Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Zelli ("we," "our," or "us") operates the Zelli mobile application and website (collectively, the "Service"). Zelli is a home services marketplace that connects homeowners and property managers with qualified service professionals across multiple trades, including HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), locksmith services, garage door services, and automotive locksmith services. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service, whether as a customer seeking services or a professional offering them.

By using the Service, you consent to the data practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please discontinue use of the Service immediately.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information to provide and improve our Service:

2.1 Personal Information

• Identity data: Full name, email address, and phone number provided during account creation or service booking.
• Authentication data: One-time passcodes (OTP) sent via SMS or email for identity verification.
• Payment data: Credit/debit card details (processed and stored by our payment processor, Stripe). We retain only the last four digits and card brand for your reference. A temporary $1.00 authorization hold may be placed to verify your payment method; this hold is canceled immediately and is never captured.
• Communication preferences: Your preferred contact method (SMS or email) and opt-out status.

2.2 Property and Address Information

• Address data: Street address, city, state, and ZIP code you provide when requesting a service quote. We geocode your address to determine latitude and longitude coordinates for service area verification.
• Property characteristics: We retrieve property details from third-party data providers, which may include square footage, year built, number of stories, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot size, property value, property type, roof type, heating and cooling system types, and pool presence.
• Property imagery: We access publicly available property photos from listing databases and Google Street View imagery of your property exterior to support accurate service quoting.

2.3 Photos and Visual Data

• Photos you upload during the quoting process (e.g., photos of HVAC equipment, locks, garage doors, or vehicle components).
• AI-generated analysis results derived from submitted and publicly available property photos (see Section 7 — AI and Automated Processing).

2.4 Usage and Device Data

• Pages visited, features used, buttons clicked, and time spent on each screen.
• Device type, operating system, browser type and version, screen resolution, and IP address.
• Referring URL, landing page, and exit page.

2.5 Marketing Attribution Data

• UTM parameters (source, medium, campaign, content, term), advertising click identifiers, referrer URLs, and landing page paths — captured on your first visit to attribute how you discovered Zelli.
• Google Analytics client identifier extracted from cookies to associate client-side and server-side analytics events with the same browsing session.

2.6 Location Data

We derive your approximate location from the address you provide for service requests. We do not access your device GPS or precise geolocation without your explicit permission.

3. How We Collect Information

• Directly from you: When you create an account, submit a service request, upload photos, book a service, provide payment information, or communicate with us.
• From third-party property databases: We retrieve property characteristics from services including Zillow and BatchData using the address you provide. We also access Google Solar API for roof and solar panel data, and Google Street View for property exterior imagery.
• Through automated collection: Cookies, analytics scripts (Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity), and server-side event tracking automatically collect usage and device data when you interact with the Service.
• From AI analysis: We use artificial intelligence services to analyze property and equipment photos to extract relevant features for pricing and service assessment (see Section 7).

4. How We Use Your Information

• To provide, maintain, and improve our Service across all supported trades (HVAC, locksmith, garage door, and automotive services).
• To generate accurate, transparent pricing quotes based on your property data, location, and service requirements.
• To match you with qualified, vetted service professionals in your area.
• To process bookings, schedule appointments, and facilitate payment transactions.
• To send you transactional communications about your account, quotes, bookings, and payments (see Section 5).
• To send you promotional and marketing communications, subject to your opt-out preferences.
• To analyze usage patterns and improve the user experience through analytics and session recording (see Section 8).
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access to the Service.
• To comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

5. Communications

We communicate with you through multiple channels to support your use of the Service:

5.1 SMS Text Messages

We use Twilio to send SMS messages to the phone number you provide. These messages may include one-time verification codes (OTP), quote notifications, booking confirmations, appointment reminders, technician arrival updates, job completion notices, payment receipts, and promotional offers. Standard messaging rates from your carrier may apply. Your mobile phone number and text messaging opt-in data will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes, excluding aggregators and providers of the text message services.

5.2 Email

We use SendGrid to send emails to the address you provide. Email communications include the same categories as SMS, plus more detailed booking summaries, payment receipts, and marketing newsletters.

5.3 Push Notifications

Service professionals using the Zelli platform may receive push notifications about new job assignments, booking updates, and schedule changes through device tokens registered on their mobile devices.

5.4 Opting Out of Communications

You may opt out of marketing and promotional communications at any time by replying STOP to any SMS message, clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, or contacting us at office@zelliapp.com. Please note that you cannot opt out of transactional communications (such as OTP codes, booking confirmations, and payment receipts) that are essential to the operation of the Service while you maintain an active account.

We comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). We will not send you marketing SMS messages without your prior express written consent.

6. Third-Party Services and Data Sources

We integrate with the following third-party services to operate the platform:

• Zillow: Property listing data, home value estimates (Zestimate), property photos, and property characteristics.
• BatchData: Property records including square footage, year built, stories, bedrooms/bathrooms, roof type, heating/cooling systems, property value, and owner information.
• Google APIs: Geocoding (address-to-coordinates), Street View (property exterior imagery), Solar API (roof characteristics, solar potential, shade analysis), and Places (address autocomplete and validation).
• SmartyStreets: Address standardization and validation.
• Stripe: Payment processing, card verification, and payment method storage. Stripe is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
• Twilio: SMS delivery, phone number verification, and OTP authentication.
• SendGrid: Email delivery for transactional and marketing communications.

