Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

When you create an account or use The Home Circle Hub (the “Platform”), we collect:

• Account information: name, email address, phone number, city/state/zip, and role (homeowner, contractor, realtor)
• Role-specific details: trade specialties, license number, business name, brokerage, and similar professional information
• Profile content: profile photos, cover photos, bios, service areas
• Project content: project descriptions, budgets, timelines, photos you upload
• Communications: messages between users, reviews, comments
• Payment information: processed by Stripe; we do not store card numbers ourselves
• Usage data: pages viewed, features used, device type, IP address (used for security and rate limiting)
• Error and performance data: automatically captured by Sentry to help us fix bugs

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Operate and improve the Platform
• Match homeowners with contractors and realtors
• Process payments and release funds at the appropriate project stage
• Send transactional emails and push notifications (e.g., bid received, payment confirmation)
• Detect fraud, abuse, and Fair Housing compliance issues
• Provide customer support

3. Homeowner Privacy

Homeowner profiles are never displayed in our public directory or search results. Only contractors, realtors, and partner stores appear publicly. Homeowner names and contact information are visible only to contractors and realtors with whom the homeowner has actively engaged (sent a message, received a bid, or accepted a project).

4. Service Providers (Sub-Processors)

We share data only with vendors that help us run the Platform. Each is contractually obligated to protect your information.

• Supabase — database, authentication, file storage. Hosted in the United States.
• Stripe — payment processing, contractor identity verification (Stripe Connect). Stripe's privacy policy governs payment data.
• Vercel — web hosting and edge network.
• Resend — transactional email delivery.
• Sentry — error monitoring and performance tracing.
• Google reCAPTCHA v3 — protects signup and form submission from automated abuse. Google's privacy policy applies.
• Google Analytics 4 — aggregate usage analytics. IP addresses are anonymized.
• Upstash Redis — rate limiting; stores only ephemeral counters, not personal data.

We do not sell your personal information to advertisers or data brokers.

5. Data Storage and Security

Your data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest. Database access is restricted via Supabase Row Level Security policies. Payment data is tokenized and handled by Stripe, who is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified. We restrict employee access to user data on a need-to-know basis.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use the following cookies and browser storage:

• Authentication cookies — Supabase session cookies that keep you logged in. Required for the Platform to function.
• Analytics cookies — Google Analytics (_ga, _gid) for aggregate usage data.
• Error monitoring — Sentry trace identifiers to associate error reports.
• reCAPTCHA — Google sets a cookie to evaluate signup risk.

You can disable non-essential cookies via your browser settings. Disabling authentication cookies will log you out.

7. Your Rights

You can:

• Access and update your data through your account settings at any time
• Delete your account by emailing contact@thehomecirclehub.com. We will remove your personal data within 30 days, except records we are required to retain (e.g., financial records held by Stripe under their retention policy)
• Request a copy of your personal data by emailing the address above
• Opt out of analytics by enabling Do Not Track in your browser, or by using a browser extension that blocks Google Analytics

California residents: under the CCPA you have the right to know what categories of personal information we collect, the right to deletion, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights. Contact us at the email above to exercise any of these rights.

8. Data Retention

• Active account data is retained for as long as your account is active.
• Account deletion requests are processed within 30 days. Some records (transaction logs, dispute records) are retained for up to 7 years for legal and tax compliance.
• Messages may be soft-deleted by senders; full deletion occurs after 90 days.
• Server logs and error reports are retained for 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

The Home Circle Hub is intended for users 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has submitted information to us, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Data Breach Notification

If a security incident exposes your personal information, we will notify affected users by email within 72 hours of confirming the breach, consistent with applicable state and federal breach notification laws.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as the Platform evolves or as laws change. Material changes will be communicated by email to registered users at least 14 days before they take effect. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

12. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data? Contact us at contact@thehomecirclehub.com.