1. Introduction

When you use LandByWater.com (the “Site”) to search for lake homes, browse listings, or connect with real estate professionals, you are trusting Land by Water, LLC (“Land by Water,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) with your information. We take that responsibility seriously. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and the choices you have regarding your information.

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through the Site, our mobile applications (if any), and any related services, tools, or features we provide (collectively, the “Services”). By accessing or using the Services, you agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.

When we use the term “personal information” in this Privacy Policy, we mean information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to you or your household. It does not include aggregated or de-identified information that is maintained in a form that is not capable of being associated with or reasonably linked to you.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information in several ways, depending on how you interact with our Services.

A. Information You Provide to Us

When you use the Services, you may provide us with information directly, including:

(a) Account Information. If you create an account, we collect your name, email address, password, and any other information you provide during registration.

(b) Contact and Inquiry Information. If you submit an inquiry about a listing, contact a Listing Provider through the Site, or otherwise reach out to us, we collect the information you include in your communication, such as your name, email address, and the content of your message. Users may click a button on a listing to send an email directly to the listing agent or brokerage associated with that property.

(c) Search and Preference Information. If you save searches, create alerts, or add properties to a favorites list, we collect information about your search criteria and preferences (e.g., location, price range, number of bedrooms, lake type, waterfront features).

(d) User Content. If you submit reviews, comments, photographs, or other content through the Site, we collect that content along with any associated metadata.

(e) Communications. If you contact our customer support or respond to surveys or promotional communications, we collect the information you provide in those interactions.

B. Information Collected Automatically

When you access or use the Services, we automatically collect certain information from your device and your use of the Services, including:

(a) Device and Browser Information. We collect information about the device and browser you use to access the Site, including your IP address, device type, operating system, browser type and version, unique device identifiers, and language preferences.

(b) Usage Information. We collect information about how you interact with the Site, including the pages you visit, the listings you view, the links you click, the date and time of your visits, the duration of your sessions, and referring and exit URLs.

(c) Location Information. We may collect general location information based on your IP address. If you enable location services on your device, we may also collect more precise geolocation data with your consent.

(d) Cookies and Tracking Technologies. We and our partners use cookies, pixels, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect information about your browsing activity on our Site. These technologies help us understand how users interact with the Site, remember your preferences, track trends, measure the effectiveness of advertisements, and serve you more relevant content and ads. For more information, see Section 5 (Cookies and Tracking Technologies) below.

C. Information from Third Parties

We may receive personal information about you from third-party sources, including:

(a) Listing Providers. Real estate agents, brokers, and property owners who submit listings to the Site may provide information about properties, which may include publicly available information about property owners. Listing Providers may import data from their MLS listings using our “Import From MLS” feature, which allows them to transfer listing information the listing agent owns and/or has a right to use into our platform.

(b) Business Partners. We may receive information from business partners, such as advertising partners, analytics providers, or companies with whom we offer co-branded services.

(c) Public Sources. We may collect information from publicly available sources, such as public real estate records, county assessor databases, and other government records.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

(a) Providing and Operating the Services. To display listings, enable searches, facilitate communications between you and Listing Providers, manage your account, and deliver the features and functionality of the Site.

(b) Communicating with You. To respond to your inquiries, send you account-related notifications, provide customer support, and send you information about the Services.

(c) Personalizing Your Experience. To customize the content and listings displayed to you, remember your preferences and saved searches, and provide personalized recommendations.

(d) Marketing and Promotions. To send you promotional communications, newsletters, and information about services, offers, or features that may interest you. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time (see Section 7 below).

(e) Analytics and Improvement. To analyze how users interact with the Site, monitor and improve the performance and functionality of the Services, and develop new features and services.

(f) Advertising. To serve you relevant advertisements on the Site and on third-party platforms, and to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns.

(g) Safety and Security. To detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent, unauthorized, or illegal activity, protect the security of the Site and our systems, and enforce our Terms of Use.

(h) Legal Compliance. To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or governmental requests.

4. How We Share Your Information

We are committed to sharing personal information only when needed for a legitimate business or legal purpose. We may share your personal information in the following circumstances:

(a) With Listing Providers. If you submit an inquiry about a listing, request a showing, or otherwise request to connect with a Listing Provider, we will share your name, email address, and the content of your message with the applicable Listing Provider (e.g., the real estate agent, broker, or property owner associated with the listing).

(b) With Service Providers. We share personal information with third-party service providers who perform functions on our behalf, such as web hosting, data analytics, email delivery, customer support, and advertising services. These service providers are contractually required to use your information only to perform services for us and are prohibited from using it for their own purposes.

(c) With Advertising Partners. We may share information with advertising networks and partners, including Google and Meta, to serve you targeted advertisements based on your interests and browsing activity. Under some state laws, this type of sharing may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. See Section 8 (Your Privacy Rights) below for information about how to opt out.

(d) For Legal Purposes. We may disclose your information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; to enforce our Terms of Use or other agreements; to protect the rights, property, or safety of Land by Water, our users, or the public; or to detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues.

(e) In Business Transfers. If Land by Water is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, reorganization, bankruptcy, or similar transaction, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

(f) With Your Consent. We may share your information for other purposes with your express consent.

(g) Aggregated or De-Identified Data. We may share aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you with third parties for research, analytics, marketing, or other purposes.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We and our partners use cookies, pixels, web beacons, local storage, and similar technologies (collectively, “Tracking Technologies”) when you use our Services.

