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Privacy Policy

Updated: September 20, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Inbound Systems, Inc. (“Inbound Systems,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects information in connection with our websites, applications, awards programs, voting systems, events, products, services, communications, and other activities.

Inbound Systems operates multiple local and regional awards programs. This Privacy Policy applies across those programs unless a separate privacy notice expressly states otherwise.

1. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Voter Information

When you participate in voting, we may collect information such as:

  • name;
  • email address;
  • mobile phone number;
  • ZIP code;
  • SMS verification information;
  • voting selections;
  • date and time of voting;
  • device, browser, network, and technical information;
  • approximate location or other locality-related information; and
  • information used to identify duplicate, automated, fraudulent, non-local, or otherwise invalid voting activity.

We use multiple methods to validate voting eligibility and protect the integrity of our awards programs. We do not disclose specific verification or fraud-detection methods where doing so could facilitate circumvention or manipulation.

Candidate and Business Information

We collect and maintain information about businesses, organizations, individuals, events, shows, stations, professionals, and other award candidates.

This information may include:

  • business or candidate name;
  • business address and service area;
  • phone number;
  • website;
  • email address;
  • social-media information;
  • business category;
  • locations;
  • ownership or identifying information;
  • Google rating and review information;
  • BBB information;
  • nomination, finalist, and winner status;
  • claimed or verified listing information;
  • engagement with our awards programs;
  • communications with us; and
  • other information relevant to administering an awards program.

Candidate information may come directly from the candidate or from publicly available and third-party sources, including Google, BBB.org, business websites, directories, social-media platforms, public records, nominators, voters, customers, and other sources.

Some candidate information is intended to be publicly displayed as part of our awards directories, voting pages, results, historical records, or other program features.

Customer and Purchaser Information

If you purchase a product or service from us, we may collect:

  • name;
  • business name;
  • email address;
  • telephone number;
  • billing address;
  • shipping address;
  • products or services purchased;
  • transaction history;
  • payment status;
  • subscription or membership information; and
  • information necessary to provide, fulfill, ship, bill for, or support your purchase.

Payment-card information may be collected and processed by our payment processors. We do not need to retain complete payment-card information when it is processed by a third-party payment provider.

Event Information

If you register for, purchase admission to, attend, or interact with an awards ceremony or other event, we may collect:

  • attendee name;
  • contact information;
  • business affiliation;
  • ticket type;
  • seating or registration information;
  • check-in status;
  • purchases;
  • photographs or video taken at the event; and
  • information associated with event drawings, giveaways, or participation.

Giveaway Information

When you participate in a giveaway or drawing, we may collect information necessary to administer the promotion, such as:

  • name;
  • contact information;
  • social-media name or handle;
  • entry information;
  • eligibility certifications;
  • winner information; and
  • prize-fulfillment information.

Giveaways and prize drawings may also be governed by our Giveaway Rules.

Communications

When you contact us, we may retain the content of communications and related information, including:

  • emails;
  • support messages;
  • telephone information;
  • forms;
  • corrections;
  • verification requests;
  • review requests;
  • account communications; and
  • other correspondence.

Website and Device Information

When you use our websites, applications, or online services, we may automatically collect information such as:

  • IP address;
  • browser type;
  • operating system;
  • device type;
  • referring page or source;
  • pages viewed;
  • links clicked;
  • dates and times of access;
  • session information;
  • cookie and similar identifiers;
  • interaction information; and
  • other technical and usage data.

2. How We Use Information

We may use information to:

  • operate our awards programs;
  • accept and evaluate nominations;
  • administer voting;
  • verify voter eligibility and locality;
  • prevent duplicate, fraudulent, automated, manipulated, or invalid voting;
  • identify and categorize candidates;
  • calculate and verify awards results;
  • administer finalist and winner recognition;
  • maintain historical awards records;
  • verify and update candidate information;
  • communicate with candidates, voters, customers, and attendees;
  • provide customer support;
  • process purchases and payments;
  • fulfill and ship products;
  • administer memberships and subscriptions;
  • manage awards ceremonies and other events;
  • administer giveaways and drawings;
  • send transactional and operational communications;
  • send newsletters, announcements, offers, or other marketing communications where permitted;
  • analyze website and program performance;
  • measure engagement;
  • improve our websites, applications, products, services, and awards programs;
  • maintain security;
  • detect abuse or violations of our rules or policies;
  • enforce our agreements and policies;
  • comply with legal obligations; and
  • protect Inbound Systems, our users, our awards programs, and others.

