Last updated: July 1, 2026 · Applies to WorldRankList and all its pages and services.
The short version. We collect what we need to run a fair ranking platform — your account and listing details, the reviews and enquiries you send, and basic engagement signals. We never sell your personal contact details, and no amount of data or money can buy a higher rank.
1. Overview
WorldRankList ("we", "us", "our") operates a verified business-ranking platform. Every business receives a single transparent WRL score (0–1000) calculated by an algorithm from real signals, and is ranked only against other businesses in the same city and category. This policy explains what information we handle when you browse the site, register an account, list a business, write a review, or send an enquiry.
2. Information we collect
a. Information you give us directly.
- Account details (business owners): your name, email address, phone number and a password (stored only as a secure hash, never in plain text).
- Business listing details: business name, description, tagline, category, city, address and postal code, phone, email, website, business hours, founded year, services offered, languages, business type, a map link and social-media profile links.
- Reviews: the rating, your written comment and the display name you post under. Reviews can only be submitted by signed-in account holders.
- Enquiries (leads): when you contact a business through its listing, we record the name, phone number and message you provide so the business can respond.
- Support messages: anything you send through our contact form or by email.
b. Information we collect automatically.
- Engagement events: we log non-identifying interaction events tied to a listing — page views and clicks on the Call, WhatsApp, Website, Enquire and Share buttons. These power a business's analytics and, for some event types, its ranking signal.
- Saves: if you save a business to your account, we record that association so it appears in your saved list.
- Technical data: standard server log information your browser sends with each request, and the session/security cookies described below.
3. Cookies & session data
We use a small number of strictly-necessary cookies — we do not use third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Specifically:
- Session cookie: keeps you signed in and remembers one-time status messages as you move between pages.
- Security (CSRF) token: protects forms against cross-site request forgery.
These cookies are essential for the site to function. Blocking them may prevent you from signing in or submitting forms.
4. How we use your information
- To publish business listings and calculate the WRL score and rank.
- To connect potential customers with businesses through enquiries.
- To let business owners manage their listing and view their own analytics (views, button clicks, leads, reviews and rank history).
- To verify listings and protect the platform from fraud, fake reviews and spam.
- To send essential service emails — email verification and password resets.
- To operate, secure, maintain and improve the platform.
5. How your data feeds rankings
Rankings are produced solely by our algorithm from genuine signals: review quality, real engagement (calls, WhatsApp, enquiries, website clicks, saves, shares and views), verified leads, verification status, profile completeness and freshness. We do this transparently so businesses understand exactly why they rank where they do. Importantly:
- Engagement actions — including saves, shares and contact-button clicks — feed the ranking on an intent ladder, but are de-duplicated per visitor, recency-weighted and capped, so they cannot be spammed and never outweigh real reviews and verified customers.
- We never sell ranking positions, and no payment, subscription or data submission can raise your score or rank.
6. Public information
Business listings are public by their nature — listing details, the WRL score and rank, published reviews and aggregate ratings are visible to anyone and may be indexed by search engines and AI systems. Reviews appear under the display name you choose. Your account email, password and phone number are not shown publicly; enquiry details you send to a business are shared only with that business, not published.
7. When we share information
We do not sell your personal contact details. We share information only as follows:
- With the relevant business — the enquiries you submit are passed to that business so it can reply.
- Aggregated, non-personal ranking data may be offered through our data/API products. This never includes private account details.
- Sponsored placements are a clearly-labelled paid product shown above organic results; they are bound by the same privacy rules and never change anyone's organic rank.
- Legal & safety — where required by law, or to prevent fraud, abuse or harm.
8. Data retention
We keep account and listing information for as long as your account or listing is active, and engagement and ranking-history data for as long as it is useful to provide analytics and maintain ranking integrity. When you delete your account or listing, we remove or anonymise the associated personal data, except where we must retain limited records to meet legal obligations or resolve disputes.
9. How we protect your data
- Passwords are stored using one-way cryptographic hashing — never in plain text.
- All forms that change data are protected against cross-site request forgery (CSRF).
- Database queries use parameterised (prepared) statements to guard against injection.
- Administrative tools are restricted to authenticated staff and can moderate content but can never set a score or rank.
No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your information.
10. Your rights & choices
- Access & update: registered owners can view and edit their account and listing details at any time from the owner dashboard.
- Deletion: you can request removal of your listing and account by contacting us; on account deletion your businesses become unclaimed and your personal details are removed.
- Reviews: you may ask us to remove a review you authored.
- Depending on your location, you may have additional rights (access, correction, erasure, portability or objection). Contact us to exercise them.
11. Children's privacy
WorldRankList is intended for businesses and adults. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the platform evolves. When we make material changes we will revise the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of WorldRankList after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.
Questions or requests about this policy or your data? Email info@worldranklist.com or use our contact page.
This document is provided as a clear, good-faith description of our practices and is not legal advice. For a production deployment, have it reviewed against the laws that apply to your business and users.
