Privacy Policy
Grounds Request (groundsrequest.com and its app) is operated by MADART Consulting ("we", "us"). Residents use it to report landscaping and grounds problems in their community, and the community's property managers and landscaping contractor use it to schedule and resolve them. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.
Information we collect
- Your account: your name and email address. Your password is handled by Amazon Cognito, our sign-in provider, and is never visible to us.
- Your requests: what you enter when you report a problem — your name, the email address and phone number you want updates sent to, your community, a street address or lot, a description, the category and priority, photos you attach, and messages you exchange with the managers about the request.
- Location: only if you tap "Use my location" (your device asks your permission first) or type an address. We save the pinned spot with that request. We don't track your location otherwise.
- Things your device remembers: the community link you arrived on and small preferences, stored in your browser so the app opens to the right place. We don't use advertising or tracking cookies.
How we use it
- To get your request to the people who handle it, and to schedule and complete the work.
- To send you updates about your own requests — confirmation, scheduling, progress, completion, and replies — on the channels you choose on each request (email, text, both, or neither).
- To give your community's managers reports on the requests in their community.
We don't send marketing, and we don't sell, rent or trade your information.
Who can see your information
- You see your own requests. Other residents never see them.
- Your community's property manager(s) and the landscaping contractor's account managers assigned to your community see the requests filed in that community. Staff for other communities never do.
- Your community's management company receives a copy of request updates by email so they're kept informed.
- Managers can keep internal notes on a request. Those are visible only to that community's staff.
Service providers
We use a small number of providers to run the service. They process information only to provide their service to us:
- Amazon Web Services — hosting, database, photo storage, sign-in (Amazon Cognito), and delivery of email (Amazon SES) and text messages (Amazon SNS). Data is stored in the United States.
- Anthropic (Claude) — helps your community's managers draft replies to your messages. The details of the request you're writing about are sent to Anthropic's API to draft a reply; a manager reviews every reply before it's sent. Under Anthropic's commercial terms, this data isn't used to train its models.
- OpenStreetMap and Komoot (Photon) — when you type an address, it is sent to these services to find its spot on the map. When you tap "Use my location", the coordinates are sent to them to look up the nearest street address. Map images are loaded from OpenStreetMap.
We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights and safety of our users or others.
Emails and texts
Every email and text is about a request you submitted, or is a sign-in code you asked for. To stop updates on a request, turn off email or text on it, or ask your community's property manager or us to remove your contact details. Standard message and data rates may apply to texts. Reply STOP to any text to stop texts.
Text messages (SMS)
You only receive texts if you tick Text message on a request and give a mobile number. Texts are about that request: confirmations, scheduling, status updates and replies from your community's managers. Message frequency varies, usually 2–6 messages per request. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to stop texts at any time, or HELP for help, or email support@groundsrequest.com. Carriers aren't liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
We don't share or sell mobile numbers or text-messaging consent with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text-messaging opt-in data is used only to send the messages described above.
How long we keep it
We keep requests and their photos for as long as your community uses the service, so managers have a history of work done on the property. You can ask us to delete your account at any time. We'll then remove your name and contact details, and remove or anonymise your requests unless your community needs them for its records, in which case your personal details are removed from them.
Security
All traffic is encrypted in transit (HTTPS). Access to requests is enforced by our servers, not just hidden in the app: residents can reach only their own requests, and staff only their own communities' requests. Photos are stored privately and shared through short-lived links.
Your choices
- View and update your requests and contact preferences in the app.
- Ask us for a copy of your information, to correct it, or to delete your account.
Children
The service is meant for adult residents and community staff. It isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. Significant changes will be announced in the app.
Contact us
MADART Consulting
Email: support@groundsrequest.com