Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

ScreenForge Labs LLC, doing business as VerticalRent ("VerticalRent," "we," "us," or "our"), is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you use our platform, website, and related services (collectively, the "Services").

We take privacy seriously — especially given that our platform handles sensitive consumer data including financial information, background check results, and personally identifiable information of both landlords and renters. We are stewards of that data, not owners of it, and we treat it accordingly.

Please read this policy carefully. By using the Services, you agree to the practices described here.

2. Information We Collect

2a. Information You Provide Directly

• Account registration: Name, email address, password, phone number, and role (landlord, renter, or service professional).
• Profile information: Company name, bio, property addresses, business license number, service categories, hourly rates, and profile photos.
• Rental applications: Employment information, monthly income, move-in date, pet status, vehicle count, and cover letter.
• Screening information: Date of birth, Social Security Number (encrypted — see Section 5), and consent to screening.
• Payment information: Payment method details collected and stored by our payment processor, Stripe. We do not store full payment card numbers.
• Communications: Messages, maintenance requests, listing inquiries, and support tickets submitted through the platform.

2b. Information We Collect Automatically

• Usage data: Pages visited, features used, time spent, clicks, and navigation paths within the platform.
• Device and log data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referrer URL, and device identifiers.
• Cookies and similar technologies: Session cookies for authentication, preference cookies for theme and language settings, and analytics cookies. You may disable cookies in your browser settings, though this may affect platform functionality.

2c. Information We Receive from Third Parties

• Consumer reporting agencies: When a landlord initiates a screening order with proper consent, we receive consumer report data from our screening partners (including TransUnion and Data Divers). This includes credit report data, criminal background information, eviction records, and rental history. This data is governed by the FCRA — see Section 7.
• Stripe: Payment status, disbursement confirmations, and connected account information.
• Supabase: Authentication tokens and session management data.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and improve the Services;
• Process rental applications, screening orders, rent payments, and maintenance requests;
• Generate AI-powered features including lease documents, risk scores, listing descriptions, and maintenance triage — using anonymized or aggregated data where possible;
• Send transactional emails (account confirmations, payment receipts, application status updates, adverse action notices);
• Respond to your support requests and communications;
• Maintain compliance records required by the FCRA and other applicable laws;
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access;
• Analyze usage patterns to improve platform performance and user experience; and
• Communicate platform updates, new features, and relevant product announcements (you may opt out of marketing communications at any time).

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your personal information for targeted advertising on third-party platforms.

4. How We Share Your Information

We share information only in the following circumstances:

• Between landlords and renters: When a renter submits a rental application, the landlord receives the application information the renter provided. When a screening order is placed, the landlord receives the screening report and AI-generated risk score.
• With service professionals: When a landlord assigns a maintenance job, the service professional receives the job details and property/unit information necessary to complete the work.
• With consumer reporting agencies: We transmit necessary identifying information to our screening partners to fulfill screening orders, under FCRA-compliant agreements.
• With Stripe: Payment processing requires sharing financial transaction data with Stripe. Stripe's use of this data is governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy.
• With Resend: We use Resend for transactional email delivery. Email addresses and message content are transmitted to Resend for this purpose.
• With service providers: We engage trusted third-party vendors who assist us in operating the platform (hosting via Vercel, database via Supabase). These vendors are contractually prohibited from using your data for any purpose other than providing services to us.
• For legal compliance: We may disclose information when required by law, court order, subpoena, or government request, or when necessary to protect our legal rights or the safety of our users.
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, user information may be transferred as part of the transaction. We will provide notice before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5. Sensitive Data and Security

Social Security Numbers

SSNs collected for tenant screening purposes are encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption before being stored. Only the last four digits are retained in retrievable form. Full SSNs are transmitted securely (TLS 1.2+) to our screening partners and are not retained in our systems after transmission.

Consumer Report Data

Credit reports, criminal background data, eviction records, and rental history obtained through screening orders are stored securely, associated only with the specific screening order and rental application for which they were obtained, and are not used for any other purpose. Access to this data is restricted to the specific landlord who ordered the screening.

Technical Safeguards

• All data is transmitted over encrypted HTTPS connections (TLS 1.2 or higher).
• Our database is hosted on Supabase with row-level security policies restricting data access by user role.
• All production secrets (API keys, encryption keys, database credentials) are stored as encrypted environment variables and are never committed to source control.
• We maintain audit logs of all screening-related actions as required by the FCRA.

Despite our safeguards, no system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information. If we become aware of a security breach that materially affects your data, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account information and platform data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Services. If you close your account, we will retain your data for a period of 3 years to comply with legal obligations (including FCRA record-keeping requirements), resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

FCRA-regulated data (screening reports, consent records, adverse action notices) is retained for a minimum of 5 years to comply with applicable compliance and audit requirements.

7. FCRA-Specific Disclosures

VerticalRent operates as both a user of consumer reports (when landlords order screenings) and a technology platform facilitating access to consumer reporting agencies. As such, we maintain the following FCRA-specific practices:

• Permissible purpose verification: We require landlords to certify their permissible purpose (tenant screening) before any consumer report is ordered.
• Consent capture: We capture and timestamp applicant FCRA consent before transmitting any screening request.
• Adverse action support: Our platform generates compliant adverse action notices to assist landlords in meeting their FCRA obligations when declining an applicant.
• TransUnion partnership: We are establishing a partnership with TransUnion to provide credit and eviction reports. TransUnion is a consumer reporting agency subject to the FCRA. Consumers have the right to dispute information in their TransUnion file directly with TransUnion at transunion.com or by calling 1-800-916-8800.
• No re-use of consumer report data: Information obtained from consumer reports is used solely for the specific rental decision for which it was obtained. It is not used for marketing, profiling, or any other secondary purpose.

For a complete description of your rights under the FCRA, see our FCRA Notice.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Portability: Request that we provide your data in a portable, machine-readable format.
• Opt-out of marketing: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, or by contacting us directly.
• FCRA rights: See Section 7 and our FCRA Notice for rights specific to consumer report data.

California residents may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@verticalrent.com.

9. Children's Privacy

The Services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child under 18, we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the Services. We will post the updated policy on this page and update the effective date. Material changes will be communicated to users via email or in-platform notification. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact Us

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