We may also use information in aggregated, statistical, or deidentified form for analytics, planning, research, reporting, and business purposes.

3. Voting and SMS Verification

Mobile phone numbers may be used to verify voting eligibility and help protect the integrity of our voting systems.

Verification messages are operational messages necessary to complete or validate certain activities.

Where we separately offer promotional or marketing text messages, we will obtain consent as required by applicable law. Consent to receive marketing messages is not a condition of purchasing products or services.

Message and data rates may apply.

4. Candidate Information and Public Records

Our awards programs are public recognition programs.

Candidate names, business information, categories, nomination status, finalist status, winner status, award year, locations, and similar information may be publicly displayed and retained as part of current or historical awards records.

A candidate’s request not to receive communications from us does not require us to remove otherwise eligible candidate or awards information from our programs.

Candidate information may remain part of our historical awards records even after a business closes, changes ownership, changes name, or stops participating in an awards program.

5. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We and our service providers may use cookies, pixels, tags, local storage, analytics technologies, and similar tools.

These technologies may be used to:

  • remember settings;
  • maintain sessions;
  • understand website usage;
  • measure traffic and performance;
  • detect fraud or abuse;
  • improve functionality;
  • measure advertising effectiveness; and
  • deliver or measure advertising.

Your browser may allow you to block or delete cookies. Some website features may not function properly if cookies or similar technologies are disabled.

Where required by applicable law, we will provide additional controls concerning cookies, targeted advertising, or similar technologies.

6. Analytics and Advertising

We may use analytics, advertising, social-media, and measurement providers to understand how people interact with our websites and communications and to promote our awards programs, products, and services.

These providers may receive information such as:

  • device identifiers;
  • cookie identifiers;
  • IP address;
  • browser or device information;
  • website activity;
  • interaction data; and
  • limited contact information where permitted and appropriate.

We do not sell personal information in exchange for money.

However, certain disclosures to advertising or analytics platforms may be considered a “sale,” “sharing,” or use for “targeted advertising” under some state privacy laws even when no money is exchanged.

Where applicable law provides a right to opt out of those activities, we will honor qualifying requests and recognized universal opt-out signals as required by law.

7. How We Disclose Information

We may disclose information to the following categories of recipients.

Service Providers

We may use third parties to provide services including:

  • website and application hosting;
  • cloud storage;
  • database services;
  • email delivery;
  • SMS and telephone verification;
  • payment processing;
  • shipping and fulfillment;
  • analytics;
  • advertising and marketing technology;
  • customer support;
  • fraud prevention;
  • security;
  • accounting;
  • event administration; and
  • other technical or operational services.

These providers may process information as necessary to provide services to us.

Awards and Event Partners

We may disclose limited information where reasonably necessary to administer an awards program, event, prize, sponsorship, or related service.

For example, information may be provided to an event venue, fulfillment provider, prize provider, or other partner when necessary to provide the applicable service or prize.

Public Awards Information

Candidate and awards information intended for public recognition may be published on our websites, applications, social-media accounts, emails, printed materials, advertising, event materials, directories, and other public channels.

Legal and Safety Purposes

We may disclose information when we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to:

  • comply with applicable law;
  • comply with a subpoena, court order, or legal process;
  • respond to governmental or regulatory requests;
  • investigate fraud, abuse, or unlawful conduct;
  • protect the security or integrity of our systems;
  • enforce our rules, policies, or agreements;
  • protect our legal rights; or
  • protect the safety or rights of others.

Business Transactions

Information may be disclosed or transferred in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, sale of assets, sale of a business, bankruptcy, or similar corporate transaction.

8. Marketing Communications

We may send communications about:

  • nominations;
  • voting;
  • finalist and winner announcements;
  • awards ceremonies;
  • products;
  • memberships;
  • sponsorship opportunities;
  • marketing products;
  • newsletters;
  • program updates; and
  • other offers or information related to our awards programs.

You may unsubscribe from marketing emails using the unsubscribe mechanism provided in the message.

A request to stop marketing communications does not prevent us from sending communications that are operational, transactional, legal, security-related, or otherwise necessary to administer a service, purchase, voting activity, account, or awards program.

