Privacy at VA Wayfinder
You can use the guides without an account. Some features still send information to servers or outside providers, so this page explains what the current site actually does.
Last updated:
At a glance
- No signup or user account is required.
- The current application code does not keep guide activity or ongoing chat transcripts in browser storage or a VA Wayfinder database. A home-page prompt may be held temporarily for the handoff described below.
- Messages you send to Ask Wayfinder are processed by VA Wayfinder's server and Anthropic's AI service.
- The site includes Vercel Analytics, uses technical request information for rate limiting and operations, and sends contact-form submissions to Web3Forms.
Using guides and tools
VA Wayfinder does not have a signup or account system. You can read pages, follow internal links, and use most guides without giving VA Wayfinder your name, email address, claim number, or other identifying information.
As of the date above, the application code does not write your guide activity or ongoing chat history to localStorage or cookies. When you submit your own words from the home page, the application temporarily places that one prompt in sessionStorage so the chat page can receive it, then removes the handoff after reading it. If that handoff is interrupted, the browser normally clears it when the tab or window session ends. Other interactive tools can still keep answers in the page's working memory while that page is open. Closing or refreshing a page may clear that on-screen state.
This description covers storage performed by VA Wayfinder's current application code. Browsers, hosting infrastructure, and outside services may handle technical data under their own settings and policies, as described below.
Ask Wayfinder and AI chat
When you send a message, the active conversation is submitted to VA Wayfinder's chat API. The server converts those messages and sends them, with instructions for the assistant, to Anthropic's Claude service to generate a response. The response is streamed back to your browser.
The current VA Wayfinder code does not write chat transcripts to a database or browser storage. Resetting or refreshing the chat clears the conversation from the interface, but it cannot undo processing that has already happened on VA Wayfinder's server, Anthropic's systems, network infrastructure, or provider logs.
Provider handling and retention may change under provider terms and service configuration. Review the Anthropic privacy policy (opens in a new tab) for its practices.
Analytics, logs, and rate limits
The site includes Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights. When those services are enabled for the deployment, Vercel receives usage and page-performance information needed to provide them. VA Wayfinder also runs on hosting infrastructure that may process request details such as IP address, requested URL, browser or device information, timestamps, response status, and performance or security events.
Vercel's edge firewall is configured to limit POST requests to the chat endpoint to 10 requests per source IP address in a 10-minute window. The application also reads an IP address from trusted hosting-proxy headers and keeps a secondary limit of 20 requests per hour in the active server instance. The in-instance counter is not a durable activity history and can reset when that instance restarts. Platform routing, shared networks, and firewall configuration can affect how either limit is applied.
Application errors may be written to server logs for troubleshooting. The current chat route logs an error message when a request fails. Hosting and AI providers may maintain additional operational, abuse-prevention, or security logs under their own controls.
Learn more in Vercel's privacy policy (opens in a new tab).
Contact form
The contact form asks for your name, email address, and message; the subject is optional. The form limits the length of each field and sends those fields from your browser only to Web3Forms' fixed submission endpoint so the message can be delivered. That submission is governed by Web3Forms' practices as well as the recipient's email service.
A visually hidden field helps screen simple automated spam submissions. It is intended to stay blank for real visitors, is removed from keyboard navigation, and does not collect an additional detail about you. The form does not add a CAPTCHA or behavioral-tracking service, and the honeypot cannot prevent every kind of spam.
Only submit information needed to explain your question. Do not use the contact form for medical records, claim files, identity documents, or emergencies. Review the Web3Forms privacy policy (opens in a new tab) before submitting if you have concerns.
External links and services
VA Wayfinder links to VA.gov, crisis and health resources, Veterans Service Organizations, donation services, and other websites. When you open an outside site, that organization can receive ordinary web-request information and applies its own privacy policy. VA Wayfinder does not control how those sites collect or use information.
An external link is not a promise about that provider's privacy, availability, eligibility decisions, or services. Check the destination address and its privacy notice before entering personal information.
Your choices and questions
- Use the guides without creating an account.
- Avoid putting identifying or sensitive information into Ask Wayfinder.
- Refresh or reset the chat when you no longer want the active conversation on screen.
- Choose not to submit the contact form or follow an external link.
- Use your browser's privacy and tracking controls for settings available to you.
For a privacy question, use the VA Wayfinder contact form. Remember that the form itself is delivered through Web3Forms as described above.
Changes to this notice
VA Wayfinder may update this notice when the site's features, providers, or data handling change. The date at the top shows when this description was last revised.