Privacy & Cookie Policy

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes and governs the information collection, use, and sharing practices of BuildingsGuide.com and its corporate affiliates, subsidiaries, and divisions as may change from time to time (collectively, with BuildingsGuide.com “we,” “us,” and “our”) with respect to BuildingsGuide.com’s websites, mobile applications, questionnaires, and other digital and interactive services that link to this Privacy Policy (together, the “Services”).

Before you submit any information on or through the Services, please carefully review this Policy together with our Terms of Use and any other documents referred to therein to understand our views and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it.

Please note that this Privacy Policy applies only to information collected through the Services and not to information you may provide to any third-party sites to which BuildingsGuide.com may link, except as expressly provided herein. This Policy applies regardless of the device used to access the Services (e.g., personal computer, mobile device, consumer electronics device, or any other technology or software known today or developed in the future). Some online services offered by or affiliated with BuildingsGuide.com may be governed by a separate privacy policy. In those instances, the product-specific privacy policy shall apply to that online service.

For the purpose of data protection laws applicable from time to time to you in the location that you provide your information (“Applicable Law”), BuildingsGuide.com, will be a ‘data controller’ (or such equivalent or replacement terminology as appropriate) for the information you provide through the Services. There may be other controllers as well (e.g., advertisers), and we encourage you to consult their privacy policies to learn more about their privacy practices.

  1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

BuildingsGuide.com gathers information for the purpose of matching buyers with relevant suppliers and to personalize and continually improve your experience with us. We recognize that your information is sensitive and restrict our collection and use of it to the critical data needed to deliver the service provided by us. As a visitor to our site, you can browse our pages without having any personally identifiable information revealed about you. Information we automatically collect via industry standard web log files includes the URL from which you visited, the page you are visiting, your computer browser information, and your IP address. As a buyer using our Request for Quote service, you need to provide certain information so BuildingsGuide.com can deliver our Request for Quote service to you. This includes contact information, basic demographic information, and your purchasing requirements. The information collected varies according to the different purchasing categories and can be viewed by visiting the different forms located throughout our site. We will also ask you for feedback about our service, which is collected and stored to allow us to continually improve our offerings. As a supplier using our Request for Quote service, you must provide information that allows us to deliver our Request for Quote service to you. This includes your contact information, information about your desired target markets, and billing information. In addition, we may supplement the information you provide with a credit check to ensure your creditworthiness. It should be noted that any credit card information we receive is stored securely via encryption and an SSL connection; our security measures are reviewed later in this document.

We collect information in multiple ways, including when you provide information directly to us, and when we passively collect information from you, such as from your browser or device.

A. Information You Provide Directly to Us

We may collect information from you during your use of or access to the Services, such as when you:

  • Register for an account;
  • Fill in forms;
  • Search for a product,
  • Complete a survey or provide us with feedback;
  • Subscribe to a service or request certain features (e.g., newsletters, updates, and other products);
  • Use certain features that require your information to function (e.g., vendor price quotes or using our mobile apps to scan and search for products, find coupons, and promotions);
  • Communicate with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise;
  • Chat with any of our support agents on our chat forum;
  • Report a problem with our website; or
  • Posted user-generated content, including comments, to or on any of our Services, including on discussion boards, community forums, blogs, or other social media functions on our website.

We may collect information in these categories:

  • Identifiers (e.g., a real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers). In this category, we collect first and last names, home or business postal addresses, IP addresses, email addresses, Zip Codes, billing address, home, and business phone numbers.
  • Information that identifies, relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with, a particular individual, including, but not limited to, his or her name, home or business address, telephone number, driver’s license employment, employment history, and financial account information. In this category, we collect first and last names, home or business postal addresses, email addresses, Zip Codes, billing address, home, and business phone numbers, telephone numbers, job functions, employment, employer information, product interests, and information about when products are desired.
  • Commercial information (e.g., records of products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies). In this category, we collect products considered, business address, email address, Zip Codes, telephone numbers, information about when products are desired, size of business.
  • Geolocation data. In this category, we collect Zip Codes and physical addresses.
  • Professional or employment-related information. In this category, we collect job functions, employer addresses, Zip Codes, and purchasing interests.
  • Inferences drawn from any of the information identified above to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumer’s preferences.

