Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

We collect limited information necessary to provide electricity plan comparisons and maintain site functionality. This may include:

• ZIP code entered to display available plans
• Electricity usage information entered by you, such as average monthly usage or usage values used to estimate plan costs
• Anonymous session identifiers used to maintain site functionality during your visit
• Basic technical data such as browser type, device type, page views, and referring page
• Outbound click activity when you choose to visit a retail electric provider's website
• A temporary summarized usage profile derived from an optionally uploaded usage file, containing information such as average monthly kWh, monthly totals, night and weekend usage percentages, date range, and interval count. This summary is kept in your browser for the current comparison session, and the parts needed to price plans are sent to our servers only to calculate your results, as described under Manual Smart Meter Usage File Upload below.
• Your email address, if you sign up for TrueBill Watch or create an optional TrueBill account, together with the usage, contract, and preference details you choose to save with it
• If you choose to connect Smart Meter Texas when that feature is available, the information described under Smart Meter Texas Data below, including your ESI ID and the electricity usage data Smart Meter Texas supplies with your authorization

We do not store raw IP addresses in our application database. We may derive and store a one-way cryptographic hash of your IP address (HMAC-SHA256), which cannot be reversed to recover your original IP address. We use this hash for security and abuse prevention, such as rate limiting, blocking abusive sources, and telling automated traffic apart from real visitors; for fraud prevention, system integrity, and diagnostics; and as evidence of consent and of important account actions, such as when you sign up for TrueBill Watch. It is not used to build a profile of you or for advertising.

You do not need an account to compare plans. Some optional features, such as TrueBill Watch and, when it is available, a direct Smart Meter Texas connection, require a verified email address or a TrueBill account.

Information We Do Not Collect

We do not collect:

• Names, other than an optional first name you may give us for TrueBill Watch emails, or the account holder name shown on your electricity bill if Smart Meter Texas requires it to match a connection you request
• Social Security numbers
• Government identification
• Utility account numbers, meter numbers, service addresses, or billing credentials, except where such information appears incidentally in an optional usage file that is processed locally in your browser and not retained by TrueBill, or where you choose to connect Smart Meter Texas and we collect the identifiers described under Smart Meter Texas Data below
• Payment or financial account information
• Raw uploaded usage files, file contents, or interval-level readings from Smart Meter Texas CSV or Green Button XML exports that you upload. Interval data we receive through a direct Smart Meter Texas connection you have authorized is handled as described under Smart Meter Texas Data below
• Utility metadata from uploaded files, such as meter numbers, service identifiers, account references, or service addresses, except where such information appears incidentally in an optional usage file that is processed locally in your browser and not retained by TrueBill

TrueBill does not request or store sensitive personal information. We never ask for your Smart Meter Texas username or password.

Manual Smart Meter Usage File Upload (Optional)

TrueBill offers an optional feature that lets you upload a usage data file — such as a Smart Meter Texas CSV export or a Green Button XML file — to receive a more accurate cost comparison based on your actual usage pattern. Uploading a file is entirely optional. You can compare plans without uploading any file.

This section covers files you download yourself and upload to TrueBill. A direct Smart Meter Texas connection, in which you authorize TrueBill to retrieve your usage data from Smart Meter Texas, works differently and is described under Smart Meter Texas Data below.

When you upload a usage file, your browser reads it. The raw file and its interval-level readings stay in your browser: they are not transmitted to TrueBill's servers, are not stored in our application database or file storage, and are not retained in server logs, analytics systems, or error tracking.

The browser produces only a temporary summarized usage profile — for example, average monthly kWh, monthly totals, night and weekend usage percentages, a date range, and an interval count. To price plans against that profile, the calculated summaries the calculation needs, such as your monthly kWh totals and applicable time-of-use percentages like your night and weekend usage shares, may be sent to TrueBill's servers. Those values are used to calculate your results and are not stored as part of that calculation. They are saved only if you use a feature that expressly saves specified summary data, such as TrueBill Watch, described below.

Usage files may contain utility-related metadata such as meter numbers, service identifiers, account references, or service addresses. TrueBill does not retain that metadata from uploaded files.

The summarized profile exists only in your browser or session state. It is cleared when you remove the upload, close the tab, or leave the page.

One exception: if you are signed in to TrueBill Watch and use an uploaded file to fill in your usage there, the monthly kWh totals you choose to save are stored with your Watch record, as described under TrueBill Watch below. The raw file, its interval readings, its file name, and its utility metadata are still read only in your browser and are not sent to or kept by TrueBill.

Smart Meter Texas Data (Optional Direct Connection)

TrueBill Energy is registering with Smart Meter Texas as a third party so that, when this feature is available, you can choose to let TrueBill retrieve your electricity usage data directly from Smart Meter Texas instead of downloading and uploading a file yourself. Smart Meter Texas is an online service operated by Texas electric delivery utilities, not by TrueBill. Connecting is optional. You can compare plans and use TrueBill Watch without it.

