Effective Date: January 01, 2026
Content
Scope of this Privacy Policy and our Role
What Personal Information We Collect
Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
How We Use Personal Information
How We Share Personal Information
How We Store and Safeguard your Personal Information
What Rights and Choices you Have
Your Rights as a Californian Resident
Children’s Privacy
Updates to Privacy Policy
How to Contact Us
Scope of this Privacy Policy and our Role
irsfreshstart.info is operated by Safeway Tax Relief Inc. (“SafewayTax,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) which is a tax services and technology company. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and otherwise process information when you interact with our Services.
Our Services include, where applicable, our websites, social media pages, marketing activities, and other interactions described in this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy applies to all SafewayTax Services. In some cases, we may provide additional or supplemental privacy notices for specific products or services.
Who This Privacy Policy Applies To
This Privacy Policy applies to the following groups of individuals:
Website Visitors
Individuals who visit and browse our websites, including https://www.safewaytax.com/ and https://irsfreshstart.info/, https://irs-meta-app.org/, for informational or navigational purposes. As a website visitor, you may interact with publicly available content, cookies, or analytics tools. You are not required to provide personal information beyond what is automatically collected through normal website use and what is necessary for the website to function properly.
Clients
Individuals who have contacted us, registered for our Services, purchased our products, or otherwise interacted with SafewayTax in connection with our Services.
Types of Personal Information We Process
This Privacy Policy describes how we handle personal information in the following situations:
Tax-related services
Personal information collected for the purpose of preparing a tax return or providing tax relief or tax debt resolution services (collectively, “Tax Preparation Information”). This applies to all SafewayTax services, websites, and software (the “Platform”).
Website and Service functionality
Personal information collected to provide the features and benefits of our websites and Services that are not related to Tax Preparation Information.
Business operations and personalization
Personal information used to operate, manage, improve, and grow our business, as well as to personalize your experience. Depending on your settings, this may include showing you personalized advertisements or recommending SafewayTax products based on your interests.
Information Not Covered by This Privacy Policy
For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “personal information” does not include:
Information lawfully obtained from government records;
Information we reasonably believe is lawfully made available to the general public by a consumer or through widely distributed media;
Information disclosed by a third party where the consumer has not restricted the information to a specific audience;
Lawfully obtained, truthful information that is a matter of public concern;
De-identified or aggregated information; or
Personal information governed by certain sector-specific privacy laws, such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or the California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), which are subject to separate notices where applicable.
Our Role as a Data Controller
SafewayTax determines the purposes and means of processing your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. As a result, we act as a data controller (or an equivalent term under applicable data protection laws) for that processing.
In some situations, more than one organization may act as a data controller. For example, your financial partner or tax consultant may also process your personal information as an independent data controller. In those cases, each controller is responsible for its own processing activities and compliance obligations.
SafewayTax is not responsible for how other data controllers process your personal information. You should contact those parties directly if you have questions about their privacy practices or how to exercise your rights with them. This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party processing activities.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we process personal information, please refer to the “How to Contact Us” section below.
What Personal Information We Collect
The personal information that we collect or otherwise receive about you depends on the context of your interactions with our Services, and the choices you make, including your privacy settings.
Data Collection Source Data Category Example Data Types Collected / Processed
1. Voluntarily Provided by Individuals (e.g., online forms, phone registration, client portal uploads) Contact Information Full name, email, phone number, mailing address
Government Data & Tax Preparation Information Social Security Number (SSN), ITIN, tax filing history, tax debt amounts, IRS case details
Financial & Payment Information Payment metadata, payment method selection, billing address, client account identifiers
Client Credentials / Account Access Data Usernames, login credentials (hashed), MFA data, session tokens
Client Documents & Attachments PDFs, tax documents (IRS forms, notices), W-2s, 1099s, identity documents (driver’s license, passport), images/photos
Communication & Interaction Data Call metadata (timestamps, duration, caller/callee numbers), call recordings, voicemail audio, SMS logs, email correspondence
Customer Support Interaction Data Information voluntarily disclosed during support calls, chat records, ticket history
Client Profile & Internal Case Data Client ID, case status, service notes, internal account tags, representative assignments
Social Media Content Content you post on our social media pages
2. Data Received from Third Parties (e.g., social media lead forms, referral partners) Social Media Lead Form Data Name, phone, email, user-select answers (e.g., income, tax debt ranges, preferred contact times), marketing campaign identifiers
3. Automatically Collected Data (e.g., cookies, analytics, pixels, and other tracking tools) Device & Browser Identifiers IP address, device type and ID, browser type/version, unique device identifiers, OS, screen resolution, language settings
Usage & Behavioral Data Page views, search results, time on page, session duration, scroll depth, clicks, form/features interactions, referring URLs
Marketing & Attribution Identifiers Cookie IDs, pixel tags, hashed emails, advertising campaign identifiers
Analytics Data (e.g., Google Analytics / Hotjar) Session identifiers, event metrics, user engagement statistics, geographic region (approximate), device fingerprints
Ad Network Tracking Data (e.g., Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, Microsoft Ads) Pixel events (page view, lead, purchase), remarketing cookies, conversion events, cross-site tracking identifiers
Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit a website. They help our websites work properly and allow us to recognize your browser. When you visit our website, cookies may be set by us or by third parties, such as our partners or service providers.