You do not have any obligation to provide us with your information; however, if you do not provide us with your information, we may not be able to provide you with the services you have requested or you may be limited in your use of our services (e.g., if you do not provide us with your email address and phone number, we will not be able to send you newsletters or have product suppliers send you quotes).

B. Information that is Passively or Automatically Collected

  1. Device/Usage Information

We may automatically collect certain information about the computer or devices (including mobile devices or tablets) you use to access the Services. As described further below, we collect and analyze Identifiers such as (a) IP addresses, geolocation information, unique device identifiers, IMEI and TCP/IP address, and other information about your computer or device(s), browser types, browser language, operating system, mobile device carrier information, the state or country from which you accessed the Services; and (b) information related to the ways in which you interact with the Services, such as: referring and exit web pages and URLs, platform type, the number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages and content (such as advertisements) viewed and the order of those pages, statistical information about the use of the Services, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time you used the Services and clicked on icons, the frequency of your use of the Services, error logs, and other similar information. As described further below, we may use third-party analytics providers and technologies, including cookies and similar tools, to assist in collecting this information.

We also collect and analyze information from your browser or device, such as your operating system, plug-ins, system fonts, resolution, and other data, for purposes of creating a unique profile or “fingerprint” of your browser or device. We may use this profile or fingerprint to understand and analyze how you interact with the Services, to customize content or advertising to you through the Services, to monitor against fraud or misuse of the Services, or in other ways consistent with this Privacy Policy.

  1. Location Information

We and our service providers may automatically collect location information, including general information (e.g., IP address, zip code) from your computer or mobile device. If you access the Services through a mobile device, we may also ask you to share your specific geo-location information with us. The Services use this location information to provide customized location-based services, content, promotional offers, and other information that may be of interest to you. We may also use location information to improve the functionality of the Services and our other products services. We and our service providers may also collect other information based on your location and your device’s proximity to “beacons” and other similar indoor proximity systems, including, for example, the strength of the signal between the “beacon” and your device and the duration that your device is near the “beacon.” If you do not wish to have this location information collected and used by us and our service providers, you may disable the location features on your device. Please note that if you disable such features, you will not be able to access or receive some or all of the services, content, features, and/or products made available via the Services. Also, see the “Tailored Advertising” section below for more choices regarding the delivery of interest-based content and advertising.

  1. Cookies and Other Electronic Technologies

We may also collect data about your use of the Services through the use of Internet server logs, cookies, and/or tracking pixels. A web server log is a file where website activity is stored to distinguish you from other users of our website. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your computer when you visit a website, that enables us to: (i) recognize your computer; (ii) store your preferences and settings; (iii) understand the web pages of the Services you have visited; (iv), enhance your user experience by delivering content specific to your interests; (v) perform searches and analytics; and (vi) assist with security administrative functions. Some cookies are placed in your browser cache while those associated with Flash technologies are stored with your Adobe Flash Player files. Tracking pixels (sometimes referred to as web beacons or clear GIFs) are tiny electronic tags with a unique identifier embedded in websites, online ads and/or email, and that are designed to provide usage information like ad impressions or clicks, measure the popularity of the Services and associated advertising, and to access user cookies. As we adopt additional technologies, we may also gather additional information through other methods. We also gather information and identify users through the fingerprinting methods described in Section 2(a) above.

We use the following cookies:

  • Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website, use a shopping cart, or make use of e-billing services.
  • Analytical/performance cookies. They allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
  • Functionality cookies. These are used to recognize you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalize our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
  • Targeting cookies. These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

Except for essential cookies, all cookies will expire after thirteen months.

Your usage of the website without changing your browser cookies settings will indicate your consent to the usage of cookies in accordance with this section of this Policy. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Please note that you can change your settings to notify you when a cookie is being set or updated, or to block cookies altogether. Please consult the “Help” section of your browser for more information (e.g., Internet Explorer; Google Chrome; Mozilla Firefox; or Apple Safari ). You can also manage the use of Flash technologies, including cookies and local storage objects with the Flash management tools available at Adobe’s website. Please note that by blocking any or all cookies, you may not have access to certain features or offerings of the Services.

