Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

AdvisorFinders ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website at advisorfinders.org, a free public directory of registered investment advisers and broker-dealer representatives sourced from public regulatory databases maintained by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FINRA. We are not a financial advisory firm, registered investment adviser, or broker-dealer.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

We collect information you voluntarily submit, which may include:

• Name and email address (if you contact us, claim a profile, or subscribe to updates)
• Payment information (processed securely by Stripe; we do not store card numbers)
• Information entered into our calculators (processed entirely in your browser; not transmitted to our servers)

Information Collected Automatically

When you use our site, we automatically collect:

• IP address and approximate geographic location (city/region level)
• Browser type, operating system, and device type
• Pages visited, time spent, and referral source
• Search queries entered on our site

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate and improve the advisor search directory
• Process payments for featured advisor listings
• Respond to inquiries and support requests
• Analyze site usage to improve content and user experience
• Detect and prevent fraud or abuse
• Send transactional emails (receipts, profile claim confirmations)

We do not use your information to send marketing emails without your explicit consent, and we do not engage in behavioral advertising.

4. Cookies

We use a minimal set of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for the site to function (session management, search preferences). Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: We use privacy-respecting analytics to understand aggregate traffic patterns. These cookies do not track you across other websites and do not contain personal identifiers.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies or behavioral tracking cookies.

5. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share information only in these limited circumstances:

• Service providers: We work with Stripe (payment processing) and hosting providers who process data on our behalf under data processing agreements. They cannot use your data for their own purposes.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of users.
• Business transfer: If AdvisorFinders is acquired or merged, your data may transfer to the new entity, which will be bound by this policy.

6. Advisor Profile Data

The advisor profiles on AdvisorFinders are sourced from the SEC's Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD) and FINRA's BrokerCheck, both public regulatory databases. This information is publicly available by law. If you are a registered advisor and believe information about you is inaccurate, please contact us or update your records directly with the SEC or FINRA.

7. Calculator Data

All financial calculators on AdvisorFinders (retirement calculator, DRIP calculator, compound interest calculator, etc.) run entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Numbers you enter are never transmitted to our servers, stored in our database, or accessible to us. You can verify this by using your browser's developer tools to inspect network requests while using our calculators.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary. Email addresses collected for profile claims are retained while the claim is active. Analytics data is retained in aggregate form for up to 24 months. Payment records are retained as required by law (typically 7 years for tax purposes). You may request deletion of your personal information at any time by contacting us.

9. Your Rights

Depending on where you reside, you may have rights including:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate information
• Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information
• Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Opt-out: California residents may opt out of any sale of personal information (we do not sell data, but this right applies)

To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.

10. Children's Privacy

AdvisorFinders is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

11. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including HTTPS encryption for all data in transit, secure payment processing via Stripe (PCI-DSS compliant), access controls limiting who can access personal data, and regular security reviews. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We will notify affected users of any data breach as required by applicable law.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the site after changes constitute acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns:
Email: [email protected]
Website: advisorfinders.org