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Privacy Policy

How ContractNearMe collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal information — and the rights and choices you have.

Cobalt Payments, Inc. · Effective date: July 1, 2026 · Last updated: July 1, 2026 · Version 1.0

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Scope — This Privacy Policy applies to Cobalt Payments, Inc. (“ContractNearMe,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) and governs all personal information collected through our mobile application available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, our website at contractnearme.com, and any related services (collectively, the “Platform”). Please read this Policy carefully before using the Platform. By creating an account or using the Platform you agree to the practices described herein.

1. Who we are & how to contact us

ContractNearMe, operated by Cobalt Payments, Inc., is a two-sided marketplace that connects homeowners (Consumers) with licensed, verified home-service and specialty-trade contractors (Pros) across New England, New York, New Jersey, and expanding regions. We facilitate project intake, quote comparison, milestone-based payment facilitation, credential verification, messaging, dispute resolution, and related services.

Privacy contact / data controller
Cobalt Payments, Inc. (operator of ContractNearMe)
Attn: Privacy Officer · support@contractnearme.com

For California-specific requests, use the subject line “CCPA Privacy Request.”

2. Information we collect

We collect information in three ways: information you provide directly, information collected automatically through your use of the Platform, and information we receive from third parties.

2.1 Information you provide directly

For all users (Homeowners & Pros):

  • Full name, email address, and phone number (used for account creation and OTP verification)
  • Profile photograph (optional)
  • Login credentials via Apple Sign-In or Google Sign-In (we receive only a name and email token; we do not receive your Apple or Google password)
  • Communications you send through in-app messaging, support tickets, and dispute submissions
  • Reviews and ratings you submit for completed projects

For Homeowners (Consumers) — additional information:

  • Property address and service ZIP code
  • Project descriptions, photos, and answers to per-trade intake questionnaires (e.g., HVAC system age, home square footage, ductwork type)
  • Budget ranges and project timeline preferences
  • Payment card details or ACH bank information submitted when paying for contracted services (processed and tokenized by our payment processor — we do not store full payment card numbers or bank account credentials)
  • Documents stored in your project vault (permits, contracts, invoices, warranties)
  • TCPA consent log: date, time, IP address, and device when you provide consent for text/phone communications

For Contractors (Pros) — additional information:

  • Business name, trade license number(s), issuing state authority, and expiration dates
  • General liability and workers’ compensation insurance certificates (carrier, policy number, coverage amounts, expiration)
  • Background check consent and results (managed by our credentialing service provider)
  • Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number collected solely for identity verification and 1099 tax reporting — stored encrypted, never displayed in the app after submission
  • Bank account details for payout disbursement (tokenized via our payment processor)
  • Service area ZIP codes, trade categories, and availability signals
  • Portfolio photos and project descriptions for profile display
  • Subscription plan selection and billing history

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you use the Platform, we and our service providers automatically collect certain technical and usage information:

  • Device identifiers: device model, operating system version, unique device ID (not IDFA/GAID without explicit consent)
  • App usage data: screens viewed, features tapped, time spent, search terms entered, quote actions, milestone events
  • Log data: IP address, timestamp, browser/app version, error logs, crash reports
  • Location data: ZIP code and approximate city-level location derived from IP address (we do not request precise GPS location; any address data you enter is stored as provided)
  • Session data: sign-in timestamps, role (homeowner/contractor), last active surface
  • Push notification tokens (APNs / FCM) for sending job alerts, milestone updates, and payout notifications
  • In-app analytics events tracked by our analytics provider (see Section 5)

2.3 Information we receive from third parties

  • State licensing board APIs: We query publicly available licensing databases for Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine nightly to verify and update contractor credential status.
  • Background check results: We receive pass/fail and status information from our credentialing partner. We do not receive underlying report details except as required to action a flag.
  • Payment processor: We receive tokenized payment references, transaction status, payout confirmations, and fraud signals from our payment processor. We do not receive raw card numbers.
  • Apple / Google Sign-In: Name and email address provided by the identity provider.
  • Review import (future feature): Verified ratings from prior jobs may be imported with contractor consent.

3. How we use your information

We use personal information only for the purposes described below.