Please also see below the section entitled ‘Tailored Online and Mobile Advertising’ which contains further information on how cookies are used for advertising purposes by BuildingsGuide.com and by associated third parties.

C. Information Collected by and from Social Media and Other Content Platforms

If you access the Services through a third-party connection or log-in (e.g., through a social network), you may allow us to have access to and store certain information in your social network profile. This may include your first name, last name, gender, general location, a link to your profile, your time zone, birthday, profile picture, your “likes” and your list of friends. If you do not wish to have this information shared, do not use a social networking connection to access the Services. For a description on how social networking sites handle your information, please refer to their privacy policies and terms of use, which may permit you to modify your privacy settings. If you signed up using a social media log-in by mistake, you may be able to delete your account through your account settings at any time, or you can contact us as described below.

When you “like” or “follow” us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or other social media sites, we may collect some information from you including your name, e-mail address, and any comments or content you post relevant to us. We may also collect your information if you sign up for one of our promotions or submit information to us through social media sites.

D. Information from Affiliates and Non-Affiliated Third Parties

We may also obtain information about you if you use any other websites that we operate or may operate from time to time or other services we provide. We may share information among members of our corporate group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company, and its subsidiaries. We may also obtain information, such as demographic information, from our affiliates or from third parties, such as marketers, partners, researchers, sub-contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, advertising networks, analytics providers, search information providers, credit reference agencies and others.

We may also collect your information from partners with whom we share information in order to bring you better experiences using our Services, and from data brokers and third parties.

  1. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

BuildingsGuide.com uses the information we gather to put buyers and sellers into contact with one another and to provide better services on our site through analysis and communication.

Request for Quote. Buyers or suppliers who utilize our Request for Quote service receive emails from us to facilitate your transaction. You cannot opt-out of emails that are necessary to provide our services. Your use of BuildingsGuide.com's Request for Quote service and acceptance of our Terms and Conditions include the agreement that we may use your personal information to contact you and deliver information to you. Email Services BuildingsGuide.com offers services such as "Recommend a Friend" that allows visitors to notify other people via e-mail about our services. We do not use any email addresses used in these communications for any purpose other than to send your email. Other communications From time to time, BuildingsGuide.com will send a promotional offer to our users that we believe will be of interest to you based on your profile. We also occasionally send surveys, general announcements, and service updates. If you do not wish to receive these communications, we encourage you to opt-out of these communications by completing our Opt-Out form.

We may use your information for the following purposes:

  • For the purposes for which you provided it;
  • To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us including the provision to you of information, products and services that you request from us, online content and dealing with your requests and enquiries;
  • To process a transaction you initiate or to provide the features, services, and products available through the Services;
  • To send you information about your relationship or transactions with us, account alerts, or other communications, such as newsletters to which you have subscribed;
  • With your consent, to send you SMS messages;
  • To notify you about new features, changes and/or offerings of the Services, including, but not limited to, updates, discounts, events, shows news about our Services, products, and/or special offers;
  • To contact you with information, surveys, or advertising that we believe may be of interest to you both regarding our products and services and those of third parties;
  • To administer contests;
  • To process and respond to your inquiries or to request your feedback;
  • For internal research and reporting;
  • To analyze and improve the content and features of the Services or develop new Services;
  • To ensure that content from our website is presented in the most effective manner for you and on the device or browser from which you are accessing our Services;
  • To personalize the content and advertising that you see on the Services or on other websites, including across difference devices and browsers (see “Personalized Content and Advertising” section below);
  • To measure or understand the effectiveness of advertising we serve to you and others;
  • To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service when you choose to do so;
  • To enforce the legal terms that govern your use of the Services;
  • To keep our website safe and secure;
  • To use IP addresses to identify the location of users, to block disruptive use, to establish the number of visits from different countries and to determine the jurisdiction in which you are accessing the Services; and
  • To administer and troubleshoot the Services.

Please note that we may combine information that we collect from you and about you (including automatically-collected information) with information we obtain about you from our affiliates and/or non-affiliated third parties, and use such combined information in accordance with this Policy.

We may aggregate and/or de-identify information collected through the Services. We may use de-identified and/or aggregated data for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes, and may also share such data with any third parties, including advertisers, promotional partners, sponsors, event promoters, and/or others.

