Privacy Policy
Effective Date: August 17th, 2026
Last Updated: August 17th, 2026
NorthStar Sitters (“NorthStar Sitters,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information of parents, guardians, families, babysitters, caregivers, applicants, and other visitors who use our website and services.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, when we may share it, the choices available to you, and how we work to protect your information.
By visiting thenorthstarsitters.com, submitting a booking request, applying to become a sitter, contacting us, or otherwise using our services, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
1. Information We Collect
We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you use our website or services.
Information From Parents and Guardians
This may include:
Full name
Email address
Phone number
Home address or childcare location
Emergency contact information
Booking dates and requested childcare times
Number and ages of children
Children's names, when needed to coordinate services
Childcare preferences and household instructions
Information about allergies, medications, medical concerns, disabilities, accessibility needs, or other care-related information that you choose to provide
Special instructions concerning your children
Communication preferences
Payment and billing information
Messages, questions, feedback, and other communications sent to North Star Sitters
We encourage families to provide only information that is reasonably necessary for us and the selected caregiver to safely coordinate childcare services.
Information From Babysitters and Caregiver Applicants
When someone applies to join our sitter network, we may collect information such as:
Full name
Date of birth or age
Email address
Phone number
Home address or general location
Employment history
Childcare experience
Education and qualifications
Certifications, including CPR or First Aid certifications
Availability
Transportation information
References
Resume information
Interview information
Identity-verification information
Background-screening information
Driver or vehicle information, when applicable
Other information voluntarily included in an application
Additional notices, disclosures, authorizations, or consent forms may apply when background checks or other screening services are conducted.
2. Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, certain information may be collected automatically through cookies, analytics technologies, web hosting services, and similar tools.
This information may include:
IP address
Browser type
Device type
Operating system
Pages visited
Time and date of visits
Referring website
General geographic location
Website interactions
Cookie identifiers and similar technical information
We may use this information to maintain our website, understand website traffic, improve user experience, prevent fraud, and evaluate our marketing efforts.
3. Cookies and Analytics
NorthStar Sitters may use cookies and similar technologies to operate our website and understand how visitors interact with it.
Cookies may be used for purposes such as:
Website functionality
Security
Remembering preferences
Website analytics
Measuring advertising or marketing performance
Improving website design and content
Your browser may allow you to block, limit, or delete cookies. Disabling certain cookies may affect how some website features operate.
If required by applicable law, we will provide additional options for managing cookies or opting out of certain tracking technologies.
4. How We Use Personal Information
We may use information we collect to:
Process babysitting or childcare requests
Connect families with potential babysitters or caregivers
Communicate with parents, guardians, sitters, and applicants
Coordinate bookings
Confirm sitter availability
Review sitter applications
Conduct interviews and reference checks
Facilitate background or identity screening
Process payments and booking fees
Provide customer support
Respond to questions and requests
Send booking confirmations and service-related communications
Improve our website and services
Maintain safety and security
Prevent fraud or misuse of our services
Maintain business and accounting records
Send promotional communications where permitted
Comply with applicable legal requirements
Protect the rights, safety, and property of NorthStar Sitters, our users, children, caregivers, and others
5. Children's Information
NorthStar Sitters provides services involving childcare, which means parents or legal guardians may provide information about their children when requesting care.
Examples may include:
Child's first name
Age
Allergies
Medical or dietary considerations
Behavioral or developmental information
Accessibility needs
Emergency information
Care instructions
We collect this information from parents or guardians for purposes related to arranging and providing appropriate childcare services.
Our website is not intended for children under 13 to independently create accounts, submit booking requests, or provide personal information directly to NorthStar Sitters.
If we become aware that a child under 13 has submitted personal information directly to us without appropriate parental or guardian involvement or authorization, we may take steps to delete the information as required by applicable law.
Parents or legal guardians may contact us regarding information relating to their children.
6. Health and Sensitive Information
Families may sometimes provide sensitive information that is relevant to providing safe childcare, such as allergy information, medication instructions, disability-related information, medical conditions, or other health-related information.
We ask families not to provide more sensitive information than is reasonably necessary for the childcare service being requested.
Where applicable, NorthStar Sitters will handle consumer health information in accordance with applicable privacy laws and may provide additional notices or obtain consent where legally required.
We do not sell consumer health information for monetary compensation.
Depending on the information collected through our booking forms and services, additional consumer health privacy notices or policies may apply.
7. How We Share Information
We may share personal information only when reasonably necessary to operate our services or as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy.
Babysitters and Caregivers
We may provide selected caregivers with information reasonably necessary to perform a childcare booking, including:
Parent or guardian name
Childcare location
Children's ages
Relevant care instructions
Emergency contact information
Allergy or safety information
Booking dates and times
Caregivers are expected to use this information only for purposes related to the requested childcare service.
