Data Collection & Usage

1. Information You Provide Directly

We collect personal information you voluntarily provide, including:

• Account Information: Name, email address, password, phone number, username
• Profile Information: Professional skills, work experience, education, certifications, bio, location, timezone
• Identification Information: Government-issued ID for verification purposes (processed securely and not stored permanently)
• Communication Data: Messages, chat conversations, inquiries, support requests, feedback, reviews
• Payment Information: Billing address and payment method details (processed by third-party payment processors — we do not store full payment card numbers)
• Portfolio & Work Samples: Code repositories, project files, work samples, proof-of-work submissions
• Resume & Application Data: Resumes, cover letters, job applications, assessment responses
• Company Information: Business name, industry, company size, job postings (for employer accounts)

2. Automatically Collected Information

• Usage Data: Pages viewed, features used, time spent, click patterns, search queries, navigation paths
• Device Information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen resolution, device identifiers
• Location Data: Approximate geographic location based on IP address (we do not collect precise GPS location)
• Referral Data: How you arrived at our Platform (referral URLs, search engine keywords, marketing campaign identifiers)
• Log Data: Server logs, access times, error reports, and debugging information
• Cookies and Tracking: See our Cookie & Tracking Policy for details

3. Information from Third Parties

We may receive information from:

• OAuth Providers: When you sign in via Google, GitHub, or HuggingFace, we receive basic profile information you authorize
• Payment Processors: Transaction confirmation, billing status, and fraud signals from Stripe, PayPal, and other processors
• Identity Verification Services: Verification results and confidence scores (not raw identity documents)
• Public Sources: Publicly available professional information from GitHub, HuggingFace, and similar platforms you connect
• Employer Partners: Application status updates, feedback, and onboarding information from employers you apply to through our Platform

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery: Create and manage your account, provide workforce readiness services, facilitate marketplace connections and talent matching
• Verification: Verify your identity, credentials, and eligibility for services and trust badges
• Communication: Send service updates, respond to inquiries, provide customer support, deliver notifications
• Platform Improvement: Analyze usage patterns, improve features, develop new services, conduct research
• AI & Personalization: Power AI features, personalize recommendations, improve matching algorithms
• Security: Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, security threats, and unauthorized access
• Legal Compliance: Comply with applicable laws, regulations, tax requirements, and legal processes
• Marketing: Send promotional communications (with your consent where required by law). You can opt out at any time.
• Analytics: Generate aggregated, anonymized insights about platform usage and marketplace trends

5. Disclosure of Information

We may disclose your personal information to the following categories of recipients:

5.1 Service Providers

Third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf (hosting, analytics, payment processing, email, customer support, AI services) under contractual obligations to protect your information and use it only for specified purposes.

5.2 Other Users

Depending on your role and privacy settings: employers may see candidate profiles, candidates may see employer and agent profiles, and agents may see client information necessary for service delivery.

5.3 Career Specialists

Independent career specialists with whom you choose to connect for workforce readiness services.

5.4 Legal Requirements

Law enforcement, government authorities, or legal proceedings when required by law, subpoena, court order, or to protect our rights, safety, or the rights and safety of others.

5.5 Business Transfers

In connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity under equivalent privacy protections.

5.6 With Your Consent

We may share your information with other parties when you explicitly consent to such sharing.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. Retention periods vary based on:

• Active accounts: Data retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period after closure
• Legal obligations: Tax records, transaction data, and compliance records as required by law
• Dispute resolution: Data relevant to pending or potential legal claims
• Security: Security logs and fraud prevention data
• Analytics: Aggregated, anonymized data may be retained indefinitely

When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it in accordance with our data retention schedule and applicable legal requirements.

7. Sensitive Information

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information (also known as "special categories of data") such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health data, sexual orientation, or biometric data for identification purposes.

If any user-submitted content (such as profile descriptions) inadvertently contains sensitive information, it is your responsibility to omit such information. We are not liable for sensitive data you voluntarily include in your profile or communications.