Introduction
This Privacy Policy describes how the Creekside Shores Homeowners Association (“the Association,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) collects, uses, stores, and protects personal information submitted through the Creekside Shores HOA Portal, accessible at https://creeksideshores.com (the “Portal”). The Portal is a private, invitation-only web application operated exclusively for the benefit of members of the Creekside Shores residential community located in Michigan.
By accepting an invitation to the Portal and creating an account, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and consent to the data practices described herein. Your acceptance timestamp is recorded at the time of account setup. This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. If you do not agree to the terms of this Policy, you should not use the Portal.
1. Information We Collect
Account and Identity Information. When the Association invites you to create an account, we collect your full name, email address, and, if you choose to provide it, your phone number. We also record your role within the community (homeowner or resident non-owner), your lot number and associated property address, and the credentials you establish to authenticate your account. Passwords are stored exclusively as bcrypt-hashed values; plaintext passwords are never recorded or transmitted by the Association.
Authentication and Session Information. The Portal uses Better Auth, a server-side authentication framework, to manage sessions securely. In connection with this service, we collect IP addresses, device and browser information derived from session tokens, and, where you elect to enable additional security features, two-factor authentication secrets and passkey credentials. This information is used solely to verify your identity and protect your account from unauthorized access.
Media and Profile Content. You may optionally upload an avatar photograph and a family photograph to personalize your Portal profile. These images are stored in Cloudflare R2 object storage and are accessible only to authenticated Portal users.
Payment Information. HOA assessment payments are processed through Stripe, Inc. (“Stripe”), a third-party payment processor. We collect and retain your payment history, your Stripe Customer ID, Subscription ID, and Invoice identifiers for the purpose of maintaining accurate assessment records. Card numbers, expiration dates, and security codes are entered directly into Stripe’s payment interface and are never seen, transmitted to, or stored by the Association.
Bank Connection Information. For treasury reconciliation purposes, the Association may utilize Stripe Financial Connections to facilitate bank account verification. Through this feature, only the bank account name and financial institution name are made available to the Association’s designated treasurer. The Association does not collect, store, or access any other member bank account data through this mechanism.
Community Activity Data. In the ordinary course of using the Portal, we collect records of messages you send to the board and any replies, as well as inter-board communications among board members. We record election votes and proxy assignments, event RSVPs, garage sale participation, and, if you are a homeowner who chooses to list your property, the details of that listing. Violation notices associated with your lot, created by the board in accordance with community rules, are linked to your account and visible to you. Records of documents you access through the Portal may also be retained.
Email Engagement Data. The Association delivers community-wide email communications through SendGrid, LLC (“SendGrid”). SendGrid’s webhook infrastructure provides us with delivery status information, including whether a message was delivered, opened, clicked, or bounced. This information is used solely to assess the effectiveness of HOA communications and to maintain accurate contact records.
2. How We Use Your Information
The Association uses the information described above exclusively to operate, maintain, and improve the Portal and to fulfill its obligations as the governing body of the Creekside Shores community. Specific uses include: authenticating members and maintaining account security; processing and tracking HOA assessment payments; communicating Association news, notices, and meeting information; administering elections, proxies, and community events; maintaining records of lot-level activity, including violations, in accordance with the community’s governing documents; and evaluating the reach and effectiveness of official communications.
We do not use your information for advertising purposes, and we do not sell, rent, lease, or otherwise transfer your personal information to any third party for commercial gain.
3. How We Share Your Information
We share your personal information only to the limited extent necessary to operate the Portal. Your data may be disclosed to the following categories of service providers, each of which processes your information solely on our behalf and subject to appropriate data protection obligations:
Stripe, Inc. receives payment-related information as described above in connection with assessment processing and bank verification. SendGrid, LLC receives your email address and name for the purpose of delivering official HOA communications. Cloudflare, Inc. hosts the Portal infrastructure, including Cloudflare Workers (compute), Cloudflare D1 (database), and Cloudflare R2 (file storage), and processes data incidental to providing these services, including IP addresses and request metadata.
No personal information is disclosed to any other third party except as required by applicable law, valid legal process, or court order, or as necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Association, its members, or the public.
4. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as you remain an active member of the Creekside Shores community and an authorized user of the Portal. Upon the termination of your membership — whether by sale of your property, voluntary resignation, or other departure from the community — your account will be deactivated and your personal information will be deleted or anonymized within a reasonable period, except where retention is required to satisfy legal, accounting, or governance obligations. If you request deletion of your information prior to the natural conclusion of your membership, we will honor that request subject to any such legal or operational retention requirements.
5. Your Rights and Choices
You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, to request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete data, and to request deletion of your account and associated records. To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Association board at board@creeksideshores.com. We will respond to all requests within a reasonable time, typically within thirty (30) days. Because the Portal is available only to invited community members and does not engage in commercial data processing, formal GDPR or CCPA frameworks do not apply; however, the Association is committed to honoring reasonable member privacy requests in good faith and consistent with the spirit of those frameworks.
6. Data Security
The Association implements technical and organizational measures reasonably designed to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include bcrypt password hashing, server-side session management, HTTPS encryption in transit, and access controls that limit data visibility based on member role. No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and the Association cannot guarantee absolute security; however, we are committed to protecting your data using industry-standard practices appropriate to a community of this size and nature.
7. Children’s Privacy
The Portal is intended exclusively for adults aged eighteen (18) and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe that a minor has submitted personal information through the Portal, please contact us at board@creeksideshores.com so that we may take appropriate action.
8. Changes to This Policy
The Association reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make material changes, we will notify active members through the Portal or via email and will update the Effective Date appearing at the top of this document. Your continued use of the Portal following notice of a material change constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy.
9. Contact Information
Questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy should be directed to the Creekside Shores HOA Board of Directors at board@creeksideshores.com. You may also send written correspondence to the Association’s designated mailing address on file with the community.
This Privacy Policy is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions.