Privacy Policy

Merber Holdings LLC operates MerberReviews, a discovery and review platform. This Privacy Policy describes how Merber Holdings LLC and MerberReviews collect, use, share, store, and protect information when people visit the website, submit content, create accounts, claim businesses, use owner tools, sign up for notifications, or otherwise interact with the Platform.

By using MerberReviews, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Information you provide directly

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number (if added later)
• Account login information
• Profile information
• Favorite businesses
• Notification preferences
• Submitted reviews, comments, ratings
• Photos, videos, voice memos
• Business submissions and suggested edits
• Receipts or verification uploads
• Business claim information
• Messages or support requests

Business owner information

• Owner name, business email, business phone
• Business role and claim details
• Business account login information
• Business profile edits, locations, menus, hours
• Photos, links, promotions
• Subscription tier information
• Payment or billing information (if paid subscriptions are added later)

Location information

MerberReviews may use location information to show nearby places, route suggestions, distance filters, Decide For Me plans, and location-based recommendations. Location may come from:

• A city, address, or general area you enter
• Browser or device location permission you grant
• Approximate location derived from IP address
• Saved preferences

You do not have to share precise location. If you deny permission, manual location entry still works. We only use precise location when you allow it or enter it.

Automatically collected information

• Device and browser type
• IP address and approximate location
• Pages viewed, clicks, search and filter activity
• Favorites activity
• Referral source
• Date and time of visits
• Error and security logs
• Cookies or similar tracking data
• Analytics events

Cookies and similar technologies

MerberReviews may use cookies, local storage, pixels, or similar technologies to keep users signed in, remember preferences, save location or filter choices, run analytics, support security, improve performance, and — if added later — support marketing or advertising. Cookie preferences may be added or expanded in the future.

• Operate the website
• Create and manage accounts
• Show reviews and listings
• Personalize recommendations and power Decide For Me
• Save favorites
• Process submissions and verify reviews or receipts
• Manage business claims and provide owner-portal access
• Send invitation, account, and security emails
• Send requested notifications, deal alerts, and marketing where allowed
• Improve filters, search, and platform performance
• Analyze usage
• Prevent fraud, spam, abuse, fake reviews, and unauthorized access
• Enforce our Terms & Conditions
• Protect users, businesses, Merber Holdings LLC, and MerberReviews
• Comply with legal obligations

Some content you submit may become public or visible on the Platform, including reviews, ratings, comments, photos, videos, business submissions, suggested listing information, and (if profiles are added later) a public profile name.

• Do not submit private information you do not want visible.
• MerberReviews may moderate, edit, hide, or remove submissions under the Terms.
• Submitting content does not guarantee publication.
• Published content may remain visible even if you later delete your account, unless removal is legally required or approved by MerberReviews.

Business listings may include:

• Business name, address, phone, website, social links
• Menus, hours, photos
• Business categories and attributes
• Reviews and promotions
• Other public business details

Some business information may come from public sources, business owners, users, or MerberReviews research. Business-owner account information is used to manage access, verify claims, send invitations, manage subscription tiers, and protect owner tools.

You may receive communications such as:

• Account and security emails
• Business claim and owner invitation emails
• Password reset emails
• Favorite-business updates and deal alerts
• Platform updates and legal or policy notices
• Marketing emails, if you opted in

• You can unsubscribe from marketing emails where required.
• Some transactional, security, or legal emails may still be sent even if marketing is disabled.
• Business owners do not receive unrestricted access to message users.
• Business notifications and promotional messages are controlled by subscription tier, user preferences, and MerberReviews rules.

If SMS or text alerts are added later, MerberReviews will require clear consent before marketing texts, provide opt-out instructions, and will not send marketing texts without appropriate consent.

Merber Holdings LLC and MerberReviews may share information with:

• Hosting and database providers
• Authentication providers
• Email delivery providers
• Analytics providers
• Payment processors (if billing is added later)
• Mapping and location providers
• Customer support tools
• Security and fraud-prevention tools
• Contractors or service providers helping operate MerberReviews
• Legal, safety, or compliance parties when required

• Service providers should only use information to help provide services to MerberReviews.
• MerberReviews does not give business owners unrestricted access to user personal information.
• Business owners may receive limited or aggregated analytics and engagement information based on their tier; private user data is limited unless a user directly interacts in a way that requires sharing.

MerberReviews may offer sponsored placements, featured listings, homepage advertising, promoted businesses, or business analytics.

