Local knowledge.
Honest information.
Where the information comes from
The original 150 launch listings were researched from official business websites. The expanded catalog also uses licensed bulk place data and official facility records. Imported entries are labelled and are not individually verified; see our data sources and licensing. A website check is not an endorsement or ownership verification. Opening hours can change, especially on holidays. Missing hours and ratings are never invented.
We do not scrape or store Google Maps profiles, ratings, reviews, or photos. Google’s standard platform terms restrict directory use. nearworthy collects its own customer reviews. Only published reviews contribute to its ratings. Third-party review links lead to the original sites; outside scores are not imported or blended into nearworthy scores.
Location and distance
Address searches are sent to the US Census Geocoder only when you choose “Set search location.” Search addresses are not saved to our database. “Use my location” requests browser permission only when clicked. It allows up to 45 seconds and may use a device location cached within the last five minutes, labelled as recent when over one minute old. Location watching stops after the first result, an error, cancellation, or leaving the page. Your device coordinates are sent only to nearworthy for distance calculations and a local lookup in licensed Wake County address data, not forwarded to another map service, and are not saved in our database. The nearest mapped street address is an approximation, never a confirmed residence or apartment. Coarse locations show an area only or no address. Coverage is limited to the supplied Wake County address dataset. Browser or hosting request logs may contain request URLs. Census coordinates are interpolated address-range estimates, not rooftop locations. Distances are approximate straight-line miles, not driving distances. Unmatched businesses remain browsable but are excluded from radius filters.
Claims and new businesses
Sign-in identifies the submitter. A DNS TXT challenge checks control of the business’s official website, then an administrator independently reviews the submission. Website access alone does not prove legal ownership. No claim automatically grants listing control. Businesses without a website need an alternative verification process arranged with the directory administrator.
When connected, AI reviews the business name, address, website, services, and domain-control result for inconsistencies. It does not make ownership decisions or receive identity documents. AI review is unavailable until the directory operator enables its AI service.
Customer reviews
Signed-in visitors may submit genuine experiences. Reviews and owner responses are moderated using rating-neutral rules. Read our review policy for publication, reporting, and withdrawal details.
Discovery and popularity
The default “Discover & popular” order starts as a rotating discovery mix, not an invented popularity chart. As activity builds, it blends this mix with recent signed-in visitor activity, normalized within each niche. Website and call-button clicks carry more weight than detail views. At least five distinct participating accounts are required for a business to receive an activity boost, and confidence increases gradually. The last 30 completed UTC days inform rankings, with older events weighted less. Ratings remain separate. Calling or purchasing is not verified by a button click.
Anonymous traffic, known bots, the administrator’s activity, and an approved owner’s activity on their own listing do not influence the ranking. We count each action at most once per account, business and UTC day, with a daily account cap. These safeguards reduce manipulation but cannot eliminate it. Views count only after a detail page remains visible for four seconds. The rotating discovery score also applies to new and unmeasured businesses, but does not guarantee a particular position.
For this purpose we store the business, action type, UTC date, and a pseudonymous one-way account identifier, not raw email addresses, IP addresses or search addresses. Individual activity is not displayed publicly or sent to an outside analytics provider. Records older than 32 days are removed on the next qualifying activity request; inactive storage can persist until that cleanup runs. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals disable activity collection. The ranking date stays pinned through the following UTC day so pagination remains stable. Older sessions restart with the current order; refresh to see a new daily mix.
Your information
Submission details and your signed-in email are stored to process your request. Only the directory administrator can review contact details. Approved business information becomes part of the listing; submitter contact details and verification tokens do not. Do not submit passwords, government IDs, or financial information. For support, privacy requests, or listing corrections, contact support@nearworthy.com. Include the relevant listing or review link, and do not email passwords or identity documents.
Images and future expansion
Category artwork represents a niche, not a photograph of the actual business. We do not copy business photography without permission. Future owner photos must be supplied with permission to display them. The data model supports US cities and states; Raleigh is the initial coverage area.
Launch notes
nearworthy is the selected brand name. Domain and trademark availability have not been verified; clearance is still needed before a public commercial launch. This site is a public preview. Contact support@nearworthy.com for support and privacy requests. The operator privacy policy must be finalized before a full commercial launch. AI ownership-review assistance is not enabled.
Photo credit
“Raleigh, NC” by Quintin Soloviev, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Resized and cropped for display.
