Privacy Policy

SmartVantage (“SmartVantage,” “we,” “us”) is an independent IT and cybersecurity advisory based in Carlsbad, California. This policy describes how we handle information collected through this website. Questions or requests: smooney@smartvantageit.com or 760-209-5340.

The SmartReview builder lets you choose an industry, a priority, discussion topics, and answers to short planning questions. Those selections are stored only in your own browser (local storage) while you work, nothing is transmitted to us until you choose to send your Brief.

When you submit the “Where should we send your Brief?” form, we receive the information you enter, name, business email, company, an optional note, together with the Brief selections you built. We use it to prepare and conduct the review conversation you requested and to follow up about it. If you schedule a meeting through the embedded calendar, our scheduling provider collects the details you enter there under its own privacy policy.

Like most websites, our hosting infrastructure generates standard server logs, IP address, browser type, pages requested, timestamps, used for security and reliability.

We use a privacy-focused web analytics service to measure overall site traffic. It is cookieless and uses no persistent visitor identifiers: visits are counted from a short-lived hash of the request that is discarded within 24 hours, and the data is aggregated and anonymous (pages viewed, referring source, approximate region, device and browser type). It cannot identify you or reconstruct your activity across other sites, so there is nothing to opt out of.

We also use a first-party analytics service to understand how visitors find and use the site, for example which pages they view and which campaign referred them, so we can improve it and follow up on requests you send us. It sets cookies in your browser and records information such as your IP address, the pages you view, and the referring source. This is first-party analytics for our own use: we do not use it for advertising, and we do not sell or share this information. Analytics load by default, but you can opt out at any time, and we automatically honor your browser’s Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, see Your privacy choices below.

Embedded third-party content (the scheduling calendar and the BBB accreditation seal, which loads from BBB’s servers) may receive your IP address and may set their own cookies when you interact with it, governed by those providers’ policies.

We use the information described above to prepare and deliver the reviews and conversations you request, respond to inquiries, and operate and secure the website. We share it only with the service providers that process it on our behalf, our customer relationship management platform, website hosting infrastructure, and business email and calendar systems. Each is bound by its own contractual and privacy commitments.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We never have.

All data sent to this site travels over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Brief submissions are retained in our CRM for as long as needed to serve the relationship or until you ask us to delete them. Brief selections kept in your own browser remain there until you clear them (the “Start my Brief over” control, or clearing site data in your browser).

Regardless of where you live, we extend the same rights to everyone: you may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Email smooney@smartvantageit.com with your request and we will respond within 45 days. We will never discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

California residents (CCPA/CPRA): you have the right to know the categories of personal information we collect (identifiers and professional information you provide; internet and other usage activity from server logs and our first-party analytics cookies), the purposes (described above), and the categories of recipients (the service providers listed above). You have the rights to access, correct, delete, and to opt out of sale or sharing; because we do not sell or share personal information, there is nothing to opt out of there. You can opt out of our first-party analytics cookies at any time (see Your privacy choices above), and we honor Global Privacy Control. Authorized agents may submit requests on your behalf via the same email.

Residents of Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Utah, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws have similar rights of access, correction, deletion, and portability, which we honor through the same process. If we ever decline a request, you may appeal by replying to our response and we will re-review it.

This website is a business-to-business service directed at working professionals. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16.

If our data practices change, for example, if we add marketing email or a new processor, we will update this page and revise the effective date below. Material changes will be noted prominently here.