Privacy policy

Effective October 12, 2026

Palm Harbor Biz is a directory of local businesses across Tampa Bay, run by the Palm Harbor community group. This page explains what we collect when you use the site, why, who else handles it, and how to have it deleted. We collect as little as we can, we never sell personal information, and we don't track you for advertising.

You can search and read the directory without an account. Our servers record standard request details (IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time) to keep the site secure and working. If something breaks, an error report is sent to our monitoring service without your IP address or other personal details.

• Your email address, to sign you in and to send you sign-in codes and updates about businesses you add or manage.
• Your password, if you choose one. We store only a one-way scrambled form of it, never the password itself.
• Passkeys, if you add one. We store only the public part of the key. Your fingerprint, face or device PIN never leaves your device.
• Apple, Google or Facebook sign-in, if you use it. We receive your account ID with that service, your email address and the basic profile it shares (such as your name). We don't get your password with that service, we don't keep access to your account there, and we never post anything on your behalf.

If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, Apple gives us a private relay address that forwards to you. We use it like any other email address.

Business details such as name, address, phone, website, hours and description are published in the directory, because that is what a directory is for. We also record which account added, claimed or edited a listing; that link is not shown publicly. To confirm a claim we may email a code to the business's listed address, and our editors review some requests before they go live.

Business owners can prepay for advertising. Payments are handled by Stripe: your card details go straight to Stripe and never reach our servers. We keep the amount, the date and Stripe's reference for each payment, as our accounting requires.

We use two cookies, both needed for the site to work: one keeps you signed in, and one protects forms against forged requests. We use no advertising or analytics cookies and no tracking pixels.

Ads and sponsored listings are chosen by the page you are on, such as a category or a community, not by a profile of you. We don't share your information with advertisers.

We share information only with the services that run the site for us, and only what each needs:

• Amazon Web Services hosts the site and its database in the United States and sends our email.
• Stripe processes advertising payments.
• Sentry receives error reports without personal details.
• Apple, Google and Facebook, only if you choose to sign in with them.
• OpenFreeMap serves the map images. Your browser loads them directly, so OpenFreeMap sees your IP address when a map is shown.

We may also disclose information when the law requires it, or to protect the site and its users from fraud or abuse.

We keep your account information while your account is open. Server records are kept only as long as needed for security. Payment records are kept as long as tax and accounting rules require.

On your account page you can add or remove passkeys and connect or disconnect Apple, Google and Facebook. You can ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, through our contact form.

To delete your account, write to us through our contact form, giving the email address on your account. Within 30 days we delete your account, your email address, your passkeys and any Apple, Google or Facebook sign-in connections, and confirm by email. Businesses you added or claimed stay in the directory as public listings, but are no longer linked to you. We keep payment records only as long as the law requires.

If you signed in with Facebook, you can also remove Palm Harbor Biz in Facebook under Settings & privacy › Settings › Apps and websites. This stops Facebook sign-in; to delete the information we hold, contact us as above.

The site is meant for adults and businesses. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13; if you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

If we change how we handle your information, we will update this page and its effective date. If the change is significant, we will also email account holders.

Questions about this policy or your information? Write to us through our contact form.