Privacy Policy

Last updated: 8/18/2026

1. Introduction 

Bent Ear Solutions LLC (“BES,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Statement explains what information we collect when you visit bentearsolutions.com (the “Site”), how we use it, and the choices you have.

This Privacy Statement explains what personal information we collect from visitors to the Site, how we use and disclose that information, and the rights and choices you have in connection with that information, including how you can limit certain uses and disclosures of your information. When we refer to “personal information,” we mean information about an identified individual or about an individual whom we could identify. Subject to applicable law, personal information generally does not include publicly available information or aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified data. See the Aggregated, Anonymous, and De-Identified Information section for more information.

This Privacy Statement does not apply to third-party websites, products or services, even if they link to the Site. We recommend you review the privacy practices of those third parties before connecting or accessing third party websites and disclosing any personal information. See the Third-Party Sites section for more information.

Without prejudice to your rights under applicable laws, this Privacy Statement is not contractual and does not form part of your contract with BES or its affiliates or subsidiaries. In addition, this Privacy Statement includes additional information for individuals in certain states. We include additional information for those individuals because the Site is available throughout the United States, and individuals in those states may be entitled to receive additional information. It is not evidence that our website is directed specifically to individuals or companies in any of those states.

The Site is protected by reCAPTCHA.

2. Who We Are 

BES is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and Esri Gold Partner providing GIS and technology optimization services to government agencies, utilities, and emergency management organizations. Our registered address is 1103 Priscilla Lane, Alexandria, Virginia 22308. For privacy questions, please contact us using the information in the Contact Us section.

The Site is controlled by BES from its offices in Alexandria, Virginia and hosted by an ISP in New York.

3. Information We Collect 

We collect information in two ways: information you provide directly, and information collected automatically when you use the Site.

Information you provide to us:

  • Contact and subscription details you submit through our forms, including your name, email address, and organization.

  • Your response to optional questions on our forms (for example, whether you wish to be notified about career opportunities at BES).

  • Any information you include when you email us or submit a résumé for a posted role.

Information collected automatically:

  • Analytics data collected by our website platform or other analytics providers, such as pages viewed, approximate location, referring website, browser type, and device information, gathered through cookies and similar technologies.

  • We use Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors interact with our Site through metrics, heatmaps, and session replay. See the Heatmap and Session Replay Technology section for more information.

  • Information collected by reCAPTCHA, which we use to protect the Site from spam, abuse, and fraud.

  • We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and use the Site. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect information such as the pages you view, the time and duration of your visit, the website you came from, and general device, browser, and approximate location information derived from your IP address. We use this information in aggregate to measure and improve the performance of the Site. Google may use the data it collects in accordance with its own privacy disclosures. For more information about how Google collects and processes data, see Google's Privacy Policy and Google's "How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services." You can opt out of Google Analytics across websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

  • We may collect personal information from third-party social media platforms and websites, such as when you engage with our social media pages, online communities and forums, and when you mention us on your own or other social media pages, online communities, or forums. Please note that online forums may be publicly accessible, and other individuals may view information you post in the forums. If you are involved in a business relationship with us, we may also obtain some limited information about you indirectly, for example from your colleagues or your company, or from publicly available sources such as the Internet and/or subscription-based services.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Respond to your inquiries and provide the information or services you request, or otherwise communicate with you.

  • Deliver our newsletter and other communications you have subscribed to.

  • Operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site.

  • Consider you for career opportunities when you submit a résumé or opt in.

  • Comply with legal or regulatory obligations.

  • Detect and prevent fraud.

  • Market or advertise to you.

5. How We Disclose Your Information

We may disclose information as follows:

  • We may disclose personal information to our vendors and service providers who help us operate the Site and our communications (for example, our website platform and email service provider), who are permitted to use the information only to provide services to us.

  • We may disclose personal information to third-party providers for marketing and analytics purposes. We may also disclose personal information to third-party providers for commercial prospecting, product development, and to conduct product and brand perception and awareness surveys.

  • We may disclose personal information to government entities and agencies, regulators, law enforcement, and other third parties, including to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant, or pursuant to legal process, and to establish or exercise our legal rights or for fraud or crime-prevention purposes or for the protection of the rights, property, or safety of our company or third parties.

