Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how USA Venture Group LLC, doing business as The Baltimore Courier Company ("Company," "we," "us"), collects, uses, and shares information when you use baltimorecourier.com or book a delivery with us.

A note on applicability: Maryland's comprehensive privacy law (the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act) applies to businesses processing personal data of at least 35,000 Maryland consumers per year, or 10,000 with substantial revenue from data sales. We do not currently meet that threshold. We are publishing this policy anyway because clear disclosure of our actual data practices is the right thing to do regardless of which specific law does or doesn't technically apply to a business our size.

1. Information We Collect

When you book a delivery or contact us, we collect:

• Your name, email address, and phone number.
• Pickup and drop-off addresses (and any additional stop addresses), which are geocoded to calculate distance and price.
• Details about the service requested — speed tier, number of stops, and any special handling notes you provide.
• If you request a Certificate of Insurance: your firm name and accounting contact email.
• If online payment is used: payment is processed directly by Stripe. We do not receive or store your full card number.
• If you create an optional account: your login email and a securely hashed password (we never store your password in plain text).
• Standard technical data any website receives (IP address, browser type) through our hosting provider's server logs.

We do not currently use advertising cookies, third-party ad trackers, or sell any personal information to data brokers or advertisers.

2. How We Use Information

• To calculate accurate delivery routes, mileage, and pricing.
• To dispatch and complete your delivery, including status updates and delivery confirmation.
• To send booking confirmations and, where relevant, estimated pickup or delivery times.
• To process payment for services rendered.
• To respond to Certificate of Insurance and other business inquiries.
• To maintain business records for accounting, tax, and legal compliance purposes.

3. Who We Share Information With

We do not sell personal information. We share information only with the service providers necessary to operate the business described in this policy:

• Google Maps Platform — pickup, drop-off, and stop addresses are sent to Google's Geocoding and Routes APIs to calculate distance and drive time. This is governed by Google's own privacy policy for API use.
• Stripe — handles payment processing directly; we do not see or store full card numbers.
• Resend — sends transactional emails (booking confirmations, Certificate of Insurance requests) on our behalf.
• Neon & Vercel — our database and hosting providers, who store and serve the information described above as part of operating this website and booking system.

We may also disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or court order, or to protect the safety of our driver or the public.

4. Data Retention

We retain booking records for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our services, maintain accurate business and tax records, and comply with applicable legal obligations. If you would like your information deleted sooner and it is not otherwise required for our recordkeeping obligations, contact us and we will honor that request where we're able to.

5. Your Choices

You can ask us at any time to tell you what information we have about you, correct inaccurate information, or delete information we're not otherwise required to keep. Email dispatch@baltimorecourier.com and we'll respond promptly. As noted above, Maryland's formal statutory privacy-rights framework does not currently apply to a business our size, but we'll honor reasonable requests regardless.

6. Data Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) across the site, cryptographically hashed and salted password storage for account logins, and access-controlled, HMAC-signed session authentication for our driver portal. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for business use and are not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by an updated effective date at the top of this page.

9. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy can be directed to dispatch@baltimorecourier.com or (410) 648-FAST.