Information You Send Directly
Information typed into a search box, such as a name, phone number, or address, is sent to the third-party provider that supplies the sponsored results. Merced Residents Directory does not keep a copy of those search terms on its own servers. If you contact the operators, the mailbox receives the details included in your message and uses them to respond.
Routine Technical Logs
The hosting service may record ordinary server information, including IP address, browser type, pages requested, and timestamps. That data can be reviewed in aggregate to maintain the service, identify broken pages, and understand general readership. Cookies or similar tools may support basic analytics and, where used, advertising measurement.
How We Use It
Technical data is used to operate the pages, troubleshoot problems, measure traffic in aggregate, and improve the reference. We do not sell a visitor list or build a profile intended to identify individual readers. A message sent to the operators is used for the response and routine administration of the mailbox.
External Search and Record Links
Links lead to Merced County portals, California services, courts, libraries, archives, and third-party search tools. Once a link is followed, that provider's privacy policy and terms apply to anything submitted there. The sponsored search results are supplied by a third party, not by the county or by Merced Residents Directory.
Who May Process Technical Data
Hosting and technical service providers may handle server logs while supporting the pages. Analytics or advertising partners may receive the automatic information described above where those tools are enabled. Information may also be disclosed when a valid legal process requires it. It is not otherwise disclosed as a visitor list.
Security and Retention
The pages are served over an encrypted connection. Logs are retained only for the operational purposes described in this policy and for as long as those purposes require. Because there are no user accounts here, Merced Residents Directory does not create a password, account profile, or stored search history for a reader.
Visitors Under 18
The reference is intended for adults and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 through a deliberate account process. If a parent or guardian believes a minor sent information to the contact mailbox, use the Contact Us page so the message can be reviewed and deleted when appropriate.
Your California Privacy Choices
Depending on the applicable law, a person may have rights to know, correct, or delete personal information that a business keeps. California's Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act, including Civil Code section 1798.100 et seq., provide rights and exceptions for qualifying consumers. Because Merced Residents Directory keeps very little, a request normally involves checking the contact mailbox and relevant technical logs, then removing information that is within the operators' control. Use the Contact Us page to ask.
California, Merced County, city, and court custodians hold the public records described by the reference. Publicly available government-record information may be exempt or governed by a different rule. A deletion request to this service or to a data broker cannot erase a deed, assessment entry, court file, or vital record. The California Attorney General's privacy guidance explains the state framework, and the 2026 DROP platform provides a separate route for registered data-broker requests.
Changes to This Policy
A revised version will be posted here when the practices or legal descriptions change. Continued use after a revision means that the updated policy governs future use of the service.