DRAFT — pending legal review. Not yet in effect.
This document is a working draft for Backyardly's upcoming US launch. Text in [BRACKETS] still needs to be filled in or reviewed.
Privacy Policy
This policy explains what personal information [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] ("Backyardly," "we," "us") collects through app.backyardly.app and backyardly.app (the "Service"), how we use it, and who we share it with.
The short version: we use your backyard photo to generate AI design concepts. If you ask for quotes, we share your contact details, project details, photo and chosen design with up to 4 local contractors, and those contractors pay us for that lead. We don't otherwise sell your information.
Contents
1. What we collect
Information you give us
- Photos of your backyard or outdoor space, and the designs you generate and pick.
- Contact details: name, email address and phone number.
- Project details: ZIP code, timeline and the type of project you want.
- Consent records: when you agree to be contacted by contractors, we store the exact wording you agreed to, its version, the date and time, your IP address and the phone number you gave.
- Contractors: business name, contact details, service area, services offered and, if requested, license and insurance information.
- Purchases: what you bought and when. Card details go directly to Stripe; we don't see or store your full card number.
- Messages you send us, such as support emails.
Information collected automatically
- Device and usage data: IP address, browser and device type, pages and screens viewed, actions taken in the app, and approximate location derived from your IP address.
- Session recordings of how you use the app, with text you type into form fields masked (see Cookies and analytics).
[LAWYER: check whether any data counts as "sensitive personal information" under state law, and whether photos could capture people, addresses or other identifiers.]
2. How we use it
- To generate your AI design concepts.
- To match quote requests with contractors and send them the lead.
- To run accounts, process payments, credit packs and credit-backs.
- To send you service emails (designs ready, receipts, quote request updates) and, if allowed, product news you can unsubscribe from.
- To keep evidence of consent to calls and texts, and to handle opt-outs.
- To understand how the Service is used, fix bugs and improve it.
- To prevent fraud and abuse, enforce our Terms of Service, and comply with the law.
3. Photos and AI generation
To create designs, we send your photo and a design prompt to a third-party AI image provider (PiAPI), which returns the generated images. We store your photos and designs with our storage provider. We use your photos to provide the Service to you. We will only use your photos or designs as public examples if you give us separate permission. [LAWYER/FOUNDER: confirm the AI provider's terms on retaining or training on submitted images, and state that here.]
4. Sharing with contractors (important)
When you request quotes, we share the following with up to 4 independent local contractors who serve your area and type of project:
- your name, email address and phone number;
- your ZIP code and timeline;
- your backyard photo and the design you chose.
Contractors pay Backyardly for each lead they receive. That's how we pay for most of the Service. Contractors may then call, text or email you about your project, including with automated technology, as described in the consent you gave. Contractors are independent businesses. Once they receive your information, their use of it is governed by their own privacy practices; our Terms require them to use it only to respond to your project and to honor your requests to stop contacting you.
We only share your request with contractors if you ask for quotes and check the consent box. Generating designs alone does not share your information with contractors.
5. Service providers
We use these companies to run the Service. They process data on our behalf, under contract, for these purposes only:
- Railway — hosting and our Postgres database.
- Cloudflare R2 — storing photos and generated images.
- PiAPI — AI image generation.
- Resend — sending email.
- Stripe — payment processing.
- PostHog — product analytics, error tracking and session recordings.
[LAWYER: confirm data processing agreements are in place with each provider.]
6. Other sharing
We may also share personal information:
- when required by law, subpoena or court order, or to protect the rights, safety and property of our users, the public or Backyardly;
- as part of a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of assets, in which case the new owner will be bound by this policy for information collected under it;
- with your consent or at your direction.
7. Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and browser storage to keep you signed in, remember your settings and run the app. We use PostHog to measure how people use the Service (for example, which steps of the design and quote flow they complete), to catch errors, and to record sessions so we can see where things go wrong. Session recordings mask what you type into form fields. We don't use third-party advertising cookies on the app today. [FOUNDER: update this if ad pixels (e.g. Meta, Google) are added — that would likely be "sharing" under California law and require an opt-out.]
Your browser may let you block or delete cookies; some parts of the Service may not work without them. We don't currently respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals. [LAWYER: confirm how Global Privacy Control signals must be handled.]
8. How long we keep it
We keep personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service, then delete or de-identify it. We keep consent records, payment records and records of leads delivered for as long as needed to meet legal, tax and accounting obligations and to defend legal claims. [FOUNDER/LAWYER: set specific retention periods — e.g. for photos, inactive accounts and TCPA consent evidence.]
9. Security
We use reasonable safeguards, including encryption in transit, access controls and reputable infrastructure providers. No system is perfectly secure, so we can't guarantee the security of your information. If we learn of a breach affecting you, we will notify you as required by law.
10. Your choices
- Email: unsubscribe from marketing emails using the link in any of them. We'll still send emails about your account and transactions.
- Texts: reply STOP to any text to opt out of texts from that sender. You can also ask any contractor to stop calling you.
- Quote requests: email privacy@backyardly.app to stop your request from being shared with any further contractors.
- Account and photos: email us to access, correct or delete your information or close your account.
11. State privacy rights
Depending on where you live (for example California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Tennessee and other states with privacy laws), you may have the right to:
- Know / access the personal information we have about you and how we use and share it;
- Delete personal information we collected from you;
- Correct inaccurate personal information;
- Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information, and of targeted advertising;
- receive a copy of your data in a portable format;
- not be discriminated against for using these rights.
Is sharing leads with contractors a "sale"? Contractors pay us when we send them your quote request. Under California law (CCPA/CPRA) and similar laws, giving personal information to a third party for money or other value may be treated as a "sale," even when you asked for it. We believe that sharing at your direction, when you request quotes, is a disclosure you intentionally directed — but because contractors pay for leads, we treat it with care and honor opt-out requests as described in the next section. [LAWYER REVIEW REQUIRED: determine whether lead sharing is a "sale" under CCPA/CPRA and other state laws, whether the "intentional disclosure at the consumer's direction" exception applies, and what notice-at-collection language is needed on the quote form.]
How to make a request: email privacy@backyardly.app with the subject "Privacy request," telling us what you want to do and the email or phone number you used with Backyardly. We will verify your request by confirming you control that email or phone number, and respond within the time required by law (generally 45 days). You may use an authorized agent; we may ask for proof of their authority. If we deny your request, you can appeal by replying to our decision. [LAWYER: confirm whether a toll-free number or web form is also required.]
12. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
To opt out of any sale or sharing of your personal information, email privacy@backyardly.app with the subject "Do Not Sell or Share." After we process your opt-out, we won't send your information to any further contractors. Because sending your request to contractors is how quotes work, opting out means we can't get you new quotes. Contractors who already received your request have it; you can ask them directly to delete it. [FOUNDER: decide whether to add a self-service opt-out link/form in the app.]
13. Children
Backyardly is only for adults 18 and older. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has given us information, email privacy@backyardly.app and we will delete it.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. If we make material changes, we'll notify you by email or in the app before they take effect. The date at the top shows the latest version.
15. Contact
[COMPANY LEGAL NAME]
[POSTAL ADDRESS]
Privacy questions and requests: privacy@backyardly.app
Everything else: hello@backyardly.app