Privacy Policy

Lights Local (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website lightslocal.com (the “Site”). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have regarding your data.

By using the Site, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information Homeowners Provide

When you submit a quote request on Lights Local, we collect the following information:

• First name and last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• ZIP code
• Service type (e.g., Christmas Lighting, Permanent Lighting)
• Property type (Residential or Commercial)
• Project description (optional, if you choose to provide it)

We do not require you to create an account to submit a quote request. No account is created for homeowners.

1.2 Information Contractors Provide

When contractors create an account and build their profile, we collect:

• Business name and contact information (phone, email, city, state). Phone numbers are stored in standardized E.164 format (for example, “+13035551234”) to support SMS delivery and duplicate-account detection.
• Account credentials (email address used for passwordless magic link or Google Sign-In authentication). If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and Google account identifier. We do not access your Google contacts, calendar, or other data.
• Signup source — which signup flow you used (free listing, Pro, or Pay-Per-Lead). Used to attribute conversions and decide which welcome emails to send.
• Business bio and description. You may use our AI-powered "Write with AI" feature to generate a business description. When used, your business name, location, services, and service area are sent to Anthropic (Claude AI) to generate the description. Anthropic's privacy policy governs their handling of this data.
• Service types and service area (counties selected)
• Uploaded photos (logo and project images) — stored on Cloudflare R2
• Payment information (handled directly by Stripe — we do not store full card numbers)
• Subscription status and billing history
• Support messages submitted through the contractor dashboard, including subject and message content

1.2a Pay-Per-Lead Program Data

Contractors who opt into the Pay-Per-Lead Program provide additional information through their Lead Settings dashboard:

• Lead service area — the specific counties (and corresponding states) you want to receive leads in, which may be different from the counties shown on your public directory listing.
• Monthly budget cap — the dollar limit you set for per-lead charges in a calendar month.
• Payment method for off-session charges — a Stripe SetupIntent authorization that allows us to charge your card when a qualifying lead is delivered. Card data itself is stored by Stripe; we only retain a reference ID to the payment method.
• Lead delivery history — a record of each lead we routed to you, the charge amount, the card last-four, and the delivery timestamp. Retained for billing, dispute review, and fraud detection.
• Lead disputes — any disputes you file against delivered leads, including your stated reason, any evidence you provide, and the final resolution. Retained for pattern review and compliance.
• Credit balance — any credits applied to your account through approved disputes or goodwill gestures. Retained until account closure.

1.3 Contact Form Submissions

When you submit a message through our contact form, we collect:

• First name and last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Your role (homeowner, contractor, or other)
• Message content

This information is used to respond to your inquiry and is stored for support and record-keeping purposes.

1.4 Exclusive Leads Interest

If you express interest in our Exclusive Leads program, we collect your contact information and selected preferences to notify you when the service becomes available in your area.

1.5 Usage and Analytics Data

We automatically collect certain information when you visit the Site, including:

• Pages viewed and time spent on pages
• Browser type and operating system
• Referring URL (how you found us)
• Behavioral events: click-to-call events, website link clicks, contractor profile views, and quote form submissions

This data is used to understand how the platform is being used and to improve our services.

1.5 Location Data

We use ZIP code information you enter to resolve your county for lead matching. This lookup uses a static dataset (a ZIP-to-county crosswalk from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). We do not use live GPS tracking, IP-based geolocation, or device location services.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Lead routing: Matching homeowner quote requests to eligible Pro contractors in the same county using our round robin system
• Notifications: Sending homeowners a confirmation SMS and email after they submit a quote request; sending contractors lead delivery notifications via SMS and email
• Account management: Creating and maintaining contractor accounts, processing subscription payments, and managing billing
• Analytics: Tracking platform activity (profile views, click-to-call events, website link clicks) to provide contractors with performance insights and to improve the platform
• Service improvement: Understanding usage patterns to improve features, fix issues, and expand coverage
• Legal and compliance: Maintaining records for billing disputes, fraud prevention, and compliance with applicable laws
• Admin alerts: When no Pro contractor is available in a county, forwarding the lead details to Lights Local administrators as a demand signal for contractor recruitment
• Lead operations: When a homeowner submits a quote request, we may share the lead details with our operations team via email to facilitate contractor matching

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We share your information only as described below.