We do not ask you for ‘sensitive personal information’ (for example racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life, criminal proceedings, and offenses). If you ever provide us ‘sensitive personal information’ we will only use this information to provide the Service you require in accordance with this Policy and we will ask for your explicit consent to such processing.

  1. WHEN WE DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION

Our customer information is an important part of our business. As a result, we limit the disclosure of this information to the information necessary to provide our service of matching buyers and suppliers. Our sharing of information with outside parties is described below. Buyers: To facilitate our business of matching buyers and suppliers, buyers using our Request for Quote service will be provided information about suppliers. This may include supplier contact information, company background information, and, where appropriate, ratings, or reviews. Suppliers: Similarly, a small set of suppliers will be provided with buyer information so buyers may be able to have their purchasing needs fulfilled. The buyer's information (including all forms of contact information submitted) can only be used to communicate with the buyer about their desired purchase. In addition, suppliers may receive information about buyers in a manner that does not disclose personally identifiable information. Examples include data that are aggregated across a group of buyers or feedback that is provided without attribution to a specific person or company.

BuildingsGuide.com may disclose and/or share your information between members of the BuildingsGuide.com corporate group, and to or with any non-affiliated third parties under the following circumstances:

  • Consent. We may disclose your information to any third party based on your consent to do so.
  • Service Providers. We may provide access to or share your information with select third parties who perform services on our behalf and for any other legitimate business purpose. These third parties provide a variety of services to us, including without limitation billing, sales, marketing, advertising, market research, customer support, fulfillment, data storage, analysis and processing, and legal services.
  • Business Partners. We may provide your information to individuals and companies with whom we have business relationships to provide you with special coupons, discounts, or promotions, or to offer products and services to you for purchase.
  • Prospective Buyers. To facilitate our business of matching buyers and suppliers, prospective buyers using our services will be provided information about suppliers relevant to the buyer's request or inquiry using such services. This includes supplier contact information, company background information, and, where appropriate, ratings, or reviews.
  • Suppliers. Similarly, suppliers whose products or services are relevant to a prospective buyer's request, and/or marketers, resellers and other service providers performing marketing, fulfillment and/or similar services on behalf of such suppliers with respect to the prospective buyer's request, may be provided with that prospective buyer's information. We contractually limit the use of the buyer's information (including all forms of contact information submitted) by the seller to communicating with the buyer or permitting its marketers, resellers, or other service providers to communicate with the buyer, about their desired purchase. In addition, suppliers may receive information about buyers in a manner that does not disclose personally identifiable information. Examples include data that are aggregated across a group of buyers or feedback that is provided without attribution to a specific person or company.
  • Protection of BuildingsGuide.com and Others. By using the Services, you acknowledge, consent and agree that we may access, preserve and disclose your information, including, but not limited to, any user content, if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce our Terms of Use, this Policy, or other contracts with you, including investigation of potential violations thereof; (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; and/or (e) protect the rights, property or personal safety of BuildingsGuide.com, its agents and affiliates, its users and/or the public. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection, and spam/malware prevention, and similar purposes.
  • Business Transfers. As we continue to develop our business, we may buy, merge, or partner with other companies. In such transactions, (including in contemplation of such transactions, e.g., due diligence) user information may be among the transferred assets. If a portion or all of BuildingsGuide.com’s assets are sold or transferred to a third-party, customer information (including your email address) would likely be one of the transferred business assets.
  • Public Forums. Our Services may offer publicly accessible blogs and community forums. You should be aware that any information you provide in these areas may be read, collected, and used by others who access them. Please also remember that if you choose to provide information on public features of the Services, Individuals reading such information may use or disclose it to other individuals or entities without our control and without your knowledge, and search engines may index that information. We, therefore, urge you to think carefully about what you choose to disclose publicly and make sure it’s information you want to share with the public.
  • Disclosures for a business purpose. During 2019, we have used service providers to assist us in bringing you competitive quotes and other services need to run BuildingsGuide.com. The data we transferred in this way includes identifiers; information that identifies relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with, a particular individual; commercial information; internet activity; geolocation data, professional or employment-related information, and inferences drawn from that information.
  • Sales. During 2019, we have brought you competitive quotes and information about products and services you may be interested in by transferring data to suppliers and other companies in ways that may be considered a sale. The data we transferred in this way includes identifiers; information that identifies relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with, a particular individual; commercial information; internet activity; geolocation data, professional or employment-related information, and inferences drawn from that information.
  1. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING PERSONAL DATA

