Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 1, 2026

California Interagency Search & Rescue (“CAISAR,” “we,” “us”) is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, 501(c)(3). This policy explains what information we collect through caisar.org, the CAISAR Live Map (map.caisar.org) and the CAISAR Team App, including the text messages the Team App sends to search & rescue team members, and how we use and protect it.

Text Messages (SMS)

SMS Summary

Consent: by turning on text alerts, a team member consents to receive automated text messages from CAISAR and their search & rescue team.
No sharing for marketing: your mobile number and other personal information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.
Message frequency varies with callouts and team activity — recurring messages, typically a few per month and more during an active search.
Opt out: reply STOP (or CANCEL, END, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE, STOPALL) to any message to stop receiving texts.
Help: reply HELP for more information, or contact info@caisar.org or (888) SAR-2370.
Message and data rates may apply.

Who Receives Texts

The CAISAR Team App sends text messages only to members of search & rescue teams that use the app (currently Santa Clarita Valley Search & Rescue), and only to members who opt in. Accounts are created by each team’s administrators. We never text the public, never send marketing or promotional messages, and nobody can sign up for texts from outside a team.

Texts come either from CAISAR’s own toll-free number, (888) SAR-2370, as CAISAR Team Alerts (each message starts with “CAISAR Team Alerts” and names the team), or from a number a team registered in its own name (each message starts with the team’s name). The full terms for CAISAR Team Alerts are on the Text Message Terms page.

How Members Opt In

Texts are off until a member turns them on. Signed in to the Team App, the member goes to Settings → Notifications and turns on Text for the kinds of alerts they want. This consent statement is shown directly below the switches, with the mobile number on their profile:

By turning on Text for any type, you agree to receive automated team alert texts from [team name, or CAISAR Team Alerts for your team] at [your mobile number]. Texts are for team members only and are optional — the same alerts come through the app and email. Message frequency varies with callouts and team activity. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help or STOP to cancel at any time.

The date and time a member opts in is recorded. They then receive one confirmation text. Opting in is never a condition of membership: the same alerts are also delivered through the app and by email.

What We Send

Callout (emergency activation) alerts and updates for the member’s team.
Dispatch pages heard on the radio that the member chose to be alerted for.
Team notices the member chose to receive by text, such as announcements and schedule changes.
The one-time confirmation when texts are turned on, and replies to HELP and STOP.

Every message starts with the sender’s name. Examples:

SCVSAR: CALLOUT – Search for missing hiker, Placerita Canyon. Respond in the team app.

SCVSAR: Team alerts are on for this phone. Message frequency varies with callouts and team activity. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.

CAISAR Team Alerts: SCVSAR CALLOUT – Search for missing hiker, Placerita Canyon. Respond in the Team App. Reply STOP to opt out.

Message Frequency

Message frequency varies. Texts are recurring and depend on callouts and team activity: usually a few messages a month, and more during an active search or disaster.

Cost

We do not charge for text messages. Message and data rates may apply, depending on your mobile carrier and plan.

Opting Out and Getting Help

Reply STOP to any message to stop all texts right away. CANCEL, END, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE and STOPALL also work. You will receive one confirmation that you have been unsubscribed, and no further texts.
You can also turn Text off at any time in the Team App under Settings → Notifications.
To receive texts again, reply START and turn Text back on in Settings.
Reply HELP for more information, or contact us at info@caisar.org or (888) SAR-2370.

Your Mobile Information

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All the categories of sharing described elsewhere in this policy exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

Mobile numbers and opt-in records are used only to deliver the team alerts members asked for. They are processed by our messaging providers (Phone.com and Twilio) solely to send those messages, and by the mobile carriers that deliver them. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

This Website

caisar.org does not have accounts or forms. We use Google Analytics to understand how many people visit and which pages they use. Google Analytics uses cookies and collects information such as pages viewed, approximate location, device and browser type. It does not tell us who you are. You can block it with your browser’s privacy settings or the Google Analytics opt-out add-on.

If you email or call us, we use your message and contact details only to respond to you.

The Live Map

The CAISAR Live Map at map.caisar.org can be used without an account. To keep the free data sources from being overloaded, the server briefly records the network address of visitors who run searches or place lookups so it can limit how many requests each visitor makes. Places you search for are sent to the mapping and geocoding services that answer the search. Accounts are only for CAISAR and team staff who manage the map.

The Team App

The CAISAR Team App (web, iPhone and Android) is a private tool for search & rescue team members. It is not open to the public. To run the team, it stores information such as member names, contact details, emergency contacts, training hours and certifications, team messages and photos, callout records, and patient care records created during missions. Location is shared only when a member chooses to share it, for example while responding to a callout. Each team’s app has its own privacy policy, available to members inside the app, that explains this in detail.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for marketing. We share information only:

With service providers that run our services for us — for example web hosting, email delivery, text message delivery (Phone.com and Twilio), push notifications (Apple and Google), maps, and analytics (Google) — and only for that purpose.
Within a search & rescue team, and with the public agencies the team works under during missions, as needed to carry out search and rescue operations.
When required by law, or to protect someone’s life or safety.

Text messaging opt-in data and consent are never shared with any third party, as described in Text Messages.

Security and Retention

Our sites use encrypted (HTTPS) connections, and access to team information is limited to signed-in members according to their role. We keep information only as long as needed for the purposes above, or as required by the teams and agencies we work with. Opt-in and opt-out records for text messages are kept as proof of consent for as long as texts may be sent, and for a reasonable period afterward.

Your Choices and Rights

Turn text messages off at any time by replying STOP, or in the Team App’s Settings.
Ask us what personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it, by contacting us below. California residents have these rights under California law.
Our services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information.

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it last changed.

Contact Us

California Interagency Search & Rescue
Email: info@caisar.org
Phone: (888) SAR-2370