Privacy Policy
The short version. If you sign up for the free buyers guide, we collect your email address so we can send it to you and follow up about Lake Tahoe real estate. This website also uses advertising tools, such as the Meta Pixel, that collect information about how you use the Site so we can measure our ads and show ads to people who have visited. California treats this as “sharing” personal information for advertising. We do not sell your information for money. You can turn the advertising tools off at any time using the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link at the bottom of the Site, or with a Global Privacy Control browser signal.
The full details are below.
1. Who we are
This website, LakeTahoeBuyersGuide.com (the “Site”), is operated by Michael Lanier (“we,” “us,” or “our”), a real estate agent affiliated with Compass and serving South Lake Tahoe and the Lake Tahoe Basin in California and Nevada. Our licenses are California DRE #02127018 and Nevada S.0200076. Compass is the real estate broker licensed in California under license #01527235.
This policy explains what personal information we collect through the Site and when you contact us, how we use and share it, and the choices you have. Because I work through Compass, information you give me may also be stored in or accessible to Compass, which handles it under its own privacy policy at compass.com/legal. This policy covers only this Site and our direct communications with you.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Email address when you submit the buyers guide form on the Site.
- Contact details and messages when you email or call us, such as your name, phone number, email address, the property or area you are interested in, and anything else you choose to tell us.
Please do not send Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, or payment card numbers by email or through the Site. If a transaction requires sensitive documents, we will direct you to a secure method.
Information collected automatically
When your browser loads the Site, it sends standard technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, the pages you request, and the date and time. In addition, our advertising and measurement tools (Section 5) use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect:
- Online identifiers, such as cookie IDs, device and browser identifiers, and your IP address.
- Activity on the Site, such as pages viewed, links and buttons clicked, whether you submit the buyers guide form, how you arrived at the Site, and the time you spend on it.
- Approximate location derived from your IP address.
If you are logged in to Facebook, Instagram, Google, or another platform in the same browser, that platform may be able to connect this activity to your account. The form also contains a hidden field that real visitors never see; we use it only to detect automated spam submissions.
Information we do not seek
We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information through the Site, such as government ID numbers, financial account numbers, health information, or precise location.
3. How we use information
- To send you the buyers guide you requested.
- To respond to your questions and requests, including property searches, showings, and valuations.
- To send you follow-up emails about Lake Tahoe real estate, subject to your right to unsubscribe (Section 6).
- To measure how our advertising performs, to show our ads to people who have visited the Site, and to reach new people who may be interested in Lake Tahoe real estate.
- To operate, secure, and improve the Site, and to detect and prevent spam, fraud, and misuse.
- To provide real estate services you ask for, and to meet legal and brokerage recordkeeping obligations.
4. How we share information
Advertising and analytics partners. We allow advertising platforms to collect the online identifiers and Site activity described in Section 2 through the tools listed in Section 5. They use it to provide us with ad measurement and audience services and, under their own policies, may use it for their own purposes, including improving their advertising systems. California law calls this “sharing” for cross-context behavioral advertising, and in some cases it may be treated as a “sale.” You can opt out at any time (Section 5). We do not sell your personal information for money. We have no actual knowledge of selling or sharing the personal information of anyone under 16.
We also disclose information in these ways:
- Service providers that help us run the Site and communications: website hosting and content delivery, and the form-handling and email tools that receive your submission and send our emails (currently Google Workspace tools). They may use your information only to provide services to us.
- Compass, my brokerage, which may store or access communications with me and handles them under its own policy.
- Transaction participants, if you become a client, such as lenders, title and escrow companies, inspectors, and other agents, but only as needed to carry out services you request.
- Legal and safety reasons. When we believe disclosure is required by law, subpoena, or legal process, or is necessary to protect rights, safety, or property.
- Business changes. If my practice or its client relationships are transferred to another agent or brokerage, your information may transfer with them, subject to this policy.
- At your direction. Anyone else you ask us to share it with.
5. Cookies, advertising tools, and your choices
The Site uses the following kinds of technology:
- Advertising and measurement tools: the Meta Pixel (Meta Platforms, Inc., which operates Facebook and Instagram). We may also use comparable tools from Google (such as Google Ads or the Google tag) or other advertising platforms. All of them are controlled by the opt-out described below, and we will keep this list current.
- Content providers: to display properly, the Site loads code, fonts, and icons from Font Awesome (use.fontawesome.com), Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com), and jsDelivr (cdn.jsdelivr.net). When your browser fetches these files, those providers receive your IP address and browser details, as on most websites.
How to opt out of advertising tools
- On this Site: click “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” at the bottom of any page. One click turns off our advertising tools in that browser, and the page will confirm that your request was honored. Your choice is saved in the browser you use, so repeat it on each browser or device, and it may reset if you clear your browser data.
- Global Privacy Control (GPC): if your browser or extension sends a GPC signal, we treat it as a valid opt-out request for that browser and turn our advertising tools off automatically.
- On the platforms: you can adjust ad settings with Facebook and Google, or use industry opt-out tools at optout.aboutads.info and optout.networkadvertising.org.
- In your browser: most browsers let you block or delete cookies. Blocking some cookies may affect how the Site works.
Do Not Track. Our advertising partners may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites. Because there is no consistent industry standard for “Do Not Track” browser signals, we do not respond to them. We do honor Global Privacy Control signals, as described above.