Types of Cookies We Use
We use two main types of cookies:
Persistent cookies. These cookies remain on your device after you close your browser. They stay until you delete them manually or until they expire based on the time period set in the cookie.
Session cookies. These cookies last only for the duration of your browsing session and are deleted when you close your browser.
Cookies can also be categorized by who places them:
First-party cookies are placed by us, or by a third party acting on our behalf.
Third-party cookies are placed by our partners, vendors, or other service providers. We do not control how third parties collect or use information through their cookies.
Other Tracking Technologies
In addition to cookies, we may use other tracking technologies to support our Services:
Web beacons (also called tracking pixels or clear GIFs)
These are small graphic images used together with cookies to understand how users interact with our content. For example, in emails, web beacons help us see whether an email was opened or a link was clicked so we can measure campaign performance and improve our communications.
Local storage (HTML5 local storage)
This technology allows our website to store information directly on your device. It helps improve your experience by enabling certain features, remembering preferences such as language settings, and speeding up website performance.
Tags
Tags are small pieces of code (usually HTML or JavaScript) that run when a webpage loads. They help support website functions and often trigger cookies or tracking pixels.
How we use Cookies
We group cookies based on the purpose they serve:
Essential Cookies
These cookies are necessary for our websites to function properly. They enable core features such as secure login, identity verification, spam protection, and fraud prevention. Because these cookies are required for basic functionality, they cannot be turned off.
Functional Cookies
These cookies improve your experience by remembering your preferences and settings, such as language or region. They help personalize your visit and recognize you when you return. While helpful, these cookies are not strictly required, and some features may not work properly if they are disabled.
Analytics Cookies
These cookies help us understand how visitors use our websites. They collect information such as which pages are visited most often and how users move through the website. This data helps us improve website performance, usability, and overall experience.
Advertising Cookies
These cookies track your visits, pages viewed, and links clicked. They help us show ads that are more relevant to your interests and prevent the same ads from appearing repeatedly. If you disable these cookies, you may still see ads about SafewayTax, but they may be less relevant and shown more frequently.
Managing Cookies
Managing Cookies on our Website
You can manage your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the “Manage Cookies” link in the footer of our website.
Please note:
If you opt out of cookies or interest-based advertising, you will still see ads, but they may not be tailored to your interests.
If you delete cookies, switch browsers, or use a new device, you may need to reset your cookie preferences.
Disabling cookies may affect the availability or functionality of some parts of our Services.
Most browsers automatically accept cookies by default. You can change your cookie settings through your browser preferences. If you access our Services from multiple devices or browsers, you will need to manage cookie settings separately for each one.
Guidance for managing cookies in commonly used browsers is also available at the following links:
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Apple Safari
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Microsoft Edge
Opera
Mobile Advertising Controls
Most mobile devices allow you to limit ad tracking through your device settings. These settings control how your device ID may be shared for advertising purposes. To learn how to adjust these options, please visit your mobile operating system’s help center.
If you would like to learn more about cookies—such as how to see which cookies are stored on your device and how to manage or delete them—you can visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
Managing Third-Party Cookies and Advertising
Third parties may use cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, and similar technologies to collect information about your online activity on our website and other websites or mobile apps. This information may be used to understand your interests and show you ads that are more relevant to you. This practice is commonly referred to as interest-based advertising.
