Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

SaveMaxAuto, Inc. is a Texas corporation operating an online insurance comparison and marketing platform. Our principal place of business is Houston, Texas. We are the controller of personal information described in this Privacy Policy. For state-law purposes, we are also the "business" that determines the purposes and means of processing your personal information.

2. Information we collect

We collect the following categories of personal information:

2.1 Information you provide directly

• Contest entry data: Full legal name, email address, phone number, your age and location confirmation, the approximate billboard location you photographed, and the photograph you upload.
• Communications: The contents of any email, SMS, chat, or form submission you send us, and our responses.
• Survey, feedback, and voting data: Information you submit during public voting periods, surveys, or feedback prompts.
• Mail-in entries: If you submit an alternative entry by mail, we collect the name, email, phone, and contest reference you write on the entry card.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Device and usage data: IP address, device type, operating system, browser type and version, language preference, referring URL, pages visited, time stamps, and approximate location derived from your IP address.
• Cookies and similar technologies: Session cookies, persistent cookies, pixels, and similar identifiers. See Cookies & tracking below.
• Photograph metadata: When you upload a photo, it may contain embedded EXIF data such as the camera model, time stamp, and (if you have enabled it on your device) GPS coordinates. We do not require GPS metadata for entry; you may strip it from the file before uploading.

2.3 Information from third parties

• Analytics and advertising partners who help us measure traffic and campaign performance.
• Fraud-prevention vendors who flag duplicate or suspicious entries.
• Insurance carriers and marketing partners when you have requested a quote or otherwise consented to be contacted by them.
• Publicly available sources when reasonably necessary to verify eligibility or prevent abuse.

2.4 Sensitive information

We do not intentionally collect sensitive categories of personal information (such as Social Security numbers, government ID numbers, precise geolocation, financial account numbers, biometric identifiers, or information about race, religion, health, sexual orientation, or union membership) through the Spot Max contest. If you voluntarily include such information in a photograph or message, please consider redacting it before submission.

3. How we use information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

• To administer the Spot Max Photo Contest, including verifying eligibility, screening for safety and content compliance, conducting public voting, judging, selecting and notifying the winner, and fulfilling the prize.
• To communicate with you about your entry, voting, winner notifications, customer support, and material changes to our Services.
• To promote SaveMaxAuto, including by displaying eligible contest photographs on our website, social media, and other marketing channels in accordance with the license granted in the Official Rules.
• To operate, secure, and improve the Services, including analytics, performance monitoring, debugging, and product development.
• To detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, security incidents, and other harmful activity.
• To comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests from public authorities, and enforce our terms.
• For any other purpose for which we obtain your consent.

4. Legal bases for processing

Where applicable law requires a legal basis, we rely on one or more of the following:

• Performance of a contract with you (administering the contest in which you have entered).
• Your consent, which you may withdraw at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.
• Our legitimate interests in operating, securing, and improving the Services, and in marketing them, where those interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Compliance with legal obligations to which we are subject.

5. How we share information

We share personal information in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers and processors who perform functions on our behalf — such as hosting, email and SMS delivery, analytics, fraud prevention, customer support, prize fulfillment, payment processors, and professional advisors. These providers are contractually bound to use information only as instructed by us and to keep it confidential.
• Marketing and advertising partners, including licensed insurance carriers, where you have consented to receive marketing from them or have separately requested a quote.
• Public display of contest entries: your submitted photograph, the name or first name you provide, and your approximate billboard location may be displayed publicly on our website, social channels, and marketing materials in accordance with the Official Rules.
• Legal and safety disclosures: when we reasonably believe disclosure is required by law, subpoena, court order, or government request, or is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of SaveMaxAuto, our users, or others.
• Corporate transactions: in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, subject to standard confidentiality protections and applicable law.
• With your consent or at your direction.

We do not sell personal information for monetary value. Some U.S. state privacy laws define "sale" and "share" broadly to include certain advertising-related data uses. See U.S. state privacy rights for how to exercise any opt-out you may have.

6. Contest-specific data & photos

When you enter the Spot Max Photo Contest:

• By posting your entry with #SaveMaxAuto and tagging @SaveMaxAuto on Instagram, your photo, Instagram handle, and approximate billboard location become publicly viewable. If selected as a Top 10 finalist, your photo and handle will be republished on the official @SaveMaxAuto Instagram account during the public voting window (July 3 – 8, 2026) and may be displayed afterward as part of contest marketing.
• By posting your entry with the required hashtag and tag, you grant SaveMaxAuto a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, non-exclusive, sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, repost, and display the photograph and your Instagram handle for marketing, advertising, and promotional purposes as described in the Official Rules. This license survives this Privacy Policy and persists even if you later delete your Instagram post or request deletion of other personal information.
• If selected as the winner, you will be required to submit additional verification information (such as a government-issued photo ID, a signed affidavit of eligibility and release, and a completed IRS Form W-9) to receive the $5,000 cash prize.
• You can withdraw your entry from the contest at any time before the entry period closes by deleting your Instagram post and emailing privacy@savemaxauto.com. Withdrawal removes your entry from judging and the IG vote but does not revoke the license you granted at posting to the extent we have already used the photo in published materials.

