Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Carrier Index ("Company," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through this Privacy Policy. This document explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our platform and use our services. By using Carrier Index, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect various categories of personal and business data, including but not limited to:

A. Data for User and Business Verification

Documents submitted by brokers and carriers to verify identity and licenses required for conducting business on Carrier Index. This includes, but is not limited to, proof of identity documents (e.g., driver's license, passport), and business registration documents.
Licensing and other documentation necessary to validate a company's ability to engage in freight transportation and brokerage (e.g., MC Authority, insurance certificates).

B. Data for Transport and Settlement Process Management

Client, broker, and carrier details, including contact information (name, address, phone number, email) and company-specific data (company name, MC number, DOT number).
Load details, including origin, destination, dates, times, commodity, weight, special requirements, insurance, and factoring information.
Banking details for financial transactions (account number, routing number).
Vehicle-specific details, including registration, ownership documents, VIN, make, model, and trailer information.
Documents verifying the above data, such as licenses, certificates, and agreements.
Load-related documents such as bills of lading (BOLs), shipping manifests, and proof of delivery (POD).
Message history conducted via our built-in chat service.
Rate confirmation agreements and related communications.

C. Employee and Driver Data for Workforce Management and Compliance

Personal information of employees and drivers, including full name, phone number, email, job title, and Commercial Driver's License (CDL) details.
Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) information (subject to consent and legal limitations).
Potential collection of biometric data for verification and authentication in the future (subject to explicit consent and compliance with applicable laws).

D. Technical and Location Data for Security and Optimization

User location data for load tracking, only active when a load is assigned and with user consent where required by law. We may collect location data in the background if you grant us permission.
Mobile device data, including system-level permissions, device sensors (such as accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and others), and environmental readings (e.g., temperature, light, pressure).
Connection data such as IP addresses, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, and server logs.
Device identifiers (e.g., UDID, IMEI, MAC address).

E. Analytical Data for Service Improvement and Security

Necessary cookies for the proper operation of the service (e.g., session cookies).
Third-party cookies (e.g., Google Maps, analytics providers) essential for functionality and service improvement.
Data storage for identifying behavioral patterns to detect potential fraud and misuse of the platform.
Planned use of proprietary tools for biometric authentication (e.g., facial recognition) (subject to explicit consent and compliance with applicable laws).
Information related to your use of the Services, including content viewed by users and a user's path through our Services.
Hardware and software information automatically collected when you use Carrier Index mobile applications or websites, such as your phone platform, browser type, operating system, Java virtual machine type, internet connection speed, access times, and identification of any software or hardware that has previously caused technical problems. When you connect to our websites directly or through Carrier Index applications, we will detect your IP address and store a cookie on your device.

F. Information You Provide Directly

Information provided when you request technical support or information — we ask for your personal information and other details necessary to answer your question or resolve your problem.
Contact information provided when entering a contest or promotion sponsored by Carrier Index and/or our partners, used to administer the contest or promotion and notify winners.
Responses to optional surveys and/or questionnaires, which may ask for demographic information, shopping or dining habits, computer use information, and other information pertinent to our Services.
Any information you enter or provide in any other way when using the Carrier Index Services. If you want to learn more about our products or services, we may ask you to fill out a form requesting details such as your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number.

3. How We Use Your Data

We process your data for the following purposes:

Verifying user and company credentials and ensuring compliance with regulations.
Facilitating and managing transport operations, load matching, and settlements.
Enhancing security and fraud prevention, including detecting and preventing unauthorized access and activity.
Improving user experience and operational efficiency through AI-powered analysis and personalization.
Providing customer support and responding to inquiries.
Complying with legal and regulatory obligations, including responding to legal requests and investigations.
Statistically analyzing site usage, including user behavior, to improve content, layout, and services, as well as to enhance our marketing and promotional efforts.
Processing payments, confirming renewal charges or payments to your account, and administering your account.
Notifying you about important functionality changes to the website, new Carrier Index Services, and special offers we think you'll find valuable.