6. Email communications
By submitting your email address, you ask us to send you the buyers guide and to contact you about Lake Tahoe real estate. Our marketing emails identify us as the sender, include our mailing address, and contain an unsubscribe option. You can also unsubscribe by replying to any email or writing to us using the contact details in Section 15. We will honor opt-out requests within 10 business days. We may still send messages directly related to a transaction or request you have made. We do not send text messages through the Site; if we ever do, we will first obtain your consent.
7. How long we keep information
We keep your email address and messages until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them, or until we no longer need them for the purposes in this policy. We may keep some information longer to comply with the law, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements. For example, California requires real estate brokers to retain certain transaction records for at least three years, and if you become a client those records are kept by Compass. Information collected by cookies, pixels, and server logs is kept by our advertising partners and hosting provider under their own schedules; cookie lifespans vary, and you can delete cookies in your browser at any time.
8. Your California privacy rights
This section applies to California residents and is written to follow the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CCPA”). Whether or not the CCPA technically applies to a business of our size, we honor the rights below for California residents.
Personal information we handle
| Category | Examples | Source | Disclosed to | Sold or shared for advertising? | Kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Email address; name and phone number if you contact us; IP address; cookie and device IDs | You; your browser | Service providers (hosting, form and email tools); Compass; advertising partners (online identifiers and IP address only) | Online identifiers and IP address: shared. Email, name, phone: no | Email, name, phone: until you unsubscribe or ask for deletion, or no longer needed. Online identifiers: per partner and cookie schedules |
| Internet or network activity | Browser type, device, pages viewed, clicks, form-submission events, referring page | Your browser; our advertising tools | Hosting and content-delivery providers; advertising partners | Shared | Per partner and provider schedules |
| Geolocation (approximate) | General location derived from IP address | Your browser | Advertising partners | Shared | Per partner schedules |
| Communications | Content of emails or messages you send us | You | Service providers (email tools); Compass | No | Until you ask for deletion, or no longer needed |
| Sensitive personal information | None sought | — | — | No | — |
We use this information only for the purposes in Section 3. We do not sell personal information for money. The categories marked “shared” are disclosed to advertising partners for cross-context behavioral advertising, which California may also treat as a “sale.” We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that would give you a right to limit it.
Your rights
- Know and access: the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, where it came from, why we collect it, and who receives it.
- Delete: the personal information we collected from you, subject to legal exceptions.
- Correct: inaccurate personal information.
- Opt out of sale or sharing: use the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link at the bottom of the Site, turn on a Global Privacy Control signal, or contact us. When you opt out, we show a confirmation that your request was honored.
- Limit use of sensitive personal information: not applicable, because we do not use it beyond what the law permits.
- No retaliation: we will not deny you service or treat you differently for using these rights.
How to make a request
Email michael.lanier@compass.com or call 951-415-0801. We will confirm receipt within 10 business days and respond within 45 days; if we need more time, we may extend once by up to 45 more days and will tell you why. To protect you, we will verify your identity by matching details you provide, such as your email address, to what we hold. Information collected only through cookies may be impossible to link to you, in which case the opt-out link above is the most effective choice. You may use an authorized agent, and we may ask for proof of their authority. If we deny a request, you may reply and ask us to reconsider.
Other California notices
Shine the Light. California Civil Code § 1798.83 lets California residents ask which personal information a business disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing. We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing; the advertising disclosures are described above.
Minors. California residents under 18 who are registered users of a site may ask to remove content they posted. The Site has no posting features.
9. Your Nevada privacy rights
This section addresses Nevada’s online privacy law, NRS 603A.300–603A.360, for Nevada residents.
- What we collect online. Through the Site we collect the categories of covered information described in Section 2: your email address, any name, phone number, or message details you choose to send us, and identifiers such as your IP address and cookie IDs.
- Review and correct your information. Email us at michael.lanier@compass.com to review or request changes to the covered information we hold about you.
- Third-party tracking. Third parties, including our advertising partners listed in Section 5, may collect covered information about your online activities over time and across different websites or online services when you use the Site. You can limit this as described in Section 5.
- Notice of changes. We post any changes to this policy on this page and update the date at the top.
- Opt out of sale. Nevada lets you submit a verified request that we not sell your covered information. Nevada defines a “sale” as exchanging covered information for money with another person. We do not sell covered information. To submit a request anyway, email michael.lanier@compass.com with the subject line “Nevada Opt-Out Request.” We will respond within 60 days, and may extend once by up to 30 days with notice.
10. Residents of other states
Many states give residents rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of their data, and to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, or profiling. We offer the same advertising opt-out choices described in Section 5 to all visitors, wherever you live. To make any other request, contact us using Section 15 and we will review it under the law that applies to you.
11. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards to protect personal information, including relying on providers that use encryption in transit. No website, email, or storage method is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we learn of a breach affecting your information, we will notify you as the law requires.
12. Children’s privacy
The Site is intended for adults and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children or use advertising tools to target them. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Third-party links and policies
The Site links to other websites and services, such as Google Maps for our office address. Once you leave the Site, the other party’s privacy practices apply, not ours. Our advertising partners handle information under their own policies, including the Meta Privacy Policy and the Google Privacy Policy.
14. Changes to this policy
We review this policy at least once a year and update it when our practices or the law change, including when we add or remove advertising tools. When we make changes, we will post the new version here and update the “Last updated” date. If a change is significant, we will provide additional notice, such as a notice on the Site or an email to people on our list.
15. Contact us
Michael Lanier, Compass2028 Lake Tahoe Blvd
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Email: michael.lanier@compass.com
Phone: 951-415-0801
CA DRE #02127018 | NV S.0200076