  • Platform operations: To create and maintain your account; authenticate your identity via OTP, Apple Sign-In, or Google Sign-In; route you to the correct role (homeowner or contractor); and enable role-switching within a single account.
  • Job matching & quote delivery: To match a homeowner’s project request with qualified Pros in the relevant service area and trade, deliver exclusive leads to matched Pros, display itemized quotes side-by-side for homeowner comparison, and notify both parties of quote status changes.
  • Credential verification: To verify, display, and nightly re-check a contractor’s license and insurance status against state licensing boards and uploaded certificates, and to display a “Verified” badge and last-checked timestamp on contractor profiles.
  • Payment processing: To facilitate payment processing between homeowners and contractors, disburse payouts to contractor bank accounts, process refunds, and generate payment records and tax documents (1099-K/NEC).
  • Messaging & notifications: To deliver in-app messages between homeowners and Pros, and send push notifications for lead alerts, quote arrivals, milestone submissions, payout confirmations, and credential renewal reminders.
  • Dispute resolution & mediation: To receive, review, and facilitate resolution of disputes between homeowners and Pros, including freezing milestone funds during an active dispute, maintaining a symmetric evidence record, and enforcing a 24-hour SLA.
  • Trust & safety: To detect fraud, abuse, fake accounts, and prohibited activity; to enforce our Terms of Service; to respond to reports of misconduct; and to suppress non-compliant contractor profiles.
  • Customer support: To respond to your inquiries, resolve account issues, and process account deletion requests.
  • Platform improvement & analytics: To analyze aggregated and de-identified usage patterns, improve matching algorithms, enhance UX, and prioritize new features. Analytics data is not used to build personal advertising profiles.
  • Legal & regulatory compliance: To comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws; respond to valid legal process; and cooperate with regulatory inquiries including tax reporting obligations.
  • Communications about the Platform: To send service-related emails (account confirmation, receipt, credential expiry notice). We may also send optional product updates and newsletters — you may opt out at any time.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes. We do not use your personal information to build advertising profiles or serve behavioral advertising. ContractNearMe products are ad-free.

4. Text message (SMS/MMS) & TCPA consent

ContractNearMe may send text messages for OTP authentication, job alerts, milestone notifications, and account security notices. By providing your phone number and completing the TCPA consent gate within the app, you expressly consent to receive automated text messages from ContractNearMe at the number you provide. Message & data rates may apply. Message frequency varies.

To opt out of SMS at any time, reply STOP to any ContractNearMe text message. For help, reply HELP or contact support@contractnearme.com.

We log your consent event — including date, time, IP address, and device — as an immutable record to demonstrate compliance with TCPA requirements.

5. Third-party service providers & AI disclosure

We share personal information with service providers who process data on our behalf under written data processing agreements. These providers may not use your data for their own purposes beyond the contracted service. Current categories of providers include:

  • Payment processing: Processes payments, payouts, and refunds. Handles PCI-DSS-compliant card tokenization and bank transfers. We share: name, email, payment token. Provider does not receive project or property details.
  • Identity & background verification: Performs contractor background checks, license database queries, and identity verification. We share: contractor name, SSN/EIN (encrypted), date of birth, license numbers. Results returned as pass/fail with status flags.
  • Push notification delivery (APNs / FCM): Apple Push Notification Service and Google Firebase Cloud Messaging deliver push notifications to your device. We share: push notification token, notification content. Apple and Google govern these tokens under their respective privacy policies.
  • Cloud infrastructure & hosting: Provides secure server, database, and object storage infrastructure for the Platform. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Hosted in the United States.
  • Email delivery: Sends transactional emails (receipts, alerts, credential notices). We share: email address and message content required for delivery.
  • SMS / voice (telephony): Delivers OTP codes and SMS notifications. We share: phone number and message content. Call masking may be applied to protect homeowner and contractor phone numbers from each other.
  • Analytics: Provides aggregated usage analytics to help us improve the Platform. Analytics data is collected at the session/event level. We configure our analytics provider to not use data for third-party advertising. No personal identifiers are shared with analytics providers for advertising purposes.
  • Crash reporting: Receives anonymized crash and error logs to help us identify and fix technical issues. No user-identifiable content from project descriptions or payment data is included in crash reports.
  • State licensing databases: We query state contractor licensing board APIs (CT DEEP, MA OCABR, NY Department of State, NJ Division of Consumer Affairs, and others) to verify and nightly re-check contractor credentials. These are government databases; no personal information you provide is sent to these databases — we only query using the license number you supply.

