Last updated: October 8, 2026
This policy explains what information Black Owned World collects, why, who we share or sell it to, and the choices you have.
Who we are and what this policy covers
Black Owned World is a directory of Black-owned businesses at blackownedworld.com. It is operated by Black Stamped LLC, doing business as Black Stamped Advertising, a Texas company (“Black Owned World,” “we,” “us” or “our”).
This policy applies to everyone who uses our website, including:
- Visitors who browse or search the directory
- Reviewers who leave a rating or review
- Submitters who suggest a business for the directory
- Business owners who claim, update or ask us to remove a listing
- Callers who phone a business using a number shown on our site
It does not cover other websites you reach from ours. Those sites have their own policies.
Information we collect
We collect only what we need to run the directory. What we collect depends on how you use the site.
Information you give us
- Reviews: your name, email address, star rating and review text. Your name, rating and review are shown publicly on the listing. Your email address is never shown.
- Business submissions: the business details you enter (name, address, phone, website, industry, description), plus your name and email address.
- Listing claims: your name, email address and phone number, your role at the business, and the ownership documents you upload (such as a business license, Secretary of State filing or EIN letter).
- Business owner accounts: your name, email address, password (stored scrambled, so we can’t read it) and the listings you manage.
- Featured placement and other purchases: your business name, billing contact and what you bought. Payments are handled by Stripe or PayPal; we never see or store your full card or bank details.
- Newsletter signup: your email address, name if you give it, and the topics or locations you choose.
- Text messages: your mobile number and your consent to receive texts, plus any replies you send.
- Chat: the messages you type into the chat window on our site.
- Update, correction and removal requests: your name, email address and the changes you ask for.
- Emails you send us: whatever you choose to include.
Information collected automatically
- Device and usage data: your IP address, browser type, device type, the pages you visit, what you search for, and the site that referred you. Our web server records this in standard logs.
- Analytics: Google Analytics measures how visitors use the site, such as pages viewed, time on page and general location.
- Session recordings and heatmaps: a heatmap tool records how visitors move, click and scroll on our pages so we can improve the design. It doesn’t record what you type into form fields.
- Advertising pixels: small pieces of code from advertising platforms (such as Meta, Google and TikTok) record that you visited our site and which pages you viewed, so we can measure our ads and show you our ads on those platforms.
- Display ads: ad networks that show ads on our pages may collect device and browsing information to choose which ads to show and to measure them.
- Spam protection: when you submit a form, Google reCAPTCHA checks whether you’re a person or a bot. Our review system also stores your IP address with each review to block duplicate and spam reviews.
- Email activity: our newsletter records whether you open our emails and which links you click.
- Calls through our tracking numbers: some listings show a phone number provided by our call tracking provider. When you call one, the provider records your phone number, the date, time and length of the call, which business you called, and the general location linked to your number. It then connects you to the business. Calls to medical and financial businesses (such as doctors, dentists and accountants) are never recorded. Calls to other businesses may be recorded for quality and to confirm that we referred the call; you’ll hear a notice at the start of any recorded call.
Information from other sources
Listings are built from publicly available business information, such as the business’s own website, public business registries and published directories. We also use automated tools, including AI services, to gather and summarize that public information. This is information about businesses, though it may include a business owner’s name where it is already public.
How we use information
We use the information we collect to:
- Publish and keep the directory accurate, including adding submitted businesses and applying corrections
- Display reviews and stop fake, duplicate or abusive ones
- Confirm that a person claiming a listing really owns or runs the business, and run business owner accounts
- Connect callers to businesses and measure how many customers our site sends each business
- Answer questions through our chat window
- Send newsletters, deals and sponsored messages by email or text to people who signed up
- Bill businesses for Featured placement and other services
- Show ads on our site, advertise our site on other platforms, and measure how those ads perform
- Reply to your messages and requests
- Understand how the site is used so we can improve it
- Keep the site secure and prevent fraud and spam
- Meet our legal obligations
We never sell ownership documents, call recordings, or any health, financial or other sensitive information. Ownership documents are used only to verify a claim and are never published.
