Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2026-10-16. Last updated: 2026-10-16.

This Privacy Policy explains how GCExperts LLC ("we", "us") collects, uses, and protects information when you use The Handyman Austin at thehandymanaustin.com ("the Service"), a website about hiring a handyman in Austin, Texas. The Handyman Austin is a paid introduction service that helps Austin-area customers and handymen find one another. The Service is operated by GCEXPERTS LLC, a Texas limited liability company (also written "GCExperts LLC").

Information we collect

• Account information. Your email address and a securely hashed password when you create an account.
• Handyman listing information. If you list yourself as a handyman, the display name, trade, skills, and service areas you provide. Your phone number and email address are stored but are never shown publicly; they are released only as part of a paid introduction.
• Customer job information. If you post a job, the job title, trade, area, description, optional budget, and the private contact details you add. Your contact details are hidden until a handyman pays for the introduction to that job.
• Connection and rating records. A record of introductions you take part in, the consent and authorizations connected to them, the confirmations and disputes connected to them, and any review you leave.
• Payment records. The amount, currency, payment status, and the payment provider's transaction identifier. Card numbers are handled by Stripe and never reach our servers.
• Usage and security data. Records needed to keep sessions working and the site safe, such as session tokens and rate-limit counters. Session tokens are stored in a strictly-necessary cookie.
• Cookie and consent records. The consent choices you make (for example the cookie banner, agreement to these policies, marketing opt-in) and when you made them.

How we use information

• To create and secure your account and let you sign in and reset your password.
• To publish a handyman listing, to run the free search, and to deliver the paid introduction you choose to take part in.
• To follow up after an introduction and to allow only confirmed customers to leave a rating.
• To send service messages, such as password-reset links and payment confirmations.
• To detect abuse and fraud (including fake listings and fake reviews) and to meet legal and accounting obligations.

What we do not do

We do not post invented handymen or invented reviews. We do not sell your personal information for money, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising or targeted advertising. The only sharing we do is the operational sharing described under "Sharing" below and with the service providers that run the Service. If our practices ever change so that the word "sale" would apply under an applicable privacy law, we will update this Policy and give any notice and opt-out the law requires before we do.

Sharing

We share personal information only with service providers that help us run the Service, and only as needed:

• Stripe processes payments and card data.
• Our email provider delivers transactional email such as password resets and receipts.
• Our hosting provider operates the servers that run the Service.
• Google Analytics provides the optional, consent-gated analytics described under Cookies; it is loaded only after you accept analytics cookies.
• Authorities, where we are legally required to disclose information.

Sharing between the two parties to an introduction (both directions). A paid introduction deliberately connects a customer and a handyman, so information flows in both directions:

• Customer information to the handyman. When a handyman pays for an introduction, the customer's contact details for that job are shared with that handyman. This is the purpose of that step, and the customer is never charged for it.
• Handyman information to the customer. A handyman's public listing (display name, trade, skills, and service areas) is visible to everyone, including the customer. When a handyman unlocks a job and contacts the customer, the handyman's identity and whatever contact details he chooses to provide are then known to that customer. We do not publish a handyman's private phone number or email address to the public.

Children

The Service is for adults and is not directed to children. You must be at least 18 years old to take part in a paid introduction. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13, and we do not knowingly allow anyone under 13 to create an account, consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, contact [email protected] and we will delete it.

Retention

We keep each category of information only as long as we need it for the purpose described above and to meet legal, tax, and accounting requirements. In practice:

• Account and profile information — while your account is open, and for up to 3 years after you close it (to resolve disputes and prevent abuse), unless a longer period is required by law.
• Handyman listing and private contact details — while your listing is active, and then deleted or anonymised when you remove it or close your account.
• Connection, introduction, confirmation, and dispute records — up to 4 years from the introduction (the limitations period for most contract claims), and longer if needed for an open dispute.
• Payment, receipt, and tax records — up to 7 years, as tax and accounting law requires.
• Consent and authorization records (including the click-to-pay authorization and marketing opt-in/opt-out) — up to 7 years, as proof of consent.
• Password-reset links — expire after 60 minutes and are single-use.
• Security, session, and rate-limit data — up to 12 months.

When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information except where we must retain it by law or for an open dispute.

Cookies

We use one strictly-necessary cookie to keep you signed in; it cannot be switched off without breaking sign-in. With your consent we also use optional Google Analytics cookies to understand how the site is used. You can accept all cookies or necessary cookies only, and you can change your choice at any time.

Your choices and Texas privacy rights (TDPSA)

You can access, correct, or delete your account information, or withdraw consent for optional analytics or marketing, by emailing [email protected]. Handymen can edit or remove their listing from their account at any time. If you believe a review about you is false or unlawful, contact us and we will review it against our records.

The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA, Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 541) gives Texas residents rights over their personal data. As a small business we may be exempt from parts of the TDPSA, but we provide these rights as a matter of policy. As a Texas consumer you may, at no charge:

• Confirm whether we process your personal data and access it;
• Correct inaccurate personal data;
• Delete personal data you provided to us or that we obtained about you;
• Obtain a copy of personal data you previously provided, in a portable format;
• Opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, and profiling in furtherance of a decision that produces a legal or similarly significant effect. (We do not carry on those activities, so there is nothing to opt out of in practice.)

To exercise a right, email [email protected]. We will verify your request using the email address on your account and respond within the time the law allows. You may appeal a refusal by replying to our decision, and we will review it. We do not use any personal data to process sensitive data, and we do not process personal data for the purpose of targeted advertising.

California residents. The Service targets Austin, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, and Round Rock, Texas only, and we do not intentionally serve California residents. Because we do not intentionally serve California residents, we do not currently offer a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" mechanism. We will revisit this Policy and add that mechanism if we ever intentionally serve California residents.

Communications

We send transactional and service messages (such as password resets and receipts) that are necessary to run the Service. Any marketing email or text we send is based on a separate, optional opt-in, and every marketing message includes a way to opt out (reply STOP to a text, or use the unsubscribe link in an email). See section 16 of the Terms of Service for the full consent and opt-out terms. You can always email [email protected] to change your choices.

Security and breach notice

We use encrypted connections, securely hashed passwords, and access controls. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and to limit what we hold. If we become aware of a breach of system security that requires notice, we will notify affected individuals and any regulator as required by the Texas Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 521) and other applicable law.

Changes and contact

We may update this Policy; the effective date above will change when we do. Questions and requests go to [email protected]. Operator: GCExperts LLC (GCEXPERTS LLC), 300 Brushy Creek Rd Ste 404, Cedar Park, TX 78613.