  • We may also disclose personal information in relation to a known or suspected violation of our terms of use, fraud prevention or other unlawful use, including with entities assisting us with an investigation, or as may be required by applicable law.

  • We may disclose personal information to professional service firms in connection with our legal and regulatory obligations and to establish or exercise our rights and defend against claims, including, for example, auditors, law firms, and consultants.

  • Subject to applicable law, we reserve the right to transfer some or all personal information in our possession to a successor organization in the event of a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, or other sale or transfer of all or a portion of our assets. If any such transaction occurs, the purchaser will be entitled to use and disclose the personal information collected by us in the same manner that we are able to, and the purchaser will assume the rights and obligations regarding personal information as described in this privacy statement.

6. Aggregated, Anonymous, and De-Identified Information

We may create aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized information from personal information by removing certain data components (such as your name, email address, or linkable tracking ID) that makes the data identifiable, or through aggregation, obfuscation, or other means. For example, we may use aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized information to understand how to improve or enhance the Site. Subject to applicable law, our use of such aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized information is not personal information or subject to this Privacy Statement.

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Usage Information and Cookies

When you access the Site, our servers automatically collect and record the Internet Protocol (“IP”) address associated with your computer. We may also collect additional information such as a device ID, browser type and version, the operating system of your device, language, country, the date and time of visits, your IP address, the pages viewed, time spent on the Site, and the websites visited just before and just after the Site. This information is used to help us administer the Site, and it is transmitted automatically by your web browser. This information may be appended to your profile information to remember your preferences and diagnose technical problems.

We may use cookies to collect this information. A cookie is a small text file sent by a website and stored on your device at the request of that website. We use cookies to operate the Site, understand how visitors use it, and improve performance. Cookies store information related to a user's browser to enable us to recognize your device on return visits to the Site and to remember your preferences.

Most browsers allow you to control cookies, including whether or not to accept them and how to remove them. If you want to block the use and saving of cookies from the Site on the device, you should take the necessary steps within your web browser’s settings to block all cookies from the Site and external serving vendors. Please note that if you choose to erase or block your cookies, certain parts of the Site may not function correctly. For information on how to disable cookies, refer to your browser’s documentation.

We may also use web beacons, pixels, or similar collection mechanisms, and in certain circumstances may collect IP addresses, screen resolution, browser software, operating system types, clickstream patterns, dates and times that our site is accessed, and other categories of data. When you access the Site, you consent to, and authorize the use of, cookies, web beacons, pixels, and similar technologies and any associated data transfers.

Interest-Based Advertising

We do not display advertisements on the Site, but your visits to the Site may be used for Interest-based advertising on other websites by third parties. We may choose in the future to participate in interest-based advertising to place advertisements on unaffiliated websites using information you provide us when you interact with the Site. Interest-based ads, also known as personalized ads, are ads that are targeted to you based on your web browsing and app usage over time and across websites or apps. For example, the Site may use third-party ad servers, retargeting services, and web analytics systems, such as Google, to analyze aggregate web usage statistics and provide us the ability to display advertisements about our services to you when you have left our site. In addition, certain pages of the Site contain embedded information from Third-Party Sites (for example, our content on LinkedIn) and loading or interacting with that embedded information may be used for Interest-based advertising on other websites by third parties.]

You have the option to restrict the use of information for interest-based advertising and to opt-out of receiving interest-based ads. Some of these third parties may use cookies and other technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services to deliver advertising based on your interests and preferences, as inferred from your browsing history. Some of these ads may be personalized, meaning that they are intended to be relevant to you based on information that those third-party providers collect about your visits to this site and elsewhere over time.

To learn more about this type of advertising and how to opt-out of this form of advertising, you may either visit optout.aboutads.info to opt-out of websites and services participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) self-regulatory program, or visit optout.networkadvertising.org to opt-out of this form of advertising by members of the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”). Note that electing to opt-out will not stop advertisements from appearing in your browser or applications, although it may make the ads you see less relevant to your interests. This opt-out works through cookies set on a particular browser, so if you delete cookies from a web browser, or use a different browser, you may need to opt out again.