Your authorization comes first. We access Smart Meter Texas data only after you authorize TrueBill through the applicable Smart Meter Texas authorization process, which may require you to have a Smart Meter Texas account and to confirm the request there. Because the data is tied to your electric service, connecting also requires a signed-in TrueBill account so that only you can see it. We never ask for your Smart Meter Texas username or password.

If you choose to connect Smart Meter Texas, we may receive:

• Your ESI ID, the identifier for your electric service location, and any meter or account identifiers Smart Meter Texas provides with it
• Your electricity usage, including interval usage data (for example, 15-minute readings), daily or monthly totals, and the dates and times of those readings
• Other meter-related information Smart Meter Texas supplies, such as your electric delivery utility and the status and dates of your authorization
• Details you give us to set up the connection, such as the ESI ID printed on your electricity bill and, if Smart Meter Texas requires it to match your authorization, the account holder name or service address shown on that bill

We use Smart Meter Texas data to:

• Compare electricity plans and estimate what each plan would cost at your actual usage
• Analyze your bills and usage patterns, such as seasonal, night, and weekend usage
• Provide personalized recommendations and identify potential savings
• Provide TrueBill Watch monitoring, alerts, and reminders you have requested
• Provide other functionality you explicitly request

We do not use Smart Meter Texas data for targeted advertising, and we do not sell it.

What we store and what we only process.Unlike a file you upload, which your browser reads locally, data from a direct connection is retrieved by TrueBill's servers. When this feature is available:

• We store the usage data we receive with your TrueBill account as usage records. These may include interval-level readings as well as the monthly summaries we derive from them, along with details about the source, the date range covered, and data quality.
• We store the identifiers needed to request and maintain your authorization, such as your ESI ID.
• We store a connection record: whether the connection is a one-time import or an ongoing connection, its status, when it was requested, approved, expires, or was revoked, the references Smart Meter Texas gives us for the authorization, and a log of each retrieval showing when it ran, the date range requested, and whether it succeeded.
• Raw responses from Smart Meter Texas are processed on our servers to produce those records. We do not write them to our application logs or analytics.

How long we keep it. We keep Smart Meter Texas data and connection records for as long as your TrueBill account is open and you have not deleted them, subject to the Data Retention section below. We do not currently apply a fixed retention period or automatic deletion to this data. When a newer retrieval replaces an older usage summary, we may keep a limited number of earlier versions and prune the rest.

Revoking your authorization. You can revoke your authorization at any time, either through Smart Meter Texas or, where the control is available, by disconnecting in your TrueBill account. Disconnecting in TrueBill stops future retrievals on our side; revoking in Smart Meter Texas ends our access at the source. Either way, we will not request new data under that authorization once it has ended. Revoking does not by itself delete information we already received. We may keep that information for the purposes above, or where we need it for legitimate business, security, legal, accounting, fraud-prevention, or compliance purposes, subject to our normal retention practices. To have it deleted, delete the saved usage in your account where that control is available, or ask us to delete your account and data as described under Your Choices.

Who else sees it.To set up and maintain your authorization, we send Smart Meter Texas the identifiers it needs, such as your ESI ID, together with TrueBill's own registered third-party credentials. Smart Meter Texas handles that request under its own terms and privacy policy. Service providers that host our application and database, run our background jobs, and deliver our email may process this data on our behalf, and may use it only to provide their contracted services to us. Comparing retail electric providers' plans does not involve sending your usage data to those providers. If we ever transmit your information to a retail electric provider as part of an enrollment, quote, referral, or other action you direct, we will do so only where necessary for that requested service or with your authorization. TrueBill does not currently offer enrollment or switching services.

TrueBill Watch (Optional)

TrueBill Watch is an optional email service. Watch Free sends reminders as your electricity contract approaches its end date. Watch+ features, where you have access to them, add plan monitoring, savings alerts, and a usage dashboard. Watch features are released in stages, and some are available only to invited participants. Watch currently uses email-based verification and does not require you to create a separate Watch password, and we may require you to verify control of your email address before accessing or managing Watch. You can use everything else on the site without Watch.

