Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Information We Collect and How

We collect information in the following ways:

• Account registration forms — When you create an account, you submit your name, email address, and a password. Passwords are stored as bcrypt hashes; we never store them in plain text.
• Checkout and subscription flow — When you subscribe, payment information is collected and processed by Polsia (using Stripe). We never see or store your card number, CVV, or full billing details.
• Email capture forms — When you request free benchmark access (e.g. the /free-benchmarks page), you provide your email address. This is stored so we can deliver the preview and send follow-up communications described below.
• Support emails — When you contact us at support@benchmarkhqdata.com, we receive and store the contents of your message in order to respond to you.
• Automatic technical data — Our hosting infrastructure (Render) may log your IP address, browser type, device type, and pages visited as part of normal server operations. These server logs are retained for security and debugging purposes.
• Analytics identifiers — We use a Polsia Analytics script that stores a randomly generated visitor ID in your browser's localStorage and sends it to Polsia's analytics service. This identifier is intended for aggregate traffic measurement. On its own, it is not used by BenchmarkHQ to identify you by name or email.

How We Use Your Information

• To authenticate you and provide access to membership content
• To process your subscription payments via Polsia/Stripe
• To send you transactional emails — receipts, password resets, and account-related notices
• To send you marketing and promotional emails — if you submitted your email via a free preview or lead form, we will send a series of follow-up emails about BenchmarkHQ, including product updates and promotional offers. See "Opting Out" below.
• To improve our product and content
• To measure advertising effectiveness via the Meta Pixel (see "Third-Party Services" below)

Opting Out of Marketing Emails

Every marketing email we send includes an unsubscribe link. You can also email support@benchmarkhqdata.com to be removed from our mailing list at any time. Opting out stops all marketing emails; you will still receive transactional emails related to an active account (e.g., receipts, password resets).

Third-Party Services

We do not sell personal information for money. We may disclose limited identifiers, cookies, and event data to service providers and advertising platforms as described below for payment processing, analytics, and ad-measurement purposes. Depending on applicable law, you may have additional rights regarding certain disclosures of personal information.

• Polsia / Stripe — payment processing and subscription management. Your payment details go directly to Stripe's secure servers.
• Meta (Facebook) Pixel — We use the Meta Pixel on most pages to track conversions and measure the effectiveness of our advertising. The pixel sends event data (page views, sign-up events, purchase completion) to Meta/Facebook. Meta may set cookies and use this data in accordance with Meta's Privacy Policy. You can opt out of Meta's personalized advertising at facebook.com/settings or via the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out at optout.aboutads.info.
• Render — our cloud hosting provider. Your data resides on Render's infrastructure.
• Polsia Analytics — a first-party analytics service provided by Polsia that measures aggregate site traffic using a localStorage-based visitor identifier.
• Google Fonts — our pages load fonts from fonts.googleapis.com. Google may collect your IP address as part of this request; see Google's Privacy Policy.

Cookies

We use the following cookies and browser storage:

• Session cookie (authentication) — When you log in, we set a persistent cookie that keeps you authenticated for up to 30 days. This cookie is HTTP-only and secure (HTTPS only). It is cleared when you log out or when it expires.
• Meta Pixel cookies — The Meta Pixel sets one or more cookies (e.g., _fbp, _fbc) to track conversions and link ad clicks to site actions. These are set by Facebook/Meta's script and governed by their privacy policy.
• Polsia Analytics (localStorage) — We store a randomly generated visitor ID in your browser's localStorage (not a cookie). This does not identify you personally.

We do not use cookies for advertising re-targeting beyond what is described above. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings; note that disabling the authentication cookie will require you to log in each visit.

Data Retention

• Account data — Retained for as long as your account is active. Upon deletion request, your account and associated profile data are removed within 30 days.
• Subscriber and billing records — Payment receipts and transaction records may be retained for up to 7 years to comply with tax and accounting requirements, even after account deletion.
• Email leads (non-account) — Email addresses captured via free preview or lead forms are retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.
• Support emails — Retained for up to 2 years to maintain support history, then deleted.
• Server logs — Typically retained for 30–90 days by our hosting provider for security and debugging purposes.

Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data. To exercise any of them, email support@benchmarkhqdata.com:

• Access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — Request correction of inaccurate account information (name, email).
• Deletion — Request deletion of your account and associated personal data. Note that some billing records may be retained as described under Data Retention.
• Export / Portability — Request an export of your account data in a machine-readable format.
• Opt-out of marketing — Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time via the link in any email, or by contacting us directly.

We aim to respond to rights requests within 30 days.

Data Security

Passwords are hashed using bcrypt. All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Session tokens are stored in a server-side database and never exposed to client-side JavaScript. We use industry-standard measures to protect your account data.

Children

BenchmarkHQ is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us at support@benchmarkhqdata.com and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If we make material changes to how we collect, use, or share personal data, we will provide additional notice where required by law.

State Privacy Rights

Residents of certain states may have additional privacy rights, including the right to know, delete, correct, or access personal information, and the right to opt out of certain sales or sharing of personal information. Where required by applicable law, BenchmarkHQ will honor valid opt-out requests and recognized preference signals.

Where required by applicable law, we honor recognized browser-based opt-out preference signals, such as the Global Privacy Control.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email support@benchmarkhqdata.com. We aim to respond within 1 business day.