Privacy Policy
Effective date: the date first posted
Last updated: August 2026
Distress Signal ("Distress Signal," "we," "us," or "our") operates the
website https://distress-signal.net and the related data-intelligence service (the
"Service"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we
use and share it, and the choices you have.
By using the Service you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree,
do not use the Service.
1. Who this policy covers
This policy addresses two distinct groups:
- Customers and visitors — people who visit our website, create an
account, or subscribe to the Service.
- Property owners — individuals and entities whose property and ownership
information appears in the Service because it is part of public government
records. Property owners are generally not our customers. Section 6
addresses this group specifically.
2. Information we collect
Account and billing information. When you create an account or subscribe,
we collect your name, email address, and (through our payment processor)
billing details. We do not store full payment card numbers; payments are
processed by Stripe, Inc.
Usage and device information. When you use the Service we automatically
collect technical data such as IP address, browser type, pages viewed,
referring URLs, and timestamps, including through cookies and similar
technologies (Section 7).
Communications. If you contact us, we keep your messages and our replies.
Property and ownership information. The Service compiles information about
real property and its owners from public government records — including
county assessor and recorder records, treasurer/tax records, and similar
public sources. This may include owner names, mailing addresses, property
addresses, parcel identifiers, assessed values, tax-delinquency status, and
similar facts. We do not create this information; we aggregate, normalize, and
score what governments already publish.
We do not knowingly collect Social Security numbers, financial account
numbers, government ID numbers, or sensitive personal information about
property owners, and we do not want them in the Service.
3. How we use information
We use customer and usage information to: provide and operate the Service;
process subscriptions and payments; authenticate users; respond to support
requests; send service and (with a lawful basis) marketing emails; analyze and
improve the Service; detect and prevent fraud and abuse; and comply with law.
We use the property and ownership information to provide the core Service —
identifying and scoring potentially distressed properties for our customers.
4. How we share information
We share information only as described here. **We do not sell customer
personal information for money.**
- Service providers who process data on our behalf under contract — for
example: Stripe (payments), [HOSTING PROVIDER, e.g. Vercel] (hosting),
[EMAIL PROVIDER, e.g. Resend] (email delivery), and [ANALYTICS PROVIDER, if
any] (analytics).
- Customers receive the property and ownership intelligence that is the
Service's product, subject to our Terms of Service.
- Legal and safety — when required by law, subpoena, or to protect rights,
safety, or property.
- Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing,
or sale of assets, subject to this policy.
Depending on your jurisdiction, some sharing of identifiers for analytics or
advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of personal information
under the CCPA/CPRA. See Section 8 for how to opt out.
5. Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember
preferences, and understand usage. You can control cookies through your
browser settings; disabling them may affect Service functionality. If we use a
third-party analytics provider, it is identified in Section 4.
6. Property owners — your information and choices
If you are a property owner and your information appears in the Service:
- The information is derived from public records published by government
agencies. It is provided to our customers as factual reference data to
identify properties that may be available for purchase.
- The Service is intended for legitimate real-estate acquisition research. It
is not a consumer report and may not be used for credit, insurance,
employment, tenant-screening, or other purposes regulated by the Fair Credit
Reporting Act. Our Terms of Service prohibit such use.
- You may request that we suppress or remove your information from the
customer-facing Service. Email privacy@distress-signal.net with the property
address or parcel number. We will honor reasonable requests promptly,
subject to verification and to any legal obligations. Note that we cannot
remove the underlying records from the government sources themselves.
7. Data retention
We retain account and billing information for as long as your account is
active and as needed for legal, tax, and accounting purposes. We retain
property and ownership data for as long as it is useful to the Service and
refresh it from public sources on a recurring basis. Usage logs are retained
for a limited period for security and analytics.
8. Your privacy rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to: access the personal
information we hold about you; request correction or deletion; opt out
of the sale or sharing of personal information and of certain targeted
advertising; and not be discriminated against for exercising these rights.
To exercise any right, email privacy@distress-signal.net. We will verify your
identity before responding and will respond within the time required by
applicable law. You may use an authorized agent where the law allows.
California residents (CCPA/CPRA): the rights above apply to you. We do not
knowingly sell the personal information of consumers. The categories of
information we collect and share are described in Sections 2–4.
Other states and countries: residents of [STATES/REGIONS as applicable]
have comparable rights; contact us to exercise them.
9. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to
protect information. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure,
and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Children's privacy
The Service is for business use by adults. It is not directed to children
under 18, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information.
11. International users
The Service is operated in the United States. If you access it from elsewhere,
you consent to processing your information in the United States.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. We will post the new version with a revised
"Last updated" date and, for material changes, provide additional notice.
13. Contact us
Distress Signal
San Francisco, California
privacy@distress-signal.net