Effective Date: October 2025

This Data Usage statement explains how BuildersTogether LLC collects, processes, and uses data when you interact with our marketplace. It complements our Privacy Policy and describes practical uses of different data types, why we need them, and how they support core features and user experience.

Types of data we use

  • Account Data: name, email, phone number, business/store name, address, profile images, and verification documents.
  • Transaction Data: order details, product listings, prices, shipping addresses, payment records (processed via Stripe), coupons used/created, taxes, and refund history.
  • Communication Data: messages exchanged between buyers and sellers, support tickets, and any content you submit (reviews, Q&A, product images).
  • Behavioral Data: site activity such as pages visited, searches (including live search queries), clicks, time on page, filters used, and session durations.
  • Technical Data: IP address, device type, browser, operating system, cookies, and other tracking identifiers.
  • Location Data: approximate location from IP and precise location only if you grant permission (used for distance filtering and store maps).
  • Analytics and Performance Data: aggregated metrics about site performance, errors, usage patterns, and A/B test results.
  • Moderation and Safety Data: reports, investigation records, admin notes, and any evidence submitted for disputes or abuse reports.

Why we use data (primary purposes)

  • Account management: create, authenticate, and manage user accounts; recover access and secure accounts.
  • Marketplace operation: list products, display stores, support search (including live search), process orders, coordinate shipping/pickup, and generate invoices.
  • Payments and financial controls: process payments and refunds through Stripe, calculate commissions and fees, hold payouts for refund windows, and reconcile transactions.
  • Communication: enable messaging between buyers and sellers, support ticketing, and provide transaction-related notifications.
  • Trust & safety: verify vendor identities, detect and prevent fraud, moderate content, investigate reports, and enforce policies (admins may access messages and block personal contact info within messages where necessary).
  • Personalization & discovery: personalize search results, recommend stores or products, surface featured or advertised vendors, and group or filter results (including distance-based filters).
  • Advertising & promotions: manage seller-paid advertising, measure ad performance, and deliver relevant promotions to users who consent to targeted advertising.
  • Analytics & improvements: analyze usage to improve features, performance, search relevance, onboarding, and overall user experience.
  • Legal & compliance: retain records for tax, accounting, regulatory compliance, subpoenas, or legal claims.
  • Customer support & disputes: investigate order issues, process returns/RMA requests, assist with chargebacks, and resolve disputes.
  • Reporting & insights for vendors: provide sellers with sales reports, performance dashboards, and analytics to help them run their stores.

Lawful basis for processing (where applicable)

  • Contract performance: to fulfill orders, process payments, and provide services requested by users.
  • Legitimate interests: to secure the platform, improve services, prevent fraud, and personalize the marketplace (balanced against user rights).
  • Consent: for marketing communications and non-essential cookies and targeted advertising.
  • Legal obligations: to comply with tax, accounting, and other statutory requirements.

How we use specific data elements

  • Email and phone: send transactional messages (order confirmations, shipping updates), verify accounts, and provide support. Phone and email may be masked in messages by admins to protect privacy.
  • Location data: used to show nearby vendors, calculate distance filters, and display store maps (Google Maps).
  • Messages and attachments: stored to facilitate transactions, support moderation and dispute resolution, and to provide audit trails.
  • Live search queries: processed in real-time to return relevant results and improve autocomplete suggestions; aggregated search data helps refine search ranking.
  • Images uploaded by users: used in listings, reviews, and seller profiles; we may resize/optimize images for performance and display.
  • Payment and financial records: stored for reconciliation, refunds, chargebacks, tax reporting, and payout calculations.
  • Cookies and tracking data: used to remember preferences, maintain sessions, enable live search performance, and serve analytics or advertising (with consent).

Data sharing for functional purposes

  • Payments: share necessary payment data with Stripe to complete transactions and process refunds.
  • Maps: share location/display information with Google Maps for store maps and routing.
  • Hosting and infrastructure: share data with hosting providers and cloud services for storage and site operation.
  • Analytics providers: supply anonymized or pseudonymized usage data to analytics services.
  • Shipping & logistics: share shipping addresses and order details with carriers where required for delivery.
  • Third-party tools: disclose limited data to partners providing email delivery, customer support platforms, or advertising services when needed to perform the requested service.

Minimization and retention

  • Data minimization: we collect only data necessary for the stated purposes and avoid excessive collection.
  • Retention periods: data is retained as long as needed to provide services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and for legitimate business purposes. When no longer necessary, data is deleted or anonymized.

User controls and choices

  • Account access: view and edit profile and store information from your dashboard.
  • Communication preferences: opt out of marketing emails; transactional emails remain active to support the service.
  • Cookies and tracking: manage cookie preferences via the consent banner or browser settings.
  • Location permissions: enable/disable precise location in your device or browser settings.
  • Data requests: request access, correction, deletion, or export of your personal data by contacting builderstogetherbusiness@gmail.com. We will verify requests before taking action.

Security and protection

  • Measures: encryption in transit (HTTPS), access controls, regular security reviews, and secure handling of payment through Stripe.
  • Admin access: admin accounts with privileged access are logged and monitored; access is limited to authorized personnel for moderation, support, and compliance tasks.

Automated decision-making and profiling

  • Personalization: we use automated processes to personalize search results, recommend products, and rank listings. These systems use behavioral and transactional data.
  • No solely automated adverse decisions: we do not rely solely on automated decision-making that has a legal or similarly significant effect on users (e.g., permanent account ban) without human review.
  • Opt-out: contact builderstogetherbusiness@gmail.com to discuss how profiling affects your account and request human review where applicable.

Data for research and aggregated insights

  • Aggregated data: we may analyze and publish aggregated, non-identifiable metrics (market trends, category performance) to help vendors and the public understand marketplace activity.
  • Research use: anonymized datasets may be used for internal research, product development, or shared with partners in a way that prevents identification of individual users.

Transfers and international processing

  • Cross-border processing: data may be stored and processed in the United States or other countries where our service providers operate. By using the service you agree to such transfers, subject to applicable law.

Law enforcement, legal requests, and abuse investigations

  • Compliance: we may disclose data to comply with legal obligations, respond to subpoenas, court orders, or government requests.
  • Safety: in abuse or emergency cases, we may share data with law enforcement or third parties to protect users or the public, consistent with applicable law.

Changes to Data Usage practices

We may update how we use data as the platform evolves. Material changes will be posted and notified in accordance with our policies. Continued use of the service constitutes acceptance of updated practices.

Contact for data questions

For questions about data usage, to exercise data rights, or request records:

Acknowledgment By using BuildersTogether, you acknowledge that you understand how we use data as described above and agree to our data handling practices.