9. Data Accuracy and Corrections

We obtain information from many sources and cannot guarantee that all information is complete or current at all times.

Candidates may be able to claim or verify their listings and submit corrections.

Inbound Systems may independently correct, supplement, update, or replace candidate and business information when we determine that available information is incomplete, outdated, duplicated, incorrect, or otherwise unreliable.

10. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and for legitimate business, legal, security, historical, and compliance purposes.

Retention periods vary depending on the type of information.

For example, we may retain:

  • awards results and candidate history as long-term historical records;
  • voting and verification records as needed to protect program integrity;
  • transaction records as required for accounting, tax, legal, and dispute purposes;
  • communications as necessary to administer our programs and relationships;
  • fraud-prevention and security information as reasonably necessary to protect our systems; and
  • information necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

We may delete, aggregate, or deidentify information when it is no longer reasonably necessary.

11. Data Security

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, misuse, or destruction.

No information system, transmission method, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live and whether the applicable privacy law applies to Inbound Systems, you may have rights concerning your personal information.

These rights may include the right to:

  • confirm whether we process your personal information;
  • access personal information we maintain about you;
  • obtain a copy of certain personal information;
  • correct inaccurate personal information;
  • request deletion of certain personal information;
  • opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information;
  • opt out of targeted advertising;
  • limit certain uses of sensitive personal information;
  • obtain information regarding certain third parties to which information was disclosed; and
  • appeal certain decisions concerning a privacy request.

These rights are subject to applicable exceptions and limitations.

For example, we may retain information when necessary to complete transactions, comply with law, prevent fraud, maintain security, preserve legitimate historical awards records, exercise legal rights, or fulfill another legally permitted purpose.

We will not unlawfully discriminate against you for exercising an applicable privacy right.

13. How to Submit a Privacy Request

To submit a privacy request, please use the Contact Us page at InboundSystems.com and identify your request as a “Privacy Request.”

We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

Verification may require us to confirm information reasonably associated with your interaction with us.

Authorized agents may submit requests where permitted by applicable law. We may require evidence that the agent is authorized to act on your behalf.

If applicable law requires us to provide an appeal process or an additional method for submitting privacy requests, we will provide that method as required.

14. Universal Opt-Out Signals

Where required by applicable law, we recognize qualifying browser-based universal opt-out mechanisms, such as Global Privacy Control, for activities covered by those laws.

The effect of an opt-out signal may depend on the browser, device, account status, and information available to associate the signal with you.

15. Children’s Privacy

Our websites, awards programs, products, and services are intended for a general audience and are not directed to children under 13.

We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13 without appropriate authorization.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 in circumstances requiring parental consent and such consent was not obtained, we will take reasonable steps to delete the information as required by law.

Parents or guardians who believe a child under 13 has provided personal information to us may contact us through our Contact Us page.

Specific promotions, including giveaways, may have higher minimum-age requirements.

16. Third-Party Websites and Platforms

Our websites and communications may contain links to third-party websites, social-media platforms, payment providers, review sites, business directories, or other services that we do not control.

This Privacy Policy does not govern the privacy practices of those third parties.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of services you use.

17. Business-to-Business Information

Many of our interactions involve representatives of businesses and organizations.

We may collect and use professional contact information and other information relating to individuals acting in their business or professional capacity.

Certain state consumer privacy laws exclude or treat business-to-business information differently from information collected about individuals acting in a personal or household capacity.

Where applicable law grants rights concerning business-to-business information, we will honor those rights as required.

18. Processing in the United States

Inbound Systems is a United States company, and our services are primarily directed to users and businesses in the United States.

Information may be stored or processed in the United States and in other locations where our service providers operate.

If you access our services from outside the United States, applicable privacy protections may differ from those in your jurisdiction.

19. Related Policies

This Privacy Policy should be read together with other applicable Inbound Systems policies and program terms, including:

Those policies may govern particular aspects of your relationship with Inbound Systems.

20. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Inbound Systems may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business, technology, information practices, legal requirements, or other circumstances.

The current version will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

Where applicable law requires additional notice or consent for a material change, we will provide that notice or obtain that consent as required.

21. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices may be submitted through the Contact Us page at InboundSystems.com.

Privacy-rights requests should clearly state “Privacy Request” so they can be routed appropriately.