The laws in some jurisdictions require companies to tell you about the legal ground they rely on to use or disclose your personal data. To the extent those laws apply, our legal grounds for processing your personal data are as follows:

  • To Honor Our Contractual Commitments to You. Much of our processing of personal data is to meet our contractual obligations to our customers or to take steps at customers’ request in anticipation of entering into a contract with them.
  • Legitimate Interests In many cases, we handle personal data on the ground that it furthers our legitimate interests in commercial activities such as the following in ways that are not overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the affected individuals:
    • Customer service
    • Marketing
    • Protecting our customers, personnel, and property
    • Analyzing and improving our business
    • Managing legal issues

We may also process personal data for the same legitimate interests of our customers and business partners.

  • Legal Compliance. We need to use and disclose personal data in certain ways to comply with our legal obligations.
  • Consent. Where required by law, and in some other cases, we handle personal data on the basis of consent. Where we handle your personal data on the basis of consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent.
  1. PERSONALIZED CONTENT AND ADVERTISING

We may use third-party web analytics services on our Services, such as those of Google Analytics. These service providers use the sort of technology previously described in the “Cookies and other electronic technologies” section to help us analyze how users use the Services, including by noting the third-party website from which you arrive, and provide certain features to you. For example, the Google Trusted Store badge displayed on some of the Services is served to you through the use of cookies. The information (including your IP address) collected by the technology will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who use the information to evaluate your use of the Services. We also use Google Analytics for certain purposes related to advertising, as described in the following section. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here.

If you receive an email from us, we may use certain tools, such as clear GIFs to capture data such as when you open our message or click on any links or banners our email contains. This data allows us to gauge the effectiveness of our communications and marketing campaigns.

  1. YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES

You may review and update certain information through your relevant account settings on the Services. For additional assistance with reviewing or modifying information provided to us, contact us as described below.

If you have provided contact information through the Services and decide that you do not want BuildingsGuide.com to use that information for marketing purposes in accordance with this Policy, you can opt-out of future use at any time by: (a) going to the link provided at the bottom of any email you receive and opting out of receiving future information; or (b) contacting us as described below. Please note that you may not be able to opt-out of emails about your transactions and relationship with us, such as emails regarding your account, requests or inquiries, and purchases of products and/or services.

Individuals in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and many other jurisdictions have certain legal rights to obtain confirmation of whether we hold personal data about them, to access personal data we hold about them, and to obtain its correction, update, amendment, or deletion in appropriate circumstances. You may also have the right to object to our handling of your personal data, restrict our processing of your personal data, and to withdraw any consent you have provided. To exercise these rights, please contact us as described below with the nature of your request. Our security procedures mean that we may request proof of identity before we reveal information. This proof of identity will typically take the form of your e-mail address and any password submitted upon registration. While we strongly encourage you to first raise any questions or concerns about your personal data with us, you also have a right to contact the relevant supervisory authority.

Many of the rights described here are subject to significant limitations and exceptions under applicable law (e.g., objections to the processing of personal data, and withdrawals of consent, typically will not have retroactive effect).

California consumers have the right under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and certain other privacy and data protection laws, as applicable, to exercise free of charge:

You have the right to know the personal information we collect about you:

  • The categories of personal information we have collected about you;
  • The categories of sources from which the personal information is collected;
  • Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling personal information;
  • The categories of third parties with whom we share personal information if any; and
  • The specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.

Please note that we are not required to:

  • Retain any personal information about you that was collected for a single one-time transaction if, in the ordinary course of business, that information about you is not retained;
  • Reidentify or otherwise link any data that, in the ordinary course of business, is not maintained in a manner that would be considered personal information; or
  • Provide personal information to you more than twice in a 12-month period.

Disclosure of Personal Information Sold or Used for a Business Purpose

In connection with any personal information we may sell or disclose to a third party for a business purpose, you have the right to know:

  • The categories of personal information about you that we sold and the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold; and
  • The categories of personal information that we disclosed about you for a business purpose.

