Privacy Policy

The Cargo Exchange is an online freight marketplace that connects verified freight brokers who post loads with motor carriers and dispatchers who transport them. The Platform is operated by:

We collect the following categories of information:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you create an account or use the Platform, we collect:

• Account and identity information: your name, company name, email address, phone number, and business address.
• Motor carrier / broker authority information: your MC number and/or DOT number, which we use to verify your operating authority.
• Business profile information: equipment types, service areas, years operating, and similar details you provide (for example, to generate a carrier packet cover page).
• Documents you upload: carrier packet documents such as operating authority letters, W-9 forms, certificates of insurance, agreements, and similar business documents you choose to store or send.
• Load and truck postings: details you enter when posting loads or trucks, including origins, destinations, rates, equipment, weights, commodities, dates, and notes.
• Communications: messages, bids, support tickets, and other communications you send through the Platform.
• Cost and profitability inputs: if you use our cost-per-mile tools, the cost figures you enter (which are private to your account).
• Newsletter/marketing sign-up: your email address if you subscribe to updates.

2.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you use the Platform, we and our service providers may automatically collect:

• Usage and device information: IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed, and interactions with the Platform.
• Cookies and similar technologies: used to keep you logged in, remember preferences, and understand how the Platform is used.
• Analytics: we use Google Analytics to understand Platform usage. Google Analytics may set its own cookies and collect usage data subject to Google's privacy policy.

2.3 Information From Third Parties

• FMCSA records: we obtain information about your operating authority and safety data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to verify your company and display trust information. This is public regulatory data.
• Payment processor: our payment processor (Stripe) provides us with limited information about your subscription and payment status. We do not collect or store your full payment card details ourselves (see Section 4).

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account and verify your identity and operating authority;
• Operate the marketplace — displaying loads and trucks, enabling search, matching, booking, bidding, and messaging;
• Prevent fraud and maintain trust, including verifying companies against FMCSA records, running fraud-detection checks, and reviewing accounts before granting access;
• Process subscriptions and payments through our payment processor;
• Generate documents you request, such as rate confirmations and carrier packets;
• Provide rate, profitability, fuel, and routing information;
• Communicate with you, including account notifications, support responses, and (where you have opted in or as permitted by law) marketing emails;
• Improve and secure the Platform; and
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.

Subscription payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. We do not collect, process, or store your full payment card number, CVV, or similar sensitive payment credentials on our own systems. When you manage billing, you interact with Stripe's secure systems directly. Stripe's handling of your payment information is governed by Stripe's own privacy policy. We receive only limited information necessary to manage your subscription (such as your plan, subscription status, and billing dates).

We share information in the following circumstances:

5.1 With Other Platform Users

The Platform is a marketplace, so certain information is shared as part of its core function:

• Your company name, verification status, reputation metrics, and general location/service information are visible to other users to facilitate trust and transactions.
• When you post a load or truck, the details you post are visible to eligible users.
• When you book, bid, message, or send a carrier packet, relevant information (including documents you choose to send) is shared with the specific other party to that transaction.
• Exact street addresses for a load's pickup and delivery are shared with the booked carrier and the broker once a load is booked, and are otherwise limited.

Information you voluntarily publish on the marketplace (such as loads, trucks, and postings) may be visible to other users as necessary for the Platform to operate.

Your uploaded documents are private to your account and are only shared with a broker when you explicitly choose to send them.

5.2 With Service Providers

We share information with third-party service providers who help us operate the Platform, only as needed to provide their services. These include:

• Stripe — payment processing;
• Supabase — database hosting and file storage;
• Vercel — application hosting;
• Resend — sending transactional and notification emails;
• FMCSA — verification (data source);
• U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — fuel price data;
• OSRM / OpenStreetMap / Nominatim — mapping, routing, and geocoding;
• Google Analytics — usage analytics.

Each service provider handles information subject to its own privacy terms.

5.3 For Legal and Safety Reasons

We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or legal process, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, prevent fraud or harm, enforce our Terms, or protect the safety of users or the public.

5.4 Business Transfers

If North Star Logic Group LLC is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

5.5 Advertising and "Sale" or "Sharing" of Information

We do not sell your personal information in exchange for money. Certain privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended), define "sale" or "sharing" broadly to include some uses of cookies and analytics or advertising technologies. To the extent any such technologies we use are considered a "sale" or "sharing" under applicable law, we will honor applicable opt-out rights. You can control cookies through your browser settings and, where offered, through opt-out mechanisms.

We take security seriously and use technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including private storage for uploaded documents, access controls, encrypted connections, and server-side authorization. For example, uploaded carrier documents are stored in private storage accessible only to you and any party you explicitly send them to.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

We retain your information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Platform, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Certain records — such as booking records, rate confirmations, invoices, subscription records, and transaction history — may be retained after account closure as needed for legal, tax, accounting, and dispute-resolution purposes.

After an account is closed or information is deleted, some information may remain in our backup systems for a limited period before being overwritten or deleted in accordance with our backup retention practices.

• Account information: you can view and update much of your account information within the Platform.
• Verified numbers: your MC/DOT numbers cannot be changed directly because they are used for verification; contact support if they genuinely change.
• Marketing emails: you can opt out of marketing/newsletter emails at any time using the unsubscribe link. Transactional and account-related messages are not marketing and may still be sent.
• Cookies: you can control cookies through your browser settings, though some features may not function properly without them.
• Access, correction, deletion: depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. To make a request, contact us at support@thecargoexchange.com.
• Limits on deletion: if you request deletion, we may not be able to remove information we are legally required to retain, or that we need to retain for legitimate business purposes — such as transaction history, invoices, subscription records, and records related to fraud prevention or investigations.

The Platform is intended for businesses and individuals aged 18 and older. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

The Platform is operated in the United States and intended primarily for U.S. freight operations. If you access it from outside the United States, you understand your information will be processed in the United States.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version with a revised "Last Updated" date, and where appropriate, notify you. Your continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your information, contact: