Kiwi Alarms LLC ("Kiwi Alarms," "we," "us," or "our") is a locally owned and operated security alarm company based in Reno, Nevada. Our owner, Scott Ferguson, personally installs and services the systems we sell. This policy explains, in plain language, what information we collect from you, why we collect it, how we use it, and the choices you have. We wrote it ourselves, for our own business — it is not a generic template.
1. Information we collect
We collect only what we need to quote, install, monitor, service, and bill for a security system, and to respond when you contact us.
Information you give us directly
- Contact details — your name, phone number, email address, and the address of the home or business to be protected. You provide these when you fill out a form on our website, build a quote online, book a consultation, call or text us, or sign a service agreement.
- Property and system details — the number of doors, windows, and rooms; where cameras, sensors, and smoke or CO detectors are installed; whether you own or rent; and any existing alarm equipment. We need this to design and install a system that fits your property.
- Account and billing information — the name and contact on the account, service plan, and payment details. Card payments are processed by our payment processor; we do not store full card numbers on our own systems.
- Emergency contact and monitoring information — the people the monitoring center should call if your alarm goes off, your alarm passcode or verbal password, and any medical or access notes you choose to give us.
- Communications — messages you send us by email, text, our website forms, or through our quote tool, and notes from phone calls and site visits.
Information collected automatically on our website
- Basic technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device type, the pages you view, and the site that referred you. See Website cookies and analytics.
- Anti-spam signals from Google reCAPTCHA when you submit a form, used only to tell people from bots.
2. How we use your information
- To prepare and send you a quote, and to follow up on it.
- To schedule and carry out consultations, installations, and service visits.
- To set up and maintain 24/7 professional monitoring of your alarm system.
- To send appointment confirmations, installation and service reminders, and important notices about your system or account.
- To bill you and to process payments.
- To answer your questions and provide customer support.
- To transfer alarm permits and coordinate with local authorities where required.
- To keep our website working, secure, and free of spam.
- To meet our legal, tax, and licensing obligations.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it to build advertising profiles.
3. SMS / text messaging
Mobile opt-in data and consent are never shared or sold. Phone numbers collected for SMS, and your consent to receive text messages, will not be shared with, sold to, rented to, or otherwise disclosed to any third party or affiliate for their marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging opt-in data is used only to send you the messages described below.
Kiwi Alarms LLC offers SMS text messaging so we can keep you informed about your quote, your appointments, and your security system. Here is how it works:
- Who is texting you: Kiwi Alarms LLC, Reno, Nevada.
- What the messages are about: appointment and installation reminders and confirmations, quote follow-ups, service and scheduling notices, and updates about your alarm system or account. These are conversational, customer-care messages about services you have asked about or purchased.
- How you opt in: by ticking the SMS-consent box on one of our website forms, or by ticking the consent box shown next to your phone number when you approve a quote online or open Scott's digital business card. In every case the box is never pre-checked — you tick it yourself, on your own device, after entering or confirming your own number. Agreeing to receive text messages is not a condition of purchasing any product or service from us, or of approving a quote.
- How consent is recorded: we keep a record of your phone number, the date and time you opted in, how you opted in (which website form or which app page), and the exact version of the consent wording you agreed to.
- Message frequency: varies depending on your quote, appointments, and service needs. You will not receive recurring marketing blasts.
- Cost: message and data rates may apply according to your mobile carrier's plan.
- How to stop: reply STOP to any message at any time to opt out. You will receive one final confirmation that you have been unsubscribed, and no further texts will be sent unless you opt in again.
- How to get help: reply HELP to any message, call or text 775-247-7782, or email scott@kiwialarms.com.
- Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Full details of our text-messaging program, including the terms of the program, are on our SMS opt-in and consent page.
4. When we share information
We share your information only with the people and companies that help us deliver your service, and only as much as they need to do their job:
- Alarm monitoring center. Your name, protected address, emergency contacts, passcode, and system details are provided to the professional monitoring center that watches your system 24/7 so they can dispatch police, fire, or medical responders when an alarm is triggered.
- Equipment and platform providers. The manufacturers and cloud platforms behind your panel, sensors, cameras, and smart-home app process the data your system generates (for example, arm/disarm events and camera clips) so the equipment can work. Their own privacy policies govern that processing.
- Payment processor. To take card payments securely.
- Business tools we use to run Kiwi Alarms — for example scheduling, quoting, email, and messaging services that send the confirmations and reminders you have asked for. These providers may only use your information to perform services for us.
- Local government. Alarm permit registrations and transfers with the City of Reno, City of Sparks, Washoe County, or other jurisdictions that require them.
- When required by law — to comply with a subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or to protect the safety, rights, or property of our customers, our business, or the public.
We do not sell personal information to anyone, and — as stated above — we never share SMS opt-in data or phone numbers with third parties for their marketing.
5. Alarm monitoring and your system
A monitored security system generates data: when it is armed and disarmed, which sensor tripped, camera clips and doorbell events, and similar activity. That data is stored and processed by your equipment manufacturer's platform and by the monitoring center, under their privacy policies, so that your system can protect you and responders can be dispatched. Kiwi Alarms accesses it only to install, troubleshoot, and service your system, or at your request.
6. Website cookies and analytics
kiwialarms.com uses Google Analytics and a self-hosted Matomo instance to understand how visitors use the site — which pages are read, how people find us, and whether the site is working properly. These tools set cookies and collect technical information such as IP address, browser, and pages viewed. We use this only in aggregate to improve the site; we do not use it to identify you personally. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site will still work.
Our forms use Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise to block spam, which is subject to Google's privacy policy and terms of service.
7. How we protect your information
Our website is served over HTTPS. Card payments are handled by a PCI-compliant processor rather than stored by us. Alarm passcodes and emergency-contact details are kept only where needed for monitoring and service. Because Kiwi Alarms is owner-operated, the number of people with access to your information is very small — in most cases, only Scott. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect what you share with us.
8. How long we keep it
We keep customer account, system, and billing records for as long as you are a customer and for as long afterward as we need them for warranty, service history, tax, and legal purposes. Quote requests that do not become customers are kept for a reasonable period so we can follow up, then deleted. SMS opt-in and opt-out records are retained as long as needed to honor your preferences and to demonstrate consent.
9. Your choices and rights
- Access and correction. You can ask us what information we hold about you and ask us to correct it.
- Deletion. You can ask us to delete your information. We will do so except where we must keep it for monitoring safety, warranty, tax, or legal reasons.
- Text messages. Reply STOP to opt out at any time; reply HELP for assistance.
- Email. Tell us at any time if you would prefer not to receive email from us.
- Cookies. Manage or block them in your browser.
To exercise any of these choices, contact us using the details below. Nevada residents may also direct requests regarding the sale of covered information to the same address; we do not sell covered information.
10. Children
Our services are sold to adults — homeowners, renters, and business owners. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will post the updated version here with a new effective date. Material changes to how we handle text-message consent or share information will be called out clearly at the top of this page.
See also our Terms & Conditions and our SMS opt-in and consent page.