Privacy Policy

Scope of this policy

This Privacy Policy applies to geovo.io and the forms, tools, and services described on it — certification requests, the Directory, nominations, reports we may generate, and related communications with Geovo. It doesn't apply to third-party websites or services we link to or integrate with, including a property's own website, Google Maps, or a payment processor — their own privacy policies govern how they handle information, not this one.

Geovo's certification program currently focuses on residential properties in the United States, and this policy is written with that scope in mind. See international visitors below for more.

Information we collect

We collect personal information in four ways.

A. Information you provide

• Contact details — your name, email, and (optionally) phone number, submitted through the Contact, Nominate, or Request Certification forms.
• Organization and property details — for certification requests: organization name, website, your role, and details about the property, such as address, type, size, current pet policies, fees, restrictions, and amenities.
• Nomination details — the place you're nominating, why, and (optionally) your name.
• Messages — whatever you write into an open-ended field, like the Contact form's message box or a certification request's additional context.
• Payment information — if you purchase a paid report or service Geovo offers, our payment processor collects your card and billing details directly; Geovo doesn't receive or store full card numbers.
• Anything else you choose to send us directly, like an email to scott@geovo.io.

B. Information collected automatically

• Standard server and hosting logs — IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, referring page, and timestamps. Our hosting provider generates these logs to run and secure the site. We don't currently run analytics software that builds cross-visit profiles from them — see Cookies & similar technologies.
• In-progress form drafts — if you start a certification request and navigate away, your answers are saved in your browser's local storage so you don't lose your place. Nothing is sent to us until you submit the form.

C. Information we receive from other sources

• Public sources — when evaluating or recording a property, Geovo may reference publicly available information, such as a property's own website or listings, mapping and geographic data, or public records, to fill in or verify property details.
• Property representatives — an operator, property manager, or owner may provide information about their property directly, including on behalf of colleagues who submit or update a listing.
• Nominations from others — if someone nominates a place you operate, we may receive the nominator's contact information and their description of the place, which may lead us to contact you.

D. Property and business information

Most of what Geovo collects about a property — its pet policy, fees, amenities, square footage, address — describes the property or business, not an individual, and isn't personal information about anyone, even though it usually arrives via a person filling out a form. Where a detail also identifies a specific person (for example, a property representative's own name and role), we treat that part as personal information under this policy. See Property & business information below.

How we use information

• Provide and maintain geovo.io, the Directory, and the certification review process.
• Respond to messages, inquiries, and nominations.
• Evaluate and process certification requests, including communicating with the submitting organization or property about scope, timing, and pricing.
• Compile and publish property assessments and Geovo Verified status where a review has been completed.
• Generate reports about a property, address, or neighborhood, where we offer that, which may draw on public data sources, mapping and geographic data providers, and AI-assisted analysis tools to help produce report content.
• Operate, secure, and troubleshoot the site — for example, detecting and preventing spam, abuse, and fraudulent submissions.
• Improve the Geovo Standard and how we evaluate properties, generally using aggregated or de-identified information.
• Communicate with you about your submission or an active engagement.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Use.

Property & business information

Geovo's certification program is built around evaluating properties, not people. This section explains where property information comes from and how we think about it.

Sources

Depending on the property, information behind a Geovo assessment or directory listing may come from:

• the property's own representatives, submitted through a certification request or in the course of a review;
• Geovo's own review of the property, where a certification review has been completed;
• publicly available sources, such as a property's website, listing pages, or public records; and
• nominations submitted by renters, residents, or other members of the public.

Not automatically personal information

A property's pet policy, fees, amenities, address, and similar attributes describe the property, not an individual — this information isn't personal information about anyone by itself. We treat information as personal information only where it actually identifies or relates to a specific person, such as an operator's own name and role submitted as part of a certification request.

What this section doesn't cover

This Privacy Policy is about personal information. Questions about the accuracy of a specific score, the methodology behind the Geovo Standard, or what a Geovo Verified mark means are addressed in our Terms of Use and the published Standard, not here.

Cookies & similar technologies

geovo.io uses a small number of cookies and browser-storage entries, organized into categories you can review and change at any time in Cookie Settings, in the site footer. In short:

• Strictly necessary — keep the site working (your cookie preference, in-progress certification request drafts, and Cloudflare's security cookies) and can't be turned off.
• Functionality — the Google Maps JavaScript API, which powers address and place autocomplete on our forms, loads automatically because autocomplete depends on it, and Google may set its own cookies under Google's control. See Google's privacy policy for how Google handles that.
• Analytics and marketing — Geovo doesn't currently run analytics or advertising/retargeting scripts. If that changes, the new tool won't run until you opt in to that category, and this section and our Cookie Policy will be updated to name it.

For the full, current breakdown — and to change your choice — see our Cookie Policy, which is kept in sync with what's actually running on the site, or use Cookie Settings.

How we disclose information

We disclose personal information in the following circumstances:

• Service providers who help us run geovo.io — for example, hosting and database infrastructure (Vercel, Supabase), transactional email delivery (Resend), and, if you purchase a paid report or service, a payment processor (Stripe). These providers process information on our behalf and aren't permitted to use it for their own independent purposes.
• AI-assisted analysis providers — where Geovo generates a report using AI-assisted tools, the information needed to produce that report (such as an address) may be processed by that provider to generate the content.
• Property representatives — if you nominate a place, we may share your nomination and relevant details with the property so it can respond.
• Professional advisers, such as accountants or lawyers, where necessary.
• Legal and safety — to comply with a law, regulation, subpoena, or government request; to enforce our Terms of Use; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Geovo, our users, properties we work with, or the public.
• With your direction or consent, for any other purpose we've described to you and you've agreed to.
• Business transfers — see Other things you should know.