How we share information
We share information in the situations below. We may also sell some information, as explained in the next section.
Information shown publicly. Reviewer names, ratings and review text, and the business details on each listing, are visible to anyone.
Service providers who help us run the site. They may use the information only to provide their service to us.
| Provider | What they do for us |
|---|---|
| Contabo | Hosts our website, database and email systems |
| Google (Workspace, Drive, Sheets) | Email, and private storage for form submissions and claim documents |
| Google Analytics | Measures how visitors use the site |
| Google reCAPTCHA | Spam protection on our forms |
| Google Maps | Shows maps on listing pages; Google receives your IP address when a map loads |
| Google Search Console | Reports how our pages appear in Google search |
| Heatmap and session-recording tool | Shows how visitors use our pages |
| Advertising platforms (such as Meta, Google and TikTok) | Measure our ads and show our ads to people who visited our site |
| Display ad networks | Show ads on our pages |
| Call tracking provider | Provides tracking numbers and connects calls |
| Text messaging provider | Sends and receives our text messages |
| Chat provider | Runs the chat window on our site |
| Anthropic (Claude) | AI service that helps research and write listing information and may help answer chat messages |
| Stripe and PayPal | Process payments from businesses |
| ImprovMX | Forwards email sent to our @blackownedworld.com address |
Our automation tool (n8n) and our newsletter system run on our own server, so information they handle stays with us.
Businesses you contact. When you call a business through our tracking number, the business receives your call and may see your phone number, as with any phone call. We may also tell a business how many calls and visits our site sent it, without naming callers.
Legal reasons. We may share information if the law requires it, to respond to valid legal process, or to protect the safety, rights or property of our users, the public or ourselves.
Business transfers. If Black Owned World is sold or merged, user information may transfer to the new owner, who must honor this policy.
When we may sell information
We may sell or license the following to business partners, marketers, data and lead-generation companies, and businesses listed in the directory:
- Business information: listing details, ratings and review summaries
- Contact and request details: names, email addresses and phone numbers of people who submit businesses, claim listings or contact businesses through our site, and which businesses they were interested in
- Usage and call data: pages viewed, searches, and call details (time, length, business called and the caller’s general location)
- Combined or de-identified data that doesn’t identify you
We never sell ownership documents, call recordings, or sensitive information such as health or financial details. We never sell or share your mobile number or text-message consent with anyone for their own marketing.
Targeted advertising. The advertising pixels and display ad networks described above use information about your visits to show you ads on other sites and apps. Some state laws treat this as “sharing” or “selling” information for targeted advertising. You can opt out of it the same way as below.
How to opt out. To opt out of the sale of your information or its use for targeted advertising, email hello@blackownedworld.com with the subject “Do not sell,” or use the Do Not Sell My Information link at the bottom of every page. We’ll stop within 15 days.
Reviews and other user content
Reviews are written and posted by members of the public of their own free will. Each review is the opinion of the person who wrote it, not of Black Owned World. We don’t write, pay for, edit or endorse reviews, and we don’t verify the claims in them.
We are not responsible for the content of reviews or for decisions anyone makes based on them. We may remove a review that breaks our Review Guidelines, but we never remove a review just because it’s negative or because a business asks or pays us to.
If you post a review, you’re responsible for what you write, and you confirm it describes your own real experience. Your name and review are public, so don’t include personal details you don’t want shared.
Business owners can claim their listing, post a public response to any review, or dispute a review that breaks our rules. Reviewers can ask us to delete their own review. Our Terms of Use (Sections 3 to 5) explain each step, what to send to hello@blackownedworld.com, and how long we take.
Emails and text messages
Emails. We send newsletters, deals and sponsored messages only to people who sign up. Sponsored content is labeled as sponsored. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link, and we stop within 10 business days of your request. We’ll still send messages about your listing, claim or account.
