Privacy Policy — HelloContractor

HelloContractor ("we," "us," or "our") operates the hellocontractor.com website and platform. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your information when you use our platform.

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

Account information: Name, email address, phone number, password
Contractor profiles: Business name, address, trade categories, service areas, license numbers, insurance details, business description, photos, portfolio images, and video links
Homeowner information: Name, email, address, project details
Reviews: Reviewer name, email, city, state, and review content
Messages: Content of messages sent through our platform
Payment information: Processed by Stripe — we do not store credit card numbers
Affiliate information: Name, email, company, tax identification (encrypted), bank account details (processed by Stripe Connect)

Information Collected Automatically

Usage data: Pages visited, search queries, profile views, search appearances
Device information: Browser type, IP address (hashed for analytics)
Cookies: Session cookies for authentication, affiliate tracking cookies (30-day expiration)

2. How We Use Your Information

Operate and maintain contractor profiles and search functionality
Process payments and subscriptions through Stripe
Facilitate messaging between homeowners and contractors
Send transactional emails (account verification, password resets, notifications)
Track affiliate referrals and commissions
Monitor platform analytics and search performance
Prevent fraud, spam, and abuse (rate limiting, honeypot detection)
Comply with legal obligations

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only with:

Stripe: Payment processing and affiliate payouts
Resend: Transactional email delivery
Google Maps: Address autocomplete and geocoding
DigitalOcean: Cloud hosting and file storage

We may also disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or legal process.

4. Public Information

Contractor profiles are public by design. The following information is visible to anyone:

Business name, description, and contact information you choose to display
Trade categories and service areas
Portfolio photos and case studies
Reviews and ratings
License and insurance verification status

Contractors can unpublish their profile at any time to remove it from search results.

5. Data Security

We protect your information using:

SSL/TLS encryption for all data in transit
Encrypted storage for sensitive fields (tax identification numbers)
Secure password hashing (bcrypt)
Rate limiting on login attempts and form submissions
CSRF protection on all forms

6. Data Retention

Active accounts: We retain your data for as long as your account is active
Deleted accounts: Upon account deletion, we remove personal data within 30 days, except where required for legal, tax, or audit purposes
Payment records: Retained for 7 years per tax regulations
Affiliate tax records (1099): Retained for 7 years per IRS requirements

7. Cookies

We use the following cookies:

Session cookies: Required for login and authentication
Affiliate tracking cookies: 30-day cookies that track referral attribution
Coupon cookies: 30-day cookies that store discount codes from affiliate links

We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you
Correct inaccurate personal information
Delete your personal information
Port your data to another service
Opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell data)

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@hellocontractor.com. We will respond within 45 days.

9. Children's Privacy

Our platform is not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at:

HelloContractor
Email: privacy@hellocontractor.com