Privacy

Cookies

What we set. When you open a CityLens page, we set a first-party cookie named cl_vid. It holds a random identifier that we generate. It does not contain your name, email or IP address. It is not shared with advertisers or other websites. It lasts 13 months.

What we use it for. When you sign in, we record that this browser's identifier belongs to your account, along with when that first happened and when you last signed in with it. It also ties the activity records below to one browser.

Activity records

What we record. We keep a record when you:

• sign in or sign out, including whether the sign-in came from a device new to your account, and when you sign out another of your sessions;
• open a building's card or its full dossier;
• download or generate a report, such as a retrofit PDF or spreadsheet, a lender package or an investment memo;
• add to or remove from your watchlist;
• change your plan;
• are stopped by a request limit.

What each record holds.

• What happened and when.
• The building involved, if any.
• Your account, if you are signed in, and the cl_vid identifier, while we use that cookie.
• The network part of your IP address: the first three numbers of an IPv4 address. Activity records never hold the full address.
• A one-way code of your full IP address. It lets us tell repeat visits apart without keeping the address.
• Your browser family, operating system and device type, for example "Chrome, macOS, desktop". Activity records do not hold the full browser string.

Why. To show you your own history, to understand how CityLens is used, and to find abuse, such as automated scraping.

Who sees them. When signed in, you can see the records made while you were signed in. Records from before you signed in are not shown to you, because someone else may have used the same browser. CityLens staff can see all records, to operate and protect the service. We do not sell them or share them with advertisers.

How long. Records are deleted within a day of turning 400 days old.

Request limits

To keep CityLens fair and to stop automated scraping, we count requests. We count them against your account or API key if you are signed in, and otherwise against a one-way code of your network address. These counters hold no pages or buildings, only how many requests are left. A counter you have not used for an hour is deleted within a day.

Sign-in sessions

When you sign in, our sign-in system keeps a record of that session so you stay signed in and so we can protect your account. It holds the full IP address and the full browser string of the device you signed in on. A session lasts up to 30 days after you last use it, and signing out deletes it.

Your devices

To protect your account, we keep a list of the devices you have signed in from. For each device the list holds:

• a device code: a one-way keyed code made from your browser's cl_vid cookie, or, without that cookie, from its browser, operating system and device type. It cannot be turned back into the cookie or any other detail about you;
• the browser, operating system and device type;
• the network part of the IP address you last signed in from on it (none if your browser sends Global Privacy Control);
• when you first and last signed in from it;
• whether it was new to your account when you first signed in from it; and
• when you dismissed the notice about it, if you did.

With the cl_vid cookie in use, each browser counts as its own device. Otherwise one browser on one operating system counts as one device. We use the list to tell you when your account is signed in from a device it has not used before. That notice shows on your other devices until you dismiss it. Your first device is never reported as new.

On your Sessions and security page you can see where your account is signed in and sign out any other session.

A device you have not signed in from for 400 days is removed from the list, and deleting your account removes the whole list.

Requesting access and the fine lookup

Requesting access. When you ask for access to CityLens, we keep what you enter in the form: your name, email, company, role and how you plan to use CityLens. We also keep your browser string and where in CityLens you made the request.

The fine lookup. When you enter your email to see the full result of a free building fine lookup, we keep your email, the building you looked up and your browser string.

Why. To reply to you, to decide on access and to follow up about CityLens. You can ask us to stop emailing you at any time.

How long. We keep these requests for 24 months.

Your profile and shared cost data

Your profile. After you first sign in, we ask for your name, your role and, if you like, your company. We keep these with the email address from your sign-in, the building you were looking at and your browser string. We use them to run your account and to understand who uses CityLens. We email you product news only if you tick the box that asks for it, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shared cost data. If you share project costs on the contribution page, we keep what you enter, your name, your email and your browser string. In anonymous mode we remove the address, the BBL and any notes before we store the submission, and we round the building size to the nearest 1,000 square feet. Our team reviews each submission before it informs any CostLens estimate. We never publish your name or email with it. If you delete your account, we remove your name and email from your submissions and keep only the cost figures. To have a submission removed, email privacy@incentedge.com.

