Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 5th, 2026

Welcome to Best of Chicago Business Directory! This Privacy Policy describes how Best of Chicago ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares your personal information when you visit our website, use our services, or interact with us.

Your privacy is important to us. By using our website and services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect various types of information to provide and improve our services to you.

a. Personal Information You Voluntarily Provide

When you use our services, you may provide us with personal information, including but not limited to:

Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, postal address.
Business Information: Business name, industry, services offered, business address, website, and other details relevant to your business listing.
Account Information: Username, password, and other credentials used to access our services.
Communications: Any information you provide when you communicate with us, such as inquiries, support requests, or feedback.

b. Information We Collect Automatically

When you access and use our website, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and usage, including:

Log Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring/exit pages, and the dates/times of your visits.
Usage Data: Information about how you use our website, such as the pages you view, the links you click, and the searches you conduct.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to track activity on our website and hold certain information. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.

c. Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third-party sources, such as public databases, social media platforms, and business partners, particularly when verifying business information for listings.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

To Provide and Maintain Our Services: To operate, maintain, and improve our website and directory services, including managing business listings.
To Personalize Your Experience: To tailor content and recommendations based on your preferences and interactions.
To Communicate With You: To respond to your inquiries, send you service-related notifications, updates, and promotional materials.
For Analytics and Research: To understand how users interact with our website, identify trends, and improve our services.
For Security and Fraud Prevention: To detect, prevent, and address technical issues, fraud, and other illegal activities.
To Comply with Legal Obligations: To meet our legal and regulatory requirements.
For Marketing and Advertising: To provide you with information about products, services, and offers that may be of interest to you.

We may share your information with third parties in the following circumstances:

With Business Owners/Advertisers: Information about your business (e.g., business name, address, phone number, website) will be publicly displayed on our directory unless specified otherwise.
With Service Providers: We may share your information with third-party vendors, consultants, and other service providers who perform services on our behalf (e.g., hosting, analytics, customer support, marketing).
For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or government agency).
In Case of Business Transfer: If Best of Chicago is involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal information may be transferred.
With Your Consent: We may share your information with third parties when we have your explicit consent to do so.
Aggregated or Anonymized Data: We may share aggregated or anonymized information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you.

4. Your Choices and Rights

You have certain rights regarding your personal information:

Access and Correction: You have the right to access and update your personal information. You can often do this by logging into your account or by contacting us directly.
Opt-Out of Communications: You can opt-out of receiving promotional emails from us by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in those emails. Please note that we may still send you non-promotional messages relating to your account or our ongoing business relations.
Do Not Track (DNT): Our website does not currently respond to "Do Not Track" signals.
Cookies: You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent.

5. Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

7. Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for use by anyone under the age of 18 ("Children"). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Effective Date" at the top. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

By email: hello@bestofchicago.directory
Our Contact form: Click here.