Parents and Guardians
We may provide parents or guardians with relevant information concerning caregivers being considered for a booking, such as:
First name
Childcare experience
Qualifications
Certifications
Availability
General background-screening status, when appropriate
Service Providers
We may work with third-party companies that help us operate our business, including:
Website hosting providers
Scheduling platforms
Payment processors
Background-screening providers
Email providers
Form providers
Analytics providers
Customer-service providers
Accounting or business-management providers
These providers may receive information necessary to perform services for us.
Legal and Safety Reasons
We may disclose information when we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to:
Comply with applicable law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or legal process
Respond to lawful government requests
Investigate suspected fraud or misuse
Protect the safety of a child, parent, caregiver, or other person
Protect the rights or property of North Star Sitters
Enforce our agreements or policies
8. Sale and Advertising Use of Personal Information
NorthStar Sitters does not sell personal information for monetary compensation.
Some website analytics, advertising, or cookie technologies may be considered “selling,” “sharing,” or targeted advertising under certain privacy laws even when no money is exchanged.
If North Star Sitters uses technologies subject to these requirements, we will provide legally required notices and opt-out choices where applicable.
We do not sell children's personal information.
9. Payment Information
If you make a payment through our website, payment information may be collected and processed by a third-party payment processor.
NorthStar Sitters may not directly receive or store your complete credit or debit card number when payments are processed through a third-party payment service.
Payment providers maintain their own privacy policies and security practices.
10. Background Checks and Sitter Screening
NorthStar Sitters may use third-party providers to assist with background checks, identity verification, driving-record checks, reference checks, or other screening procedures.
Information provided for screening may be transmitted to the applicable screening provider.
When required, applicants will receive any separate notices, disclosures, authorizations, or consent requests associated with the screening process.
A screening process does not guarantee that a caregiver will never engage in inappropriate, unlawful, unsafe, or negligent conduct.
11. Communications and Marketing
If you provide your email address or phone number, we may use it to communicate with you regarding:
Booking requests
Booking confirmations
Schedule changes
Sitter availability
Account or service information
Customer-service requests
Important policy or service updates
Where permitted, we may also send promotional or marketing communications.
You may unsubscribe from promotional emails by using the unsubscribe option provided in the message or by contacting us.
Opting out of promotional communications will not prevent us from sending necessary transactional or service-related communications.
12. Data Security
NorthStar Sitters uses reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure.
However, no website, database, email system, or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You provide information electronically at your own risk.
If a security incident occurs, NorthStar Sitters will take steps appropriate to the circumstances and provide legally required notifications when applicable.
13. Data Retention
We may retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to:
Provide our services
Maintain booking and business records
Resolve disputes
Prevent fraud
Meet accounting or tax requirements
Respond to legal claims
Comply with applicable legal obligations
When information is no longer reasonably necessary, we may delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it in accordance with our practices and applicable requirements.
14. Your Privacy Choices
Depending on where you live and the laws that apply, you may have rights concerning your personal information.
These may include the right to request that we:
Provide information about personal data we maintain
Correct inaccurate information
Delete certain information
Stop certain uses of information
Provide a copy of certain information
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
Opt you out of certain advertising or data-sharing activities
Privacy rights vary by jurisdiction and are subject to legal exceptions.
To submit a privacy request, contact us using the information listed in the Contact Us section below.
We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.
15. Third-Party Websites and Services
Our website may contain links to websites, social-media platforms, payment services, or other third-party services.
NorthStar Sitters does not control the privacy practices of independent third parties. Their collection and use of information are governed by their own privacy policies.
We encourage users to review the privacy practices of any third-party service they use.
16. Social Media
NorthStar Sitters may maintain social-media accounts.
If you communicate with us or interact with our content through a social-media platform, that platform may independently collect information about you.
Your interactions with those services are subject to their respective privacy policies.
17. Business Transfers
If NorthStar Sitters is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, financing, sale of assets, or transfer of ownership, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable legal requirements.
18. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically as our services, business practices, technology, or legal obligations change.
When changes are made, we will update the Last Updated date at the top of this page.
Material changes may also be communicated through our website or other reasonable methods when appropriate.
We encourage users to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
19. Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact:
The North Star Sitters
Website: thenorthstarsitters.com
Email: hello@thenorthstarsitters.com
Phone: 804-709-5440
Please include enough information for us to understand and respond to your request.
Privacy Policy Disclaimer
This Privacy Policy describes North Star Sitters' intended privacy practices and should be updated to accurately reflect the technologies, vendors, forms, payment providers, cookies, background-check services, and information actually used or collected by the business.
This policy does not constitute legal advice. North Star Sitters should consult a qualified attorney regarding privacy requirements applicable to its particular business operations.