Privacy notice

Who we are

This website belongs to Robert Waltos Homes, a residential renovation and repair business serving Chicago and the suburbs. Questions about this notice go to robert@waltos.net or 847.962.4689.

What we collect

When you send an estimate request, we collect what you enter: your name, phone number, email address, the property address or ZIP code, city or suburb, property type, your role and decision-makers, the work you describe, expected project investment, preferred timing and consultation method, and any photos or documents you attach.

Like most websites, our hosting provider processes technical information such as your IP address and browser type to deliver pages, protect the site and block spam. With each request we also keep your browser type and approximate country, to help us spot spam. The form uses Cloudflare Turnstile to check that a request comes from a person.

We do not use advertising cookies, analytics trackers or tracking pixels on this website.

Your project account

You can save a project at my.waltos.net. To do that, you give us your email address. We email you a 6-digit code. The code works for 10 minutes. There is no password.

We keep your email address and the name or phone number if you add them. We keep the choices you make, the notes you write, the room sizes you enter (your own estimates), and any plans or photos you add. We also keep a short record of changes to the project and of who has access to it.

Before your first sign-in, we ask you to confirm that you are 18 or older and that your home and where you live are in Illinois. We use your answers only to let you in. We do not keep them.

Each time you ask for a code, we also keep a scrambled form of your network address for 24 hours. It is not your address itself. We use it to stop abuse. We count a few anonymous steps, such as a code being asked for or used. They carry no name or email address. We keep those counts for 13 months.

Please do not add pictures of people or children, ID numbers, or financial or health records.

Photos, plans and biometrics

You can add JPEG and PNG photos and PDF plans. Each file can be up to 10 MB. A project can hold up to 25 files.

We remove hidden camera and location details from JPEG and PNG photos when we receive them. We do not change PDFs, so remove sensitive details from a PDF before you add it.

We do not collect face geometry or any other biometric identifier. We do not use face recognition. A photo you add may show a face. We store it as an image file only. We do not make or keep face geometry, templates, fingerprints or voiceprints from it.

Cookies

Signing in sets one cookie that keeps you signed in on this browser. It lasts up to 180 days, and it ends sooner if you sign out or do not use it for 30 days. A second cookie lasts 10 minutes while a sign-in code is waiting.

You need these cookies to sign in. We do not use them for advertising or tracking. If you block cookies, sign-in will not work.

How we use it

We use your information to run and secure the website, check your sign-in, save and manage your projects, and prevent abuse. We use estimate requests and project information to reply to you, arrange a walk-through, prepare a written scope and, if you hire us, carry out and document the work. We may keep it as part of our business records.

We do not sell your information, and we do not share it for advertising.

Where it is kept and who can see it

Requests, project files and the emails that carry your sign-in code go through Cloudflare, which hosts this website. Your account and project records are kept with Supabase. A copy of each estimate request is emailed to our business inbox, which is hosted by Google.

A saved project can be seen by you, by anyone you invite to it, and by Robert Waltos Homes.

If you hire us, we may share the details a specialist trade needs to do their part of your project, such as an address and a description of the work. We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

Inviting a partner or someone else

You can invite another person to your project, such as a partner or family member. Invite only people who expect it.

We email them your name, or your email address if you gave no name, and a link to sign in using the email address the invitation was sent to. The email also has a link that says “Not expecting this?”. If they use it, we will not send them invitations again. To do that, we keep their email address on a do-not-invite list. This never stops them from getting a sign-in code if they ask for one.

An invitation lasts 30 days. If it is not accepted, it ends. Someone you invite can see the project the way you set it up for them. You can remove them at any time.

How long we keep it

We keep your account and your projects until you erase them or ask us to. We keep estimate requests as long as we need them to respond to you and to keep reasonable business records.

Sign-in codes are deleted after 24 hours. Sign-in sessions are deleted 30 days after they end. The log of emails we sent you (the address, the subject and whether it went through, never the code) is deleted after 30 days.

When you erase a project, we empty its contents, remove its files and remove everyone’s access. We keep a small activity record so we can show the project was not tampered with. It holds version numbers, role names and coded fingerprints. It holds no names, notes or photos. We delete that record automatically 12 months after you erase the project.

Our database provider keeps routine backups. Anything you erase can stay in those backups until they age out, within 35 days, and we never restore it to your account.

Your choices

You can erase a project yourself from your account. You can also erase your whole account there. If you share a project, you can pick someone else to take it over, or erase it. You can download a copy of your account and project information from your account. To ask about anything else we hold, email us.

You can also ask us to see, correct or erase your information by emailing robert@waltos.net. We may keep information as described in “How long we keep it”, and information the law requires us to keep, such as signed agreements or tax records.

You do not have to use an account or the form. You can call or email instead.

Adults and Illinois homes only

Accounts are for adults arranging work on a home in Illinois. This website is not for children, and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If you think a child sent us information, tell us and we will delete it.

Security

We use encrypted connections and limit access to people who need it. No method of sending or storing information is completely secure. If a security breach affects your information, we will tell you as Illinois law requires.

Changes

If we change this notice, we will update the date at the top of the page. If a change affects information you have already given us, we will email account holders before it applies.

Contact

Robert Waltos Homes. Email robert@waltos.net or call 847.962.4689.