Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains how Trusted Local Auto (“we,” “us,” or “the site”) collects, uses, and protects information when you visit trustedlocalauto.com. The site is operated from Canada and we make a good-faith effort to comply with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) as well as applicable provincial privacy laws.

1. Information we collect

Information you provide directly.When you fill out a contact form, listing submission form, claim form, or appointment request form, we collect the information you submit — typically your name, email address, phone number, city, business name (where applicable), and the contents of your message.

Information collected automatically. Like most websites, we automatically collect technical information when you visit, including your IP address, browser type, device type, referring URL, pages viewed, and timestamps. We also store small identifiers (cookies and local storage) so that the site works correctly and so we can measure how it is used.

2. Cookies, analytics, and tracking

We use the following third-party services to operate and improve the site:

• Google Tag Manager & Google Analytics— to understand which pages and shops are most useful to visitors, and how people arrive at the site. Google may set first-party cookies on your browser.
• Vercel Analytics— aggregated, privacy- friendly traffic measurement provided by our hosting platform.
• Click identifiers (gclid, fbclid)— if you arrive from a paid ad, we may store the ad click ID in your browser's local storage so we can pass it along when you submit a form, for advertising attribution.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings or use private browsing. Doing so may affect how parts of the site behave but will not stop you from reading content or contacting us.

3. How we use information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate and maintain the directory.
• Respond to messages submitted through our contact, listing, claim, and appointment forms.
• Send form submissions to the relevant shop, where applicable.
• Measure aggregate usage so we can improve the site.
• Detect and prevent spam, abuse, and unauthorized access.
• Comply with legal obligations.

4. How form submissions are processed

Form submissions are sent server-to-server through our hosting provider to a webhook operated by our marketing platform (currently n8n hosted at marketingbyfirstprinciple.com), where they are routed to the appropriate inbox. We do not sell or rent this information.

• Contact form submissionsfor a specific shop are forwarded to that shop's designated contact and to our editorial team.
• Listing submissions are reviewed by our editorial team to vet and create the listing.
• General contact messages are read by our editorial team.

5. Data retention

Form submissions are retained for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purpose for which they were submitted — typically up to 24 months — and then deleted or anonymized. Aggregate analytics data may be retained for longer in summarized form.

6. Data sharing

We do not sell personal information. We share information only with:

• Service providers that help us run the site (hosting, analytics, form processing) under their own privacy policies.
• The relevant shop, when you submit a contact, appointment, or listing claim form intended for that shop.
• Authorities, when required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of users.

7. Your rights

You can request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold about you. To make a request, email us at privacy@trustedlocalauto.com or use our contact formwith the subject “Privacy / data request.” We will respond within 30 days.

8. Security

The site is served over HTTPS and we use reputable hosting and infrastructure providers. No internet transmission is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security — please avoid sending sensitive information you wouldn't put in an email.

9. Children

The site is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be highlighted on the site.

11. Contact

Questions about this policy? Email privacy@trustedlocalauto.com or use our contact form.