Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 22, 2025

costs.fyi is operated by Zephry Homes, LLC.

Overview

costs.fyi (“we”, “our”, or “us”) is a product of Zephry Homes, LLC and is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, the rights you have, and the choices available to you when you use our website and services (the “Service”).

Information We Collect

  • Account & Authentication: Name, email address, and identifiers from authentication providers (e.g., Firebase UID).
  • Usage Data: Pages viewed, interactions, device/browser metadata, approximate location (from IP), and referral sources.
  • Cost Submissions: Contractor quotes, invoices, service descriptions, and notes you choose to provide.
  • Derived Data: Normalized benchmarks, price indices, and anonymized aggregates generated from user submissions.
  • Public Records: Building permit records and similar datasets published by cities and counties under public records and open-data programs.
  • Cookies & Local Storage: Session tokens, preferences, and analytics identifiers to improve usability.

How We Use Information

  • Deliver and maintain the Service and core features.
  • Generate and publish cost benchmarks, indices, and trends.
  • Process public permit datasets to create de-identified summaries and analytics.
  • Monitor and secure the platform, prevent fraud, and detect abuse.
  • Communicate with you about account activity, product updates, and support requests.
  • Comply with applicable laws and respond to lawful requests.

Legal Bases (EEA/UK)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the UK, we process data under the following legal bases:

  • Contract: To provide the Service you sign up for.
  • Legitimate interests: To analyze usage, improve features, and maintain security.
  • Public interest/legitimate interests: To process and present public records (e.g., building permits) in a way that respects privacy and complies with open data licenses.
  • Consent: For optional cookies, marketing emails, or when legally required.
  • Legal obligation: To comply with regulatory, tax, or judicial requirements.

Sharing

  • Vendors: Hosting, analytics, payment processors, and support tools under confidentiality agreements.
  • Partners: Only aggregated and de-identified insights are shared; no personal identifiers.

    • Public Records and Open Data

    We may ingest public building permit data made available by government entities. When we use such data, we:

    • Attribute the source when required by the applicable license (e.g., Open Data Commons Attribution, CC BY 4.0, or public domain).
    • Remove or avoid displaying personally identifiable information (e.g., owner/applicant names, phone numbers, exact street addresses).
    • Display information at a summarized level (e.g., city/ZIP) where appropriate to reduce re-identification risk.
    • Do not imply endorsement or affiliation by any government entity.
    • Respect source disclaimers and update cadences (e.g., “updated weekly”).

    Example attribution displayed on our site may read: “Source: Public building permit data, [City/County] Open Data Portal (accessed Oct 2025).”

  • Legal/Business transfers: When required by law or as part of a merger, acquisition, or reorganization.

Data Retention

We keep personal data for as long as necessary to deliver the Service, fulfill legal obligations, or resolve disputes. Aggregated benchmarks and anonymized analytics may be stored indefinitely without identifiers.

Security

We use technical and organizational safeguards (e.g., encryption, access controls, monitoring) to protect information. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your Choices & Rights

You may:

  • Access, update, or delete certain account details from your profile dashboard.
  • Opt out of non-essential cookies where local law requires consent.
  • Request a copy of your personal data, ask us to restrict or stop processing, or request portability.
  • Residents of the EEA, UK, Canada, and certain U.S. states may have additional rights under local privacy laws.

To exercise your rights, please contact us.

International Transfers

We may process information outside your country of residence. When required, we use safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses or other approved mechanisms to protect data.

Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required by your local law). We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided us data, please contact us for removal.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in law, technology, or our practices. When updates are material, we will provide notice on this page and update the “Last updated” date.

Contact Us

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