse or distribution. Contact our Privacy Officer to have your personal information deleted.

How ODI protects your information

ODI has taken steps to safeguard the integrity of our website infrastructure for our visitors’ safety. This includes, but is not limited to:

Limiting our data collection
Monitoring for resource availability and security risks, including unauthorized attempts to upload or change information
Auditing for security vulnerabilities and site performance and optimization
Encryption
Integrating security measures

With respect to AskCA specifically, we take the following measures:

Your data is securely stored in United States data centers and protected by a legal contract with Anthropic that complies with strict California state rules. Anthropic collects and stores your data but can’t sell or use your information for advertising.
Privacy Scrubbing: We use automated tools to remove personal details (including names or social security numbers) before saving them for long-term review.

Confidential information

We make every attempt not to collect confidential information. However, some information you provide may be considered confidential. Confidential information is information that is protected from disclosure by law.

Confidential information includes, but is not limited to:

Social Security numbers
Medical information
Financial or employment data

Confidential information is protected. It will only be disclosed as part of a legal process or as required by law.

What we automatically collect

When you browse our website, including downloading information, we automatically collect and store:

The type of browser and operating system you use
The date and time you visit the website
The web pages or services you access on our site
The link you used to reach our website (if you came from another website)
Information about files you download from our website

We use this information to understand how Californians use our services. This information does not identify you personally. It is only used to improve our services and the website user experience. You can block the collection of some of this information through browsers and plugins.

Tracking

ODI only tracks your activity when it improves your service experience. We may do this through cookies or local session storage. These methods do not collect personal information or compromise your privacy or security. We periodically audit the ways we track visitors and delete unnecessary trackers.

Analytics services

ODI uses outside analytics services to help improve our websites and AskCA. These tools to track and measure activity on our website. We only use analytics services that remove identifying details from your information. Our analytics do not store information identifying you or your device. Our outside analytics services may track you. You can block them from tracking you through privacy-focused browser extensions or plugins. This will not impact your ability to use this website.

Surveys

If you take a survey on the ODI website, we will collect information from your responses. This can include text, audio, video, and images you choose to upload.

Public disclosure

Laws in California ensure that the government is open and the public can access appropriate state records and information. State and federal laws provide exceptions to the public’s right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals.

All information we collect through this website is public record. It may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists. Electronically collected personal information and most sensitive personal information is exempt from requests made under the Public Records Act.

If there is a conflict between this policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act, or other law governing the disclosure of records, the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act, or other applicable law will control.

Privacy contact

If you have questions about our privacy policy, contact our Chief Privacy Officer.

Office of Data and Innovation
Attn: Chief Privacy Officer
401 I Street, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: privacy@innovation.ca.gov
Phone: 916-234-3480

Revision

ODI reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this Privacy Policy as necessary to align with new state regulations or guidance. This policy shall be reviewed annually and must be posted on ODI’s website and all ODI physical locations. ODI personnel and the public shall be notified of any revision, amendment or modification via ODI’s intranet and website at Office of Data and Innovation privacy policy.