Introduction

At Schmitt Enterprises, LLC (schmitt-enterprises.com), we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Data Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and safeguard your data when you interact with our services, including our website, invoicing, and analytics tools.

Information We Collect

  • Personal Information: Name, email address, phone number, and other contact details.
  • Payment Information: Billing details and payment methods via tools like Stripe.
  • Usage Data: Information about how you use our website and services, collected through tools like Google Analytics and HotJar.
  • Technical Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, and other technical details.
  • Comments: Data shown in the comments form, IP address, and browser user agent string for spam detection.
  • Sensitive Data: Business tax identification numbers, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, or financial account numbers required for taxes and transactions.

How We Use Your Information

  • Provide and improve our services.
  • Process payments and manage invoicing.
  • Analyze website usage and improve user experience.
  • Communicate updates, offers, and services.
  • Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
  • If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

Third-Party Services

We use third-party services to enhance our operations, including but not limited to:

  • Microsoft Office Business Premium: For email and document management.
  • WordPress (GoDaddy): For website hosting and management.
    • Onsite Comments
      • When visitors leave comments, we collect the data shown in the comments form, IP address, and browser user agent string for spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address may be provided to the Gravatar service. After approval, your profile picture is visible in the context of your comment.
      • Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
    • Cookies
      • Comments: If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name, email, and website in cookies for one year.
      • Login: We set temporary cookies to determine if your browser accepts cookies. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. Selecting “Remember Me” extends login persistence to two weeks.
      • Editing/Publishing: An additional cookie is saved in your browser, indicating the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after one day.
    • Embedded Content from Other Websites
      • Articles may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content from other websites behaves as if the visitor has visited the other website, which may collect data, use cookies, and monitor interactions.
    • Onsite Media
      • Visitors should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors can download and extract location data from images on the website.
  • Stripe (via ZenBusiness): For secure payment processing.
  • HotJar: For website usage analysis and user feedback.
  • Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager): For tracking website performance and user behavior.

These third-party services have their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

How Long We Retain Your Data

  • Comments: Retained indefinitely for follow-up comment recognition.
  • User Profiles: Personal information provided by registered users is stored in their user profile. Users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except username changes). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
  • Other Data: Personal information will be retained so long as there is a business need or otherwise required by law.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Request corrections to any inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Request the deletion of your personal information.
  • Opt-out of marketing communications.

Compliance with Illinois Data Privacy Laws

We comply with the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) by:

  • Implementing reasonable security measures.
  • Notifying affected individuals of data breaches without unreasonable delay.
  • Properly disposing of personal information that is no longer needed.
  • Including data protection provisions in contracts with third parties.

Data Security

We implement the following measures to protect your information:

  • Encryption: Protecting sensitive data during transmission.
  • Access Controls: Restricting access to authorized personnel.
  • Regular Audits: Identifying and addressing potential vulnerabilities.

Data Disposal

We will dispose of personal information that is no longer needed after best practice record retention periods. This information will be rendered unreadable and unrecoverable digitally.

Cookie Declaration

To view or modify your cookie choices, visit our cookie declaration page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about our Data Privacy Policy, please contact us.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Data Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page, and we encourage you to review it periodically.

Updated February 25, 2025.

For more information on the terms governing your use of our website and services, please refer to our Terms and Conditions.