Pond Guru (“Pond Guru,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information that you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, and the choices and rights you have regarding your information when you visit pondguru.com (the “Site”), contact us by phone, text, or email, or use our lake and pond management services (collectively, the “Services”).

By accessing the Site or using our Services, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site or Services.

1. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to information we collect:

• Through our website at pondguru.com and any related landing pages or subdomains;
• When you submit a contact form, request a site visit, or sign up for communications;
• When you call, text, or email us using the contact details we publish;
• When we provide pond, lake, fountain, aeration, erosion control, or related management services to you, your property, your HOA, your municipality, or your business; and
• From third-party sources such as referrals, public business records, and our service providers.

This Policy does not apply to third-party websites, applications, or services that link to or from our Site. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

We collect information you give us directly, including:

• Contact information such as your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, and the property address where services may be performed;
• Communications you send to us, including the contents of your contact form submissions, emails, text messages, voicemails, and call recordings (where permitted by law and disclosed at the time of the call);
• Service and property information you share to help us evaluate your waterbody, such as photos, site descriptions, prior treatment history, and access instructions;
• Billing and payment information, such as billing address and the last four digits of a payment card. Full payment card numbers are processed by our third-party payment processors and are not stored by Pond Guru;
• Information about your role on a property, such as whether you are a homeowner, HOA representative, property manager, golf course operator, or municipal employee; and
• Any other information you choose to provide.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, we and our service providers may automatically collect information about your device and browsing activity, including:

• IP address, approximate geographic location derived from IP, and internet service provider;
• Device identifiers, browser type and version, operating system, and language settings;
• Referring and exit URLs, pages viewed, time spent on pages, and clicks within the Site;
• Date and time of access, and other standard server log data; and
• Information collected through cookies, pixels, tags, and similar technologies, as described in Section 5.

2.3 Information From Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third parties, such as:

• HOA boards, property managers, or municipal contacts who refer you to us or designate you as a point of contact;
• Public records, including property records and business registries used to verify ownership or service locations;
• Marketing partners, lead-generation providers, and review platforms; and
• Analytics, advertising, and social media platforms (including Google, Meta/Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and X/Twitter) when you interact with our content on those platforms.

2.4 Sensitive Information

We do not request or knowingly collect Social Security numbers, government-issued identification numbers, financial account numbers (other than as needed to process payment through our processor), health information, biometric data, or precise geolocation data through the Site. Please do not submit sensitive information through our contact forms or email.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following business purposes:

• To respond to inquiries, schedule free site visits, and provide estimates;
• To deliver, manage, and improve our lake and pond management services;
• To process payments, invoice customers, and maintain service records;
• To communicate with you about service appointments, treatment plans, scheduling changes, regulatory or compliance reporting (such as stormwater pond maintenance reports), and follow-up care;
• To send newsletters, blog updates, seasonal pond care tips, and promotional offers where you have consented or where otherwise permitted by law;
• To operate, secure, monitor, troubleshoot, and improve the Site and our internal systems;
• To measure the effectiveness of our marketing, including search and social campaigns, and to better understand our audience;
• To prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access, and to enforce our terms;
• To comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests, and protect our legal rights; and
• For any other purpose disclosed to you at the time we collect the information or with your consent.

4. How We Share Your Information

Pond Guru does not sell your personal information for money. We share personal information only as described below:

4.1 Service Providers

We share information with vendors and service providers that perform services on our behalf, such as website hosting, email and CRM platforms, scheduling and dispatch software, payment processing, accounting, call tracking, SMS messaging, document signing, and marketing analytics. These providers are contractually limited to using the information only to provide services to us.

4.2 Partners on Your Property

If you are part of an HOA, condominium association, golf course, municipality, or commercial property, we may share information about scheduling, treatments performed, water quality testing, and compliance reporting with the property’s authorized representatives, including board members, property managers, regulators, and other contractors working on the same site.

4.3 Advertising and Analytics Partners

We use third-party analytics, advertising, and tag management tools (such as Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Meta/Facebook advertising tools) that may collect information about your interactions with the Site over time and across other sites and apps. This activity may be considered “sharing” or a “sale” of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising under certain state laws. See Section 8 for opt-out instructions.

4.4 Legal and Safety

We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to: comply with applicable law, a subpoena, court order, or other legal process; protect the rights, property, or safety of Pond Guru, our customers, our employees, or others; investigate or prevent fraud or security incidents; or enforce our agreements.

4.5 Business Transfers

If Pond Guru is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, your information may be transferred or disclosed as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any change in ownership or use of your personal information consistent with applicable law.

4.6 With Your Consent

We may share your information in other ways when you have given us your consent to do so, such as featuring a customer testimonial or before-and-after photos of your property on our Site or social channels.

5. Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Site uses cookies, pixels, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies. These technologies fall into several categories:

• Strictly necessary or functional technologies that enable core Site features such as navigation, security, and remembering your cookie preferences. These cannot be turned off through our consent tool.
• Preference technologies that remember your choices, such as form information you have already provided.
• Analytics or statistics technologies (including Google Analytics through Google Tag Manager) that help us understand how visitors use the Site so we can improve it.
• Marketing technologies (which may include Google Ads, Meta/Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, and similar tools) used to deliver and measure advertising about our Services on third-party sites.

When you first visit the Site, our cookie consent banner allows you to accept, deny, or customize non-essential cookies. You can change your preferences at any time using the “Manage Consent” or cookie preference link in the Site footer. You can also control cookies through your browser settings; blocking cookies may affect Site functionality.

Some browsers transmit “Do Not Track” or Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals. We honor recognized GPC signals as an opt-out of sale/sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising, where required by applicable law.

6. Email, Calls, and Text Messages

6.1 Email Marketing

If you opt in to receive newsletters, pond care tips, or promotional emails, you may unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by contacting us using the details in Section 13. We will continue to send transactional and service-related messages (such as appointment confirmations, treatment reports, and invoices) as needed to provide the Services.

6.2 Phone Calls and Text Messages

When you call or text the phone number we publish, including (855) 372-7663, we may collect your phone number, the contents of your message, and call metadata such as date, time, and duration. If recorded, you will be notified at the start of the call as required by law.

If you provide your phone number on a form, by phone, or in writing, you consent to receive calls and text messages from Pond Guru and its authorized representatives at that number regarding your inquiry and our Services, including by means of an automatic telephone dialing system or prerecorded message where applicable. Consent to such messaging is not a condition of purchase. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out of marketing text messages at any time by replying STOP, or opt out of calls by asking us to remove your number from our outreach lists.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as needed to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, including to provide the Services, maintain service and compliance records (such as stormwater pond maintenance reports), comply with our legal, accounting, and tax obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Retention periods vary based on the type of information and applicable legal requirements. When information is no longer needed, we will securely delete or de-identify it.

8. Your Choices and Privacy Rights

8.1 General Choices

You may:

• Request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold about you;
• Withdraw consent for marketing communications;
• Adjust your cookie and tracking preferences through our cookie consent tool or your browser; and
• Contact us with any privacy question using Section 13.

8.2 Residents of Florida

Florida residents may have certain rights under Florida law, including the Florida Digital Bill of Rights and the Florida Information Protection Act, which may apply depending on the size and revenue of the business handling your information. These rights can include the right to access, correct, or delete certain personal information, the right to data portability, and the right to opt out of certain processing of personal information for targeted advertising, the sale of personal information, or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. To exercise any rights that apply to you, contact us using Section 13.

8.3 Residents of California

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (collectively, “CCPA”), California residents have the right to:

• Know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about them, the sources of that information, the purposes for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it;
• Request deletion of personal information, subject to certain exceptions;
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information;
• Opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information, including for cross-context behavioral advertising;
• Limit the use of sensitive personal information (Pond Guru does not knowingly collect categories of sensitive personal information that would trigger this right); and
• Not be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights.

Categories of personal information we may have collected in the preceding 12 months include identifiers (name, email, postal address, phone, IP address), commercial information (services requested, transaction history), internet or other electronic network activity (Site usage), geolocation (approximate, derived from IP), and inferences drawn from the above. We may “share” identifiers and internet activity with advertising and analytics partners for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age.

To submit a request to know, delete, correct, or opt out, contact us using Section 13. We will verify your request using reasonable methods, which may include matching information you provide with information we already have on file. You may also designate an authorized agent to act on your behalf, subject to verification. Where required, we honor recognized opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control.

8.4 Residents of Other U.S. States

Residents of other U.S. states may have similar rights under their state privacy laws. To exercise any such rights, contact us using Section 13, and we will respond as required by applicable law.

8.5 How to Submit Requests

You can submit a privacy request by emailing info@pondguru.com with the subject line “Privacy Request,” by calling (855) 372-7663, or by mailing us at the address in Section 13. Please include enough information for us to identify you and respond. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

9. How We Protect Your Information

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping any account credentials or login information secure and for promptly notifying us of any suspected unauthorized use.

10. Children’s Privacy

The Site and Services are intended for adults and are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us using Section 13.

11. Third-Party Links and Social Media

The Site may contain links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications, including our pages on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X/Twitter. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share information about you. We do not control these third-party sites and are not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, and other factors. When we make material changes, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Policy and, where appropriate, provide additional notice through the Site or by email. Your continued use of the Site or Services after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

13. How to Contact Us

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

Pond Guru

7756 N Kendall Dr, #251

Miami, FL 33156

Phone: (855) 372-7663

Email: info@pondguru.com

Website: https://pondguru.com

This Privacy Policy reflects Pond Guru’s practices as of the Effective Date above. It is not legal advice. Pond Guru recommends that this document be reviewed by qualified legal counsel before final publication to confirm it accurately describes the company’s actual data practices and complies with all laws that apply to the business.