Signing in with Google or LinkedIn

If you sign in with Google or LinkedIn, that service tells us your name, your email address, your profile photo if you have one, and an identifier for your account with them. We use these only to create your CityLens account and sign you in. We never receive your password for that service, and we never post anything for you.

Payments

Paid plans are billed through Stripe. You enter your card details with Stripe, not with CityLens, and we never see or store your card number. Stripe tells us your plan, your billing email and whether each payment went through.

When you delete your account, we also delete your customer record at Stripe. Stripe keeps its own records of past payments for as long as the law requires, and a checkout you opened but did not pay keeps the email you opened it with until Stripe removes it.

AI features

Some features use AI models from Anthropic. When you search in plain language, the text you type is sent to Anthropic to work out what you are looking for. When you ask for a building summary, that building's attributes, such as its size, age, energy use and fines, are sent to Anthropic to write it. We use these requests only to answer you, and never for advertising. Please do not type personal details into a search that you would not want processed this way.

People in property records who are not CityLens users

CityLens describes buildings, and building records name people. We hold information about property owners, and the people behind owning companies, who may never have used CityLens. It comes from:

• public records, such as New York City deed and mortgage records (ACRIS), building registrations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and company filings with New York State; and
• contact data, such as phone numbers and email addresses, that we license from a skip trace provider.

Why. To show users who owns and runs a building, so they can reach the right office about energy upgrades, financing and incentives.

Linking people to companies. When a company owns a building, we estimate which person is behind it. We show that link only when our confidence in it is at least 50 percent, and only to signed-in users on plans that include owner details.

Do Not Call. Phone numbers on the national Do Not Call registry are marked as such. Our terms forbid using owner contact data for unlawful marketing or for calls to those numbers.

If this is about you. You can ask what we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it, by email to privacy@incentedge.com. Tell us the property address or company name involved. We will confirm the request comes from you and reply within 30 days. We can correct or delete the contact data we license and the links we draw between people and companies. We cannot change public records themselves; the agency that keeps each record can.

Who processes data for us

We use these service providers to run CityLens. Each one receives only what it needs for its part:

• Railway: hosting and our database.
• Cloudflare: network delivery and protection.
• Google: sign-in. The building card's Open in Google Maps link takes you to Google's own site, under Google's terms.
• LinkedIn: sign-in.
• Stripe: payments.
• Anthropic: the AI features above.
• OpenStreetMap Nominatim: finding the addresses you search for on the map.
• OpenFreeMap: the base map your browser loads.
• Esri ArcGIS: satellite imagery, when you turn it on.
• Cesium ion: 3D building shapes for the map.
• Real Estate API: the licensed owner contact data above.

We do not sell personal information to any of them or let them use it for advertising.

How long we keep data

• Activity records: 400 days.
• App performance records: 30 days.
• Access requests, fine lookup emails and profiles: 24 months.
• Shared cost data: until you ask us to remove it.
• Sign-in sessions: up to 30 days after you last use one.
• Your account: until you delete it.
• Database backups: 35 days. Something deleted from CityLens can remain in a backup until that backup expires.

Where data is stored

CityLens stores its data in the United States. Some of our service providers may process data in other countries where they operate.

Your choices

• Global Privacy Control. If your browser sends it, we do not set the cl_vid cookie, we delete one set before you turned the signal on, and we do not link it to your account. Activity records for your visit keep no identifier, network, IP code or device. If you are signed in, they are still linked to your account, so your own history works.
• The cookie. You can delete it at any time in your browser settings.
• Your records. Signed-in users can see their own records, and can ask us for a copy or to delete them. Deleting your account removes it from every record and deletes the link between your account and your browser's cl_vid. The records themselves remain until they expire at 400 days, without your account.

Your rights

You can:

• see the activity records made while you were signed in;
• delete your account yourself, with Delete account in your account settings; and
• ask us for a copy of your data, or ask us to correct or delete it, by email to privacy@incentedge.com.

We respond within 30 days, and may first need to confirm that a request comes from you. If you live in California, you have the right to know, correct and delete the personal information we hold about you, and we will not treat you differently for using these rights. We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising.

Contact. Email privacy@incentedge.com, or write to 585 North Ave., #211, New Rochelle NY 10801