How WNY Home Guides collects, uses and protects information. Last updated: October 14, 2026.
Who we are
WNY Home Guides (“we”, “us”) is an independent online directory of home-service businesses in Buffalo and Western New York. You can reach us through our contact page.
Information we collect
- Account details you give us when you register: username, email address and password (stored in encrypted form).
- Listing information that business owners submit: business name, address or service area, phone, website, description, hours, license or registration details, photos and similar business details. Most of this is shown publicly on the listing.
- Reviews and replies you post, including your display name and any photos you upload.
- Messages you send through our contact form: your name, email address and the message.
- Technical data such as IP address, browser type and pages visited, collected by our hosting systems and by cookies described below.
How we use it
- To run the directory: publish listings, display reviews, and let owners manage their profiles.
- To review submissions, prevent spam and fraud, and enforce our Terms of Use and Review Policy.
- To email you about your account, submissions and messages you send us.
- To understand how the site is used and improve it. We may use analytics and search-performance tools for this.
What is public
Listing details and reviews are public by design. Your email address and password are never displayed. Please do not put private information in a listing, a review or a message you do not want others to see.
Sharing
We do not sell personal information. We share information only with service providers that help us run the site (such as web hosting and email delivery), when the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of our users and the site.
Cookies
We use cookies that keep you logged in, remember preferences and make the site load faster. If we add analytics or advertising cookies, we will describe them here and provide any required choices.
Retention
We keep account and listing information while your account or listing is active and for a reasonable period afterward for record-keeping and abuse prevention. Messages are kept as long as needed to respond and to keep a record of requests.
Your choices
You can ask us to correct or delete your account, your listing or messages you sent by writing to us through the contact page. Reviews that follow our policy may remain visible, but we will remove personal details on request where appropriate.
Children
This site is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their information.
Security
We use reasonable safeguards, but no website can be guaranteed completely secure.
Changes
We may update this policy. The date at the top shows when it last changed.