Privacy Policy

In short

• We never sell your information, and we don’t share it for targeted ads.
• When you contact a pro, only that pro gets your message.
• We use only the cookies the site needs to work. No ad cookies.
• You can ask us what we have about you, and ask us to correct or delete it.

Who we are

ExpertMarketplace is operated by API Technologies, Inc., a California corporation. This policy covers expertmarketplace.com and what we do with personal information we collect there.

What we collect

• When you search: what you searched for and the city you chose.
• When you message a pro: your name, email or phone, and your message.
• When you ask to be told when a pro joins: your email address and the city and trade.
• When you leave a review: your name as you give it, your rating and your words.
• Pros: business name, contact details, services, area, license numbers and insurance details, documents you upload, sign-in details and membership records. Payments are handled by our payment provider; we never see or store full card numbers.
• Business inquiries: what you send through our contact or advertising forms.
• Everyone: basic visit information, such as pages viewed, the page you came from, your browser and an approximate location worked out from your IP address. A small visit counter keeps an anonymous session ID in your browser.

From other sources. Some pro pages are set up from public business information, such as state license lists, or from a business’s own profile with an affiliated service. The business can claim or take down its page at any time.

How we use it

• To run the site: show listings, deliver your messages to the pro you chose, and send the emails you asked for.
• To check pros’ licenses and insurance and show what we checked.
• To keep the site safe and stop spam, fraud and misuse.
• To understand which pages help people, using visit counts. Our own test visits are left out.
• To meet legal obligations.

Who we share it with

• The pro you contact. Your message and the contact details you give go to that pro only.
• The public. What a pro puts on their page, and reviews, are public.
• Service providers who run parts of the site for us under contract: web hosting and security, email delivery, and payment processing.
• Our affiliates under common ownership, such as HandyBuddy, which run shared tools for us, such as email delivery and the visit counter.
• When the law requires it, or to protect people or the site, or if the business is sold or merged.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Cookies

We use only cookies the site needs: one that keeps a pro signed in to their page, and one used for our own previews. We don’t use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

How long we keep it

• Messages between homeowners and pros: 90 days.
• “Tell me when a pro joins” emails: until we send that one email, then deleted.
• Advertising inquiries: up to 1 year.
• Pro pages: while the page is up, plus records we must keep for tax, billing or legal reasons.

Your choices and California rights

Wherever you live, you can ask us to tell you what personal information we have about you, to correct it, or to delete it. California residents have these rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, plus the right to know the categories of information we collect, use and disclose (listed above), and the right not to be treated differently for using them. Because we don’t sell or share personal information or use sensitive information for anything beyond running the site, there is nothing to opt out of; if that ever changes we will update this policy first.

To make a request, use our privacy and legal request form. We may ask you to confirm details so we know the request is yours. You can use an authorized agent. We answer within 45 days.

Pros can also edit or take down their page anytime from their page.

Children

The site is for adults hiring or offering home services. It isn’t meant for children under 16, and we don’t knowingly collect their information.

Security

We use encryption in transit, limited access and reputable providers. No system is perfect, so we can’t promise information will never be exposed, but we will tell you if a breach affects you as the law requires.

Changes

When we change this policy we update the date at the top; for changes that matter, we tell pros by email first.

Contact

Privacy questions or requests: use our privacy and legal request form. API Technologies, Inc., California.