Your Privacy Matters

Privacy Policy

We're a student-run hackathon that takes your privacy seriously. Here's the straightforward story of how we handle your data.

TL;DR

We collect minimal info (name, email, school) to run the event smoothly. We use trusted services that hackathons everywhere use—Google Forms for registration and Devpost for submissions. Your personal data gets deleted within 90 days after the event. That's it!

What Information We Collect

To make SouthwestMN Hacks awesome, we collect some basic info when you register:

  • Your name and email – So we can communicate with you about the event
  • School or institution – Just for our records and statistics
  • Grade level or student status – Helps us tailor the experience
  • Dietary restrictions – Because we want everyone to enjoy the food!
  • Project submissions – What you build during the hackathon (submitted through Devpost)

That's really it. We're not interested in tracking you or collecting unnecessary data. We just need the basics to put on a great event.

How We Use Your Information

Here's what we do with the info you share (spoiler: nothing shady):

  • Send you event updates – Important announcements, schedule changes, and helpful reminders
  • Check you in at the event – So we know you made it and can give you your swag
  • Order the right food – Using your dietary restrictions to make sure everyone can eat
  • Run judging and awards – To recognize your awesome projects
  • Improve future events – Anonymous feedback helps us make next year even better

We won't sell your data, spam you with marketing emails, or do anything else that would make us bad event organizers. Promise.

Third-Party Services

We use some trusted third-party services to help run the event. These are the same tools that hackathons everywhere use:

  • Google Forms – We collect registrations through Google Forms. Check out Google's Privacy Policy to learn how they handle data.
  • Devpost – Project submissions and judging happen on Devpost. See Devpost's Privacy Policy for their data practices.
  • Email service – We use a standard email service to send you event updates and important information.

These services have their own privacy policies. We chose them because they're reliable and respected in the hackathon community.

Data Retention

We only keep your data as long as we need it to run the event and handle any follow-up:

  • Registration data (name, email, school, etc.) is deleted within 90 days after the event ends
  • Project submissions may remain on Devpost according to their terms of service (it's your work, after all!)
  • Anonymous statistics (like "30% of participants were first-time hackers") might be kept longer to help us improve future events

Once we delete your data, it's gone for good. We don't keep backups of personal information beyond what's necessary for event operations.

Your Rights

It's your data, and you're in control. Here's what you can do:

  • Request to see your data – Want to know what we have on file? Just ask.
  • Request deletion – Changed your mind about attending? We'll delete your info before the auto-deletion period.
  • Opt out of communications – Every email we send has an unsubscribe link. No hard feelings.

Seriously, just reach out. We're students too, and we get it. Your data, your choice.

Questions About Your Privacy?

If you have any questions about how we handle your data, or if you want to exercise any of your rights, we're here to help:

Email: privacy@southwestmnhacks.org

We'll get back to you as quickly as we can (usually within a few days). No question is too small!

Updates to This Policy

We might update this privacy policy from time to time as we improve the event or if regulations change. If we make any major changes, we'll let you know via email.

Last updated: January 13, 2026

You can always check this page for the most current version of our privacy policy.

This is a student-run event organized by passionate students in southwestern Minnesota. We take your privacy seriously, but we also keep things simple and straightforward. If something in this policy doesn't make sense, please reach out—we're happy to explain in plain English!