5.1 Third-party AI disclosure

Effective November 2026, Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines (Rule 5.1.2(i)) require explicit disclosure when personal data is shared with third-party AI systems. ContractNearMe discloses the following:

  • AI cost estimator: Project intake answers (trade, home size, system age, ZIP code) may be processed by a large language model API to generate cost estimate ranges. No name, email, phone, or payment data is sent to the AI provider. Responses are generated fresh; the AI provider does not retain your intake data for model training under our data processing agreement.
  • AI trade categorization: Your project description text may be processed by an AI classifier to suggest the correct trade category. Only the text you type is sent; no account identifiers are included.
  • Future AI features: If we introduce additional AI-powered features that involve sharing personal data with a third-party AI system, we will update this Policy, disclose the feature in-app, and obtain your explicit permission before enabling it — in compliance with Apple App Store Guideline 5.1.2(i).

You may opt out of AI-powered features by contacting support@contractnearme.com. Opting out will disable AI cost estimation and trade suggestions; core platform features (matching, payments, messaging) remain available.

6. Information shared between Platform users

ContractNearMe is a two-sided marketplace. By design, certain information is shared between Consumers and Pros to enable project delivery. The following explains what each party sees and when.

6.1 What homeowners share with matched Pros

  • Project description, trade category, ZIP code, and intake questionnaire answers — shared at the time a lead is distributed to a matched Pro
  • First name and property address — shared only after a quote is accepted and confirmed
  • Phone number — routed through call masking at the platform level; Pros see a platform-assigned number, not your personal number, unless you choose to share it directly
  • In-app messages you send to a Pro
  • Milestone approval decisions and dispute submissions

6.2 What Pros share with homeowners

  • Business name, trade(s), license number(s), license status, last verification date, insurance status
  • Star rating, number of verified reviews, and review text
  • Portfolio photos and project descriptions
  • Quote details including itemized milestones, start date, warranty, and permit information
  • In-app messages and milestone submission photos/notes

Progressive identity protection: Homeowner names and Pro names are masked until a meaningful commitment point (quote acceptance by the homeowner; project confirmation). This protects both parties from off-platform solicitation and ensures leads stay exclusive.

6.3 Publicly visible profile information (Pros)

The following contractor profile information is visible to all Platform users, including unauthenticated visitors to contractnearme.com:

  • Business name, trade categories, service area (city/county level — not street address)
  • Verification badge and credential summary (license state, status, last checked — not the full license number)
  • Overall star rating and count of verified reviews
  • Portfolio photos and descriptions you choose to make public

You may request to restrict or remove your public profile at any time (see Section 9).

7. Data retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

  • Active account data: Retained for the life of your account plus 3 years after account closure.
  • Project and transaction records (homeowner & contractor): Retained for 7 years from project completion to satisfy tax reporting, dispute resolution, and financial record-keeping obligations.
  • Payment records: Retained for 7 years per IRS and financial services requirements.
  • Contractor credential checks: Immutable verification logs retained for 5 years; nightly check results retained for 90 days of history.
  • TCPA consent logs: Retained for 4 years to demonstrate compliance.
  • Push notification tokens: Retained until you uninstall the app, revoke notification permission, or delete your account.
  • Analytics and crash logs (de-identified): Retained for 24 months on a rolling basis.
  • Support ticket records: Retained for 3 years from ticket closure.
  • Deleted account data: Account profile and PII deleted within 30 days of a confirmed deletion request. Financial and tax records are anonymized but retained for the statutory period above.

8. Data security

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction:

  • TLS 1.2+ encryption for all data in transit between the app and our servers
  • AES-256 encryption at rest for all databases and stored files
  • Contractor SSN/EIN encrypted in storage; decrypted only for verification or tax reporting
  • Payment card data and bank details are never stored by ContractNearMe; all payment data is tokenized by our PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant payment processor
  • Role-based access controls: employees and contractors access only the data required for their function
  • Audit logging for all administrative access to personal data
  • Penetration testing and vulnerability assessments on a regular cadence
  • Mandatory security training for all personnel with data access