• Paid placement does not mean MerberReviews sells private user information to businesses.
• Analytics shared with businesses may be aggregated or limited.
• If advertising partners, tracking pixels, or cross-context behavioral advertising are added later, this policy will be updated and required choices provided.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information: This choice will be activated if and when legally required or if the Platform later sells or shares personal information under applicable privacy laws.

Paid business subscriptions are processed by a third-party payment processor using provider-hosted payment forms. Card details are entered directly with that processor. Merber Holdings LLC does not receive or store full payment card numbers, security codes, or full bank account numbers.

We do receive and store limited billing metadata, including:

• the business the subscription belongs to and the plan selected;
• subscription status, billing interval, and renewal or cancellation dates;
• payment success or failure signals and invoice history references;
• the processor's customer and subscription identifiers, and the email address used for billing;
• a record of the recurring-billing terms the owner accepted, with a timestamp.

To complete a purchase we share the billing email address, the business identifier, the selected plan, and, where tax applies, the billing address or location the buyer provides at checkout with the payment processor. The processor uses that information under its own privacy policy for payment processing, tax calculation, fraud prevention, and dispute handling.

Billing records may be retained for tax, accounting, legal, fraud-prevention, and business purposes, including after a subscription ends.

Merber Holdings LLC and MerberReviews use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards to protect information, including:

• Authentication and access controls
• Row-level security on our database
• Secure tokens
• Limited admin access
• Security logging
• Secure service providers
• Reasonable data-protection practices

No website, database, or internet transmission can be guaranteed 100% secure.

MerberReviews keeps information as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Operate the platform and maintain accounts
• Display reviews and listings
• Maintain business records
• Comply with legal obligations
• Resolve disputes
• Support security and fraud prevention
• Maintain tax and accounting records
• Enforce our Terms

Information may be deleted, anonymized, or retained where legally permitted.

• Update account information
• Change notification preferences
• Unsubscribe from marketing emails
• Disable browser location permissions
• Clear cookies through browser settings
• Request access, correction, or deletion where applicable
• Contact MerberReviews about privacy questions

Contact us at support@merberreviews.com.

• Location is used to show nearby places, filters, maps, routes, and recommendations.
• You can deny browser location permission.
• You can manually enter a general location instead.
• You can disable location sharing in your browser or device settings.
• MerberReviews does not use precise location for unrelated purposes without permission.

MerberReviews is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take reasonable steps to delete it. If future features target minors, this policy and the consent flow will be updated first.

Because Merber Holdings LLC is Illinois-based, we take biometric privacy seriously. MerberReviews does not intend to collect biometric identifiers such as fingerprints, retina or iris scans, voiceprints used for identification, or scans of hand or face geometry.

Voice memos, photos, and videos may be uploaded for review or submission purposes, but MerberReviews does not use them to identify a person through biometric recognition. If MerberReviews ever adds biometric identification, facial recognition, voiceprint recognition, or similar technology, we will update this policy and implement required consent, retention, and deletion procedures before use.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights such as:

• The right to know and access personal information
• The right to correct personal information
• The right to delete personal information
• The right to opt out of certain uses
• The right to withdraw consent where applicable
• The right to appeal or contact privacy regulators where applicable
• The right not to be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights

Send requests to support@merberreviews.com. We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

If applicable, you may have rights under California or other U.S. state privacy laws. Placeholders for required disclosures:

• Categories of personal information collected
• Categories of sources
• Business or commercial purposes
• Categories of third parties shared with
• Whether personal information is sold or shared
• Sensitive personal information categories
• Request methods and verification process
• Authorized agents, where applicable

MerberReviews does not knowingly sell personal information in the ordinary meaning of selling for money. If ad tracking or cross-context behavioral advertising is added later, this section will be updated and required opt-out controls provided.

If you access the Platform from outside the United States, your information may be processed in the United States. By using MerberReviews from outside the U.S., you consent to processing under U.S. systems where allowed by law. If MerberReviews begins actively targeting international users, this policy will be updated for international privacy laws.

MerberReviews links to third-party websites and services such as restaurants, activity providers, Google Maps, delivery platforms, reservation platforms, social media, business websites, and payment providers. Merber Holdings LLC and MerberReviews are not responsible for third-party privacy practices. Please review third-party privacy policies before using those services.

Merber Holdings LLC may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The Last Updated date will change when updates are made. Continued use of MerberReviews after updates means you accept the updated policy where allowed by law.

For privacy questions or requests, contact: support@merberreviews.com.