We don't disclose personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Sale, sharing & targeted advertising

Geovo doesn't sell personal information for money.

Some state privacy laws define "sale" and "sharing" more broadly than a monetary transaction, including certain uses of tracking technology for cross-context behavioral advertising. Based on how geovo.io is actually built today — no advertising pixels, no ad-tech partners, no data brokers, and analytics/marketing cookies that are off unless you opt in (see Cookies & similar technologies) — we don't believe we currently "sell" or "share" personal information as those terms are defined under applicable state law, and we don't engage in targeted advertising.

If that ever changes, we'll update this policy and provide the opt-out required by applicable law before it does. See U.S. state privacy rights for how an opt-out would work.

Data retention

We keep personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• provide the service you asked for and respond to your submission;
• maintain records of an active or recent certification engagement;
• resolve disputes and enforce our agreements;
• maintain the security and integrity of our systems; and
• comply with legal or regulatory obligations.

In practice, that means a form submission that doesn't lead to further engagement is generally kept only as long as it's relevant to that outreach, and information tied to an active certification engagement is kept for the life of that engagement plus a reasonable period afterward. How long that is varies by the type of information and the context — we don't currently commit to a fixed deletion schedule beyond that. You can ask us to delete information you've sent us at any time; see Your privacy choices.

Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect the personal information we handle, appropriate to its sensitivity and our size — for example, geovo.io is served over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, and access to submitted information is restricted to the people at Geovo who need it.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security. If you have reason to believe your interaction with geovo.io is no longer secure, contact us immediately at scott@geovo.io.

Your privacy choices

• Access, correct, or delete what you've sent us — email scott@geovo.io or use the request form below.
• Cookie preferences — use Cookie Settings in the footer at any time; changes take effect immediately.
• Marketing email — Geovo doesn't currently send bulk marketing email. If you submit a form, expect a transactional message related to that submission (an acknowledgment or a reply), not a newsletter. If we start sending marketing email, it will include an unsubscribe link, and transactional messages tied to an active engagement may continue regardless of your marketing preference.

U.S. state privacy rights

Depending on where you live, and subject to applicable law, you may have rights over your personal information, which can include the right to:

• confirm whether we're processing your personal information, and access it;
• correct inaccurate personal information;
• delete personal information;
• receive a portable copy of certain personal information;
• opt out of the sale of personal information, sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising, or certain profiling — see Sale, sharing & targeted advertising for how this applies to Geovo today;
• appeal a decision we make in response to your request; and
• not be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights.

Not everyone has every right described here — it depends on applicable law where you live. This section describes the landscape of rights that may apply as Geovo grows, not a promise of a specific right to every visitor.

How to submit a request

Email scott@geovo.io or use the form below. Tell us what you'd like (access, correction, deletion, opt-out, or something else) and enough information for us to find what we have — typically your name and the email address you used.

Identity verification

Before acting on a request to access, correct, or delete personal information, we may need to verify it's really you — typically by confirming details that match what you already gave us, like the email address on file. We won't ask for more than we need, and we won't request sensitive identity documents (like a government ID or Social Security number) through this process unless required by law and lower-friction verification isn't possible.

Authorized agents

Where applicable law allows it, someone you've authorized can submit a request on your behalf. We may still need to verify your identity directly, or confirm the agent's authority to act for you, before completing the request.

Appeals

If we deny a request and applicable law gives you the right to appeal, you can do so by replying to our decision or emailing scott@geovo.io with "Privacy appeal" in the subject line. Someone who wasn't involved in the original decision will review it.

Other things you should know

Children's privacy

geovo.io is meant for adults evaluating housing, not children. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13, and the site isn't directed to children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, email scott@geovo.io and we'll delete it.

Global Privacy Control & Do Not Track

Some browsers send a "Do Not Track" signal or a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, which some state laws treat as a valid way to opt out of sale or sharing. Geovo's site doesn't currently detect or automatically act on either signal. Because we don't currently sell or share personal information as described above, this has no practical effect on you today — but if that changes, or you'd like a preference recorded manually in the meantime, contact us at scott@geovo.io.

Links to other sites and services

geovo.io links to, and in places integrates with, services we don't control — for example, a property's own website, Google Maps, social media platforms, or a payment processor. Those services have their own privacy practices, which we don't control and this policy doesn't cover. We encourage you to review them.

International visitors

Geovo is a U.S. company, and geovo.io is built around U.S. properties and U.S. law. If you access the site from outside the United States, your information will be processed in the United States, which may not have the same data protection laws as where you live. Geovo doesn't currently target or operate services specifically for residents of the European Union, United Kingdom, or other jurisdictions outside the United States.

Business transfers

If Geovo is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of some or all of its assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law. We'll provide notice if a transaction materially changes how your personal information is treated.

Legal disclosures

We may disclose personal information where we believe in good faith that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation, court order, or other legal process; to protect the rights, property, or safety of Geovo, our users, a property we work with, or the public; to investigate or prevent fraud, security incidents, or abuse of our forms and services; or to enforce our Terms of Use.

Changes & contact

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Geovo's practices change. We'll update the "Last updated" date at the top when we do, and for a change that materially affects your rights or how we handle your personal information, we'll provide additional notice where required by applicable law — for example, a notice on this page before the change takes effect. We don't currently commit to emailing every visitor for every update.

Contact Geovo

Questions about this policy, or a request about your personal information? Email scott@geovo.io, or use the form below.