Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

When you create an account or use the Service, we collect:

• Account information — email address, first and last name, and role (student or landlord)
• Profile information — for students: university, budget, move-in preferences, and lifestyle preferences you choose to share
• Listing information — for landlords: property address, rent, availability, and photos
• Messages — content of messages sent through the platform
• Payment information — processed by Stripe; we do not store card numbers
• Usage data — page views, search queries, listing saves, and session identifiers

2. How We Use Your Information

• To operate the Service and match students with listings
• To process payments and manage subscriptions
• To protect contact information in messages until contact is unlocked
• To improve the platform through aggregate usage analysis
• To communicate service updates, if you have an active account

3. Contact Information Protection

Butler Housing applies automatic PII filtering to all messages on the platform. Email addresses, phone numbers, and social media handles are redacted from messages by default. This protection is removed only when a landlord explicitly unlocks contact for a specific conversation (a paid action). This is a core privacy feature — not a bug.

4. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only:

• With Stripe — for payment processing (see Stripe's Privacy Policy)
• With other users — tenant profiles are visible to landlords; listing details are visible to all users
• As required by law — if we receive a valid legal request

5. Tenant Profile Visibility

Tenant profiles (name, university, budget range, move-in preferences, lifestyle preferences) are visible to landlords on the platform when you set your profile to public. You control your profile visibility at any time from your profile settings.

6. Cookies and Analytics

We use a session cookie to keep you logged in. If Google Analytics is enabled on this deployment, anonymous usage data (page views, session counts) is sent to Google. We do not use advertising cookies or cross-site tracking.

7. Data Retention

Account data is retained while your account is active. You may request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us at the address below. Note: messages in active conversations may be retained for the other party's records.

8. Security

Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing. Sessions are managed via signed, server-side cookies. We use HTTPS in production. Despite these measures, no system is perfectly secure — use a unique password for your Butler Housing account.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact

Questions or requests regarding your data? Contact us at hello@butler-housing.com.