If you sign up for TrueBill Watch, we collect and store:

• Your email address and, if you give it, your first name
• Your contract end date, and any details you add about your current plan, such as the provider, plan name, term, rate type, and early termination fee
• Your ZIP code and electric delivery utility
• Your electricity usage as you enter it: a typical monthly kWh figure, monthly totals you type in or that your browser reads from an uploaded file, and, if you provide them, a recent bill amount, energy rate, and that bill's usage
• Your savings targets, plan preferences, alert settings, and the status of your Watch record
• A record of your consent: the versions of the consent text, Privacy Policy, and Terms in effect when you signed up, the time, and a hashed IP address
• Records of the emails we send you, including their content, and the delivery, bounce, and complaint events our email provider reports back to us
• For Watch+ monitoring, the results of each evaluation we run for you, including the market information it was based on

We use this information to verify your email address, send the reminders and alerts you asked for, calculate the estimates and recommendations they describe, keep the service working and secure, and keep a record that you requested it. We do not collect payment information for Watch. We send only the service emails you signed up for, and reminder and alert emails include an unsubscribe link. We do not send promotional email unless you separately opt in.

Verification and unsubscribe links in Watch emails are single-use and expire: verification links after 24 hours and unsubscribe links after about 30 days. We store only a hash of each link token. Other links in Watch emails open your Watch account, which asks you to sign in first. TrueBill staff with restricted administrative access can view Watch records to operate and support the service.

Automatic cleanups run daily: a signup that is never verified is deleted after 14 days, expired link tokens are removed the day after they expire, and records of sent emails are pruned after 180 days. Other Watch information, including evaluation history, is kept while your Watch record exists and is not deleted on a schedule.

After you sign in, you can pause, update, or delete a tracked contract, stop all Watch email, or delete all of your Watch data from your Watch account, which every Watch email links to. Deleting all your data removes your Watch identity, tracked contracts, saved inputs, evaluation history, and consent records together. We keep a hashed record of your email address so we do not email you again, and an audit entry recording the deletion that identifies you only by that hash. We hold your address for a few hours only to send you a deletion confirmation. You can also make these requests by contacting us as described under Your Choices.

Referral Links and Campaign Tracking

We use referral links and similar tracking methods to understand which outreach efforts bring visitors to the site and how visitors interact with the service. This may include referral source, campaign, landing page, and general site events such as searches and outbound clicks. We do not sell this data.

If you arrive at TrueBill through a referral link (such as a link shared in a community forum or social platform), a short slug identifying that referral source is stored in a browser cookie and associated with your session. This information is used only to measure how well a particular outreach effort is performing. It is not used to build advertising profiles or shared with third-party advertisers.

How We Use Information

We use collected information to:

• Calculate estimated electricity costs based on your usage
• Display relevant electricity plans for your location
• Provide usage analysis, bill analysis, personalized recommendations, and the TrueBill Watch reminders, monitoring, and alerts you request
• Retrieve, normalize, and store Smart Meter Texas data you have authorized us to access, for the purposes described under Smart Meter Texas Data
• Maintain site functionality and performance
• Improve accuracy, reliability, and user experience
• Understand aggregated usage trends
• Monitor security, errors, and site performance
• Measure the effectiveness of outreach and referral campaigns

We do not use your information for targeted advertising.

Plan Data and Source Documents

TrueBill displays electricity plan information, estimated costs, and links to Electricity Facts Labels or other plan documents to help users compare available options. Plan documents may be hosted by third parties, including retail electric providers or public electricity shopping resources.

We use plan and document information to provide comparisons, improve accuracy, and maintain site functionality. We do not use plan comparison inputs to create individual advertising profiles.

Third-Party Provider Websites

TrueBill may link to retail electric provider websites so users can verify plan availability, pricing, and enrollment options directly with the provider. These links may direct you to a provider homepage, plan-search page, or other provider-controlled page.

TrueBill does not control provider websites, provider enrollment processes, or provider privacy practices. Any information you provide to a provider is governed by that provider's own terms and privacy policy.

Proprietary Customer Information (Brokerage Services)

As a registered electricity broker, TrueBill Energy LLC treats the following as proprietary customer information when you provide it to us:

• Electricity usage data, including smart-meter and Green Button exports, data retrieved from Smart Meter Texas with your authorization, and any summarized usage profile derived from them
• Historical consumption, monthly usage totals, and usage patterns
• Your ESI ID and any other meter or service identifiers you give us or that Smart Meter Texas supplies
• Electricity Facts Label, plan, rate, and contract information you tell us about your own service
• Your contract end date and renewal timing
• Your ZIP code and transmission and distribution service territory
• Your email address and any other identifying information you choose to give us

We use this information to provide the comparison, estimation, informational, and reminder services you asked for and, in aggregated or de-identified form, for the site analytics described above. We do not sell it. We do not release identifiable proprietary customer information to a retail electric provider or any other third party except with your authorization, where it is necessary to provide a service you requested, or where required by law, legal process, or a regulatory authority.

You may withdraw any authorization you have given, ask what information is associated with you, or ask us to delete it, by writing to compliance@truebillenergy.com or using our contact form.

