Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 13, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect information when you use this website. By using the site, you agree to the terms described here.

Information We Collect

We may collect information that you provide directly, such as your name, email address, subject, and message when you use our contact form. We may also collect limited technical information automatically, such as browser type, device information, IP address, pages visited, and approximate location derived from your device or network settings.

Account Information

If you create an account, we collect your username, email address, phone number, a password (see below for how this is protected), and a brief statement of why you're joining. Your phone number is used to prevent one person from creating multiple accounts, and is not displayed publicly. Your password is never stored in readable form -- it's converted into a one-way cryptographic hash before being saved, meaning even we cannot see or recover your actual password.

If you choose "Keep me signed in," a token is stored in a cookie on your device so you don't have to log in again on that browser. This option isn't available to every account type -- some require a fresh login every time for security. Any reviews, comments, or favorites you submit while logged in are linked to your account.

Search Activity

Because this is a search engine website, we may process search terms that you enter so the service can return relevant results. Depending on how the site is configured, search terms may be stored temporarily for performance, security, debugging, abuse prevention, or analytics purposes. We do not sell your search data.

Specifically, when a search returns no results, we log only the search text itself (and, if entered, the location text) so we can identify and improve gaps in what the site can find. This log does not include your IP address, account, or any other identifying information -- it exists purely to reveal patterns in what people are searching for and not finding.

Business Listing Data

Business listings on this site include location information such as street addresses and map coordinates. Where a business's exact address isn't known or wasn't provided, we may instead show a general area (such as a city and state) rather than a precise address.

To generate map coordinates from an address (or, in some cases, to determine an address from a set of coordinates), we use OpenStreetMap's free Nominatim geocoding service. This means business address information may be sent to and processed by that third-party service. We do not send visitor personal information to this service — only business listing address data.

Downloadable Business Directory

We offer a downloadable export of the business directory (business names, websites, addresses, and products/services) so the underlying data remains available to the community even if something happens to this website. This export does not include ratings, internal identifiers, internal system data, or any personal information about site visitors.

In-App Notifications

If you're logged in, the site shows you notifications about your own account activity -- for example, when a review or comment you submitted is approved or rejected, when someone marks one as helpful, or when your account's Trusted User status changes. We may also send a site-wide notification to every logged-in account, such as an announcement about a new blog post or a change to this Privacy Policy or the Terms and Conditions. These notifications only ever appear within the website itself -- we do not email, text, or otherwise contact you through them.

How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to operate and improve the website, provide search results, respond to messages, maintain security, prevent abuse, troubleshoot problems, and understand how the site is used.

Cookies

We use a session cookie to keep you logged in while you browse, and, if you choose "Keep me signed in," a longer-lived cookie so you don't have to log in again on that device. These cookies are essential to how the site works. We also use analytics cookies, described below, which you can decline -- see the cookie banner shown when you first visit the site, or the Analytics section below for how to opt out at any time.

Analytics

With your consent, we use Google Analytics to understand overall traffic patterns -- for example, which pages are visited, what search terms lead people to the site, and roughly how many people visit over time. Google Analytics uses cookies and collects information such as pages viewed, time spent on the site, general device/browser information, and an approximate location derived from your IP address. It does not receive your name, email, or phone number from us. Google, as the provider of this tool, is a third party that receives this data directly through its own tracking code running in your browser; you can read Google's own privacy policy for how they handle it.

Google Analytics does not load at all until you choose "Accept All" on the cookie banner shown on your first visit -- choosing "Essential Only" means it never loads, not just that it's disregarded. You can change your choice at any time by clearing your browser's local storage for this site, which makes the banner reappear. You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites using Google's official opt-out browser add-on.

Sharing Information

We do not sell personal information. We may share information only when necessary to operate the website, comply with the law, respond to valid legal requests, protect our rights, or work with service providers who help us run the site under appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.

Data Retention

We keep information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. We may retain limited records for security, troubleshooting, legal, or administrative reasons.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to help protect information, including secure session settings, server-side validation, and access controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

To help protect the site from unauthorized access and abuse, we log login attempts and account-creation attempts (successful and failed) along with the associated IP address. Repeated failed or excessive attempts from the same IP address may result in a temporary delay before further attempts are allowed. This information is used solely for security purposes and is not shared or sold.

The site and its data are hosted with a third-party hosting provider located in the United States, and the connection between your browser and the site is encrypted (HTTPS).

Your Choices

Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or limit the use of your information. If you want to ask about your information or make a privacy request, please contact us using the Contact page.

Children's Privacy

This website requires account holders to be at least 18 years old (see Terms and Conditions), and account creation requires confirming this age. This site is not directed at or intended for use by children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we've collected information from someone under 18, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites, and we encourage you to review their policies separately.

International Users

If you access the website from outside the United States, your information may be processed in countries with different data protection laws. By using the site, you understand that your information may be processed where our services or providers operate.

Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date above. Continued use of the website after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle information, please use the Contact page.