Privacy Policy

Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how Local Founders (“we,” “us,” or “our”), a publication of Reality 66, LLC, collects, uses, and protects information when you visit our website or submit an application to be featured. By using our website, you agree to the practices described here.

Information We Collect

The only personal information we collect directly from you is the information you provide through our application or contact forms. This may include:

• Your name
• Your business name
• Your email address
• Your phone number
• Your website URL

We do not collect payment information for our free Founder Spotlight applications. However, if you choose to engage our agency services for additional marketing and promotion, we collect payment information securely through our payment processor, Stripe. We do not collect any other personal information beyond what you submit and the standard, aggregated website usage data described below.

How Forms Are Handled

When you submit a form, your information is stored and a notification is sent to us so we can respond. We use these details only to review and respond to your submission.

Website Analytics

We use two third-party analytics services, Clicky and Google Analytics, to understand how visitors use our website. Both collect standard usage data such as the pages you visit, the site or search engine that referred you, your general geographic location, your browser and device type, and your IP address. Google Analytics also sets cookies in your browser to recognize repeat visits.

We use this only in aggregate, to see which spotlights people read and how they find us. We do not use it to identify you personally, and we do not sell or share this data. Each service processes this information under its own privacy policy. You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites using Google’s browser add-on.

Our Own Measurement

Alongside the services above, we run a small measurement system of our own. We built it so that we can tell each founder we feature how their spotlight is actually performing — how many people read it, where those readers came from, and whether they clicked through to the business. Unlike the services above, this one sends nothing to any third party. The information goes to our own servers and stays there.

A random ID in your browser. When you first visit, your browser generates and stores a random ID so we can tell a returning browser from a new one. It is stored in your browser’s local storage rather than as a cookie, it is a random string with no meaning outside our site, and it is not connected to your name, your email address, or anything you have submitted to us. Your browser also keeps a short list of which spotlights it has already opened; that list stays on your device and is never sent to us.

What we record. For each page you open: the page, the date and time, the site or ad that referred you, any campaign tags in the link you followed, your approximate location (city, state, and country), and your screen width. When you click a link that takes you off our site — a featured business’s website, a phone number, or an email address — we record which link it was and where on the page you clicked it. Clicks between pages on our own site are not recorded separately.

What we deliberately do not store. We do not store your IP address. The random ID already tells us what we need for counting visitors, so keeping your IP address as well would collect more about you without answering anything we actually ask.

We do not sell or share this information, we do not use it to build advertising profiles, and we do not connect it to details you submit through our forms. Detailed records are deleted after about 35 days; after that we keep only counts and totals, which cannot be traced back to an individual browser.

If you would rather not be counted. Clearing this site’s data in your browser removes the stored ID, and blocking JavaScript for this site prevents the measurement entirely.

Advertising and Conversion Tracking

We advertise on Google and on Facebook, and we use each platform’s conversion tracking to understand which ads lead people to apply or get in touch. To do this, both set cookies in your browser that record whether you arrived from one of our ads and whether you later submitted a form.

The Meta pixel. Facebook advertising uses a piece of code called the Meta pixel, which loads on every page of this site. It records the page you are on, the address of the page that sent you here, your browser and device type, and your IP address, and it sets cookies that let Meta recognize your browser on a later visit. If you submit our application form, it also tells Meta that a form was submitted, along with a scrambled, one-way encrypted version of the details you entered. That can include your name, email address, phone number, and the city and state you gave us. As with Google, the scrambling happens in your browser before anything is sent, so Meta never receives those details from us in readable form and the scrambled values cannot be turned back into your contact information. Meta uses them to work out whether the person who filled in the form is the same person who saw one of our ads.

Reporting from our server. Content blockers and browser privacy settings often stop the pixel from reporting a form submission at all. So when you submit the application form, our own server reports it to Meta as well. That report carries the same scrambled contact details described above, along with the Meta cookies already in your browser, your IP address, your browser type, and the address of the page you submitted from. Those last few are sent as they are rather than scrambled, because Meta uses them to recognize the visit rather than to identify you by name. Both reports carry the same reference number, so Meta records one application rather than two.

Enhanced conversions on Google. If you submit a form after clicking one of our ads, we also send Google a scrambled, one-way encrypted version of the email address and phone number you provided. The encryption happens in your browser before anything is sent, so Google never receives your actual email address or phone number from us, and the scrambled value cannot be turned back into your contact information. Google uses it only to confirm that a real person completed the form, which tells us whether our advertising is working. Facebook works the same way, as described above.

We do not sell your information, and we do not use it to build advertising profiles about you. Google and Meta each process this data under their own privacy policy, and each may use it for their own advertising purposes. You can review and change what Google collects for advertising at myadcenter.google.com, and what Meta collects in your Facebook ad preferences. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information you submit to:

• Review your application
• Contact you about your application or message (by phone or email)
• Produce and promote your Founder Spotlight if you move forward with getting featured

Spotlight Content

If you move forward with getting featured, we will produce a written spotlight about your business. Information you share with us during that process may be published as part of your spotlight. You are responsible for ensuring that anything you share with us is accurate and that you have the right to share it.

How We Protect Your Information

We take reasonable steps to protect the information you submit. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Third-Party Links

Our spotlights and website may link to third-party websites, such as a featured business’s own website or social media. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those third-party sites.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is intended for business owners and is not directed to children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us.