Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Site:

Information You Provide Directly

• Business Listings: When you submit a deal listing, we collect your business name, contact name, email address, phone number, physical address, website URL, deal details, and any images or logos you upload.
• Email Subscriptions: When you subscribe to deal alerts, we collect your email address and your preferred regions and categories.
• Contact Forms: When you contact us, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message.
• Account Information: If you create a business dashboard account, we collect login credentials and any information you provide in your profile.

Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: We collect information about how you interact with the Site, including pages visited, deals clicked, search queries, time spent on pages, and referring URLs.
• Device Information: We collect IP addresses, browser type and version, operating system, device type, and general location information (city/region based on IP).
• Cookies and Tracking: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect information about your browsing behavior. See the "Cookies" section below for more details.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Display Listings: To publish your business deals on the Site and make them searchable by category, location, and keywords.
• Send Deal Alerts: To email subscribers about new deals matching their preferences.
• Communication: To respond to your inquiries, send account notifications, and provide customer support.
• Analytics: To understand how users interact with the Site, identify popular deals and categories, and improve Site performance.
• Security: To detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, security issues, and technical problems.
• Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, enforce our Terms of Service, and protect our rights and the rights of others.
• Marketing: To send promotional emails about Site features, new services, or special offers (with your consent where required).

3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your experience on the Site:

• Session Cookies: Essential cookies that enable Site functionality, such as maintaining your login session.
• Analytics Cookies: We use AppWT Analytics (our own privacy-focused analytics platform) to track Site usage, popular pages, and user behavior. AppWT Analytics does not share data with third parties.
• Preference Cookies: Cookies that remember your preferences, such as selected regions or categories.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may limit some Site functionality.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may collect information about you:

• Stripe: We use Stripe to process payments for featured listing upgrades. Stripe collects payment information according to their own privacy policy. We do not store full credit card numbers on our servers.
• Google Fonts: We use Google Fonts to display web fonts. Google may collect usage data when fonts are loaded.
• Email Service: We use server-based SMTP for transactional emails (listing confirmations, deal alerts). Email addresses are stored securely and used only for the purposes you consented to.

These third-party services have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for their practices.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

• Public Listings: When you submit a deal, your business name, deal details, business location (city/region), website URL, and logo are displayed publicly on the Site. Your email address and phone number are not displayed publicly unless you choose to include them in your deal description.
• Service Providers: We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Site (hosting, payment processing, email delivery). These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Michigan Black Friday, our users, or others.
• Business Transfers: If Michigan Black Friday is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

6. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• SSL/TLS encryption for data transmission
• Secure password hashing and storage
• Regular security audits and updates
• Access controls limiting who can view or modify data
• CSRF protection and input validation to prevent attacks

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access and Update: Log in to your business dashboard to view, update, or correct your listing information.
• Delete Your Data: Contact us at sales@michigan.blackfriday to request deletion of your account and associated data. Note that we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.
• Unsubscribe: You can unsubscribe from promotional emails by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us directly.
• Opt Out of Cookies: Use your browser settings to block or delete cookies. Note that this may affect Site functionality.
• Data Portability: Contact us to request a copy of your data in a portable format.

8. Children's Privacy

The Site is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 13, we will delete it immediately. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at sales@michigan.blackfriday.

9. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide the services you requested, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Specifically:

• Active Listings: Information is retained as long as your deal is active and for up to 1 year after expiration for historical records.
• Email Subscribers: Information is retained until you unsubscribe.
• Accounts: Information is retained until you request deletion or the account is inactive for more than 2 years.
• Analytics Data: Aggregated, anonymized usage data may be retained indefinitely for business analysis.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Effective Date" at the top.

Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

11. Contact Us

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

• Email: sales@michigan.blackfriday
• Contact Form: michigan.blackfriday/contact/

We will respond to your inquiry within 30 days.

12. Operator Information

Michigan Black Friday is operated by AppWT Web & AI Solutions (AppWT LLC), a Michigan-based web development and AI solutions company. For more information about AppWT, visit appwt.com.