Privacy Policy

Shop Rate Solutions LLC (“Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) operates Shop-Rate.com (“Website”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect, and disclose information when you use our Website, services, applications, and related features.

By accessing or using Shop-Rate.com, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information:

Information You Provide

When you create an account (including through Google sign-in), submit a review, vote or comment on a community poll, submit pay information, claim a business listing, purchase a membership, contact us, or use certain features, we may collect:

• Name
• Email address
• Username
• Password information (stored in hashed form; not collected if you sign in with Google)
• Business information
• Reviews, ratings, and review questionnaire answers
• Community poll votes and poll comments
• Pay information you submit to Pay Expectations (such as pay type, pay rate, and general location)
• Communications sent to us

Some features, including reviews, poll votes, poll comments, and pay submissions, can be used without an account.

Information About Businesses

Business owners or users may provide information about repair shops and other mechanic workplaces, including:

• Business name
• Address
• Phone number
• Website
• Shop type
• Business responses to reviews
• Job listings

Automatically Collected Information

When you use the Website, we and our service providers may automatically collect technical and usage information, including:

• Server request logs (including IP address) generated by our hosting provider for security and reliability
• A session cookie used to keep you signed in after you log in
• A device identifier cookie used to limit each device to one review, poll vote, pay report, or comment where those limits apply, and to prevent abuse
• Device and browser signals collected by our anti-bot check when you submit a review without an account
• Device, browser, and general location information (such as approximate region derived from IP address)
• Analytics data about how the Website is used, such as pages viewed and interactions
• Advertising and cookie identifiers used to deliver, measure, and improve advertising and sponsored content

We use cookies and similar technologies for these purposes, including analytics and advertising. For details, see our Cookie & Data Handling Policy and our Advertising & Sponsored Content Policy.

2. How We Use Information

We may use collected information to:

• Provide and operate Shop-Rate.com
• Create and manage user accounts
• Publish reviews and ratings submitted by users
• Display community poll results and comments
• Show aggregated pay ranges on Pay Expectations
• Display business listings and job listings
• Provide shop owner subscriptions
• Improve Website functionality
• Respond to customer inquiries
• Detect fraud, spam, and abuse
• Maintain Website security
• Analyze usage to improve the Website
• Deliver, measure, and improve advertising and sponsored content
• Send important service communications

3. Reviews and User-Generated Content

Shop-Rate.com allows users to submit reviews, ratings, poll votes, poll comments, pay information, and other content. By submitting content, you acknowledge that:

• Your submission may be publicly displayed.
• Other users may view and interact with your content.
• Reviews are always published anonymously. Your name is never shown on a review.
• Poll comments posted while signed in show your username. Comments posted without an account are shown without a name.
• Pay information is displayed only as combined totals and ranges, not as individual submissions.
• If you submit a review without an account and then sign up within two hours on the same device, that review can be linked to your new account.
• Content must comply with our Terms of Service and Review Guidelines.

Shop Rate Solutions LLC does not guarantee the accuracy of user-submitted content.

4. Business Information

Business listings may contain information obtained from:

• Business owners
• Publicly available sources
• User submissions
• Third-party databases

Businesses may request corrections to inaccurate factual information through our contact process.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies for several purposes, including essential cookies that keep you signed in and limit duplicate submissions, analytics cookies that help us understand how the Website is used, and advertising cookies used by us and our advertising partners to deliver and measure ads and sponsored content.

Google Advertising and Analytics

We use Google AdSense to display ads and Google Analytics to understand how the Website is used. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this Website or other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this Website and/or other sites on the Internet.

You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalized advertising at aboutads.info/choices. To learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

You may adjust your browser settings to limit or disable cookies, but you will not be able to stay signed in without the essential session cookie. For full details, see our Cookie & Data Handling Policy.

6. Third-Party Service Providers

Shop Rate Solutions LLC relies on third-party service providers to operate the Website. These companies process information only as needed to provide their service and according to their own privacy policies. They currently include:

• Payment processing (to handle subscriptions and billing)
• Hosting and database infrastructure
• Email delivery (for account and service emails)
• Google sign-in, which shares your name and email address with us if you choose to sign in with Google
• Cloudflare Turnstile, an anti-bot check that analyzes device and browser signals when you submit a review without an account
• An AI moderation service that analyzes reported content to help our moderators prioritize reports
• Business address lookup (OpenStreetMap via Photon and Nominatim), used when you add or claim a shop and to show shops that have not yet been reviewed in search results
• Analytics providers that help us understand and improve how the Website is used
• Advertising networks and partners that deliver and measure advertising and sponsored content

These advertising and analytics partners may collect information through cookies and similar technologies according to their own privacy policies. We do not sell your personal information for money. Certain advertising practices may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information under some state laws; see Section 10 for your choices. Learn more in our Advertising & Sponsored Content Policy.

7. How We Share Information

We may share information:

• To provide Website services
• With service providers assisting our operations
• With analytics and advertising partners, through cookies and similar technologies, to deliver and measure advertising and sponsored content
• To comply with legal obligations
• To protect the rights, safety, and security of users or the Company
• During a business transfer, merger, acquisition, or sale

8. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information. However, no method of electronic storage or transmission is guaranteed to be completely secure.

9. Data Retention

We retain information only as long as reasonably necessary for:

• Providing services
• Maintaining records
• Resolving disputes
• Enforcing agreements
• Meeting legal obligations

10. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights regarding your personal information, including:

• Requesting access to personal information
• Requesting correction of inaccurate information
• Requesting deletion of certain information
• Opting out of certain communications
• Opting out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information for targeted advertising, and adjusting cookie settings in your browser

Requests may be submitted by email to shopratesupport@gmail.com. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

11. Children’s Privacy

Shop-Rate.com is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

12. Third-Party Links

Our Website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Changes become effective when posted on this page with an updated effective date.

14. Contact Information

Questions regarding this Privacy Policy may be submitted by email to shopratesupport@gmail.com.

Shop Rate Solutions LLC — Owner and operator of Shop-Rate.com