OpenlyCompared privacy policy

This policy explains what OpenlyCompared (openlycompared.com) collects about people who read it or write to it, why, and what you can ask us to do with it.

Who is responsible for personal information on OpenlyCompared?

Toutmark LLC owns and publishes OpenlyCompared and is responsible for the personal information described here. You can reach Toutmark LLC about privacy at [email protected].

What personal information does OpenlyCompared collect?

OpenlyCompared collects personal information only when you send it to us:

The corrections form. OpenlyCompared keeps your message, the page it is about, and your name and email address if you give them.
The listing form. When you ask for a business to be listed, OpenlyCompared keeps the business name, its website, the place you name and your email address, so it can check the business and email you the answer.
Email. When you email OpenlyCompared at its contact address, OpenlyCompared keeps your email address, the subject and your message.
Request limits. To limit the corrections form to five requests a day from one connection, and the listing form to three, OpenlyCompared keeps a one-way hash of your IP address for two days. To limit the listing form to two requests a day to one email address, it keeps a one-way hash of that address for two days. OpenlyCompared never stores the IP address itself.

OpenlyCompared has no accounts, no sign-up and no newsletter, and you do not need to give us anything to read the site.

Does OpenlyCompared use cookies or track visitors?

OpenlyCompared sets no cookies of its own and adds no advertising or tracking scripts to its pages. Cloudflare, which hosts and protects the site, processes technical information such as IP addresses and browser type to deliver pages and stop abuse, may set a strictly necessary security cookie, and gives Toutmark LLC aggregate traffic counts. OpenlyCompared does not build profiles of its readers.

How does OpenlyCompared use what you send?

OpenlyCompared uses what you send only to read and answer your request: to check and correct a fact, to check a business that asks to be listed, to add or remove a company, or to reply to you. OpenlyCompared does not publish your message or your name, does not add you to any mailing list, and does not sell or rent your personal information or share it for advertising.

OpenlyCompared uses AI to draft replies: when you email an @openlycompared.com address, your message is sent to Anthropic, an AI provider, to draft a reply, and a person reads, edits and decides whether to send every reply. The one email OpenlyCompared sends automatically is the answer to a listing request you made: OpenlyCompared sends the business's homepage to Anthropic to check that the business fits the guide, and emails you the result. Your email address is not sent to Anthropic.

Toutmark LLC uses service providers that process personal information on its behalf, only to run OpenlyCompared:

Cloudflare, which hosts the site and stores corrections requests, listing requests and the copy of each email that the editors review.
Google Workspace, which receives and stores email sent to @openlycompared.com addresses.
Anthropic, which drafts replies to email for a person to review, and checks a business's homepage against a guide when it asks to be listed.
Plunk, which delivers the replies a person decides to send and the answers to listing requests.

Until OpenlyCompared's own inbox is set up, its contact address is the mailbox of a Toutmark LLC team member, and email sent there is stored by that mailbox's provider. Toutmark LLC may also disclose information when the law requires it. These providers may process information in the United States and other countries.

How long does OpenlyCompared keep personal information?

OpenlyCompared keeps a corrections request, a listing request and an email for as long as they are needed to answer them and as a record of what was changed on the site and why. OpenlyCompared deletes them sooner when you ask, unless the law requires us to keep them. The hashed IP address and email address used for request limits are deleted after two days.

What about the people and companies in OpenlyCompared's profiles?

OpenlyCompared company profiles describe businesses, using facts each business published on its own website or gave Toutmark LLC. A profile can include a business's name, website, location, what it says it does and the prices its website shows. If a profile names you, or you represent a listed business, you can ask for a correction or for the profile to be removed through the corrections form or by email.

What can you ask OpenlyCompared to do with your information?

You can ask Toutmark LLC to tell you what personal information OpenlyCompared holds about you, to correct it, or to delete it, by email to [email protected]. Toutmark LLC answers every request, will not treat you differently for making one, and may ask you to confirm the request comes from you. Depending on where you live, you may have further rights under your local law, such as the right to complain to a data protection authority.

Is OpenlyCompared meant for children?

OpenlyCompared is written for adults choosing a business, and is not directed to children under 13. OpenlyCompared does not knowingly collect personal information from children; if you believe a child has sent us information, email us and we will delete it.

How will OpenlyCompared tell you about changes to this policy?

When this policy changes, OpenlyCompared updates it here and changes the date at the top of the page.