Right to Deletion

Subject to certain exceptions set out below, on receipt of a verifiable request from you, we will:

  • Delete your personal information from our records; and
  • Direct any service providers to delete your personal information from their records.

Please note that we may retain your personal information if it is necessary to:

  • Complete the transaction for which the personal information was collected, provide a good or service requested by you, or reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform a contract between you and us;
  • Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity; or prosecute those responsible for that activity;
  • Debug to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality;
  • Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise his or her right of free speech, or exercise another right provided for by law;
  • Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act;
  • Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when our deletion of the information is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of such research, provided we have obtained your informed consent;
  • Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with your expectations based on your relationship with us;
  • Comply with an existing legal obligation; or
  • Otherwise use your personal information, internally, in a lawful manner that is compatible with the context in which you provided the information.

Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information

We may sell [or disclose] to a third party personal information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household.

You have the right under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and certain other privacy and data protection laws, as applicable, to opt-out of the sale of your personal information. If you exercise your right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information, we will refrain from selling your personal information, unless you subsequently provide express authorization for the sale of your personal information.

To opt-out of the sale of your personal information, visit our homepage and click on the Do Not Sell My Personal Information page.

Protection Against Discrimination

You have the right to not be discriminated against by us because you exercised any of your rights under the CCPA. This means we cannot, among other things:

  • Deny goods or services to you;
  • Charge different prices or rates for goods or services, including through the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties;
  • Provide a different level or quality of goods or services to you; or
  • Suggest that you will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

Please note that we may charge a different price or rate, or provide a different level or quality of [goods and/or services] to you if that difference is reasonably related to the value provided to us by your personal information.

How California Consumers can Exercise Your Rights under the CCPA

If California consumers would like to exercise any of your rights under the CCPA as described in this Privacy Policy, please:

Please note that you may only make data access or data portability disclosure request twice within a 12-month period.

Verifying Your Identity

You will need to provide us with:

  • Enough information to identify you and prove that you are the person about whom we have collected personal information [(e.g., your full name, address and other information you submitted to us)];
  • Proof of your identity and address (e.g., a copy of your driving license or passport and a recent utility or credit card bill); and
  • A description of what right you want to exercise and the information to which your request relates.

We are not obligated to make a data access or data portability disclosure if we cannot verify that the person making the request is the person about whom we collected information, or is someone authorized to act on such person’s behalf.

Any personal information we collect from you to verify your identity in connection with your request will be used solely for the purposes of verification.

  1. SECURITY

We have implemented administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect against the loss, misuse and/or alteration of your information. These safeguards vary based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect and store. All information you provide to us is stored on secure servers. Any payment transactions will be encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our website or our service, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure, and although we will do our best to protect your information, we cannot and do not guarantee that the measures we take will prevent every unauthorized attempt to access, use, or disclose your information since despite our efforts, as no Internet and/or other electronic transmissions can be completely secure and any transmission is at your own risk.

It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer so we advise that you sign off when you have finished using a shared computer and strongly recommend that you do not use the browser’s password memory function as that would permit other people using your device to access your information. It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer so we advise that you sign off when you have finished using a shared computer strongly recommend and that you do not use the browser’s password memory function as that would permit other people using your device to access your information. We recommend that you change your password periodically. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account username and password. You may not provide these account credentials to any third party. If you believe that your account username and/or password have been stolen or been made known to others, you must contact us immediately as described below and change your password immediately. We are not responsible if someone else accesses your account through information that they have obtained from you. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all liability and responsibility for any damages you may suffer due to any loss, unauthorized access, misuse, or alterations of any information you submit to the Service.

  1. DATA RETENTION

We will keep your information only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purpose that it has been processed, taking into account any legal requirements under Applicable Law. For the avoidance of doubt, we will retain your information to continue offering the Services to you. If you terminate your account, any association between your account and the information we store will no longer be accessible through your account. However, if you have engaged in any public sharing prior to termination, that information will remain on our services and accessible to the public. We will also retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Information may persist in copies made for backup and business continuity purposes for additional time.

