Privacy Policy

1. How Settl Works: The Consumer-Controlled Model

Settl is different from traditional tenant screening companies. Here is exactly how data flows:

1. You initiate everything. You visit Settl, pay a one-time fee, and connect your bank account and identity documents. No data is pulled on you without your direct action.
2. Third-party providers verify your data. Plaid confirms your bank income directly from your bank. DiDit verifies your government ID and selfie. Argyle confirms your employment from payroll records. None of this raw data is stored by Settl. Results only.
3. You control what is shown. You choose your income ceiling (the maximum rent amount displayed to landlords, never your exact income). You choose which elements of your report to show or hide via your privacy settings.
4. You control who sees it. You receive a unique verification code. Landlords can only view your report if you give them that code. Settl never shares your report without your action.
5. Soft pull credit check included. The Settl Verified Passport includes a VantageScore 4.0 soft pull via TransUnion. Soft pulls are never visible to other lenders and have zero impact on your credit score. Settl does not report anything to credit bureaus.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly:

• Full name, email address, and phone number
• Desired rent amount
• Chosen income ceiling (the rent amount you select to display, not your actual income)

Verification results from third-party providers (not raw data):

• Identity verification status from DiDit (pass/fail, name match result)
• Bank income verification status from Plaid (verified/not verified, income ceiling you selected)
• Employment verification status from Argyle (confirmed/not confirmed, employer name if you choose to show it)
• Credit report results from Stitch Credit/TransUnion (VantageScore 4.0 20-point score range, up to 4 reason factors — never the exact score or full credit file)
• Criminal background check results from CIC (record found/not found, offense type within applicable lookback period)
• Eviction history results from CIC (record found/not found, within 7-year FCRA lookback)
• Debt-to-Income ratio (DTI), if you opt in. If you choose to display your DTI, Settl calculates it from your monthly debt obligations (identified from your Plaid bank connection) and your gross monthly income (from your Argyle payroll or Plaid income estimate). This ratio and a debt-adjusted rent ceiling are stored on your applicant record and shown to landlords who view your report. You may remove DTI from your report at any time from your readiness dashboard. DTI is never shown without your explicit opt-in. This calculation is informational only and does not constitute a credit determination.
• Verification tier (Settl Verified Passport or Pre-Qualified)

We do not store: your government ID images, your selfie, your raw bank transactions, your exact income amount, your bank account number, or your credit file.

Information collected automatically:

• IP address and approximate geolocation
• Browser type and device information
• Pages visited and interaction events (with your consent via PostHog)
• Verification code usage (when landlords view your report)

3. How We Use Your Information

• Generate your verification report: to produce and display your Settl Verified Passport badge and report
• Display your report to landlords you authorize: when a landlord enters your verification code
• Send you notifications: when your report is viewed, when your verification window closes, or when your application status changes
• Process your payment: one-time fee via Square
• Respond to disputes: if you file a dispute about your report under FCRA §1681i
• Comply with law: FCRA obligations, legal process, and law enforcement requests
• Improve the platform: anonymized usage analytics with your consent

4. Third-Party Data Processors

We share data with the following service providers, each contractually bound to process your data only as instructed by Settl:

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or any party not listed above.

5. Landlord Data Access

When a landlord enters your verification code at settlhome.com/verify, they see only what you have chosen to share:

• Your verification tier (Settl Verified Passport)
• Identity verified (yes/no)
• Your income ceiling, the maximum rent amount you selected, not your actual income
• Employment confirmed (yes/no) and employer name (only if you chose to show it)
• Cash reserves expressed as a month range (e.g. “3–5 months”), never an exact dollar amount
• Rent payment history (Settl Verified Passport only, if 9+ months available)
• VantageScore 4.0 20-point score range from TransUnion (not the exact score or full file)
• Criminal background check result: whether records were found, offense type within state lookback, and applicable FCRA lookback period
• Eviction history result: whether eviction records were found within the 7-year FCRA lookback

Landlords do not see your exact income, bank account details, raw transaction history, ID documents, phone number, or email address. Before viewing your report, landlords must confirm they have a permissible purpose under FCRA §1681b.

6. Credit Check & Score Impact

The Settl Verified Passport includes a VantageScore 4.0 soft pull via TransUnion (through CRS). A soft pull is never visible to other lenders or creditors and has zero impact on your credit score. Settl does not report any information to credit bureaus.

Your SSN is used internally to run the credit check but is never shared with landlords. Landlords see only your VantageScore 20-point range, never the exact score, SSN, or credit file details. Renters with thin files or no US credit history are noted rather than penalized: income, identity, and employment carry significant weight.

7. Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

Because Settl is a Consumer Reporting Agency under FCRA, you have specific rights regarding your Settl report:

• Right to know what is in your file. You may request a full disclosure of your Settl report at any time by emailing [email protected]. Your report includes: verification tier, income ceiling, employment status, VantageScore 4.0 20-point score range and reason factors, criminal background check result, eviction history result, identity verification status, and fraud signal indicators. Raw credit file, bank transactions, ID images, and selfie data are never stored by Settl.
• Right to dispute inaccurate information. If you believe your Settl report contains inaccurate or unverifiable information, you may file a dispute. We are required to reinvestigate within 30 days (or 45 days if you provide additional information during the reinvestigation period — FCRA §1681i).
• Right to know if your report was used against you. If a landlord takes adverse action (denies your application) based on your Settl report, they are required by FCRA §1681m to notify you and provide Settl's contact information.

Consumer inquiries: [email protected] or toll-free +1 (877) 419-4758

8. Data Retention

• Verification report: Valid for 30 days from generation. After expiry the verification code no longer returns results.
• Verification results (tier, income ceiling, employment status): Retained for up to 24 months for dispute resolution purposes, then deleted.
• Raw source data (bank transactions, ID images, selfie): Never stored by Settl. Held by Plaid, DiDit, and Argyle per their own retention policies.
• Payment records: Retained 7 years as required by financial regulations.
• Landlord view logs: Retained for compliance and dispute purposes, reviewed annually.

You may request deletion of your data at any time by emailing [email protected]. We will process all deletion requests within 30 days, subject to legal retention requirements.

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

• Access: request a summary of what data Settl holds about you
• Correction: request correction of inaccurate data
• Deletion: request deletion of your data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Portability: request your data in a structured format
• Withdraw consent: opt out of analytics tracking at any time

California residents (CCPA): You have the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to opt out of sale (we do not sell data), and the right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights.

To exercise any right, contact [email protected] or call +1 (877) 419-4758. We respond within 30 days.

10. Security

• TLS encryption for all data in transit
• AES-256 encryption for data at rest (Supabase)
• Row-level security on all database tables
• Rate limiting on all API endpoints
• Identity documents processed by DiDit in real-time, not stored on Settl servers
• PCI DSS Level 1 payment processing via Square

If you become aware of a security concern, contact [email protected].

11. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for individuals under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If we learn we have done so, we will delete it promptly.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy. Material changes will be communicated by email to registered users and posted here with an updated date. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance.

13. Contact