To learn more about interest-based advertising and your choices, you can visit:
www.aboutads.info/choices.
Opt-Out Options for Third-Party Advertising and Analytics
Our third-party service providers may also use cookies or web beacons to help measure the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing efforts, such as tracking how often ads are viewed or clicked.
Some of these third-party providers offer their own opt-out tools. When available, links to those tools can be found in the provider’s privacy policy.
You may be able to opt out of certain third-party advertising and analytics cookies through the following resources:
Visit the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) or Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) opt-out pages
Opt out of targeted ads on Facebook using Facebook’s ad settings
Opt out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s browser add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
How We Use Personal Information
The way we process your personal information depends on the particular Services, functionalities, or experiences you use. The Company processes your personal data for the following business purposes in accordance with applicable data protection laws:
Service Provision & Account Management & Platform Management
To provide a product or service that you have requested through the Services;
To connect you with our tax experts;
To create and maintain client account;
To authenticate your identity when accessing our Services;
To provide customer service or technical support;
To communicate service-related and transactional notices (e.g., policy updates, Service feature changes);
To facilitate transactions and payments or otherwise enable, directly or indirectly, a commercial transaction;
To run and manage our business, including resolving billing and financial disputes.
Personalization & User Experience
To personalize your experience and tailor recommendations and offers presented to you, including through the development of insights about you and your needs based on your interactions with our Services services and offerings;
To customize content recommendations and discovery features;
To measure your use of the Services, develop and improve our Services through analytics;
To conduct user surveys and research studies.
Marketing Communications
To market services and products, including by delivering promotional materials, product recommendations and other non-transactional communications via email, post, telephone, SMS, in accordance with your marketing preferences.
Security & Compliance
To investigate and prevent prohibited activities, illegal activities, and other breaches of our Terms of Service and/or Privacy Policy;
To detect and mitigate fraudulent or abusive behavior and other prohibited activities;
To protect the rights, property, safety or security of the Platform, our customers, and employees;
To enforce our Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and other policies;
To comply with legal and regulatory requirements and lawful requests;
To exercise our rights in the course of judicial, administrative, or arbitration proceedings.
Advertising Operations
To display relevant advertisements based on user preferences (subject to your consent where required by law);
To measure and optimize ad performance (using anonymized data where possible).
Consent-Based Uses
To use your personal data for other purposes if you provide specific and explicit consent, such as when required by law, and these purposes will be clearly communicated to you at the time of collection.
We may process your personal information for other purposes that are compatible with the above purposes where permitted by applicable law.
How We Share Personal Information
We may share personal information as part of operating our business, delivering Services to our clients, improving our offerings, and complying with legal obligations. We do not sell personal information. We only share personal information in the circumstances described below and with appropriate safeguards in place.
Sharing with Operational and Service Providers
We share personal information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf or support our core business operations. These providers act as processors or service providers and are contractually required to protect personal information and use it only for the purposes we specify.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
We use a CRM platform, such as IRSLogics, to manage client relationships and deliver Services. Information shared may include client contact details, tax-related information, account data, uploaded documents, and payment-related metadata. This sharing is necessary to fulfill our contractual obligations to our clients.
Payment Processing
We share personal information with payment processors to process payments and detect fraud. This may include billing information, payment credentials, transaction details, and client identifiers. Payment processors may act as independent controllers or processors depending on the transaction context.
Cloud Storage and Hosting
We use cloud infrastructure and storage providers, such as Microsoft Azure and OneDrive, to securely store client documents, internal files, backups, and system logs. Information may include Tax Preparation Information and documents, PDFs, images, and internal records.
Call and Communication Platforms
We use customer communication and dialing platforms, such as Convoso and Talkdesk, to manage outreach, sales follow-ups, and customer support. Shared information may include phone numbers, call metadata, call recordings, and interaction logs.
Professional Advisors
We may share data with our legal counsels, tax advisors, auditors, insurers, compliance officers or other professional consultants as needed to obtain expert advice or meet compliance requirements.
Sharing for Analytics, Marketing, and Advertising
We share certain information with analytics and advertising partners to measure performance, improve user experience, and deliver relevant marketing communications.
Website and Usage Analytics.
We use analytics services such as Google Analytics and Hotjar to understand how visitors interact with our websites and Services. Information collected may include device identifiers, session data, IP address (subject to configuration), and usage metrics.
