Your information

Privacy at CIPA

This page explains how information is handled by the CIPA website.

Member profiles

CIPA stores your account email and name to provide member access. When email sign-in is enabled, passwords are stored as secure hashes, and session cookies keep you signed in. We send verification and password reset emails through our email provider. While ChatGPT sign-in is available, CIPA receives your account identifier, email and available name; we never receive your ChatGPT password.

When you join, we save the name, shop, California city and optional business website you provide. These details support your membership and community participation. Your email address is not displayed on the public board.

Email updates

You can choose to receive CIPA news, vendor offers and trade opportunities when completing or editing your profile. This is optional and is not selected by default. CIPA administrators can view the member directory and export opted-in email addresses for these updates. You can unsubscribe at any time by clearing the email updates checkbox in your profile. Account verification and password reset messages are separate from marketing updates.

Public discussions

Posts and replies are public, along with your display name, shop, city and posting date. Anyone may read or copy them. Avoid customer names, pawn ticket details, financial records and other private information.

Inquiries and site operations

Contact and vendor inquiries are stored for the CIPA team to review. We use the contact details you provide to address your inquiry. The site uses a daily hashed network identifier to limit repeated contact submissions. Website hosting and sign-in providers may process technical information needed to operate their services.

Your choices

You can edit your member profile and remove your own posts and replies. To request account or inquiry deletion, or ask about your information, use the contact form. Deleting content from CIPA cannot remove copies held by others.