A. Types of Cookies We Use

B. Third-Party Tracking and Interest-Based Advertising

We may participate in interest-based advertising and permit third-party advertising networks, social media companies, and other third-party services to collect information about your use of the Site through Tracking Technologies. This information may be used to serve you targeted advertisements on the Site and on other websites and platforms based on your browsing history and interests.

C. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You can manage your cookie preferences by:

• Adjusting your browser settings to refuse or delete cookies;
• Using our cookie preference tool accessible on the Site;
• Visiting the Network Advertising Initiative at www.networkadvertising.org/choices or the Digital Advertising Alliance at www.aboutads.info/choices to opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies.

Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Site.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to provide the Services, to comply with legal obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. When we no longer need your personal information, we will securely delete or de-identify it.

Factors we consider in determining retention periods include: the nature and sensitivity of the information; the purposes for which it was collected; applicable legal, regulatory, or contractual requirements; and whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (e.g., statutes of limitations or pending litigation).

[CLIENT QUESTION: What is Land by Water’s desired data retention period for user account information and browsing data? Does the company have a data retention schedule?]

A: This is all new to me. I can provide you what AI has suggested and we can go from there. I am assuming that we will also need some kind of data management team as well. The plan is that we will run internally as much as possible until we see this gaining traction and start getting some revenue. I can put you in contact with the new Tech company and they may be able to answer some of these questions better. Other than that, I am open to suggestions and we will do whatever you think is necessary.  

7. Your Privacy Choices

You have several choices regarding the collection, use, and sharing of your personal information:

(a) Account Information. If you have an account with us, you may review and update your account information by logging into your account settings.

(b) Marketing Communications. You can opt out of receiving promotional emails from us by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any promotional email. Even if you opt out of promotional communications, we may still send you transactional or service-related messages (e.g., account notifications or responses to your inquiries).

(c) Cookies and Tracking. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or through our cookie preference tool (if available). See Section 5(C) above.

(d) Location Information. You can disable location services on your device at any time through your device settings.

(e) “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.” Depending on applicable law and our data practices, you may have the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information. See Section 8 below.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you reside, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information under applicable privacy laws.

A. Rights for California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you may have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA”):

(i) Right to Know. You have the right to request that we disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources from which we collected it, our business or commercial purposes for collecting or selling it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.

(ii) Right to Delete. You have the right to request that we delete the personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.

(iii) Right to Correct. You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.

(iv) Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing. You have the right to direct us to stop selling or sharing your personal information. If we engage in activities that constitute a “sale” or “sharing” under the CCPA (such as allowing third-party advertising partners to collect information through cookies for targeted advertising), you may opt out by [clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link on our Site / contacting us as described below].

(v) Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information. If we collect sensitive personal information, you may have the right to limit our use of that information to purposes necessary to provide the Services.

(vi) Right to Non-Discrimination. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

How to Submit a Request. You may submit a request to exercise your California privacy rights by:

• Emailing us at privacy@landbywater.com;
• Calling us at (573) 203-5542; or
• Submitting a request through our online privacy request form at LandByWater.com/privacy-request.

We will verify your identity before processing your request. We may ask you to provide information that matches information we already have on file. You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf.

B. Rights for Residents of Other U.S. States

Residents of other states with comprehensive privacy laws (such as Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and others) may have similar rights, including the right to access, delete, correct, and opt out of certain processing activities. If you are a resident of one of these states, please contact us using the information in Section 12 to submit a request. We will respond in accordance with applicable law.

C. Global Privacy Control

We honor the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) signal. If your browser or device transmits a GPC signal, we will treat it as a valid opt-out request for the sale or sharing of personal information associated with that browser or device.

9. Children’s Privacy

The Services are intended for users who are at least eighteen (18) years of age. The Services are not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information as promptly as possible. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at the address provided in Section 12.

10. Security

We implement commercially reasonable technical, administrative, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include encryption, access controls, firewalls, and secure server environments.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. While we strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. If a data breach occurs that affects your personal information, we will notify you in accordance with applicable law. [63]

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy and, where required by applicable law, by providing additional notice (such as posting a prominent notice on the Site or sending you an email).

Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of any revised Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

Land by Water, LLC

Attn: Clayton Brown, Privacy Contact

PO Box 16

Poplar Bluff, MO 63902

Email: privacy@landbywater.com

Phone: (573) 203-5542

13. Additional Disclosures for California Residents

The following chart provides additional details about the categories of personal information we collect, the purposes for which we use each category, and the categories of third parties with whom we share each category, as required by the CCPA:

Categories of Personal Information Sold or Shared. We may allow certain advertising partners to collect identifiers (e.g., cookie IDs, device IDs) and internet or electronic network activity information through cookies and similar technologies on the Site. Under the CCPA, this may constitute a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. You may opt out of this activity as described in Section 8(A)(iv) above.

Retention. We retain personal information for the periods described in Section 6 above.

Financial Incentives. We may offer programs or promotions that involve the collection of personal information in exchange for certain benefits (e.g., newsletter subscriptions, saved search alerts). Participation in these programs is voluntary. We will provide additional notice and obtain your consent where required by law.

14. Notice to International Users

The Services are operated in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, please be aware that any information you provide to us will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. By using the Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States, which may not have the same data protection laws as your country of residence.