Privacy Policy

Effective date: March 14, 2026

1. Overview

ApparentLow.io ("ApparentLow," "we," "us") respects your privacy. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and how we protect it. We aim to be straightforward — no surprises.

2. What We Collect

Account Information

When you register, we collect your email address, name, and company name. This is used to manage your account and communicate with you about the service.

User-Entered Pricing Data

When you enter unit prices on contract pages, upload pricing files, or use the Estimator Tool, that data is stored in your account. This includes bid review notes and reasoning you provide through the review feature.

Usage Data

We collect basic usage information such as which pages you visit and features you use. This helps us understand how the platform is used and where to improve it.

Payment Information

Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe. We do not store your credit card number, CVV, or full payment details. We receive only a confirmation of your subscription status from Stripe.

3. How We Use Your Data

  • To provide the service: Your account info lets you log in. Your saved prices load when you return to a contract page.
  • To improve the platform: Aggregated, anonymized usage patterns help us understand which features are valuable and where predictions need refinement.
  • To communicate with you: Account-related emails such as password resets, subscription confirmations, and important service updates.

4. User-Entered Pricing — Strict Isolation

This is the most important section for our users. Your pricing data receives the highest level of protection:

  • Your prices are never shared with other users or contractors.
  • Your prices are never sold to anyone.
  • Your prices are never aggregated across companies — we don't compute averages, ranges, or any derived metric that combines your data with another user's data.
  • Your prices are never used as input to predictions or market trends shown to other users.
  • Tenant isolation is enforced at the database query level — there is no query path that returns one user's pricing data to another user.

The market trends and predictions shown on ApparentLow are derived exclusively from publicly available IDOT bid tabulation records. Your data is yours alone.

5. IDOT Bid Data

The historical bid data displayed on ApparentLow is sourced from public records published by the Illinois Department of Transportation. This data is publicly available and is not user data. It includes contractor names, bid amounts, and project details as published by IDOT.

6. Third-Party Services

We use a small number of third-party services to operate the platform:

  • Stripe — Payment processing. Stripe handles all payment data under their own privacy policy.
  • Resend — Transactional email delivery (password resets, account notifications). Receives only your email address and message content.
  • Render — Cloud hosting. Our application and database run on Render's infrastructure.

We do not use any advertising networks, analytics trackers, or social media pixels.

7. What We Don't Do

  • We do not sell your data to anyone.
  • We do not run ads on the platform.
  • We do not use third-party tracking cookies.
  • We do not share your data with other users, contractors, or any external party (except the service providers listed above, who receive only the minimum data necessary).

8. Cookies

ApparentLow uses cookies strictly for functionality:

  • Session cookie (session_token): Keeps you logged in. This is a secure, server-side session identifier. It expires after 30 days or when you log out.

We do not use any third-party cookies, advertising cookies, or cross-site tracking cookies. There is nothing to opt out of because we don't track you.

9. Data Retention

  • Account data: Kept while your account is active.
  • User-entered prices and review notes: Kept indefinitely for your benefit — so your bid history is available when you need it.
  • Session data: Expired sessions are automatically cleaned up.
  • Upon account deletion: All your account data, saved prices, and review notes are permanently deleted upon request.

10. Your Rights

You can:

  • Access your data: Request a copy of all data associated with your account.
  • Delete your data: Request permanent deletion of your account and all associated data.
  • Update your information: Change your email, name, or company name through the platform or by contacting us.

To exercise any of these rights, email support@apparentlow.io.

11. Children

ApparentLow is a professional tool for the construction industry. The service is not intended for users under 18 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect data from minors.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you via email or a prominent notice on the platform. The effective date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised.

13. Contact

Questions or concerns about your privacy? Contact us at support@apparentlow.io.