Advertising and Conversion Tracking.
We work with advertising platforms including Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft Advertising.
Our advertising partners may place cookies on unaffiliated websites in order to serve advertisements that may be relevant to you based on your browsing activities and interests and determine the effectiveness of such advertisements. These partners may receive cookie identifiers, pixel events, conversion data, and hashed identifiers to support remarketing, attribution, and campaign optimization. In these contexts, advertising platforms typically act as independent controllers and process information in accordance with their own policies.
You may manage advertising preferences or opt-out of certain forms of tracking where required by law through cookie settings, platform controls, or applicable privacy rights mechanisms.
Document Handling and Communication Channels
We share personal information when transmitting or storing documents through standard business communication channels:
Email providers (e.g., Outlook, Gmail) for client communications and document delivery, which may include sensitive tax or identification data.
Fax services used to send or receive documents, where third-party processors may handle document transmission.
Client portal hosted through a CRM system managed by our service providers, allowing clients to upload and access documents.
Information Shared Automatically for Services Operation
Some information is shared automatically when our systems work together to provide our Services smoothly and efficiently. This helps us run our operations, process requests, and improve how our Services work.
For example, this may include sharing information:
To manage your account, store documents, and support customer service;
To process payments and keep accurate transaction records;
To understand how our websites and Services are used so we can improve them;
To make and track phone calls for sales and customer support purposes.
This information is shared only as needed for these purposes and is protected through appropriate security measures.
Information You Choose to Share
Some sharing happens because you choose to use certain features or share information publicly.
Connecting to social media. Some features allow you to share information on social media platforms such as Facebook, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn. If you choose to share information through these platforms, it may be visible to others and will be governed by the social media provider’s own privacy policies, not ours. Please only share information you are comfortable making public.
Posting content publicly. We may offer features that allow you to post reviews, comments, questions, or other content. If you include personal information—such as your name or username—this information will be public. Anything shared in public areas can be seen by others, so we encourage you to think carefully before posting.
Legal, Compliance, and Business Transactions
We may share personal information where required or permitted by law, including:
To comply with subpoenas, court orders, or legal processes;
To respond to lawful requests from regulators or government authorities;
To protect the rights, security, or property of the Company, our users, or others;
To detect, prevent, or investigate fraud, security incidents, or unlawful activity;
To facilitate a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of all or part of our business, subject to appropriate confidentiality and security protections.
How We Store and Safeguard your Personal Information
How long we retain information depends on the type of data and why it was collected and used.
Unless you ask us to delete your personal information, we retain it as long as necessary to provide our Services, operate the Platform, and run our business in a lawful manner. Even if you request deletion, we may still need to keep certain information for specific reasons, including to:
Comply with legal or regulatory obligations, such as maintaining records of transactions or communications;
Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;
Prevent fraud, abuse, or other harmful activity on our Services; and
Resolve disputes or enforce agreements, including protecting our legal rights.
When personal information is no longer needed for any business purpose or legal requirement, we will either securely delete it or anonymize it so it can no longer be linked to you. If we anonymize information, it may be used in an aggregated form for analytics, service improvements, or other legitimate business purposes without identifying you personally.
In some cases, we may be unable to immediately delete or anonymize personal information due to technical, legal, regulatory, or operational constraints. If that happens, we will take reasonable steps to securely store and limit access to the information until it can be deleted, anonymized, or de-identified.
These practices help ensure that your personal information is kept only as long as necessary and handled responsibly throughout its lifecycle.
What Rights and Choices you Have
We provide our users with options to manage the privacy of their personal information.
Access your personal information. You can request confirmation of whether we process personal information about you and obtain a copy of the categories of information we hold about you.
Correct your personal information. You can edit and correct certain personal information at any time.
Delete your personal information. You have the right to request that we delete the personal information we have collected from you. Please note that this right is subject to certain legal and business exceptions. We may keep some personal information if it is reasonably necessary for purposes such as:
Providing our Services — to complete a transaction, deliver Services you requested, take actions you would reasonably expect as part of our ongoing relationship, or fulfill our contract with you.
Security and fraud prevention — to detect, investigate, and prevent security incidents, fraud, illegal activity, or other harmful behavior, and to take action against those responsible.