We keep records of brokerage-related activity for at least two years where a record is needed to demonstrate compliance with Public Utility Commission of Texas rules or to investigate a complaint. Records kept for that purpose are retained for compliance only and are not used to build marketing or advertising profiles.

Data Sharing

We do not sell personal information.

Information may be shared only in the following limited circumstances:

• With service providers that host our application and database, run background jobs, deliver our email, or help us understand site usage, maintain functionality, monitor performance, and protect site security. These providers act on our behalf and may use the information only to provide their contracted services to us
• With Smart Meter Texas, to request and maintain a data authorization you have chosen to give us, as described under Smart Meter Texas Data
• When you choose to leave TrueBill and visit a retail electric provider's website
• With a retail electric provider only where necessary for a service you requested or with your authorization, as described under Smart Meter Texas Data and Proprietary Customer Information. We do not send your usage data to retail electric providers in order to compare their plans
• When required to comply with applicable law, legal process, or security obligations

TrueBill does not control how third-party providers handle information once you leave our site.

Cookies, Sessions, and Analytics

We may use cookies, session storage, or similar technologies to:

• Maintain site functionality during your visit
• Measure site usage and performance
• Monitor errors, security, and reliability

Anonymous session identifiers are temporary and are not used to track users across unrelated websites.

If you use the optional usage file upload feature, a temporary summarized usage profile may be held in browser or session state during your visit so comparison results can use that profile.

If you sign in to TrueBill Watch or a TrueBill account, we use a cookie to keep you signed in during your session.

You may disable cookies in your browser settings, though some features may not function as intended.

Data Retention

Information entered on the site is retained only as long as necessary to:

• Provide comparisons and site functionality
• Maintain system performance and security
• Debug errors and improve reliability
• Analyze aggregated trends

User-entered ZIP code and electricity usage information may be processed during your session and may be retained in limited logs or analytics records where necessary for security, debugging, performance monitoring, or aggregated analysis. Outside of TrueBill Watch, TrueBill accounts, and a Smart Meter Texas connection you authorize, we do not maintain this information as long-term, user-identifiable profile data.

Optional uploaded Smart Meter Texas CSV or Green Button XML files are read in your browser. We do not retain the raw uploaded file, raw file contents, utility metadata from the file, or interval-level readings in our servers, database, file storage, logs, analytics, or error tracking systems. A temporary summarized usage profile may remain in browser or session state only as needed during the current comparison, and the calculated summaries sent to our servers to price plans are not stored unless you expressly save them through a feature such as TrueBill Watch.

Information saved to a TrueBill Watch record or TrueBill account, including any Smart Meter Texas data, is kept while that record or account exists and until you delete it or ask us to delete it. Apart from the automatic cleanups described under TrueBill Watch, we do not apply a fixed retention period or automatic deletion to this information. When you delete a Watch record or we delete your account at your request, we remove it from active storage. We keep a hashed record of your email address so we continue honoring any email opt-out, along with the audit and compliance records we are required or permitted to retain as described under Proprietary Customer Information, and copies may remain in our backups until those backups are rotated.

Security

We implement reasonable administrative and technical measures to protect information during transmission and storage. No system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Data retrieved through a direct Smart Meter Texas connection is stored in our application database under the same access controls we use for other account information, so that it can be read only through your own signed-in account or by TrueBill for the purposes described in this policy. TrueBill's own Smart Meter Texas credentials are kept on our servers and are never sent to your browser.

Your Choices

You may:

• Use the site without providing names, account numbers, payment information, or other sensitive personal information
• Disable cookies through your browser settings
• Revoke a Smart Meter Texas authorization at any time, through Smart Meter Texas or by disconnecting in your TrueBill account where that control is available, as described under Smart Meter Texas Data
• Delete a TrueBill Watch record and its data from the manage page linked in any Watch email, or ask us to delete your TrueBill account and the information associated with it
• Request deletion of any retained information where applicable

To make a request or ask questions, contact us using our contact form or write to compliance@truebillenergy.com. To protect your information, we may ask you to confirm a request from the email address on your Watch record or account before we act on it.

Texas Residents

TrueBill Energy is intended for Texas electricity shoppers. Texas residents may have privacy rights under Texas law where applicable. Outside of TrueBill Watch, TrueBill accounts, and Smart Meter Texas connections, TrueBill does not require accounts and does not collect names, utility account numbers, payment information, or government identification, so our ability to identify a specific anonymous visitor is limited. If you have a Watch record or a TrueBill account, we can act on requests tied to the email address on that record.

To ask a privacy-related question or request deletion of any retained information associated with your use of the site, contact us using our contact form.

Children's Privacy

TrueBill Energy is intended for adults comparing household electricity plans. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us using our contact form, or write to compliance@truebillenergy.com.

TrueBill Energy LLC · 5900 Balcones Drive, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78731 · 737-667-7201