No method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

9. Your rights & choices

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information. To exercise any right, email us at support@contractnearme.com with the subject line matching your request type. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correction / rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
  • Deletion / erasure: Request deletion of your personal information. We will honor deletion requests subject to legal retention obligations (e.g., tax records, dispute records). You may also delete your account directly within the app — Settings → Delete Account.
  • Account deletion (Apple App Store requirement): Apple requires that all apps allowing account creation also allow in-app account deletion. ContractNearMe provides this at App → Settings → Account → Delete Account. Deletion initiates immediately; your profile is removed from public display within 24 hours and all PII is purged within 30 days.
  • Portability: Request your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Restriction of processing: Request that we limit how we process your data in certain circumstances.
  • Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interest, including direct marketing.
  • Opt out of SMS / push notifications: Reply STOP to any text from us. Disable push notifications in your device Settings.
  • Opt out of optional emails: Click Unsubscribe in any marketing email. Transactional emails (receipts, alerts) cannot be opted out while your account is active.
  • Opt out of AI features: Email support@contractnearme.com with subject “AI Opt-Out.”
  • Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

We will verify your identity before processing any request. We do not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

10. California residents — CCPA / CPRA rights

This section applies to California residents and supplements the rest of this Policy pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).

10.1 Categories of personal information collected

In the past 12 months, ContractNearMe has collected the following categories of personal information:

  • Identifiers: Name, email, phone number, IP address, device ID, account ID.
  • Personal records (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80): Physical address (property address for homeowners; business address for Pros), SSN/EIN for Pros (encrypted; tax purposes only).
  • Characteristics of protected classifications: Not intentionally collected; may appear incidentally in project descriptions.
  • Commercial information: Transaction history, subscription billing history, payout records.
  • Internet / electronic activity: App usage data, screens viewed, search queries, click events.
  • Geolocation (city/ZIP level): IP-derived approximate location; homeowner property ZIP; contractor service area ZIP.
  • Professional / employment information: Contractor license numbers, trade credentials, business name, insurance certificates.
  • Inferences / profiles: Platform-derived match scores used internally for lead routing; not shared or sold.
  • Sensitive personal information: SSN/EIN (contractors only, encrypted); payment card data (tokenized via processor — we do not retain).

10.2 How we use CCPA-defined personal information

We use personal information for business purposes as described in Section 3. We do not use Sensitive Personal Information beyond purposes necessary to provide the Platform (payment processing, identity verification, tax reporting).

10.3 Sales & sharing — we do not sell

ContractNearMe does not sell personal information for money. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. No opt-out of data sale is required because we do not engage in these practices. If this changes, we will update this Policy and provide a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link at least 15 days before the change takes effect.

10.4 Your CCPA rights

  • Right to know (twice per 12-month period): Categories and specific pieces of personal information collected, sources, business purposes, and third parties with whom it is shared.
  • Right to delete: Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal retention obligations.
  • Right to correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
  • Right to limit use of Sensitive Personal Information: Limit processing of SSN/EIN and payment data to what is necessary for the Platform — we already operate on this principle by default.
  • Right to non-discrimination: Exercising CCPA rights will not result in denial of services, different pricing, or a lower quality of service.
  • Authorized agent: You may designate an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf. We will require written authorization and may verify your identity directly.

10.5 Shine the Light

California Civil Code § 1798.83 permits California residents to request information about personal information disclosed to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes. ContractNearMe does not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes. No Shine the Light disclosure is required, but you may contact us at support@contractnearme.com with the subject “California Shine the Light Request” to confirm.

11. Other U.S. state privacy rights

Residents of Connecticut (CTDPA), Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), New York (pending NYPPA developments), and other states with enacted consumer privacy laws may have rights similar to those described in Section 9 and Section 10, including rights to access, correction, deletion, portability, opt-out of profiling, and appeal of our decisions. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@contractnearme.com. We will honor requests consistent with applicable state law.

Connecticut CTDPA: Effective July 1, 2023. ContractNearMe does not process personal data for targeted advertising, sell personal data, or engage in profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. Connecticut residents may contact us to confirm this or to exercise access, correction, deletion, or portability rights.

12. Children’s privacy (COPPA)

ContractNearMe is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Users must be at least 18 years of age to create an account and enter into service agreements on our Platform. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@contractnearme.com.

13. Cookies, tracking, and app permissions

13.1 Web cookies (contractnearme.com)

Our website uses strictly necessary cookies to operate (session management, authentication). We use analytics cookies to understand aggregate traffic patterns. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. You may manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

13.2 Mobile app tracking (Apple ATT framework)

ContractNearMe does not use Apple’s IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) and does not engage in cross-app tracking. Accordingly, we do not display an App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt, because no tracking subject to ATT occurs within our app. If future features require ATT-covered tracking, we will add the ATT prompt and update this Policy before shipping those features.