System maintenance and troubleshooting — to identify and fix errors that affect the proper functioning of our websites or Services.
Legal compliance — to meet legal and regulatory obligations, including those under the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 et seq.).
Free speech and legal rights — to exercise our own legal rights or protect the free speech or other legal rights of others.
Internal business purposes — to use the information in ways a consumer would reasonably expect based on their relationship with us.
Other lawful internal uses — to make lawful uses of the information that are consistent with the purpose for which it was originally provided.
Opt out of cookies and other tracking technologies. You may be able to opt-out of interest based advertising by visiting the NAI Opt-Out Page or visiting About Ads at http://optout.aboutads.info.
Manage marketing communications from us. To update your marketing communication preferences, you may use unsubscribe links found at the bottom of all marketing and promotional emails. If you receive marketing text messages from us, you may opt out of receiving further marketing text messages from us by replying STOP to the message.
How to Submit a Request
You can exercise these rights by emailing us at info@safewaytax.com or by calling us toll-free at (800) 218-2260.
Identity Verification
Before fulfilling your request, we must confirm that you are the individual to whom the personal information relates. We will use the information provided in your request only for the purpose of verifying your identity. If we cannot verify your identity with the information already in our records, we may request additional details to complete the verification process and to protect against fraud or unauthorized access.
Under some state privacy laws, you may authorize an agent to act on your behalf. If you choose to appoint an agent, we may require documentation proving that this agent is legally permitted to submit the request for you. If adequate proof of authorization is not provided, we may decline the request in accordance with applicable laws.
Your Rights as a United States Resident
As a resident of the United States, you may have additional privacy rights, as outlined below.
U.S. Tax Preparation Information
We only use or share your Tax Preparation Information when it is necessary to provide tax preparation or debt relief services, when required or permitted by law, or when you have given us your permission.
If you choose to allow your Tax Preparation Information to be used for purposes beyond providing tax preparation services, that information will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
SafewayTax is considered a financial institution under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and is required to protect the privacy and security of your financial information.
By using or interacting with our Services, you agree to receive financial privacy notices from us electronically.
Your Rights as a Californian Resident
California “Shine the Light” Law
California law (Civil Code Section 1798.83), often called the “Shine the Light” law, gives California residents the right to request certain information about how their personal data is shared.
Once per year, and at no cost, you may ask us whether we shared your personal information with third parties during the previous calendar year for their own direct marketing purposes. If we did, you may request details about the categories of personal information that were shared.
This law applies only when personal information is shared with third parties so they can market their own products or services to you. It does not apply when information is shared with service providers who help us operate our business.
If you are a California resident and would like to make a request under this law, please contact us using the details provided in the “How to Contact Us” section below.
Do Not Track Signals
Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” (DNT) setting that signals a preference not to be tracked across websites. At this time, we do not respond to Do Not Track signals or similar browser-based mechanisms.
Unless required by law, we do not treat these signals as a request to opt out of tracking. If this changes in the future, we will update this section to explain how we respond.
That said, you can still manage your cookie preferences as described in the “Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies” section of this Privacy Policy.
For more information about Do Not Track signals, you can visit https://allaboutdnt.com.
Children’s Privacy
SafewayTax does not knowingly collect information from, or provide Services to, anyone under the age of 18. We also do not sell personal information related to minors.
By using our Services, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old. If we learn that we have collected personal information from someone under 18 without proper permission, we will act quickly to protect their privacy. This may include disabling the account and securely deleting the information from our records as soon as reasonably possible.
If you believe that a minor under 18 has shared personal information with us without consent, please contact us at info@safewaytax.com so we can review the situation and remove the information if needed.
Updates to Privacy Policy
We may amend this Privacy Policy at our discretion and at any time. When we make changes to this Privacy Policy, we will post the updated notice on our Websites and update the notice’s “Last Updated” date. If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by reasonable means, which may be by e-mail or posting a notice of the changes on our Websites or Services prior to the changes becoming effective. Your continued use of our Website and/or Services following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.
How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, the ways in which we collect and use your information described here, your choices and rights regarding such use, or you wish to exercise your rights, please contact us as provided below:
Call us at: (800) 218-2260
Email us at: info@safewaytax.com,info@irsfreshstart.info
Mail us at: 1 Park Plaza, Suite 420, Irvine, CA 92614
