Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Northstar Yacht Sales ("Company," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and discloses your information when you use our website at https://northstaryachtsales.com ("Service"). By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

When you interact with our Service, you may voluntarily provide:

1. Account information: email address, name, and password when creating an account
2. Contact form submissions: name, email address, phone number, and message content
3. Yacht inquiry details: information about boats you are interested in, along with your contact information

Information Collected Automatically

When you access the Service, we automatically collect:

1. Device information: device type (desktop, mobile, tablet), operating system, and browser type and version
2. Usage data: pages visited, time spent on pages, scroll depth, referring website, and search terms that led you to our Service
3. Vessel browsing data: which boat listings you view, time spent on listings, and whether you initiated contact about a listing
4. Location data: approximate geographic location (city, region, country) derived from your connection
5. IP address: collected and stored only in hashed (anonymized) form using one-way encryption — we do not store your actual IP address

2. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate and improve the Service. We do not use third-party advertising cookies or trackers.

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the Service to function and cannot be disabled:

1. session_id (24 hours) — Maintains your current browsing session
2. session_last_activity (24 hours) — Detects session timeouts
3. Authentication cookies (Session) — Manages login authentication

Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors use the Service:

1. visitor_id (2 years) — Anonymous unique visitor identifier
2. __referrer (24 hours) — Records how you arrived at our site
3. utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content (24 hours) — Marketing campaign attribution

Local Storage

We also store a backup visitor identifier in your browser's local storage and session information in session storage. These serve the same purpose as the analytics cookies above and help ensure a consistent experience.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some features of the Service.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

1. Provide, operate, and maintain the Service
2. Process and respond to your inquiries and form submissions
3. Manage your account and provide customer support
4. Analyze usage patterns to improve the Service
5. Send transactional communications such as form confirmations and inquiry notifications
6. Detect and prevent fraud, spam, and abuse
7. Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your information for targeted advertising.

4. How We Share Your Information

We share your information only in the following circumstances:

Service Providers

We use trusted third-party services to operate the Service:

1. Supabase: Database hosting and user authentication. Stores account data, form submissions, and analytics.
2. Vercel: Website hosting and content delivery. Provides approximate geolocation from connection data.
3. Google reCAPTCHA: Form spam protection. Processes interaction data to distinguish humans from bots. Subject to Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
4. Brevo: Transactional email delivery. Receives your contact information to deliver form notification emails.

Yacht Brokers and Agents

When you submit an inquiry about a specific vessel, your contact information and inquiry details are shared with the relevant broker or sales agent to facilitate your request.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental request, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal information may be transferred. We will provide notice before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy:

1. Account information: Duration of your account plus up to 24 months after closure
2. Contact form submissions: Up to 24 months from submission
3. Analytics data (page views, sessions, vessel views): Up to 26 months from collection
4. Marketing communications: Until you unsubscribe or up to 24 months from your last engagement

When retention periods expire, we securely delete or anonymize your data. Anonymized data that cannot be linked back to you may be retained indefinitely for aggregate analytics.

6. Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information:

1. IP addresses are hashed using one-way encryption before storage
2. Authentication is managed through secure, industry-standard protocols
3. Data is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS)
4. Database access is restricted through role-based access controls

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information.

General Rights

All users may:

1. Request access to the personal information we hold about you
2. Request correction of inaccurate information
3. Request deletion of your personal information
4. Withdraw consent for data processing where applicable
5. Opt out of marketing communications at any time

European Economic Area (GDPR)

If you are in the EEA or UK, you have additional rights including:

1. Right to data portability
2. Right to restrict processing
3. Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests
4. Right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

We process your data under the following legal bases: consent, performance of a contract, legitimate interests (improving our Service and analytics), and compliance with legal obligations.

Where we transfer Personal Data outside the EEA/UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

1. Know what personal information we collect and how it is used
2. Request deletion of your personal information
3. Opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information (note: we do not sell your data)
4. Not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights
5. Correct inaccurate personal information
6. Limit use of sensitive personal information

Categories of personal information we collect include: identifiers (name, email, hashed IP), internet activity (browsing history, pages visited), geolocation data (approximate location), and commercial information (yacht inquiries and preferences).

We do not sell or share personal information as defined by the CCPA/CPRA. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors under 16.

Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of your privacy rights, contact us using the information in the "Contact Us" section below. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law (generally within 30 days, or 45 days for CCPA requests). We may ask you to verify your identity before processing your request.

8. Visitor Identification

When you submit a contact form, register an account, or provide your information through the Service, we may link your previously anonymous browsing activity (such as pages viewed and boats browsed) to your identity. This helps us provide a more relevant experience and allows our team to better assist you with your inquiries.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for anyone under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to remove that information.

10. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed on servers located outside your country of residence, where data protection laws may differ. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for international transfers, including standard contractual clauses where required by law.

11. Do Not Track

Our Service does not currently respond to Do Not Track (DNT) browser signals. You can control tracking through your browser's cookie settings as described in the Cookies section above.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, you can contact us:

Email: info@northstaryachtsales.com

Address: 1 Lagoon Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871