Privacy Policy

Who we are

Local HVAC Match is an independent HVAC marketplace and contractor directory. Our website address is https://localhvacmatch.com. We help homeowners research HVAC companies and, when requested, connect with participating contractors.

Information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you use the site. You can browse public contractor profiles without creating a homeowner account.

• Homeowner HVAC requests: name, phone number, optional email address, ZIP code, HVAC issue, urgency, property/system details, preferred contact method, request details, consent records, submission time, source/referrer information, IP address, and browser/user-agent information used for security and consent records.
• Contractor applications and portal accounts: business and contact information, service areas, services, license information, profile content, login/account information, and other information a contractor chooses to provide.
• Contractor billing and marketplace controls: lead and message rates, Free Start credit balances, Premium status, monthly spending limits, pause preferences, charge history, payment status, and billing-review or dispute information. When Stripe is connected, Local HVAC Match stores Stripe customer/payment identifiers plus limited card display details such as brand, last four digits, and expiration month/year; Local HVAC Match does not store full card numbers.
• Reviews: rating, review text, reviewer information submitted with the review, review-source information, and technical anti-abuse information. Some public review submissions may store a hashed version of the submitting IP address and browser information for fraud prevention.
• Direct company messages: name, email, phone number, ZIP code, HVAC issue, urgency, preferred contact method, message details, authorization confirmation, delivery status, and submission time when you choose to message a specific contractor through Local HVAC Match.
• Suggestions: suggestion title, suggestion text, category, optional display name, submission time, support/like count, and technical information used to limit spam and duplicate voting.
• Support and privacy requests: name, email address, optional company name, topic, and message.

How we use homeowner information

We use homeowner request information to review the request, determine serviceability, select eligible HVAC companies, deliver the request, support follow-up and review workflows, prevent abuse, maintain consent records, respond to support or privacy requests, and improve Local HVAC Match. If you use the Message feature on a company profile, the information you enter is saved as a direct message for that specific company and may also be emailed to the company’s private delivery address.

For a shared request, Local HVAC Match limits delivery to no more than two successful contractor introductions. An exclusive request is delivered to one contractor. Homeowner information is not automatically distributed to every contractor listed on the site.

Contractor profiles and public business information

Contractor profiles may contain information supplied by a contractor, gathered from identified public sources, or reviewed by Local HVAC Match. Published profile information can include company name, service areas, services, business hours, contact information, licensing information, photos, and profile descriptions. Public profile information is intended to be visible to website visitors.

Comments, reviews, and suggestions

Local HVAC Match does not currently depend on standard public WordPress blog comments. Instead, the site includes first-party reviews and a public Suggestions board. Content submitted to a public feature may be displayed publicly after it is accepted by the applicable site workflow. Suggestions currently publish automatically when they pass the site's profanity and anti-spam checks. Reviews are handled under the separate Review Policy.

We may remove public content that is spam, fraudulent, threatening, contains private information, impersonates another person or company, contains prohibited language, or is unrelated to the purpose of the feature.

Media

Contractors may upload logo images, banner images, and additional company photos to their profiles. Uploaded media is stored with the website and may be displayed publicly on the contractor's profile. Contractors should upload only images they have the right to use and should avoid uploading images that contain sensitive personal information or embedded location data they do not want associated with the file.

Cookies

Local HVAC Match uses a limited number of cookies that support site functionality and security.

• Contractor and administrator login cookies: WordPress uses authentication cookies to keep authorized users signed in and to protect account sessions.
• Suggestion support cookie: when a visitor supports a suggestion, the site may set a random lhm_suggestion_voter cookie for up to one year. The cookie does not contain the visitor's name or email address. A protected hash derived from the random token is used to help prevent the same browser from repeatedly supporting the same suggestion.
• Security and form processing: WordPress and Local HVAC Match use temporary security values and server-side rate limits to help protect forms from abuse.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling login or functional cookies may prevent some site features from working correctly.

Technical and anti-abuse information

We may process IP addresses, browser/user-agent information, timestamps, source URLs, referrers, and similar technical information to secure forms, enforce submission limits, document homeowner authorization, investigate abuse, and protect the marketplace. Some anti-abuse uses store hashed identifiers instead of the original value.

Analytics

Local HVAC Match uses first-party aggregate page analytics to understand website usage. The analytics system may record the page path, page title, date, referral-source host/category, device category, and page-view count. It does not store IP addresses, names, phone numbers, email addresses, URL query strings, private lead references, or private review tokens as page-analytics data, and it does not set an advertising or analytics cookie.

Who we share information with

We share information only when reasonably necessary to operate the service, including:

• Selected HVAC contractors: homeowner request and contact information may be shared with the contractor or contractors selected for that specific request, subject to the marketplace's contractor contact rules. When you intentionally use the Message button on a company profile, your submitted message and contact information are shared with that one company.
• Payment processing: Stripe may process contractor payment and billing information when a contractor saves a payment method, pays usage charges, or subscribes to Premium. Full payment-card details are handled by Stripe rather than Local HVAC Match.
• Website and email infrastructure providers: service providers that host, secure, deliver, or maintain the website and its email may process information as needed to provide those services.
• Legal or safety requirements: information may be disclosed when reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect rights or safety, investigate fraud or abuse, or enforce site rules.

Local HVAC Match does not sell homeowner contact information as a general marketing list.

How long we retain information

We retain information for as long as reasonably needed to operate Local HVAC Match, document consent and marketplace activity, resolve disputes, prevent fraud or repeated unwanted contact, satisfy legal or accounting obligations, and maintain site security. Public contractor profiles, reviews, and suggestions may remain available until they are updated, removed, or no longer needed. The suggestion-support browser cookie expires after up to one year unless it is deleted sooner.

When a valid privacy deletion request is completed, some identifying fields may be removed or anonymized while a limited suppression record may be retained so Local HVAC Match can honor a request not to be contacted again.

Your privacy choices

Depending on your location and the information involved, you may request access to personal information, correction, deletion or anonymization, withdrawal of a homeowner request, or suppression from future Local HVAC Match introductions. We may need enough information to verify the request before making changes.

Use the Local HVAC Match privacy contact form for a privacy request.

Security

We use access controls, private WordPress records, authentication protections, form security checks, rate limits, anti-abuse measures, and limited-purpose contractor delivery to reduce risk. No website or online storage system can guarantee absolute security.

Children's privacy

Local HVAC Match is intended for adults seeking or providing HVAC services. The site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly request personal information from children under 13.

External websites

Contractor profiles and other pages may link to third-party websites. Local HVAC Match does not control the privacy practices of those websites. Information you provide directly to another website is governed by that site's privacy practices.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as Local HVAC Match adds features, changes operating practices, or expands into additional markets. The date at the top of this page will be updated when the policy changes.