  1. INTERNATIONAL USERS

The Services are operated in the United States and are governed by United States law. If you are a resident of the European Union or other location outside the United States, please be advised that any information you provide through the Services will be transferred to the United States or other designated locations outside of the EEA, which may not have a similar standard for data protection as the laws of your jurisdiction for processing, hosting, and storage by us or our service providers. Where you are accessing Services from an EEA member state, we will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your information is treated securely in accordance with this privacy policy always and at least to the standards required by Applicable Law in the jurisdiction of access.

  1. THIRD-PARTY LINKS AND SERVICES

The Services may contain links to third-party websites, applications, and other services. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites and services. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our Services and to read the privacy statements of each and every site they visit that collects their information. Some of these links may be affiliate marketing links encoded by third parties. This means that we may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via affiliate links, and affiliate partners may use cookies to understand your use of the Services.

The Services may also include widgets and social media features such as the Facebook “Like” button, which are interactive mini-programs that provide specific services from another company (e.g., displaying the news, opinions, music, etc.). Information such as your email address may be collected through these features. These features may collect your IP address and set cookies to enable them to function properly. We are not responsible for nor do we endorse the privacy practices or the content of such third party services. Any information you provide via those services is subject to their applicable privacy policies and is not covered by this Policy.

  1. YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

This section (11) applies solely to the personal data of users who reside in the State of California ("consumers" or "you") and supplements the information contained in BuildingsGuide’ Privacy Policy. We have included this section (11)  to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this notice.

Your Rights and Choices: The CCPA provides consumers with specific rights regarding their personal information. This section describes your CCPA rights and explains how to exercise those rights.

Access to Specific Information and Data Portability Rights. You have the right to request that BuildingsGuide disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable request, we will disclose to you: (i) the categories of personal information we collected about you; (ii) the categories of sources for the personal information we collected about you; (iii) our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling that personal information; (iv) the categories of third parties with whom we share that personal information if any; (v) the specific pieces of personal information we collected about you (also called a data portability request); (vi) if we sold or disclosed your personal information for a business purpose, two separate lists disclosing: (a) sales, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient purchased; and (b) disclosures for a business purpose, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient obtained.

Deletion Request Rights. You have the right to request that BuildingsGuide delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies. We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service provider(s) to: (i) complete the transaction for which we collected the personal information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you; (ii) detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities; (iii) debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality; (iv) exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law; (v) comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 et. seq.); (vi) engage in public or peer-reviewed research in accordance with Section 1798.105 (d)(6) of the CCPA; (vii) enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us; (viii) comply with a legal obligation; or (ix) make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.

Exercising Access, Data Portability, and Deletion Rights. To exercise the access, data portability, and deletion rights described above visit our homepage and click on the Do Not Sell My Personal Information page.

Only you, or a person registered with the California Secretary of State that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information.

You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access or data portability twice within a 12-month period. The verifiable consumer request must: (i) provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative; and (ii) describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.

Response Timing and Format. We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable consumer request's receipt. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance. We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

Non-Discrimination. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not: (i) deny you goods or services; (ii) Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties; (iii) provide you a different level or quality of goods or services; (iv) suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services. However, we may offer you certain financial incentives permitted by the CCPA that can result in different prices, rates, or quality levels. Any CCPA-permitted financial incentive we offer will reasonably relate to your personal information's value and contain written terms that describe the program's material aspects. Participation in a financial incentive program requires your prior opt-in consent, which you may revoke at any time.

Contact Information: If you have any questions or comments about this notice, the ways in which BuildingsGuide collects and uses your information described in this section (11), your choices and rights regarding such use, or wish to exercise your rights under California law, please do not hesitate to contact us

  1. INFORMATION FROM CHILDREN

The Services are not directed to children under the age of 16 and such children are not permitted to use the Services. If we discover we have received any “personal information” (as defined under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) from a child under the age of 13 in violation of this Policy, we will take reasonable steps to delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe we have any information from or about anyone under the age of 13, please contact us as described below.

  1. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We reserve the right to change this Policy at any time to reflect changes in the law, our data collection, and use practices, the features of our Services, or advances in technology. Please check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of changes to this Policy will mean you accept those changes.

  1. QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS POLICY

If you have any questions about our Policy, to exercise any of your rights, or for any other privacy-related inquiries, you can contact us

This Privacy Policy was last updated: December 12th, 2019