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your data with:

Third-party service providers supporting our operations (e.g., payment processors, insurance providers, background check services, cloud hosting providers, analytics providers, communication platforms). We use reasonable efforts to ensure these providers protect your data.
Government authorities as required by law, regulation, or legal process.
Trusted partners necessary for transport and logistics operations (e.g., brokers sharing carrier information for load assignment, shippers receiving location updates).
Agents we employ to perform functions on our behalf, such as sending postal mail and email, removing repetitive information from customer lists, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, providing customer service, and collecting and processing payments. They have access to personal information needed to perform their functions but may not use it for other purposes.
Promotion and sweepstake/contest sponsors, where additional information such as your mailing address or credit card number may be shared with a third party sponsoring the event or processing your transaction.
Law enforcement or government officials when we believe in good faith that the law requires it, for the protection of our legal rights, or when we have reason to believe disclosure is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be violating our Terms or engaging in fraud, intellectual property infringement, or other illegal activity.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect collected data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or loss. These measures include:

Firewalls and intrusion detection systems.
Employee training on data security best practices.
Reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards designed to protect the confidentiality of your personal information.
Password-protected accounts, ensuring that only you and those you designate can access your account and related information.

Please note that no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, and no system is entirely secure. We encourage users to take precautions when sharing sensitive information, such as using strong passwords and being aware of phishing attempts. Remember to log out of your Carrier Index account and close your browser window when finished.

6. User Rights and Choices

You have the right to:

Access and update your personal data.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Request deletion of certain information, subject to legal and contractual limitations.
Object to the processing of your personal data for certain purposes, such as marketing.
Restrict the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances.
Data portability — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you in a structured, machine-readable format.
Withdraw consent — if we are processing your data based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
Opt out of marketing messages by logging into your account and visiting the "Update Profile" section within the "Manage Account" page, or by clicking the "Opt-Out" link in any email we send you and completing the Opt-Out form.
Unsubscribe from email communications by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email you receive.

Please note that you cannot opt out of receiving messages relating to material company announcements, policy changes, or administrative matters such as billing, collections, or customer support.

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the contact information provided below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies (e.g., web beacons, pixels) to collect information about your browsing activity on our platform.

Cookies are small pieces of information stored on your device. Carrier Index uses cookies to store your password without requiring you to re-enter it, to track behavior on our site so that we can tailor our marketing to better match your needs, and to help us understand how users use our Services. You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, but some parts of our Services may not work properly if you do so.

Carrier Index may display advertising originating from outside advertisers and/or advertising agencies and may use third-party companies to display such advertising. In some cases, advertisers may assign you a cookie when you view their ads. Carrier Index does not control these cookies. You can control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our platform. For more information about an advertiser's privacy practices, please visit their home page and review their Privacy Policy.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

The length of our relationship with you.
Whether there is a legal obligation to retain the data.
Whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (such as applicable statutes of limitations, litigation, or regulatory investigations).

9. How to Request Deletion of Your Personal Information

Depending on your state of residence, you may have the right to request that we delete any personal information about you that you have provided to us and that we have retained, subject to certain exceptions.

Regardless of your state of residence, you may submit a verifiable consumer request to delete your personal information, including your account and related information, by contacting us using the contact information below (subject to Section 14).

Upon receiving your request, we may ask for specific information to help confirm your identity. Any personal information collected for verification purposes will be used solely for that purpose. To verify a request, you will need to provide:

Your name
Proof of your identity and address, which may include your email and/or phone number
A description of the right you want to exercise and the information to which your request relates
If submitting on behalf of another person, proof of authority to act on their behalf (a signed written authorization)

If we are unable to verify your request, we may deny it or ask for additional information. We may also deny your request if retaining your personal information is necessary to:

Detect security incidents or protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity.
Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
Comply with a legal obligation, applicable law, and/or law enforcement requests.
Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.
Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.

We may also decline a request if we have already destroyed, erased, or anonymized your personal information in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices.

10. Children's Privacy

Carrier Index is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Please do not use Carrier Index if you are under the age of 13.