13.3 App permissions

The ContractNearMe app may request the following device permissions:

  • Notifications (push): Required to deliver lead alerts, quote arrivals, milestone updates, payout confirmations, and credential renewal reminders. You may disable at any time in device Settings → Notifications.
  • Camera: Optional — used to upload project photos during intake and milestone documentation. Only accessed when you tap a photo upload button.
  • Photo library: Optional — used to select existing photos for your project or Pro portfolio.
  • Contacts: Not requested.
  • Microphone: Not requested.
  • Precise location (GPS): Not requested. We use ZIP code-level location data that you provide or that is derived from your IP address.
  • Face ID / Touch ID: Optional — used for biometric authentication if you enable it in Settings. Biometric data never leaves your device; only a success/failure signal is sent to the app.

13.4 Privacy nutrition labels (App Store)

ContractNearMe’s App Store Privacy Nutrition Label discloses the following data types linked to your identity: Contact Info (name, email, phone), Financial Info (payment method — tokenized), Identifiers (user ID), Usage Data (app interactions). Data types collected but not linked to identity: Device ID (crash reporting), Diagnostics. All disclosures in the App Store label are consistent with this Policy.

14. International data transfers

ContractNearMe is based in the United States and our servers are located in the United States. Our Platform is designed for users in the United States. If you are accessing the Platform from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country. By using the Platform from outside the United States, you consent to such transfer. If you have questions about where your data is stored, contact us at support@contractnearme.com.

17. Business transfers

If ContractNearMe undergoes a merger, acquisition, reorganization, asset sale, or bankruptcy proceeding, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice via email and/or a prominent in-app notice before your personal information becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy as a result of such a transaction. You will have the opportunity to opt out of the transfer where required by applicable law.

18. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will:

  • Post the updated Policy at contractnearme.com/privacy with a new “Last updated” date
  • Display an in-app notice on your next login if the changes are material
  • Send an email notification to the address on file for significant changes affecting your rights

Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy. If you do not agree with the updated Policy, you may delete your account as described in Section 9.

19. Contractor-specific privacy disclosures

This section provides additional disclosures for contractors (Pros) using the Platform, given the additional categories of sensitive information we collect for credential verification, payment disbursement, and tax reporting.

19.1 Tax reporting

ContractNearMe may be required to issue IRS Form 1099-K or 1099-NEC to contractors who receive payments through the Platform meeting applicable thresholds. We collect your SSN or EIN for this purpose. Tax forms are available in your contractor dashboard and mailed to your address of record by January 31 of the following year.

19.2 Background check consent

Background checks are conducted by a third-party consumer reporting agency (CRA) with your explicit written consent. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to: (a) know the nature and scope of the investigation; (b) receive a copy of the report upon request; (c) dispute inaccurate information with the CRA; and (d) receive an adverse action notice if your application is denied based on the report. Background check results may not be used for any purpose other than contractor eligibility determination.

19.3 Credential monitoring

By listing on ContractNearMe, you authorize us to query state licensing board databases nightly using your provided license number(s) to verify and maintain current credential status. If a credential lapses or is suspended, your profile will be automatically flagged and you will receive an in-app and email notification with time to cure.

19.4 Profile visibility & removal

Your public contractor profile remains visible on the Platform while your account is active. You may request profile removal, de-listing, or account deletion at any time per Section 9. Verified review records associated with completed projects may be retained in aggregated form for platform integrity purposes even after account deletion.

20. Contact us

For any privacy-related questions, requests, complaints, or to exercise your rights under this Policy or applicable law, please contact us:

Privacy Officer — Cobalt Payments, Inc.
Email: support@contractnearme.com (subject: “Privacy Request”)
Website: contractnearme.com/privacy
Mailing address: [To be completed upon company registration — Connecticut]

We will acknowledge your request within 5 business days and respond fully within the timeframe required by applicable law (45 days under CCPA; 30 days under CTDPA; extendable by an additional 45-day period with notice).

If you are a California resident and are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the California Attorney General’s Office at oag.ca.gov. If you are a Connecticut resident, you may contact the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office at portal.ct.gov/AG.

Cobalt Payments, Inc. · contractnearme.com · support@contractnearme.com · Privacy Policy v1.0 · Effective July 1, 2026 · © 2026 Cobalt Payments, Inc. All rights reserved.