Privacy policy

Who we are

Groundbreak is a real estate development publication and database covering Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth. It is operated by Sweetwater Laboratories. When this policy says we, it means Groundbreak.

What we collect, and when

When you read the site

We log page views and clicks against a random visitor id stored in a cookie (gb_vid, one year) and the campaign that first brought you here (gb_src, thirty days). Vercel Analytics records anonymous page views. None of this names you by itself.

When you subscribe to a newsletter

Your email address and the markets you picked. Resend sends the emails and records opens and clicks so we know what gets read. You can change markets or unsubscribe from any issue.

When you create an account or buy Pro

Clerk handles sign-in and stores your name, email and sign-in method. Stripe handles payment and stores your card or bank details; we never see the full number. We keep your plan, the markets it covers, your Radar profile (trade, markets, what you chase), your watchlist, saved searches and reports.

When you book a call or write to us

What you type into the form (email, name, company, role, a note) and, for calls, the details Calendly collects.

When you advertise

Your email, company, the creative you upload and the Stripe payment.

When something breaks

Browser errors are reported to us with the page, the error and your visitor id, so we can fix them.

Visitor identification

We use RB2B to recognise business visitors to the site. In the vendor's required words:

When you visit or log in to our website, cookies and similar technologies may be used by our online data partners or vendors to associate these activities with other personal information they or others have about you, including by association with your email. We (or service providers on our behalf) may then send communications and marketing to these email addresses. You may opt out of receiving this advertising by visiting https://app.retention.com/optout.

In plain terms: RB2B matches your visit against business contact data it already holds and may tell us the company and the work email it believes you are, and we may email you about Groundbreak Pro. To stop this, opt out at retention.com, or email us and we will delete what we were given.

The data in the product

Groundbreak Pro is built from public records: building permits, planning cases, recorded deeds, loans, notices of commencement, liens and county parcel rolls. Those records name the people and companies on them, and in some markets the phone number the filer put on the permit. We republish what the county published, with a link back to the source record. If you appear on a public record and want your phone number or email hidden on Groundbreak, email us and we will remove it.

How we use it

• To run the site, send the newsletters and deliver Pro.
• To match records to your Radar profile and email you the matches you asked for.
• To bill you and handle refunds.
• To understand which pages and features get used, and fix what breaks.
• To contact business visitors and trial users about Pro.

We do not sell your personal information for money. Letting RB2B match your visit to a business profile counts as sharing for targeted advertising under some state laws; the opt-out above covers it.

Who we share it with

Only the services that run Groundbreak, each under its own privacy policy:

• Vercel: hosting and anonymous analytics.
• Supabase: the database that holds accounts, profiles and records.
• Clerk: sign-in.
• Stripe: payments.
• Resend: newsletter and transactional email.
• RB2B and Retention.com: visitor identification.
• Calendly: call booking.
• Mapbox: the maps, which load from Mapbox servers and see your IP address.

We will also share information when the law requires it, or to protect the site and its readers.

Cookies and browser storage

• gb_vid: a random visitor id for our own usage counts, one year.
• gb_src: the campaign that first brought you here, thirty days.
• gb_persona: which side of the job you told us you are on, ninety days, so the landing pages open on the right offer.
• Clerk session cookies when you sign in.
• RB2B and Vercel Analytics cookies and identifiers, described above.
• Local storage on your device for conveniences: a dismissed announcement, a collapsed sidebar, a draft Radar setup. It never leaves your browser.

Blocking cookies in your browser does not break reading the site. Signing in needs Clerk's cookie.

How long we keep it

Account and billing records for as long as you have an account and for the period tax law requires after. Newsletter addresses until you unsubscribe. Usage events for two years. Visitor identification data for as long as we are pitching Pro to that company, or until you opt out.

Your choices

• Unsubscribe from any newsletter with the link in the footer, or at subscription settings.
• Cancel Pro from your account page. It ends at the end of the period you paid for.
• Opt out of visitor identification at retention.com.
• Email us to see, correct or delete what we hold about you, or to delete your account entirely. We answer within thirty days.

Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon and other states with privacy laws have the rights above by statute: access, correction, deletion, and opting out of targeted advertising or the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not discriminate for exercising them. If we turn down a request, you can ask us to look again.

Children

Groundbreak is for working professionals. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under sixteen.

Changes

When this policy changes we update the date at the top. For a change that matters, newsletter subscribers hear about it in the next issue and Pro members by email.

Contact

Max Gillespie, Groundbreak. max@groundbreak.city.