Privacy Disclosure
The Conforming Credit Project
1. Overview
The Conforming Credit Project ("the Project") is an independent research initiative authored by Kirandeep Kaur and published by Eigenstate Research. This disclosure explains what information the Project collects from visitors, how that information is used, and the rights visitors have over their data. The Project is committed to handling personal information with the same rigor and transparency it applies to its research.
2. Information We Collect
The Project collects information in three categories:
Information you provide voluntarily. When you submit a story through the Share Your Story form, contact the researcher by email, or schedule a call through the linked Calendly platform, you provide information including your name, email address, location, business type, years of self-employment, and the narrative content of your story. You may also choose to provide optional demographic information including race or ethnicity, sex, and immigrant or first-generation status. You may indicate permissions for how your story may be used, and whether you are open to follow-up conversations or media engagement.
Automatically collected technical information. When you visit www.conformingcredit.org, the website's hosting platform (Squarespace) automatically logs standard technical data including IP address, browser type, device type, referring URL, pages visited, and time spent on each page. This information is collected through cookies and similar technologies used by the hosting platform.
Third-party platform information. When you access linked third-party services, including Calendly for scheduling, LinkedIn for newsletter subscriptions, or any external research database referenced in the thesis, those platforms collect information according to their own privacy policies, which are independent of this Project.
3. How We Use Your Information
The Project uses voluntarily submitted information for the following purposes:
Research. Stories shared through the Share Your Story form become part of the Project's research case file. Anonymized patterns derived from these stories may appear in research reports, briefs, policy submissions to federal agencies (including the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Congressional offices), academic publications, and press coverage.
Communication. Contact information is used to acknowledge receipt of your story, request clarification, ask for permission before any specific use of your story, and (only if you have indicated openness) discuss follow-up conversations or potential media engagement.
Permission handling. Your indicated permissions (anonymized data only, anonymous case story, or with name attached) are recorded with your submission and govern all subsequent use of your story. Your permissions can be changed or withdrawn at any time by emailing Kiran@wattsadvisor.com.
4. What We Do Not Do
The Project does not sell your personal information to third parties. The Project does not use your personal information for advertising or marketing. The Project does not share your personal information with the researcher's other professional affiliations (including Watts Advisor) without your explicit consent. The Project does not retain story submissions on the public-facing website; submitted stories are stored privately by the researcher.
5. Identifying Details and Anonymization
Identifying details from your story, including your name, specific lender names, exact property addresses, and exact dollar amounts, are never published publicly without your specific written consent for that particular use. When stories appear in research reports or press coverage, identifying details are removed or generalized (for example, "a Hispanic small business owner in Alameda County" rather than a specific name and address) unless you have explicitly consented to attribution.
6. Data Retention
Story submissions are retained as part of the Project's permanent research case file. The Project anticipates an active research horizon of five to ten years and may retain submissions for the full duration of that research. You may request deletion of your submission at any time by emailing Kiran@wattsadvisor.com, and your data will be removed from the active case file within thirty days. Note that any anonymized aggregate findings already published in research reports prior to your deletion request cannot be retracted from those publications.
7. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have specific rights regarding your personal information. California residents have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) including the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to delete personal information, the right to correct inaccurate personal information, and the right to opt out of any sale or sharing of personal information (the Project does not sell or share personal information). To exercise any of these rights, contact Kiran@wattsadvisor.com.
8. Security
The Project takes reasonable measures to protect submitted information, including secure hosting through Squarespace, restricted access to story submissions, and password-protected storage of research files. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is fully secure. The Project cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted to or from the website.
9. Third-Party Services
The website uses the following third-party services, each governed by its own privacy policy:
Squarespace hosts the website and provides analytics on visitor behavior. Calendly provides scheduling functionality for calls with the researcher. LinkedIn hosts the Money in Motion and Bitcoin and Digital Assets newsletters. Email correspondence is handled through Google Workspace (Gmail).
Visitors who access these services through links on this website become subject to the privacy policies of those services. The Project does not control the privacy practices of any third-party platform.
10. Children's Privacy
This Project is not directed at children under the age of 16. The Project does not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has submitted personal information to the Project, please contact Kiran@wattsadvisor.com and the information will be deleted promptly.
11. Researcher Affiliations and Conflicts of Interest
The author of this research, Kirandeep Kaur, holds active Series 7 and Series 66 securities licenses, an active NMLS mortgage license, and is a CFA Level I candidate. She is affiliated with Watts Advisor, a California-based financial services practice. She may, in the future, participate in private credit fund structures, ESOP transaction advisory, or other vehicles related to the subject matter of this research. All such current and future affiliations are disclosed on this page and in the cover material of the published thesis. The Conforming Credit Project research is independent of any client engagement, and no personal information submitted through this Project is used in connection with the author's licensed financial services activity.
12. Changes to This Disclosure
This privacy disclosure may be updated as the Project develops, regulations evolve, or third-party services change. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the most recent changes were made. Material changes will be communicated to anyone who has submitted a story and provided a current email address.
13. Contact
For any question about this privacy disclosure, to exercise any of the rights described in Section 7, to update or withdraw your permissions, or to request deletion of your information, contact:
Kirandeep Kaur Email: Kiran@wattsadvisor.com Cell: (510) 342-9621
This privacy disclosure is provided in good faith to inform visitors of the Project's data practices. It does not create any contractual obligation beyond the rights expressly granted by applicable law. The Project complies with applicable California and federal privacy regulations.