Privacy Policy
West Michigan Lakeshore
Effective date: August 12, 2026
Last updated: August 12, 2026
L. Lively Consulting ("we," "us," or "our") publishes West Michigan Lakeshore at https://westmichiganlakeshore.directory, a local business directory covering the West Michigan lakeshore — Muskegon and Ottawa County, Michigan. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.
Two kinds of information, two different sets of rules. Most of this policy is about personal information — information about you as a visitor, account holder, or reviewer. Section 4 covers something different: business listing information, which is factual information about businesses that we publish as editorial content. If you are a business owner who wants a listing corrected or removed, go straight to Section 4.
1. Scope
This policy applies to https://westmichiganlakeshore.directory and to any account, listing claim, review, or purchase you make there. It does not apply to the websites of the businesses we list, or to any other site we link to.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Account information — name, email address, password, and any profile details you add.
- Listing claim information — your name, business name, business email and phone, business address, your role at the business, and any verification material you provide.
- Purchase information — billing name, billing address, and the last four digits and expiration of your payment card. Full payment card numbers are collected and processedby our third-party payment processor, not by us, and we never see or store them.
- Content you submit — reviews, ratings, replies, photographs, listing descriptions.
- Messages — anything you send us by email or through a contact form.
Information we collect automatically
- Device and connection data — IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, and language.
- Usage data — pages and listings viewed, searches run, links and buttons clicked, referring URL, and timestamps.
- Cookies and similar technologies — see Section 6.
Information from other sources
- Business listing data compiled from public sources — see Section 4.
- Verification and fraud signals from our payment processor and hosting provider.
3. How we use information
We use the information above to:
- operate, maintain, and secure the Directory;
- create and manage your account, and verify listing claims;
- publish listings, reviews, and other content you submit;
- process payments, provide Paid Services, and send transactional messages such as receipts, renewal notices, and service announcements;
- respond to your questions, corrections, and removal requests;
- analyze how the Directory is used so we can improve categories, coverage, and content quality;
- detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, scraping, and violations of our Terms of Service;
- send marketing or outreach email where permitted — including messages to listed businesses inviting them to claim or upgrade a listing. Every marketing email includesan unsubscribe link, and we honor it.
- comply with legal obligations and enforce our agreements.
4. Business listing information — how we compile it, and how to change it
This section is the one most business owners are looking for.
What we publish. For each listed business we may publish the business name, physical address, phone number, email address published by the business, website, hours of operation, category, service area, photographs, a descriptive summary, and publicly posted ratings or review counts.
Where it comes from. Listing information is compiled from publicly available sources, including business websites, publicly visible business profiles on mapping and search platforms, public registries and licensing databases, and information submitted by business owners themselves. We create many listings without contacting the business first.
Why we publish it. This is operational information about a commercial entity, published as editorial reference content so that residents, visitors, search engines, and AI assistants can find local businesses. It is not compiled to profile individuals.
When it is about a person. Sole proprietorships and small businesses often use an owner's name, home address, or personal mobile number as their business contact details. If that is your situation and you would rather that information not appear, tell us and we will remove or replace it.
Accuracy. We verify listing data against source records and correct what we find, but listings can still be wrong or out of date. We do not warrant the accuracy of listing information — see our Terms of Service.
How to correct or remove a listing. Email directories@lively-designs.com with:
- the URL of the listing;
- what is wrong, and the correct information; or a clear request for removal;
- enough information for us to see that you are the owner or an authorized representative — for example, sending from an email address at the business's domain, or including a link to the business website that shows your role.
We aim to acknowledge within five (5) business days and to act on verified requests within ten (10) business days. We honor verified removal requests. We do not require you topurchase anything to have a listing corrected or removed, ever.
If a listing is removed, we may keep a minimal record of the business name and the removal request so that the listing is not automatically recreated by a later data refresh.
5. How we share information
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
We share information only as follows:
- Service providers who work on our behalf and are contractually limited to that purpose — hosting and infrastructure, the directory platform vendor, email delivery, analytics, and payment processing.
- Publicly, at your direction — content you post publicly, such as a review, your display name, and any listing information you publish, is visible to anyone and may be indexed by search engines and read by AI assistants.
- Business owners — if you submit a review or send a message through a listing, the business may see your display name and the content you sent.
- Legal and safety — when we believe disclosure is required by law, subpoena, or legal process, or is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of anyone, or to investigate fraud or violations of our Terms.