11. ELD Privacy Policy

Integrating your GPS/ELD/telematics devices with Carrier Index is used for the purpose of providing visibility on active Carrier Index broker customers' loads within the Carrier Index Load Tracking platform and improving our products and services, including using the foregoing as input for training artificial intelligence, machine learning, or similar technologies.

Carrier Index pulls data when a truck is assigned to an active load. The data we read and display may include:

Vehicle identifier/asset ID (tractor number, trailer number, person ID, or device ID)
Latitude/longitude coordinates
Corresponding timestamp
Temperatures, such as ambient temperature, humidity level, and/or set and recorded temperatures
Refrigerated trailer details (power status, alarms, etc.)

Carrier Index calls the provider's API with the API key/credentials the carrier shared to pull location data for the assigned truck at a frequency of every 5–20 minutes. We display the last known location of the assigned truck on the broker's load within their Load Tracking account. This data may also be sent to the broker's TMS if they have a TMS integration with Carrier Index for Load Tracking.

12. California Privacy Rights

This section provides specific information for California residents, as required by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).

A. Categories of Personal Information We Collect

Identifiers (e.g., name, address, email address, phone number, IP address, device identifiers, account name, driver's license)
Personal information listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)) (e.g., contact information, financial information, employment information)
Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law (e.g., gender, age)
Commercial information (e.g., transaction history, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered)
Biometric information (subject to consent)
Internet or other electronic network activity information (e.g., browsing history, search history, interactions with our website and mobile applications)
Geolocation data (only when tracking loads, with consent)
Sensory data (e.g., audio recordings of customer service calls with consent)
Professional or employment-related information (e.g., job title, employer, work history, CDL)
Education information
Inferences drawn from the above to create a profile reflecting consumer preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes

B. Sources of Personal Information

Directly from you (e.g., when you create an account, submit documents, or communicate with us)
From your devices (e.g., through cookies and other tracking technologies)
From third-party service providers (e.g., payment processors, background check services)
From our business partners (e.g., brokers, shippers)
From publicly available sources

C. Purposes for Collecting Personal Information

We use the categories of personal information described above for the purposes described in Section 3 of this Privacy Policy.

D. Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose the categories of personal information described above to the categories of third parties described in Section 4 of this Privacy Policy.

E. Your California Privacy Rights

Right to Know — You may request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources, the business or commercial purpose for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
Right to Delete — You may request that we delete personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions (e.g., legal obligations, fraud prevention, compliance with regulations).
Right to Correct — You may request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
Right to Opt-Out of Sale or Sharing — We do not sell your personal information. While we share some information with Google Maps as part of a service provider relationship essential to our website's core functionality, this is not done for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes and is not subject to opt-out rights under CCPA/CPRA.
Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information — You may direct us to use your sensitive personal information only for the purposes of providing the services you requested. To exercise this right, contact us at contact@carrierindex.com.
Right to Non-Discrimination — We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA/CPRA rights. We will not deny you services, charge different prices, or provide a different level of service quality.

Any data collected through Google Maps is managed directly by Google and subject to Google's Privacy Policy. For requests regarding data collected by Google Maps, please contact Google directly through their privacy tools and settings.

F. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of your California privacy rights, contact us at: contact@carrierindex.com

Only you, or a person you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request. If you use an authorized agent, you must provide the agent with written permission and verify your own identity directly with us.

G. Verification

To protect your privacy and security, we will verify your identity before responding to your request. We may require you to provide information that matches what we have on file for you.

H. Shine the Light Law (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.83)

California residents may request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, contact us at contact@carrierindex.com.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is periodically reviewed and may be subject to change. Please check this page periodically — the date at the top indicates when the policy was last updated. Continued use of the Services constitutes consent to any policies then in effect.

If we intend to use your personal information in a manner different from what was indicated at the time of collection, we will notify you via email and give you a choice as to whether we use your information in that different manner.

If we make material changes to our privacy practices that do not affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our Services. In some cases, we will also email users who have opted to receive communications from us.

14. Contact Information

For any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Email: contact@carrierindex.com