Your choice to opt out on a particular browser or device may apply only to the collection and use of information from that particular browser or device. Opting out on a particular device may not opt you out of information collection on other devices, nor will it necessarily limit cross-device sharing on those other devices. If you use different browsers on a device or multiple devices, for each browser and device you wish to opt out, please opt out each device and browser separately at optout.aboutads.info and at optout.networkadvertising.org.

Heatmap and Session Replay Technology

We partner with Microsoft Clarity and Microsoft Advertising to capture how you use and interact with the Site through behavioral metrics, heatmaps, and session replay. Website usage data is captured using first and third-party cookies and other tracking technologies to determine the popularity of products/services and online activity. We use this information as described in the How We Use Your Information section. For more information about how Microsoft collects and uses your data, visit the Microsoft Privacy Statement. We do not use these technologies to collect information that is inconsistent with your intent. We do not provide information gathered to third parties other than our service providers.

Do Not Track Technology

The Site is not designed to support Do-Not-Track functionality. Do-Not-Track is a preference you can set on your web browser to inform websites that you do not want to be “tracked” by third parties. The Site does not respond to Do-Not-Track Signals as it does not track you when you leave it. Our third-party service providers, who provide ad serving, retargeting services, and web analytics services to us, may not respond to Do-Not-Track signals. If an individual comes to the Site directly with a Do-Not-Track signal enabled on their browser, we do not look for the Do-Not-Track signal or respond to it; even if he Site looks for the Do-Not-Track signal, it does not respond to it.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as needed or permitted in light of the purpose(s) for which the information was obtained and consistent with applicable law. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include but are not limited to the following:

  • The length of time we have an ongoing relationship with you or provide services to you;

  • Whether there is a legal obligation to which we are subject;

  • Whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position; and/or

  • Whether our operational needs require maintaining your personal information, such as for maintaining solicitation preferences (including for former customers and non-customers) or systems administration.

9. Your Choices and Rights

  • Unsubscribe: every newsletter email includes an unsubscribe link, and you may opt out of marketing communications at any time by contacting us using the information in the Contact Us section. You may not be able to opt out of receiving certain messages from us, such as transactional communications or legal notices.

  • Cookies: you may manage cookies through your browser and, where offered, through our cookie notice.

10. Third-Party Sites 

The Site contains links to other websites and platforms, including social networking websites, mobile applications, or Internet locations (collectively, “Third-Party Sites”). The Site may include embedded content that may provide information to third parties about your interactions with our web pages that you visit, even if you do not click on or otherwise interact with the plug-in, widget, or embedded content. Information is transmitted from your browser and may include an identifier assigned by the third party, information about your browser type, operating system, device type, IP address, and the URL of the web page where the widget appears. We have no control over and are not responsible for Third-Party Sites, their privacy practices, their content, or any goods or services available through the Third-Party Sites, including embedded content. Our Privacy Statement does not apply to Third-Party Sites; any information you provide to a Third-Party Site is subject to that Third-Party Site’s privacy disclosures or privacy practices.

The fact that we link to a website is not an endorsement or representation of an affiliation with that website. You should carefully review the applicable privacy policies before using or engaging with any Third-Party Site on the Site.

11. Children’s Privacy 

The Site is intended for a professional, business audience and is not directed to children or other individuals under 18. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children or other individuals under 18. No one under age 17 may provide any personal information to use or on the Site. If you are under 18, please do not attempt to register for the Site or send any information about yourself, including your name, address, telephone number, or email address. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information from an individual under 18 without parental consent, we will take steps to delete the data as permitted by law. If you believe a child or other individual under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us using the information in the Contact Us section.

12. Changes to This Policy 

We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above. Any changes are effective when we posted the revised Privacy Statement on the Site. We encourage you to routinely review this Privacy Statement to learn about updated to our privacy practices.

13. Contact Us 

If you have questions about this Privacy Statement or our privacy practices, contact us at:

Bent Ear Solutions

1530 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 650. Arlington, VA 22209
privacy@bent-ear.com

14. Additional Information for Individuals in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, and Virginia

We may be subject to certain laws in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, and Virginia based on our interactions with residents of those states and our use of their personal information. Those states’ laws provide their residents certain enhanced rights with respect to certain of their personal information when acting in an individual or household context, but not when they are acting in a commercial or employment context. If you are using our products and services in the context of your employment or in a commercial context, these laws may not apply to you. That means if you are using our products and services in connection with employment, these disclosures are unlikely to apply to you or your personal information.

