At SmartRate Estimator ("we," "us," or "our"), accessible from smartrateestimator.com, one of our main priorities is the privacy of our visitors. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we collect, how we use it, the third-party services we employ (including advertising partners), and the choices available to you regarding your personal data.
1. Consent
By using our website, you hereby consent to this Privacy Policy and agree to its terms. To learn more about how Google uses data when you use our partners' sites or apps, visit: How Google uses data from sites that use Google services.
2. Information We Collect
Our mortgage and rate-estimation tools are designed with a "Privacy-First" architecture. Financial data you enter into our calculators (loan amount, interest rate, credit range, etc.) is processed locally in your browser. We do not store, transmit, or sell the financial inputs you enter into our calculation tools.
We may collect non-personally-identifiable information automatically, including:
- Internet Protocol (IP) address
- Browser type and version
- Internet Service Provider (ISP)
- Date and time of visit
- Referring and exit pages
- Pages viewed and time spent on pages
3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Like many websites, SmartRate Estimator uses cookies and similar tracking technologies. We use the following categories of cookies:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: Required for the website to function (e.g., storing your cookie consent preference).
- Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our site in aggregate. No personally identifiable information is collected.
- Advertising / Third-Party Cookies: Placed by our advertising partner (Google) to serve personalized or contextual ads based on your browsing activity on this site and other sites across the internet.
You can manage cookies in your browser:
4. Log Files
SmartRate Estimator follows the standard practice of using server log files. Information collected in log files includes IP addresses, browser type, ISP, date/time stamps, referring and exit pages, and click counts. This data is used for site administration and security monitoring and is not linked to any personally identifiable information.
5. Google AdSense and Third-Party Advertising
SmartRate Estimator uses Google AdSense, an advertising service provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA (Google AdSense Publisher ID: ca-pub-5200408931963976). Google AdSense allows us to display advertisements on our site to help fund free access to our financial tools and research guides.
What Google AdSense Collects
When you visit SmartRate Estimator, Google AdSense may collect and use the following types of non-personally-identifiable data to serve relevant ads:
- Pages you visit on this site and the time spent on each page
- Your approximate geographic location (derived from IP address)
- Browser type, device type, and operating system
- Prior browsing activity on other websites that use Google's advertising services (cross-site tracking for interest-based advertising)
- Engagement with ads (impressions, clicks, conversions) as permitted by applicable law
Google does not associate this advertising data with your name, address, email address, or telephone number.
The DoubleClick DART Cookie
Google uses the DoubleClick DART cookie to serve ads to our users based on their visit to SmartRate Estimator and other sites on the internet. The DART cookie is governed by Google's Privacy Policy.
How to Opt Out of Google Advertising Cookies
- Google Ads Settings: adssettings.google.com
- Google Analytics Opt-Out: Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
- NAI Opt-Out Tool: optout.networkadvertising.org
- DAA / YourAdChoices: optout.aboutads.info
- EDAA (EU/EEA): youronlinechoices.eu
Opting out of personalized advertising does not mean you will no longer see ads — you may still see contextual (non-personalized) ads.
6. California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the CCPA as amended by the CPRA:
- Right to Know: Request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you in the past 12 months.
- Right to Delete: Request deletion of personal information we have collected, subject to certain exceptions.
- Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: We do not sell your personal data. We do share certain browsing data with Google for advertising purposes as described in Section 5. You may opt out via the mechanisms listed in Section 5.
- Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any CCPA rights.
To exercise your California privacy rights, contact us at austinsanders1985@gmail.com. We will respond within 45 days as required by law.
7. GDPR Data Protection Rights (EU / UK)
If you are located in the European Union or United Kingdom, you have the following rights under the GDPR or UK GDPR:
- Right of Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate personal data.
- Right to Erasure ("Right to Be Forgotten"): Request deletion of your personal data under certain conditions.
- Right to Restrict Processing: Request that we limit processing of your personal data under certain conditions.
- Right to Object: Object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing or legitimate interest purposes.
- Right to Data Portability: Request that we transfer your personal data to another organization or directly to you.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent (including advertising cookies), you may withdraw consent at any time.
Our legal basis for processing advertising-related data through Google AdSense is consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), obtained via our cookie consent banner. Contact us at austinsanders1985@gmail.com to exercise these rights.
8. Third-Party Privacy Policies
9. Children's Privacy (COPPA)
SmartRate Estimator is not directed at children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If you believe your child has provided personal information on our website, please contact us immediately at austinsanders1985@gmail.com.
10. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of SmartRate Estimator after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact Information
SmartRate Estimator
Operated by Austin Sanders
Email: austinsanders1985@gmail.com
Website: smartrateestimator.com