3.1 With Matched Contractors (Homeowners)

When a homeowner’s quote request is matched to a Pro contractor, we share the homeowner’s full lead information with that contractor. This includes first name, last name, email address, phone number, ZIP code, service type, property type, county, and project description (if provided).

This sharing is the core service homeowners request when they submit a quote form. The matched contractor will use this information to follow up directly with the homeowner about their project.

Contractor restrictions on homeowner data: Contractors who receive homeowner contact information through Lights Local — including both Pro subscription leads and Pay-Per-Lead Program leads — agree to use that information only for responding to the specific quote request. Contractors may not (a) use the information for marketing, advertising, or promotional messages unrelated to the specific quote request, (b) add the homeowner to any mailing list, distribution list, or CRM for marketing purposes, (c) resell, redistribute, share with third parties, or use the information to populate any other database, or (d) contact the homeowner for any purpose other than fulfilling the quote request. These restrictions are enforceable under our Terms of Service (Section 5.5) and violation is grounds for immediate account termination.

3.2 Service Providers

We share data with third-party service providers who help us operate the platform. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and may only use it for the purposes we specify:

• Stripe — Payment processing for contractor subscriptions and per-lead charges. Stripe handles all card data and is PCI-DSS compliant.
• Twilio — SMS delivery to homeowners (confirmation messages) and contractors (lead notifications and account alerts).
• Resend — Transactional email delivery to homeowners and contractors.
• Cloudflare R2— Storage for contractor-uploaded photos (logos and project images), served via Cloudflare’s CDN.
• Vercel — Website hosting and serverless functions. Vercel may process request logs that include IP addresses and request metadata.
• Neon — Serverless PostgreSQL database where contractor accounts, leads, and platform data are stored.
• Google Analytics — Website analytics to understand traffic patterns and user behavior. Google Analytics uses cookies. See Section 5 for more detail.
• Cloudflare Turnstile — Bot verification on public forms (quote requests, contact form, contractor signup). Cloudflare may process device metadata to distinguish humans from bots. No CAPTCHAs are displayed; verification is invisible.
• Anthropic (Claude AI) — AI-powered business description generation. When a contractor uses "Write with AI," their business name, location, services, and service area are sent to Anthropic to generate a description. No personal contact information (email, phone) is sent.
• Google — OAuth authentication for contractors who choose to sign in with Google. Google receives confirmation that the user authenticated with Lights Local. We receive the user's name, email, and Google account identifier.

3.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental authority, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, prevent fraud, or protect the safety of any person.

4. SMS Text Messaging

We send SMS messages to both homeowners and contractors through Twilio.

4.1 Messages We Send to Homeowners

• Confirmation that your quote request was received and a contractor has been matched
• Follow-up status updates related to your submission

Frequency: typically 1–2 messages per quote request. Message and data rates may apply.

4.2 Messages We Send to Contractors

• Lead delivery notifications with homeowner contact details
• Account alerts (payment failures, subscription renewals)

Frequency varies based on lead volume in your service area.

4.3 Opt-Out

To stop receiving SMS messages, reply STOP to any message. To get help, reply HELP. You can also contact us at support@lightslocal.com.

Consent to receive SMS is not required as a condition of using the Site or purchasing any service.

5. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on the Site.

5.1 Session Cookies

We use session cookies to maintain your state while browsing the Site — for example, to keep a contractor logged in to their dashboard. Session cookies expire when you close your browser.

5.2 Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the Site. Google Analytics collects data such as pages visited, time on page, traffic sources, and general geographic region (country/ state level, not precise location). This data is aggregated and does not identify individual users.

Google Analytics uses cookies to track sessions across visits. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On.

5.3 Analytics Events

We track the following behavioral events on contractor profiles:

• Click-to-call events (when a visitor taps or clicks a phone number)
• Website link clicks (when a visitor clicks a contractor’s website URL)
• Profile page views
• Quote form submissions

These events are stored in our database and surfaced to contractors in their dashboard as performance data. They are also used by Lights Local for platform analytics.

We filter bot and crawler traffic from listing analytics to provide contractors with accurate visitor metrics. Bot detection uses User-Agent header analysis to exclude known search engine crawlers, social media preview bots, and automated tools.

