Transparency

Why we use your location

Switchboard reads your location to populate the map you see, calculate distance to nearby listings, and verify you're inside an active service area. It's also used by Mobile Contractor Mode (see below) for users who opt in.

Location is read only while you have the app open, unless you explicitly turn on Mobile Contractor Mode. We never use location for advertising. Location is never sent to third parties outside our infrastructure providers (Supabase for data storage, Stripe for fraud prevention, Google Maps for the map tiles themselves).

Why map pins are randomized within ~0.5 mi

Every tool's map pin is randomly offset within about a half-mile of its real location. It points to the right neighborhood — never the exact doorstep.

Owners shouldn't have their home address broadcast to anyone scrolling the map. When you tap a listing and request it, the exact pickup details get shared in chat between you and the owner — at that point both parties have agreed to the transaction. Until then, the pin is a deliberate fuzz so nobody can casually find where a tool (or person) lives.

What Mobile Contractor Mode actually does

Contractors who carry their tools in a truck during the workday can opt into Mobile Contractor Mode. When the toggle is on, the map pins for their truck-based tool listings update as the contractor drives somewhere meaningfully different — so renters find the tool where it actually is, not where the contractor lives.

How it works:

• Uses your phone's Significant Location Change API (or the equivalent on Android) — fires only when you've moved roughly a half-mile, not at every traffic light. Low battery impact.
• Only updates the listings YOU own that are explicitly marked Mobile. Doesn't update anyone else's listings; doesn't store a history of where you've been.
• Requires "Allow Always" location permission, which Switchboard will ask for via the pre-prompt screen before the system dialog. You can deny anytime, and Switchboard falls back to fixed-mode listings.
• Auto-shuts off after 8 hours of inactivity. So if you forget to turn it off at the end of the day, it won't drain your battery overnight.
• You can turn it off in Switchboard → Profile → Mobile Contractor Mode, OR by revoking the permission in your phone's Settings → Switchboard → Location.

Your location is only used to update YOUR tool listings. It's never used for advertising, never sold, never shared with any party outside the same infrastructure providers we use for the rest of the app.

Why Stripe needs your SSN for payouts

Switchboard is a marketplace, not a bank. Every payment is routed through Stripe Connect, which moves money directly from the buyer's card to the seller/contractor's bank account.

U.S. tax law requires that anyone receiving marketplace earnings be identified for IRS reporting (Form 1099-K). Stripe — not Switchboard — handles this. When you complete Stripe Connect onboarding, Stripe asks for your SSN or EIN inside their own onboarding flow, encrypts it, and stores it in their own systems. Switchboard never sees, receives, or stores your SSN at any point.

If you're earning under the IRS reporting threshold, you may not get a 1099-K. Either way, you're still responsible for reporting your income on your own taxes — Stripe just makes the IRS-required parts automatic for higher earners.

How the 10% platform fee breaks down

Switchboard charges a 10% platform fee on each transaction: 5% from the paying party and 5% from the receiving party. The fee is taken at the time of payment as a Stripe application fee — Stripe routes the rest directly to the recipient's connected account.

Stripe also charges its own processing fee (~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction), which is paid by the buyer in addition to the transaction amount. Switchboard doesn't mark up the Stripe processing fee — what they charge, you pay.

Example for a $100 tool rental:

• Renter pays $108.34 (tool + 5% renter fee + Stripe processing)
• Owner receives $95.00 (tool − 5% owner fee)
• Switchboard receives $10.00 (the 10% platform fee)
• Stripe receives $3.34 (processing)

What ID verification actually checks

Verifying your ID means Stripe Identity compares a government photo ID against a selfie you take at the same time. It runs entirely inside Stripe. Switchboard never sees or stores your ID document or your selfie — we receive a yes/no and the date it happened, nothing else.

It is optional. You can browse, list tools, and use CommunityBoard without it. But most tool owners choose to lend only to verified renters, so an unverified account will see fewer tools it can actually request. You verify once and it covers every rental after that.

Why owners care: if a tool comes back damaged, or doesn't come back at all, a verified name is what makes it possible to do anything about it. That's the whole reason someone is willing to hand a neighbor they've just met a $400 saw.

One correction worth making plainly: older Switchboard profiles showed a check badge that only meant the person had uploaded a profile picture. That was a weaker signal than it looked. The check badge now means an ID was actually verified.

How security deposits work

A deposit is a hold on the renter's card, not a charge. The money is never moved. It reduces available credit for a few days the way a hotel or gas-pump hold does, and it is released when the tool comes back in the condition it went out in.

The standard deposit is five days of the tool's daily rate. Owners can raise it for a tool worth more than its rate suggests, up to twice the standard. Every listing shows its deposit and whether it's the standard figure or one the owner set, so renters can compare before requesting. Neither is treated as suspicious — a higher deposit on an expensive tool is a reasonable thing to ask for, and saying so openly is better than hiding it until checkout.

If a tool is returned damaged, the owner can open a claim. We look at the photos taken at pickup and at return — the app requires both — and decide:

• Claim founded: the deposit is captured and paid to the owner in full. Switchboard takes no fee on damage compensation. We don't make money when something goes wrong.
• Claim unfounded: the hold is released and the renter pays only for the days they actually had the tool.

Card authorizations expire after about a week. That's a limit of how cards work, not a policy choice, and it's why owners have a short window to raise a claim after a return, and why longer rentals are re-authorized as they run.

What a deposit is not: it is not insurance, and it does not guarantee the full replacement cost of an expensive tool. It's a real amount of the renter's money standing behind your tool, sized to that tool. We'd rather say that plainly than imply a level of protection that doesn't exist.

Why we ask for photo access

Switchboard asks for photo library access so you can attach images to tool listings, profile pictures, condition photos, and bug reports. We only read photos you specifically pick — we never scan your library or look at images you don't share.

Why we ask for camera access

Switchboard uses your camera for taking listing photos and for scanning QR codes during tool pickup and return. We don't record video.

What we send push notifications for

Push notifications are reserved for things you actually care about: a new message in your inbox, a rental status update, a payout landing, an alert about objectionable content reported in your area. We never send marketing pushes.

Opt out anytime in your phone's Settings → Notifications → Switchboard.

How we handle reports and abuse

Switchboard has a zero-tolerance policy for objectionable content and abusive users. Every listing, profile, and message has a Report button. Switchboard commits to acting on objectionable content reports within 24 hours — removing the content from the platform and ejecting the user who posted it.

You can block any user at any time from their profile or from any chat with them. Blocking removes their content from your feeds instantly and prevents them from messaging you. The blocked user isn't notified.

Switchboard is notified of every block so we can review patterns and proactively identify abusive users.

How to delete your account and data

You can delete your Switchboard account anytime in Profile → Settings → Account → Delete Account. Active rentals and jobs must be completed or cancelled first.

Once deleted, most of your data is purged within 30 days. Transaction records are retained for 7 years for IRS reporting requirements — this is required by U.S. tax law, not a Switchboard policy. Email [email protected] if you have specific questions about what's retained.