Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This policy describes how Sterling (operated by Quarvo LLC) collects, uses, and shares information when you use joinsterling.io. Sterling is educational software and business credit tooling for US small business owners.

2. Information we collect

Account information: name, email address, and authentication credentials (managed by our authentication provider; we never store your password in plain text).

Business profile information you provide during onboarding and use: business name, legal structure, state, industry, business age, monthly revenue range, credit goal, EIN, DUNS number and status, and initial credit score information.

Credit tracking data you enter: business credit scores (such as D&B Paydex, Experian Business, Equifax), vendor applications and their status, credit limits, and notes.

AI coaching content: messages you send to the AI coach and the responses generated, which are stored with your account to maintain conversation history.

Billing information: subscription tier and status. Payment card details are collected and processed directly by Stripe; Sterling does not store your card number.

Usage data: product analytics events, pages viewed, and device/browser information collected through our analytics provider.

3. How we use information

To operate the service: generate your roadmap, track scores and applications, produce reports, and provide AI coaching.

To process subscriptions and send transactional email (welcome, roadmap, billing, trial, and progress notifications).

To understand product usage and improve the service.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your EIN or business profile with advertisers.

4. AI processing

Roadmap generation and coaching use a third-party AI model provider (Anthropic). The business profile details and messages needed to generate your roadmap or answer your questions are sent to that provider for processing. AI-generated content may be inaccurate; verify it before acting.

5. Service providers

We share data with processors only as needed to run the service: Supabase (authentication and database hosting), Stripe (payments and billing), Resend (email delivery), PostHog (product analytics), Anthropic (AI processing), Upstash (rate limiting infrastructure), and Vercel (application hosting). Each provider processes data under its own security and privacy commitments.

6. Sensitive identifiers

Your EIN and DUNS number are used to personalize your roadmap and reports. We treat the EIN as sensitive information, restrict where it appears, and do not disclose it to third parties except the processors listed above as required to operate the service.

7. Data retention and deletion

We retain your data while your account is active. If you cancel, your data is retained so you can reactivate later. You may request deletion of your account and associated data by emailing hello@joinsterling.io; we will delete data not required for legal or accounting obligations.

8. Security

Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and stored with access controls through the providers listed above. No system is perfectly secure; notify us immediately at hello@joinsterling.io if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

9. Your rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of it. Residents of California (CCPA/CPRA), Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), Connecticut (CTDPA), and Utah (UCPA) may have additional rights. We do not sell personal information. To exercise any right, contact hello@joinsterling.io from the email address on file; we respond within 45 days.

10. Cookies and analytics

We use cookies and similar technologies for two purposes: (1) session cookies from our authentication provider (Supabase) to keep you signed in, and (2) analytics cookies from PostHog to measure product usage. We do not currently display a cookie consent banner and do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings; blocking session cookies will prevent you from signing in.

11. Children

The service is for business use by adults 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

12. Changes and contact

We may update this policy; material changes will be notified through the service or by email.

Contact: hello@joinsterling.io.