5.4 Managing Cookies

Most browsers allow you to control or delete cookies through browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some Site functionality, including contractor login sessions.

6. Data Retention

6.1 Lead Data (Homeowners)

Homeowner lead information (name, email, phone, ZIP, project details) is retained in our database for as long as necessary to fulfill the matched lead, resolve any billing disputes, and comply with applicable laws. We do not retain homeowner lead data indefinitely — we periodically purge lead records older than 24 months unless required for active disputes or legal proceedings.

6.2 Contractor Account Data

Contractor account data is retained for as long as the account is active. If a contractor deletes their account or we terminate the account, we retain billing records and lead history for a minimum of 3 years for tax and legal compliance purposes.

6.3 Pay-Per-Lead Records

Records of individual pay-per-lead charges — including the contractor ID, lead reference, charge amount, card last-four, Stripe charge ID, and delivery timestamp — are retained for a minimum of 7 years for tax, accounting, and dispute-review purposes, aligned with standard business record retention requirements. Lead dispute records (reason, resolution, admin notes) are retained for the same period.

Credit balance transactions (credits granted, credits consumed) are retained for the life of the contractor account and for 7 years after account closure for audit purposes.

6.4 Analytics and Event Data

Analytics event data (profile views, click-to-call events, etc.) is retained to provide contractors with ongoing performance history. Aggregated, non-identifying analytics may be retained indefinitely.

7. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information, including:

• HTTPS encryption on all pages and data transmissions
• Passwordless authentication via magic links — no passwords are stored
• Payment card data is handled exclusively by Stripe and is never stored on Lights Local servers
• Contractor photos are uploaded directly from the browser to Cloudflare R2 via presigned URLs — images do not pass through our servers
• Access to production data is limited to authorized personnel
• CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) protection on all form submissions
• Rate limiting on authentication and API endpoints
• Bot detection via Cloudflare Turnstile on public forms

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we take reasonable precautions, we cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.

8. Children’s Privacy

Lights Local is not intended for use by anyone under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete it promptly. If you believe we have collected information from a minor, please contact us at support@lightslocal.com.

9. California and CCPA Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides you with the following rights regarding your personal information:

9.1 Right to Know

You have the right to request that we disclose what personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources from which it was collected, the purposes for which it was used, and the categories of third parties with whom it was shared.

9.2 Right to Delete

You have the right to request deletion of personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions (for example, we may need to retain information to complete a transaction, detect fraud, or comply with legal obligations).

9.3 Right to Opt Out of Sale

We do not sell your personal information. We do not sell homeowner or contractor data to data brokers, advertisers, or any third party for monetary compensation. The sharing of homeowner lead information with matched contractors is a delivery of the service you requested, not a sale of data.

9.4 Right to Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

9.5 How to Submit a Request

To exercise your California privacy rights, contact us at support@lightslocal.com. We will respond within 45 days as required by law.

10. Other State Privacy Rights

Residents of certain states — including Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), Connecticut (CTDPA), and Texas (TDPSA) — may have additional privacy rights under their respective state laws, including rights to access, correct, delete, and port their personal data, and to opt out of targeted advertising.

As noted above, we do not sell personal data or use it for targeted advertising beyond aggregate analytics. If you are a resident of a state with applicable privacy legislation and wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at support@lightslocal.com and identify your state.

We will handle your request in good faith and in compliance with applicable law.

11. Third-Party Services

The following third-party services process data on our behalf. Each has its own privacy policy that governs their handling of your data:

• Stripe — Payment processing. stripe.com/privacy
• Twilio — SMS messaging. twilio.com/legal/privacy
• Resend — Transactional email delivery.
• Cloudflare — Image storage (R2), CDN delivery, and Turnstile bot verification. cloudflare.com/privacypolicy
• Vercel — Website hosting. vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy
• Neon — Database hosting. neon.tech/privacy-policy
• Google Analytics — Website analytics. policies.google.com/privacy

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will notify registered contractors via email.

Continued use of the Site after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated version.

13. CAN-SPAM Compliance

We comply with the CAN-SPAM Act. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in any marketing email or by contacting us. Our physical mailing address is:

Lights Local (a Strandr Product)
12269 Scarlett Way
Concord Township, OH 44077