7. Cookies & tracking technologies

We and our service providers use cookies, pixels, web beacons, local storage, and similar technologies to:

• Operate essential site features (security, session management, form submission).
• Measure traffic, performance, and the effectiveness of our content.
• Personalize your experience and remember your preferences.
• Support advertising and measure campaign performance.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, by using browser plug-ins that block trackers, and through any cookie banner we present on our Services. Many browsers also support a "Do Not Track" signal — we honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal where required by law as an opt-out of sale and targeted advertising. Blocking certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Services.

8. SMS & email communications

If you provide your phone number and opt in, we may send you SMS messages about your contest entry, voting updates, and other information you have requested. Message and data rates may apply. Frequency varies. You may opt out of SMS messages at any time by replying STOP to any message we send, and you may opt out of marketing emails by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in the footer of any marketing message we send. Even after you opt out of marketing, we may still send transactional messages (such as winner notification, contest administration, and account or legal notices).

Your consent to receive marketing communications is not a condition of entering the contest or receiving the prize.

9. Data retention

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including:

• Contest entries: for the duration of the contest plus a reasonable period (typically up to 24 months) for record-keeping, dispute resolution, tax reporting, and demonstrating compliance with the Official Rules.
• Winner records: for the duration required by tax and regulatory rules (typically up to seven years).
• Photographs licensed for marketing: for as long as we use them in published materials, subject to the license you granted at submission.
• Marketing and analytics data: until you withdraw consent, opt out, or it is no longer needed for the purpose collected.

When personal information is no longer needed, we will delete or de-identify it in a manner consistent with applicable law.

10. How we protect information

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These include encryption of data in transit (TLS), encryption of stored credentials and selected data, access controls, vendor due diligence, and security monitoring. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your contact information current and for safeguarding any credentials you use with the Services.

11. Your rights & choices

Subject to applicable law and any required identity verification, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Delete personal information we hold about you, subject to legal exceptions.
• Receive a copy of certain personal information in a portable format.
• Opt out of marketing communications and of "sales" or "sharing" of personal information as defined by applicable state law.
• Limit the use of certain sensitive personal information, where applicable.
• Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting prior lawful processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@savemaxauto.com with the subject line "Privacy Request." We will respond within the time frame required by applicable law (typically 30 to 45 days). We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling the request, and we may decline a request to the extent permitted by law. You may also authorize an agent to submit a request on your behalf; we will require written authorization and may require you to verify your identity directly.

You will not be discriminated against for exercising any privacy right.

12. U.S. state privacy rights

Depending on where you reside, you may have additional rights under state law, including under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), the Virginia CDPA, the Colorado CPA, the Connecticut CTDPA, the Utah UCPA, the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, and similar laws in other states. These rights generally include access, correction, deletion, portability, the right to opt out of "sales" or "sharing" of personal information, the right to opt out of targeted advertising and certain profiling, and the right to appeal a denied request.

12.1 California "Shine the Light"

California residents may request information about disclosures of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes by emailing privacy@savemaxauto.com.

12.2 "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information"

You may opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information, as those terms are defined under applicable state law, by emailing privacy@savemaxauto.com with the subject line "Do Not Sell or Share." We also honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where required by law.

12.3 Appeals

If we deny your privacy request, you may appeal by replying to our decision email within 30 days. We will respond to your appeal within the time frame required by applicable law.

13. Children's privacy

The Services are not directed to children under 18, and the Spot Max Photo Contest is open only to entrants 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under 16 where applicable). If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact privacy@savemaxauto.com and we will take prompt action to delete it.

14. International users

The Services are operated from the United States and intended for U.S. residents. If you access the Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate. Data protection laws in these countries may differ from those of your country of residence. By using the Services, you consent to such transfers.

15. Third-party links and services

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites, products, or services that we do not control. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy notices before sharing information with them.

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top and, where appropriate, provide additional notice (such as a banner on the Services or an email). Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of any update constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

17. Contact us

If you have questions, complaints, or requests about this Privacy Policy or our handling of personal information, please contact us:

For contest-specific questions (entries, voting, prize fulfillment), please see the Official Rules. For safety questions, see Safety Requirements.