In this section, “Regulated Personal Data” refers to personal information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, or Virginia resident. Regulated Personal Data does not include de-identified or publicly available information, as defined in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, or Virginia law. Regulated Personal Data also excludes other types of data, such as data processed or maintained in the course of your applying to, employed by, or acting as an agent or independent contractor, to the extent that the data is collected and used within the context of that role.

If you are a Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, or Virginia resident, you may have certain or all of these rights:

First, you may be able opt out of some or all of these things:

1. Processing your Regulated Personal Data for purposes of targeted advertising;

2. The sale of your Regulated Personal Data; or

3. Profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning you.

Second, you may be able to ask us to confirm if we are processing your Regulated Personal Data and to provide a copy of your Regulated Personal Data.

Third, you may be able to receive your Regulated Personal Data in a portable and, if technically feasible, readily usable format.

Fourth, you may be able to ask us to correct inaccuracies in your Regulated Personal Data.

Fifth, you may be able to ask us to delete your Regulated Personal Data.

Sixth, if you are a Connecticut or Maryland resident, you may be able to ask us to provide the categories of third parties to which we have disclosed your Regulated Personal Data.

Seventh, if you are a Connecticut resident, you may be able to ask us for certain information about any profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significant effects concerning you.

To exercise your rights, please email us using the information in the Contact Us section. If you email us, please put in the subject line of your email “Maryland/Virginia Data Subject Request” and explain in your email which of the rights listed above you are requesting. You may submit multiple requests at once in an email.

There is ordinarily no cost for Connecticut or Maryland residents to submit their first request in a year. There is ordinarily no cost for Kentucky or Virginia residents to submit their first two requests in a year. If you submit more requests than that in a twelve-month period, we may charge you a reasonable fee to cover the administrative costs of complying with your requests or decline to act on your requests. We can use commercially reasonable efforts to authenticate you are who you say you are, and if we are unable to do so, we may ask you to provide more information reasonably necessary to authenticate you. If we cannot authenticate you or your authority, we will deny the request.

If you submit a request, we will tell you what the result is of your request (including, if you submit a Right to Access, your Regulated Personal Data) without undue delay and within 45 days after we receive your request. In some cases, we may extend that deadline by 45 days, to 90 days in total. If we extend the deadline, we will tell you that and why.

Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, and Virginia law each include exceptions for personal information regulated under other laws or maintained for certain reasons or in certain contexts. For example, this law does not apply to publicly available information, including information that we reasonably believe Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, or Virginia residents have lawfully made available to the general public. As another example, we will not delete Regulated Personal Data when we need to maintain it to comply with a legal obligation.

If we don’t grant your request, we will tell you why we did not.

You may appeal our decision by emailing us using the information in the Contact Us section with the subject line “Appeal of Data Subject Request” and including our response to your request. We will also include this information in our response to your request. If you appeal our decision, we will have 60 days to respond to your appeal. If you do not agree with the result of our appeal, you can complain to the attorney general in your state.

15. Additional Information for Individuals in Nevada

We may be subject to Nevada’s laws governing the security and privacy of personal information (Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 603A) based on our interactions with Nevada residents and our use of their personal information. Chapter 603A provides Nevada residents enhanced rights with respect to certain of their personal information. If you are using our products and services in the context of your employment or in a commercial context, this law may not apply to you. That means if you are using our products and services in connection with employment, these disclosures are unlikely to apply to you or your personal information.

Nevada law provides Nevada residents with a limited right to opt out of the sale of certain types of your personal information that we may collect through the Internet, which Nevada law refers to as “covered information.” We do not sell covered information under Nevada law.

Nonetheless, if you wish to exercise your right to direct us not to sell your covered information, please email us using the information in the Contact Us section, with the subject line “Nevada Right to Opt Out.” We are permitted to use commercially reasonable means to authenticate you are who you say you are. If we cannot authenticate you, we will deny the request.

If you submit a do-not-sell request, we will respond to your request within 60 days after we receive your request. We may extend that deadline by 30 days, to 90 days in total, if we determine it is reasonably necessary. If we extend the deadline, we will tell you that.