BEACON (Builders Employment & Availability Connection Online Network) is an online service owned and operated by Terry Summers, a sole proprietor. References in this Privacy Policy to "BEACON," "we," "us," or "our" refer to the BEACON service operated by Terry Summers.

BEACON collects the following types of information:

• Account information: Name, email address, and authentication credentials provided during registration. Passwords are managed by our hosting platform and are not stored in readable form by BEACON.
• Profile information: For tradespeople — company name, contact phone, business address, service area ZIP code, trade type, license number, insurance provider, years of experience, service description, specialties, crew size, travel radius, and work types accepted. For contractors and homeowners — name, company name, phone, address, ZIP code, and project description.
• Availability and booking data: Dates, time slots, weekly availability status, booking requests, work descriptions, project names, locations, requested dates, expected hours, crew size needed, rate or budget, and booking status history.
• Subscription and billing data: Selected plan (monthly or annual), subscription status, trial start and end dates, billing period dates, and cancellation status. Payment card information is handled by Stripe; BEACON does not store full card numbers.
• SMS consent data: Mobile phone number, consent status (granted or revoked), consent timestamp, consent source, consent language version, and carrier-level opt-out status.
• Usage data: Login timestamps, search activity (trade searched, ZIP code, result count — no free-text search terms are stored), and platform activity logs used for marketplace analytics.
• Support communications: Name, email, phone (if voluntarily provided), subject, category, and message content submitted through the Help/Support form, along with admin reply history.

• To create and manage your account and profile.
• To display your availability and connect you with other users on the platform.
• To send notifications about booking requests, status updates, and platform communications via email and, if you have opted in, SMS text message.
• To process membership subscriptions and manage billing through Stripe.
• To provide customer support and respond to inquiries.
• To operate, maintain, and improve the platform's features, including marketplace analytics and service-area gap analysis.
• To notify BEACON administrators when a new profile is completed so the account can be reviewed.

BEACON shares certain profile information between users to facilitate connections:

• Public tradesperson profile fields visible to contractors and homeowners searching for services: company name, trade type, years of experience, service description, availability dates and status, crew size, specialties, travel radius, work types accepted, and service area ZIP code.
• Private tradesperson fields (contact phone, business address, license number, and insurance provider) are not displayed in search results. Contact phone is released to the requesting contractor only after a work request has been accepted or a question has been asked.
• Customer information (name and booking request details) is visible to the tradesperson receiving the request. Customer email and phone are released to the tradesperson only after the work request has been accepted or a question has been asked.
• Approximate distance (rounded to the nearest mile) between a searcher's ZIP code and a tradesperson's service area ZIP code is displayed in search results. Precise coordinates are never exposed.
• BEACON does not sell user data to third parties.
• BEACON may disclose information when required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of the platform and its users.

BEACON uses the following third-party services to operate the platform. Each provider receives only the information necessary to perform its function:

• Stripe — processes membership subscription payments, checkout, and billing portal access. Stripe receives your payment card information and billing details directly; BEACON does not store full card numbers.
• Twilio — delivers transactional SMS text messages to users who have opted in. Twilio receives your mobile phone number and the message content necessary for delivery.
• Base44 — hosts the BEACON application, including authentication, database storage, and backend services.
• Zippopotam — provides ZIP code geocoding used to calculate approximate distances between users. Only ZIP codes are sent; no personal information is transmitted.

Your information is retained for as long as your account is active. Booking history, availability records, and connection records are preserved to maintain a complete record of interactions. If you request account deletion, BEACON will remove your profile information; some records may be retained as required by law or for legitimate business record-keeping. Login activity, search logs, and notification delivery records are retained for platform operation and analytics. Subscription and billing records are retained for financial record-keeping purposes.

• You may update your profile information at any time through the "My Profile" page.
• You may deactivate your availability without deleting your account.
• You may cancel your membership at any time while retaining paid access through the end of your current billing period.
• You may withdraw SMS consent at any time by replying STOP, toggling SMS off in your profile, or contacting support.
• You may request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting support.
• You may request a copy of the personal data BEACON holds about you by contacting support.

Specific privacy rights available to you may vary depending on your jurisdiction of residence.

BEACON takes reasonable measures to protect user information. Access to records is controlled by row-level security so that users can only view and modify their own data; administrators can access all records for platform operation. Sensitive booking transitions and contact-information release are enforced by trusted server-side functions rather than client-side writes. Payment webhooks are signature-verified, and payment prices are validated server-side. API credentials and secrets are stored securely and are never exposed in application code. Payment card information is handled entirely by Stripe. However, no method of transmission or electronic storage is completely secure. BEACON cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data. You are encouraged to use strong passwords and protect your account credentials.

BEACON is intended for use by adults. The platform is not directed to children under 18, and BEACON does not knowingly collect information from minors. If you believe a minor has provided personal information, please contact support so it can be removed.

BEACON may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to active users. Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Questions about this Privacy Policy may be directed to BEACON support through the in-app Help/Support page or by emailing buildingsbeacon@gmail.com. For more information about the terms governing your use of BEACON, see the Terms of Service.