- Business transfer — if the Directory is sold, merged, or transferred, information may transfer with it. We will note any resulting change to this policy.
6. Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember preferences, maintain security, and understand aggregate usage. These fall into three groups:
- Strictly necessary — sign-in, session integrity, security. These cannot be turned off without breaking the site.
- Preferences — remembering settings such as light or dark mode.
- Analytics — aggregate measurement of pages viewed and features used.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Doing so may break sign-in and some features. We do not use cookies for cross-site behavioral advertising.
7. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Browsers send "Do Not Track" signals inconsistently and there is no accepted standard, so we do not respond to DNT. We do honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as a valid opt-out request from California residents where applicable.
8. Retention
We keep personal information only as long as we need it:
- Account information — for as long as your account is active, then up to twenty-four (24) months after it is closed.
- Transaction and billing records — at least seven (7) years, as required for tax and accounting purposes.
- Reviews and public content — until you or we remove them.
- Server and analytics logs — typically up to twenty-four (24) months.
- Correction and removal requests — for as long as needed to keep the request honored.
9. Security
We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards, including encryption in transit (HTTPS), access controls, and a payment processor that handles card data so we never hold it. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we learn of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by law.
10. Your choices
- Access and update — sign in to review or change your account and listing information, or email directories@lively-designs.com.
- Delete your account — email directories@lively-designs.com and we will delete your account and associated personal information, subject to the retention periods in Section 8.
- Marketing email — use the unsubscribe link in any marketing message, or email directories@lively-designs.com. Transactional messages about your account or purchases will continue.
- Reviews — email directories@lively-designs.com to remove a review you wrote.
- Listings — see Section 4.
11. Your California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you have the rights described below. These rights apply to personal information; information about a business as an entity is generally not covered.
Categories of personal information we have collected in the last 12 months
| Category | Examples we collect | Source | Purpose | Disclosed to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Name, email, phone, IP address, account ID | You; public business sources | Accounts, listings, support, security | Service providers |
| Customer records | Billing name and address, partial card data | You; payment processor | Payments, receipts, tax records | Payment processor |
| Commercial information | Purchase history, subscription status | You | Providing Paid Services | Payment processor |
| Internet activity | Pages viewed, searches, clicks, referrer | Automatic | Analytics, security | Analytics and hosting providers |
| Geolocation (coarse) | City-level location inferred from IP | Automatic | Relevance, fraud prevention | Hosting and analytics providers |
| Audio/visual | Photographs you upload | You | Publishing your listing or review | Publicly, at your direction |
| Professional information | Your role at a listed business | You | Verifying listing claims | Service providers |
| Inferences | Preferred categories or communities | Automatic | Improving content and coverage | None |
We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information as defined by the CPRA, and we do not use or disclose it for purposes requiring a right to limit.
We have not sold or shared personal information in the preceding twelve months, as "sell" and "share" are defined by the CCPA/CPRA. We do not sell or share the personal information of anyone, including minors under 16.
Your rights
- Know / access — request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, our purposes, and the categories of recipients.
- Delete — request deletion of personal information we collected from you, subject to legal exceptions such as completing a transaction or complying with a legal obligation.
- Correct — request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Opt out of sale or sharing — we do not sell or share, so there is nothing to opt out of; we honor GPC signals regardless.
- Limit use of sensitive personal information — we do not collect it for purposes that trigger this right.
- Non-discrimination — we will not deny you service, charge you a different price, or give you a lesser experience for exercising any of these rights.
How to exercise a right. Email directories@lively-designs.com with the subject line "California Privacy Request" and tell us which right you are exercising. We will verify your identity by matching the information you provide against our records, typically by confirming control of the email address on your account. We will respond within forty-five (45) days, and may extend once by another forty-five (45) days with notice. An authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf with written permission that we can verify.
Residents of other U.S. states with comprehensive privacy laws may have similar rights. Send the same email and we will honor equivalent rights where the law applies to us.
12. Children
The Directory is not directed to children and is intended for users 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has provided us information, email directories@lively-designs.com and we will delete it.
13. Links to other sites
The Directory links to business websites and other third-party sites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Read their policies before providing information to them.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy. When we do, we will change the "Last updated" date above, and for material changes we will provide reasonable additional notice, such as a notice on the Directory or an email to account holders.
15. Contact us
Questions, corrections, removal requests, or privacy rights requests:
L. Lively Consulting
Publisher of West Michigan Lakeshore