Our Commitment to Privacy

UnclaimedCremains.org is a free public service operated by Disposition with Dignity. We take privacy seriously and are committed to protecting the personal information of the families who search our registry and the decedents whose records we hold.

What We Collect

Public Visitors (Searching)

• Search terms — We log search queries anonymously to improve our search results. We store a hashed (non-reversible) version of your IP address for rate-limiting purposes only.
• Analytics data — If you accept cookies, we use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our site (pages visited, time on site, general location). IP addresses are anonymized.

Match Requests

• When you submit a match request, we collect your name, email, phone (optional), relationship to the decedent, and any identifying information you provide.
• This information is shared only with our administrators and the funeral home holding the remains.
• It is never displayed publicly.

Saved Searches

• If you save a search, we store your name, email, and search criteria.
• We will only email you if a potential match is found. These emails never contain the decedent's name, facility, or any identifying details.

Registered Accounts (Funeral Homes)

• We collect your name, email, phone, facility name, license number, and state.
• Passwords are stored using bcrypt encryption and are never stored in plain text.

What We Never Do

• We never sell or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.
• We never display full names, exact dates of birth/death, Social Security numbers, facility names, or facility contact information in public search results.
• We never include identifying details about decedents in saved search notification emails.

Cookies

We use a small number of cookies to operate this site:

Cookie	Purpose	Duration
PHPSESSID	Session management for logged-in users and form security (CSRF protection)	Browser session
uc_cookie_consent	Remembers your cookie preference so we don't ask again	30 days
_ga, _ga_*	Google Analytics — only loaded if you accept cookies. Tracks anonymous usage data with IP anonymization enabled.	Up to 2 years

You can change your cookie preference at any time by clearing your browser cookies for this site. The consent banner will reappear on your next visit.

Data Retention

• Search logs are retained for analytics and may be purged after 12 months.
• Match requests are retained until the case is resolved.
• Saved searches remain active until you contact us to deactivate them.
• Case records are never hard-deleted. Status changes (claimed, resolved, withdrawn) remove them from public search.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy or want to request deletion of your personal data, contact us at admin@unclaimedcremains.org.