Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

LookBefore.org ("Service") is operated by AXIOM Unlimited LLC ("Company," "we," "us"), a Wyoming series limited liability company. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and share information when you use the Service.

2. Information We Collect

Account information: Name, email address, and hashed password when you create an account.

Search queries: The names, locations, and optional parameters you enter when running a search. These are stored to generate and retrieve your reports.

Usage data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps collected automatically via server logs.

Identity-verification contact and status: If you request researcher-tier verification, the business email address or phone number you submit for that verification, the verification method used, and the timestamps of the verification request and confirmation.

Names search acknowledgment: If you acknowledge the permissible-purpose statement required for Names searches, we record the version of the acknowledgment text you accepted and the timestamp of your acknowledgment.

Usage metering: Per-category usage counts for your account (the search category, the metering window, and the number of searches in that window), kept to enforce the per-category search limits.

API keys:If you create an API key for programmatic access, we store the key's label, scope, display prefix, any permissible-purpose statement you record with it, and its creation, last-used, and revocation timestamps. The key itself is stored only as a cryptographic hash; we cannot recover or display it after it is issued.

These records are part of your account data: they are included in the data export available to you and are deleted with your account under the deletion rights described in Sections 8 and 9.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to: provide and maintain the Service; generate search reports; send transactional emails (account verification and password reset); improve the Service; and comply with legal obligations.

4. Data Sources Accessed

When you run a search, the Service queries public and government data sources on your behalf, including federal court records (CourtListener/RECAP), securities filings (SEC EDGAR), campaign contributions (FEC/OpenFEC), healthcare provider registries, sanctions and exclusion lists, product-safety recalls and vehicle data, environmental and facility data (EPA, AirNow), U.S. Census Bureau demographic data, and data-breach exposure (Have I Been Pwned). All data is publicly available, accessed via each source's public API or as datasets we host; each report names the sources it drew from.

5. Third-Party Services

We share information with the following third-party service providers who process data on our behalf:

Resend: Transactional email delivery (account verification and password-reset emails).

Vercel: Frontend hosting and CDN.

Railway: Backend hosting and database infrastructure.

6. Cookies & Tracking

We use an essential session cookie for authentication: an HttpOnly cookie (lb_token) set by the server. Its value is never readable by browser JavaScript and is cleared when you sign out.

We also use advertising measurement tags from Google (Google Ads tag) and Meta (Meta Pixel) to measure whether our ads lead to signups. These tags set advertising cookies (such as _gcl_au and _fbp) and report page visits and a signup-completed event to Google and Meta. We do not send them your name, email address, password, or the content of your searches, and we do not use them to build advertising profiles of your activity on LookBefore. Standard cookie-less, aggregate page analytics (Vercel Analytics) help us understand overall site usage. You can block advertising cookies with browser settings or extensions without affecting your account.

We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal: when your browser sends it, the advertising tags are not loaded at all and no advertising cookies are set. You can also opt out manually below; either choice disables the tags entirely for your browser.

7. Data Retention

Account data is retained for the duration of your account. Search reports are retained to allow you to access your history. If you request account deletion, we will delete your account data and associated reports within 30 days, except where a longer period is required to comply with our legal obligations.

8. Your Rights

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information at any time by contacting us. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have additional rights under applicable privacy laws (such as the California Consumer Privacy Act).

9. Opt-Out & Data Deletion

10. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including password hashing (PBKDF2-SHA256), encrypted data transmission (TLS), rate limiting on authentication endpoints. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

12. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, consistent with our Terms of Service.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email or a notice on the Service. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

14. SMS & Mobile Information

If you provide your own mobile phone number to the Service in order to opt in to account notifications, verification messages, or any other SMS program — for example, by entering it during signup, in account settings, or in a checkbox-confirmed opt-in flow — that number and any associated mobile opt-in information are collected and used solely to provide the messaging you have consented to receive. This section does not apply to phone numbers you submit as part of a search query about another person, which are handled as search inputs under Section 2 (Information We Collect) and Section 3 (How We Use Your Information).

Mobile information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All other categories of personal information are shared only as described in Section 5 (Third-Party Services). Information sharing with subprocessors (such as our SMS delivery provider) is limited to what is necessary to deliver the requested messages.

You may opt out of any SMS program at any time by replying STOP to a message from that program. Reply HELP for assistance. Message and data rates may apply. See our Terms of Service for full SMS messaging terms.

15. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy? Contact us at privacy@lookbefore.org.