Each of these providers has its own privacy policy governing how it processes the data we share with it. We share only the minimum information necessary for each provider to perform its function.

7. AI and Automated Processing

We use artificial intelligence services to analyze property and equipment photographs to support accurate service quoting. Photos may be processed by one or more of the following AI providers:

• Google Gemini
• Anthropic Claude
• OpenAI GPT-4 Vision

These services analyze photos to identify features relevant to your service request, such as HVAC equipment type and condition, lock and deadbolt types, garage door spring and rail configurations, roof material and condition, exterior siding, and story count. The AI-generated analysis is used solely to improve the accuracy of pricing quotes and service recommendations.

We also use automated systems to calculate service pricing based on property characteristics, location, service type, and market data. These prices are estimates and may be adjusted based on on-site conditions assessed by the service professional.

8. Analytics and Session Recording

We use analytics tools to understand how users interact with the Service and to improve the experience. The following tools are active on the production Service:

8.1 Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

We use Google Analytics 4 to collect data about page views, user interactions, and conversion funnel events (such as address submission, quote viewing, booking initiation, and payment completion). GA4 collects device information, browser type, session duration, referrer, and geographic region. Data is associated with a client identifier stored in the _ga cookie.

We also use the GA4 Measurement Protocol to send certain events (such as payment completion) from our server directly to Google Analytics. This ensures accurate reporting even when client-side scripts are blocked.

8.2 Microsoft Clarity

We use Microsoft Clarity for session recording, heatmaps, and click tracking. Clarity records anonymized replays of user sessions, including mouse movements, clicks, scrolls, and form interactions. Session recordings help us identify usability issues and improve the interface. Clarity does not record sensitive input fields (such as password or payment fields).

8.3 Production Only

Analytics scripts are loaded only on the production domain (zelliapp.com). They are not active on development, staging, or preview environments.

8.4 Opting Out of Analytics

You can disable all analytics and session recording at any time. When you opt out, tracking stops immediately for the current session and no analytics scripts will load on future visits.

opt out of analytics|re-enable analytics

9. Sharing of Information

We may share your information with the following parties:

• Service professionals: When you book a service, we share your name, contact information, address, service request details, and relevant property/equipment information with the matched professional to fulfill your request.
• Payment processor (Stripe): Card details and transaction information for payment processing and fraud prevention.
• Communication providers (Twilio, SendGrid): Phone number and/or email address to deliver transactional and marketing messages on our behalf.
• Property data providers (Zillow, BatchData, Google): Your address to retrieve property characteristics for accurate pricing.
• AI providers (Google, Anthropic, OpenAI): Property and equipment photos for automated analysis.
• Analytics providers (Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity): Usage data, device information, and anonymized session recordings for platform improvement.
• Legal compliance: When required by law, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or to protect our rights, property, or safety.
• Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

10. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information:

• Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using TLS (Transport Layer Security).
• Payment security: Payment card data is processed by Stripe, which is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified. We never store, process, or have access to your full card number.
• Authentication security: OTP verification codes expire after 5 minutes and are rate-limited to 3 attempts. After exceeding the limit, a 15-minute lockout is enforced to prevent brute-force attacks.
• Token-based authentication: API access is secured through token-based authentication with automatic expiration.
• Sensitive data expiration: Temporary data such as verification codes are stored with short time-to-live values and automatically purged.

While we strive to protect your information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we continuously review and improve our security practices.

11. Data Retention

We retain your information for the following periods:

• Account data: Retained for the duration of your account and for a reasonable period after account closure to comply with legal obligations.
• Quote and booking records: Retained for business, tax, and audit purposes as required by applicable law.
• Payment records: Retained by Stripe according to their data retention policies and applicable financial regulations (typically 7+ years).
• Communication logs: Records of SMS and email communications are retained for audit, compliance, and dispute resolution purposes.
• OTP codes: Automatically deleted after 5 minutes.
• Analytics data: Retained according to Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity default retention policies (typically 14–26 months for GA4, up to 30 days for Clarity session recordings).

12. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

12.1 General Rights

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Opt out of marketing: Unsubscribe from promotional SMS and email communications at any time (see Section 5.4).
• Opt out of analytics: Disable analytics tracking and session recording (see Section 8.4).
• Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

12.2 California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to request deletion, and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. We do not sell your personal information.

12.3 Texas Residents (TDPSA)

If you are a Texas resident, you have rights under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA), including the right to access, correct, and delete your personal data, and the right to opt out of the processing of personal data for targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, and profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at office@zelliapp.com. We will respond to verifiable requests within the timeframe required by applicable law (typically 45 days).

13. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at office@zelliapp.com.

14. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use the following cookies and browser storage mechanisms:

Browser Local Storage:

• zelli_analytics_consent_seen — records that the privacy notice has been displayed to you.
• zelli_analytics_optout — records your choice to opt out of analytics tracking.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or cross-site tracking technologies. You can manage cookies through your browser settings or opt out of analytics using the controls described in Section 8.4.

15. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties, as defined by the CCPA and TDPSA. We share information with service providers and partners only as described in this policy and solely for the purposes of operating and improving the Service. If you wish to exercise your right to opt out of any data sharing, please contact us at office@zelliapp.com.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. For significant changes, we may also notify you via email or through an in-app notice. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

17. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at: