Privacy policy

Information we collect

We collect business listing details such as names, addresses, phone numbers, websites, hours, categories, and cities. When you create an account, add a listing, or claim a listing, we also collect the information you provide, including your name, role, email address, phone number, and communication preferences. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo from Google to create or access your account — we never receive your Google password. We may retain basic technical information, such as an IP-derived rate-limit record, to prevent spam and protect the service.

Google Sign-In

Google Sign-In is optional. If you choose it, we use the basic account information Google provides — your name, email address, and profile photo — solely to create or sign you in to your Central Coast Directory account. We do not receive your Google password.

We do not request or access your Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Business Profile, or other Google Account data. We do not use Google account data for advertising, sell it, or use it to train AI models. You can stop using Google Sign-In at any time by signing in with another available method, removing Central Coast Directory from your Google Account's connected apps, or contacting us to request account assistance or deletion.

Public listing sources and corrections

Listing data may be submitted by business owners, or compiled from publicly available sources such as Google Business Profile data through a third-party data provider. We periodically refresh compiled listing details, but any changes a business owner makes directly to their own listing are preserved and are not overwritten by that refresh. Public listing information, including any address you provide, is displayed in the directory — if that address doubles as your home address, keep that in mind when submitting or claiming a listing. If information is inaccurate, or if you want your business listing removed, reach out on our contact page. We will review correction and removal requests promptly.

Communication consent

Listings are free, and we verify them by phone. When you add or claim a listing as its owner or representative, you authorize us to call the number you provide — including calls placed with an automated system or an artificial or AI-generated voice — to verify the listing and to tell you about our premium listing services. That authorization is part of listing with us, and it is not a condition of purchasing anything.

Email and text messages are separate and entirely optional. Both start unchecked, and declining them has no effect on your listing.

You can stop calls at any time by telling the caller or using our contact page, and we apply that to the phone number itself rather than to a single listing. Email consent can be withdrawn the same way. To stop text messages, reply STOP to any message or contact us. Message and data rates may apply.

To document consent, we keep a record of each authorization: the exact wording shown to you, the number authorized, and the date, time, and IP address of the submission.

Leads and business inquiries

If you submit an inquiry through a listing's lead form, we share what you submit — such as your name, contact information, and message — with that business so it can respond to you. Once shared, the business's own privacy practices govern how it uses your information; we are not responsible for it. We also retain a copy of the inquiry so the business owner can view it in their dashboard and so we can measure how often listings receive inquiries.

How information is used and shared

We use information to operate the directory, verify claims, maintain listings, respond to requests, prevent abuse, and send communications you have chosen to receive. We use service providers for hosting, database, authentication, email delivery, and payment processing. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the service and its users.

Artificial intelligence

We use AI-assisted systems in a few limited ways: to place the verification calls you authorize when you add or claim a listing (see Communication consent above), and to detect and count visits from AI answer engines and crawlers — such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overview — to listing pages, so business owners can see how their listing performs in AI-generated answers. Those counts are aggregate and are not tied to a visitor's identity. We do not use your personal information to train AI models.

Billing and payments

If you upgrade a listing to a paid plan, payment is processed by Stripe. We do not receive or store your card number. We retain limited billing information needed to manage your subscription, such as a Stripe customer identifier and your subscription status.

Analytics and measurement

We use Vercel Web Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights to understand which pages are visited and how quickly they load. Both are cookieless: they do not store cookies on your device, do not build a profile of you, and do not track you across other websites. We use one essential cookie to keep you signed in to your account; we do not set advertising or cross-site tracking cookies, so no consent banner is required.

We also count listing engagement in aggregate — how often a listing is viewed and how often visitors tap its call, website, directions, or booking links — so business owners can see how their listing is performing. These counts are not tied to your identity.

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we track delivery, open, and click activity for the emails we send so we can keep our mailing list accurate. You can update your preferences or unsubscribe at any time from the link in any newsletter email, or via our newsletter preferences page.

Retention and security

We keep information for as long as needed to operate the directory, document consent, resolve disputes, and meet legal obligations. We use reasonable safeguards, but no online service can guarantee absolute security.

Contact

Questions or privacy requests can be sent through our contact page.