Privacy Policy

What others can see

• Your first name and last initial, and your neighborhood.
• Posts you share with Everyone (a request or a listing) can be seen by anyone, including people without an account, along with your first name, last initial, and neighborhood, and any photos you attach. Choose Verified neighbors only when you post to limit it to verified La Mesa neighbors. Requests start as Verified neighbors only; Hustler listings start as Everyone. Hustler profiles can be seen by anyone.
• If someone suggests a Hustler for your request, the suggestion and its note are shown with your request, to the same audience.
• If you’re a Hustler and use “I can help” on a request, your name, neighborhood, profile photo, your newest listing’s title, and your note are shown with that request, to the same audience, until you remove the offer or the neighbor hides it.
• Your requests, and, if you’re a Hustler, your profile, bio, photo, and listings.
• Recommendations you give (with your name and neighborhood) and receive.
• Badges you’ve earned, and the one you choose to show beside your name. Your Login Streak stays private unless you choose to show it. On your birthday, a cake badge appears by your name unless you turn it off. Your birth date and age are never shown.
• Messages, but only to the member you’re talking with.
• Never shown to anyone: who you follow. Hustlers don’t see who follows them or how many people do.
• Never shown to anyone: the personal flags you set on other members. Only you see them, and they aren’t used for Standing, badges, or anything else.

What we collect

• Account details: display name, email, optional phone number, birth date, password (stored scrambled, never in plain text), your time zone, and, for Hustlers, which plan you’re on.
• Address verification: your street address, ZIP code, neighborhood, and the document you upload. Only admins can view the document, and we delete it once a decision is made.
• What you post: listings, photos, requests, messages, recommendations, “helpful” marks, personal flags, reports, and blocks. We remove location data (EXIF/GPS) from photos when you upload them.
• Activity: which days you visit (for streaks, badges, and Standing), how quickly you reply to new conversations, who you follow, and posting counts used for our limits.
• Hustler insights: when someone opens a Hustler’s profile or taps Message or “Ask about this,” we count it once per viewer per day. Hustlers see only the totals, never who it was. To count each viewer once, we store a one-way code made from your account (or, for visitors, your connection), not your name or IP address, and we delete these records after 13 months.
• Technical details: your IP address and the time of certain actions (like sign-ups, logins, and reports), used to prevent spam and abuse. We delete these records after about 30 days.

How we use it

• To run the site: your account, Messages, listings, requests, and recommendations.
• To keep the community local and safe: verifying addresses, confirming members are 18 or older, enforcing limits, reviewing reports, and preventing scams.
• To calculate badges and a private Standing score that helps us run the community and decide who’s eligible for sponsored posts. Hustlers never see their Standing number.
• To email you about your account, verification, replies to your requests, and new messages, and, if you turn it on, a daily note about new listings from Hustlers you follow. You can change these in Settings.
• To show you notifications on the site (the bell), such as replies to your requests, new requests in categories you list in, suggestions, recommendations, badges, and updates about your account. Notifications are only visible to you, and we delete them after 90 days.
• To show Hustlers total profile views, contact clicks, and inquiries, so they can see whether Side Hustle Local is helping their business.
• To count how often sponsored posts are shown and clicked, in total. These counts aren’t used to build a profile of you.

Who we share it with

We don’t sell or rent your personal information, and we don’t share it with advertisers. We share it only:

• With service providers that run the site for us: our web host stores the site, database, and email. If a Hustler uses “Help me write this,” the title and notes they type are sent to Anthropic’s Claude service to draft the listing text. That’s the only information sent, and no account details are included.
• With our admins and moderators: moderators see reported content. Admins can also see the private details needed to verify addresses and handle problems.
• When required: to comply with the law, respond to valid legal requests, or protect someone’s safety.
• If Side Hustle Local changes hands: your information would move to the new owner, under this policy.

Cookies

We use one cookie to keep you signed in. It ends when you close your browser or log out. We don’t use advertising, analytics, or tracking cookies.

How long we keep it

We keep your information while your account is open. Verification documents are deleted after review. Abuse-prevention records are deleted after about 30 days. When an account is deleted, we remove its profile, listings, photos, requests, messages, recommendations, and badges. Conversations with that member disappear for both sides. Copies may remain in backups for a limited time.

Your choices and rights

• Edit your profile, listings, and settings anytime, and choose which badge (if any) appears by your name.
• Turn off new-message emails or the birthday badge in Settings.
• Block any member, and report anything that seems off.
• Ask for a copy of your information, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete your account, by emailing hello@sidehustlelocal.com. California residents can make these requests under state privacy law, and we won’t treat you differently for making them.

Security

We use secure connections, scrambled passwords, private storage for verification documents, and limits that slow down spam. No website is perfectly secure, so please use a unique password and tell us right away if you notice anything wrong.

Adults only

Side Hustle Local is for adults 18 and older. We don’t knowingly collect information from anyone younger. If we learn that a member is under 18, we’ll delete the account.

Changes

If we change this policy, we’ll post the new version here with a new effective date and tell you about important changes by email or on the site.

Contact

Questions or requests? Email hello@sidehustlelocal.com.