Privacy comes before scale.

EFFECTIVE AUGUST 1, 2026 · LAST UPDATED AUGUST 1, 2026 · VERSION 1.0

This Privacy Policy explains how BLACK OWNED HERE., operated by Roger Mitchell, handles information when people browse the directory, create accounts, submit or claim listings, contribute content, contact us, save businesses, use reviews, or exercise a privacy choice. Questions may be sent to privacy@blackownedhere.com.

Information we collect

Account information: email address, display name, authentication state, role, account timestamps, and security or session records supplied by the authentication system.
Listing information: private drafts, ownership attestations, business details, owner contact details, service areas, locations, links, hours, media, correction responses, submission versions, and review status.
Review and verification information: ownership or business-existence evidence, website-ownership signals, administrator notes, moderation history, and approval, rejection, correction, suspension, or removal records.
Website-assisted intake information: the website address, permission record, public pages read, public business text and links found there, candidate images, scanner warnings, and the resulting private draft. The source report remains private to the owner and authorized administrators.
Community and editorial information: contributions, stories, sources, firsthand travel context, reviewed photos, relationship disclosures, public social links, reviews, and contributor display names when those features are used.
Support and rights information: support messages, correction reports, privacy requests, applicant-facing updates, private processing notes, identity verification status, and request history.
Technical information: request time, page or action, device/browser information supplied in standard web requests, IP-derived security signals, error and rate-limit events, content-security-policy reports, and aggregate profile-action data. Raw sensitive form content is not intended for operational logs.

Where information comes from

Information comes directly from account holders, business owners, contributors, support requesters, and administrators; from public business websites when an authorized owner starts website-assisted intake; from approved public, licensed, partner, or open-data research processes; and from service providers that operate the application. Source imports are private candidates and do not become public listings without the required review.

How we use information

Operate authentication, accounts, saved businesses, search, and directory pages.
Prepare, review, verify within the stated scope, publish, update, suspend, or remove eligible listings and approved contributions.
Respond to support, corrections, appeals, privacy requests, security reports, and administrator work queues.
Send or record account, listing, privacy, support, moderation, and operational communications; prevent duplicate delivery; and show delivery state to authorized users.
Protect the service, enforce access controls, investigate abuse, preserve audit integrity, recover from incidents, and improve reliability and accessibility.
Measure aggregate product usage and public listing actions without using those action events to identify a public visitor.

BLACK OWNED HERE. does not sell personal information.

What becomes public

Only approved public listing fields and media are published. Private owner contact, hidden addresses, verification evidence, drafts, rejected submissions, raw intake answers, private media, request records, and moderation notes are not public. Ownership attestations support review but are not displayed as independent or third-party certification.

Approved stories, reviewed photos, contributor display names, social links, reviews, and relationship disclosures may become public when their feature is enabled and the contributor submits them for publication. The contributor's account email remains private. Authorizing website-assisted intake does not publish the resulting draft or approve extracted text or media.

Browser storage, cookies, location, and analytics

The application uses browser storage and strictly necessary authentication cookies or similar storage to maintain sessions, remember that the optional homepage introduction played, preserve selected search geography, and support requested account features. These controls are not used to infer Black ownership.

If a visitor chooses “Near me,” the browser supplies coordinates after permission. Coordinates are used to resolve the nearest supported Census place and are not saved by the application as a public profile field or search history. The visitor can decline and search by city or state instead.

Production uses Vercel Web Analytics for aggregate site measurement. Standard web requests may disclose the visited URL and technical request information to Vercel. The application does not currently use advertising pixels or behavioral advertising cookies. If analytics or cookie practices materially change, this notice will be updated and any required choice mechanism will be provided before or when the change takes effect.

Service providers

Vercel provides application hosting and production web analytics. Supabase provides the database, authentication, and file storage. Resend is the selected provider for application-owned transactional email when activated, while authentication email may be sent through Supabase's configured mail path. Microsoft 365 receives mail sent to published BLACK OWNED HERE addresses. These providers process information needed to perform their services under their own contracts, security controls, and privacy terms. Additional providers may be used only when needed and must be reflected in this notice when the change is material.

When information is disclosed

Information may be disclosed to service providers operating the product; to a business owner or contributor for their own authorized records; when a person directs or consents to disclosure; to investigate security, fraud, abuse, or legal claims; or when required by valid legal process. Private records are not shared publicly merely because someone requests them. In a reorganization or transfer of the service, information may transfer subject to applicable notice and legal requirements.

Retention

Information is kept while needed to operate an account or listing, process an open request, maintain an accurate published record, protect security and audit integrity, resolve disputes, enforce policies, recover from incidents, or meet legal obligations. Retention varies by record and no fixed deletion deadline is promised. A deletion request does not automatically erase an account or every related record. Approved fulfillment may preserve limited audit, security, moderation, transaction, backup, or legal-hold records where necessary and permitted.

Current operating defaults, pending professional legal review, are:

Privacy-request case history and deleted-account audit records: seven years.
Rejected or removed listing history: three years.
Transactional delivery history: one year.
Security and incident records: two years.
Review moderation, report, and appeal history: two years after final resolution.
Inactive unfinished drafts: eligible for deletion after 12 months with advance notice.
Private ownership documents: scheduled for deletion 90 days after final review unless an active dispute, safety issue, appeal, fraud investigation, legal hold, or other obligation requires temporary preservation.

These periods describe operating defaults, not automatic deletion promises. Retention execution requires a reviewed, observable dry run and Administrator confirmation; the application does not silently delete existing records when a policy period ends.

Your choices and privacy requests

Clear saved geography through the search controls or browser settings.
Change public listing fields through the owner review and resubmission workflow.
Delete your own saved-business entry or review where that control is available and the feature is enabled.
Use a business profile's correction form to report inaccurate, private, unsafe, or removal-worthy information.
Signed-in, email-confirmed account holders may submit and track an account deletion, personal-data export, correction, or privacy inquiry at Account Privacy.
People without an account may use the privacy contact form or email privacy@blackownedhere.com.

The administrator may request proportionate information to verify identity and scope before fulfillment. Requests can be marked Received, Identity verification needed, In review, More information required, Completed, Denied with explanation, or Cancelled. Requests are reviewed rather than triggering automated deletion or export. An export is checked to avoid disclosing another person's information. No statutory response deadline is promised in this policy; rights and timing may vary by applicable law.

Security

Administrative authorization, row-level database rules, private media review, access controls, audit history, rate limits, redacted monitoring, and incident procedures are used to reduce risk. No online service can guarantee absolute security. Report a suspected vulnerability or account compromise to security@blackownedhere.com without including secrets or unrelated personal data.

Children and teenagers

The service is not permitted for children under 13, and BLACK OWNED HERE. does not knowingly seek personal information from them. People ages 13 through 17 require parent or guardian consent and supervision. Business owner and listing-management tools are for adults. If you believe information from a child under 13 was submitted, contact privacy@blackownedhere.com so the record can be reviewed and handled appropriately.

Changes to this policy

Material changes will be reflected by a new last-updated date and policy version. When applicable law or the nature of a change requires additional notice or consent, the appropriate notice or choice will be provided. Prior versions and processing history may be retained for audit and legal purposes.

Contact

Privacy questions and requests: privacy@blackownedhere.com. General support: support@blackownedhere.com. Legal notices: legal@blackownedhere.com.