Privacy Notice

When you create an account, we collect your full name, email address, phone number, and a password. Drivers also provide a profile photo.

Phone number (required for all users — used for SMS verification and ride-related communications), email address (optional for guest bookings, required for account holders).

Riders: We collect your pickup and drop-off addresses when you request a ride. We may also collect your device's precise location (with your permission) to auto-detect your pickup address.

Drivers: When you are online and available to accept rides, we collect your precise GPS location continuously to match you with nearby Riders and to enable real-time ride tracking. Location collection stops when you go offline. During an active ride, location data is shared with the Rider for trip tracking.

Pickup and drop-off locations, route taken, distance, duration, fare breakdown, payment status, ride status history, cancellation records, and ratings/reviews.

Riders: Credit or debit card details are collected and processed by our payment processor, Stripe. BrighterConnect does not store full card numbers on our servers.

Drivers: Bank account and identity information for Stripe Connect payouts. BrighterConnect does not store bank account numbers directly.

Driver's license (front and back), vehicle registration, insurance certificate, vehicle inspection report (if required), and profile photo. These documents are stored securely and used solely for eligibility verification and regulatory compliance.

Social Security Number (encrypted at rest, transmitted securely, and used solely for background verification through Checkr), date of birth, and address history. SSN data is purged from our systems after the background check is initiated; the check itself is processed by Checkr under their own privacy policy.

Messages exchanged between Riders and Drivers during a ride (through our in-app messaging system), support requests, safety reports, incident reports, lost item reports, and any correspondence with our team.

Device type, operating system, browser type and version, IP address, mobile carrier information, unique device identifiers, and app version. This data is collected automatically when you use our website or app.

Pages visited, features used, buttons clicked, session duration, referral source, and general interaction patterns. We use Google Analytics (GA4) with IP anonymization enabled on our website. See Section 5 for details and opt-out instructions.

If you enable push notifications, we store a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token associated with your device. This token is used solely to deliver ride alerts, document status updates, and other platform notifications. You can disable notifications through your device settings at any time.

• Create and manage your account
• Verify your identity and phone number (via SMS OTP)
• Match Riders with nearby available Drivers
• Calculate fares and process payments
• Enable real-time ride tracking
• Process Driver payouts
• Facilitate in-ride messaging between Riders and Drivers

• Verify driver eligibility documents
• Conduct background checks through Checkr
• Monitor document expiration dates
• Enforce vehicle and insurance requirements

• Investigate safety incidents and support requests
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access
• Enforce our Terms of Service
• Maintain ride event audit trails for dispute resolution
• Detect stale driver locations and stuck rides

• Send ride status updates, receipts, and driver assignment notifications (SMS and push)
• Send OTP verification codes
• Send password reset links
• Send document approval/rejection notifications
• Send weekly earnings reports to Drivers
• Respond to support inquiries

Note: BrighterConnect does not currently send marketing or promotional emails. All communications are transactional or operational.

• Understand how users interact with our website and app
• Identify and fix technical issues (via Sentry error monitoring, with personal data collection disabled)
• Improve ride matching, fare calculation, and platform features
• Generate aggregated, anonymized reports for business operations

• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes
• Respond to lawful requests from law enforcement or government agencies
• Enforce our agreements and protect our legal rights
• Maintain records required for tax, insurance, and transportation compliance

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) on our website to understand traffic patterns, page views, and user interactions. GA4 is configured with the following privacy protections:

• IP Anonymization: Enabled. Your full IP address is not stored by Google Analytics.
• Do Not Track (DNT): We check for the browser's Do Not Track signal. If enabled, GA4 is not loaded.
• Global Privacy Control (GPC): We honor GPC signals. If your browser sends a GPC signal, GA4 is not loaded.
• Opt-Out: You can also opt out by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We use your browser's local storage (not cookies) to store your authentication token and user preferences. This data remains on your device and is cleared when you log out or clear your browser data. We do not use local storage for advertising or cross-site tracking.

BrighterConnect does not use advertising cookies, marketing pixels, retargeting scripts, or cross-site behavioral tracking. We do not run Meta Pixel, Google Ads tags, or any third-party advertising trackers.

When a ride is booked, we share limited information between the Rider and the assigned Driver to facilitate the ride:

• Rider sees: Driver's first name, profile photo, vehicle details (make, model, color, license plate), real-time location during the ride, and Driver rating.
• Driver sees: Rider's first name, pickup and drop-off locations, and Rider rating.

Phone numbers are not directly shared; in-ride communication uses our in-app messaging system.

We share personal information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf. These providers are contractually required to use your data only for the purposes we specify. See Section 7 for the full list.

We may disclose personal information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:

• Comply with applicable law, regulation, or legal process
• Respond to a lawful request from law enforcement or a government agency
• Protect the safety, rights, or property of BrighterConnect, our users, or the public
• Investigate fraud, security incidents, or violations of our Terms of Service

If BrighterConnect is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email or prominent notice on our platform before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

BrighterConnect does not sell your personal information. We do not share your personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising. Our use of Google Analytics is for our own website improvement purposes and is configured with IP anonymization and respect for opt-out signals.

In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information as defined by the CCPA:

• Identifiers (name, email, phone number, IP address)
• Personal information under Cal. Civ. Code 1798.80(e) (name, address, phone)
• Geolocation data (GPS coordinates for ride matching)
• Internet/electronic network activity (website usage, app interactions)
• Professional information (driver status, vehicle information)
• Sensitive personal information (SSN for background checks, precise geolocation)

BrighterConnect does not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not use advertising pixels or retargeting technologies.

• Right to Know: Request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected.
• Right to Delete: Request deletion of personal information we have collected.
• Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Right to Opt Out of Sale/Sharing: Since we do not sell or share personal information for behavioral advertising, there is no sale or sharing to opt out of.
• Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: You may request that we limit our use of sensitive personal information (such as SSN or precise location) to what is necessary to provide the service.
• Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not deny service, charge different prices, or provide a different quality of service because you exercised your privacy rights.

To exercise your California privacy rights, you may:

• Email privacy@brighterconnectrides.com
• Use our data deletion request form
• Call (443) 653-4776

We will verify your identity before processing any request. You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf.

We recognize and honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. When detected, our website does not load Google Analytics tracking.