Text messages. We text you only if you give your mobile number and agree to receive texts. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to stop at any time, or HELP for help. Agreeing to texts is never required to use the site or buy anything. Your mobile number and consent are never sold or shared with anyone for their own marketing. Text messaging terms are in our Terms of Use.
Cookies
Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. We use only a few:
- Essential cookies that keep the site working, such as keeping business owners logged in and remembering that you submitted a form.
- Analytics cookies from Google Analytics and our heatmap tool, which measure how the site is used.
- Advertising cookies and pixels from advertising platforms and display ad networks, which measure ads and show you ads based on your visits.
- Google reCAPTCHA and Google Maps cookies. Google’s use of this data is covered by Google’s Privacy Policy.
- Call tracking cookies that remember which listing you were viewing, so a call can be credited to our site.
- Chat cookies that keep your chat conversation open as you move between pages.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, and the directory still works, though forms may ask you to prove you’re not a bot. To limit ad tracking, use the Do Not Sell My Information link, turn on Global Privacy Control in your browser, or change your ad settings with Google and Meta.
How long we keep information
We keep information only as long as we need it for the reasons above, or as long as the law requires.
| Information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Ownership documents from claims | Deleted 30 days after we approve or reject the claim |
| Claim details (name, email, phone) | As long as the listing exists, so we know who manages it |
| Business owner accounts | Until you close the account, then deleted within 30 days |
| Billing records | 7 years, for tax purposes |
| Reviews | Until the review or listing is removed |
| Newsletter subscriptions | Until you unsubscribe; we keep a record of the unsubscribe so we don’t email you again |
| Text-message consent and opt-outs | 5 years after your last message, as proof of consent or opt-out |
| Chat messages | Up to 1 year |
| Business submissions and update requests | Up to 2 years, then deleted |
| Call records from our tracking provider | Up to 2 years, or the provider’s own limit if shorter |
| Analytics, heatmap and advertising data | Up to 26 months, or the tool’s own limit if shorter |
| Web server logs | About 30 days |
| Emails you send us | Up to 2 years after our last reply |
Your choices and rights
Everyone can ask us to:
- Tell you what personal information we hold about you
- Correct information that’s wrong
- Delete your information, including a review you wrote
- Give you a copy of your information
Email hello@blackownedworld.com with your request. We’ll confirm your identity (usually by replying to the email address linked to your information) and respond within 45 days.
Business owners can correct, update or remove their listing at any time. See our Corrections & Removals page; we act within 7 days.
Residents of US states with privacy laws (including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Virginia and others) have these rights under their state’s law, plus the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and the right not to be treated differently for using these rights. You can opt out of the sale of your personal information and of its use for targeted advertising at any time, as described in “When we may sell information.” We’ll also treat a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser as an opt-out. You can also have an authorized agent make a request for you.
Appeals. If we deny your request, reply to our decision to appeal. Someone who didn’t handle the original request will review it and answer in writing within 60 days. If we deny your appeal, you can contact your state attorney general.
Security
No website is 100% secure, but we work hard to protect your information. Our site uses an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Ownership documents are stored privately, never on the public website, and only we can open them. Admin accounts use strong passwords, two-step login and login-attempt limits. Business owner passwords are stored scrambled, and we never ask for your password by email or text. Keep your own password private and tell us right away if you think someone else has used your account.
Children
The directory is meant for adults and isn’t directed at children under 13. We don’t knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us information, email us and we’ll delete it.
Where information is stored
We operate in the United States. Our service providers may store information in the US or other countries. By using the site from outside the US, you understand your information will be handled in the US.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site changes. We’ll change the “Last updated” date at the top, and for significant changes we’ll post a notice on the site.
Contact us
Questions or requests about your privacy:
- Email: hello@blackownedworld.com
- Operator: Black Stamped LLC (doing business as Black Stamped Advertising), Texas. We operate online only and have no public office.