1. Information we collect
Contact data you give us: name, email address, mobile number if you provide it, business details, recommendations, votes, and anything you write in a form or message. Account data if you create an account or claim a listing. Automatic data: pages viewed, approximate location from IP address, device and browser type, and referring links. Payment data is handled entirely by Stripe.
2. Information we obtain from other sources
Not all of the contact information we hold came from you directly.
If you joined a community Facebook group connected to Top Recommends and answered that group's membership questions, we may hold the name, email address, business details, and answers you gave there.
We also hold business information compiled from public sources, including public business listings and directories, so that people have a directory of local businesses to recommend.
We use this information to send email about Top Recommends and, where you have given express written consent, text messages. We do not sell it. You can ask us what we hold about you, have it corrected, or have it deleted at any time, using section 9. You do not need an account to ask.
3. Voice recordings
Some intake forms let you speak instead of type. Audio is processed transiently for transcription only. We retain the resulting text, not the audio, and the audio is not used to train third-party models.
4. How we use it
To publish recommendations and listings, operate accounts and billing, produce and deliver articles and printed editions, respond to support requests, send email and consented text messages, prevent abuse and vote manipulation, and improve the site.
5. Processors we use
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers acting on our behalf, including Stripe for payments, GoHighLevel for contact management and messaging delivery, our hosting and database providers, and our print fulfillment partners. Each may use the information only to perform that work for us.
6. Text messaging
No mobile information is shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third party except subcontractors delivering messages on our behalf. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Message and data rates may apply.
7. Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember preferences, and measure use of the site.
8. Retention and deletion
We keep personal information while your account is active or as needed to provide the service. Consent records are retained to demonstrate consent was obtained and honored. To request access, correction, or deletion, email contact@toprecommends.com. Published articles and recommendations may remain in printed editions already distributed.
9. Your choices and rights
You can ask us at any time to tell you what personal information we hold about you, correct it if it is wrong, or delete it. You can stop marketing email using the unsubscribe link in any message, and stop text messages by replying STOP.
Email contact@toprecommends.com or use the removal form at toprecommends.org/remove-me. We aim to respond within thirty days. We will not charge you for a request and we will not treat you differently for making one. Depending on where you live you may have further rights under your state privacy law; say so in your request and we will honor them.
10. How we protect information
We protect personal information with encrypted connections, access controls, and a database configured so an account can reach only its own records. Payment card details never reach our systems; Stripe handles them. No system is perfectly secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we will tell affected people promptly if a breach puts their information at risk.
11. Children
The service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. When we do, we change the version number and effective date shown at the foot of this page. If a change materially affects how we use your information, we will email members before it takes effect.
13. Contact
Wallace Consulting LLC dba Top Recommends, contact@toprecommends.com.