Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

WalletScout operates an online personal loan comparison marketplace at walletscout.com (the "Site"). We help U.S. consumers see pre-qualified loan offers from a network of third-party lending partners. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use the Site, where it comes from, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. By using the Site, you agree to the practices described here.

2. Information you give us

When you request loan matches, contact us, or otherwise interact with the Site, we collect the information you provide. Depending on what you do, that can include:

• Loan request details: the amount you want to borrow, the purpose of the loan, and your preferred term.
• Contact information: first and last name, email address, phone number, mailing address, city, state, and ZIP code.
• Financial information: estimated credit score range, employment status, annual income, pay frequency, whether you receive direct deposit, housing situation and monthly housing payment, and any U.S. military affiliation.
• Identity information: date of birth and Social Security Number, which are used to verify your identity and obtain a soft credit check.
• Extended-network information (only collected if our primary lenders do not return an offer and you choose to continue): next pay date, vehicle ownership, length of time at your address and job, employer name and phone, job title, bank account type and how long you've held it, bank routing and account numbers, and driver's license number and state.
• Communications: information you submit through our contact form, Do Not Sell My Personal Information request, or unsubscribe request, including any details you choose to include.

3. Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site we automatically collect limited technical information needed to run and improve it:

• IP address, browser user agent, device and operating-system information.
• A per-tab session identifier so we can stitch together your progress through the loan-request flow.
• Form telemetry: which step you're on, when you advance or go back, validation errors, abandonment, and completion events. This helps us debug and improve the experience.
• Session recordings and heatmaps so we can understand how visitors interact with the Site and improve usability. Sensitive form fields are masked during recording.
• A small functional cookie (sidebar_state) that remembers UI preferences.

We do not run third-party advertising trackers, cross-site ad networks, or social-media pixels on the Site.

4. Information from third parties

To match you with offers, we receive information from:

• Credit bureaus, who return your credit file based on the identity information you submit. This soft check does not affect your credit score.
• Lending partners, who return the loan offers (APR, term, monthly payment, fees, apply link) shown on your results page.
• Public bank-routing directories, used to look up your bank's name from the routing number you enter.

5. How we use your information

• Match you with lending partners and display personalized, pre-qualified offers.
• Perform a soft credit pull to confirm eligibility, without impacting your credit score.
• Operate, secure, and improve the Site, including fraud prevention and rate limiting.
• Send you transactional emails (such as your matched offers) and, with your consent, marketing communications.
• Respond to your support, privacy, and opt-out requests.
• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, and lawful requests from authorities.

6. Who we share it with

• Lending partners in our marketplace and any specialty lenders in our extended network, so they can pre-qualify you and present offers. See our partners page for the current list.
• Service providers that host the Site, store our database, send email, and provide similar back-office functions. These vendors are contractually limited to using your information to provide services to us.
• Legal and safety disclosures when we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of WalletScout, our users, or the public.
• Business transfers: if WalletScout is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

We do not sell your personal information for money. Sharing your information with lending partners so they can present you with offers may qualify as "sale" or "sharing" under some state laws. You can opt out at any time via our Do Not Sell My Personal Information page.

7. Your choices and rights

• Marketing emails: unsubscribe using the link in any marketing email or via our unsubscribe page. We may still send transactional messages related to your request.
• Opt out of sale/sharing: submit a request at /do-not-sell.
• Access, correction, and deletion: residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia, and other states with comparable privacy laws may request access to, correction of, or deletion of their personal information by contacting us. We will verify your identity before processing the request.
• Authorized agents: you may designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf, subject to verification.
• Appeals: if we deny your privacy request, you may appeal by replying to our response.

8. Communications and consent

When you submit a loan request, you consent to be contacted by WalletScout and the lending partners we match you with by email, phone call, and text message (including autodialed and prerecorded messages) at the contact information you provided, even if your number is on a Do Not Call list. Standard message and data rates may apply. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. See our Electronic Consent for more detail, and you can withdraw consent at any time as described above.

9. Children

WalletScout is intended only for U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information, including TLS encryption in transit and encryption at rest in our cloud database. We minimize sensitive data we store - for example, we keep only the last four digits of your Social Security Number and mask your driver's license number after submission. Access to personal information is limited to authorized personnel and service providers who need it to operate the Site. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Data retention

We retain loan-request data, telemetry, and communications for as long as needed to operate the Site, fulfill the purposes described in this policy, and meet our legal, tax, and recordkeeping obligations. When you ask us to delete your information, we will do so subject to any legal holds or retention requirements that apply.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the new version here and update the "Last updated" date above. If the changes are material, we will notify you by email when we have your address on file.

13. Contact us

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact us. For general support, use our contact form. See also our Terms of Service.