Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly:

• Account details: name, email address, password (stored in hashed form)
• Candidate profile: headline, summary, skills, work history, education, expected salary, preferred job type, and open-to-work status
• Resume and documents: PDF resume and any files you upload
• Recruiter/company profile: company name, industry, size, website, description, and your designation
• Communications: messages you send through the in-platform messaging system
• Payment information: billing details processed through our payment provider (we do not store raw card numbers)

Information collected automatically:

• Usage data: pages visited, features used, search queries, and interaction logs
• Device and browser information: IP address, browser type, operating system, and device identifiers
• Session data: authentication tokens stored in secure, HTTP-only cookies

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account and authenticate you securely
• Match candidates with relevant job opportunities based on skills, location, and preferences
• Display candidate profiles and resumes to recruiters when an application is submitted
• Enable direct messaging between candidates and recruiters
• Send transactional notifications (application updates, new messages, credit alerts)
• Process payments and manage job-posting credits
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Improve and develop Platform features using aggregated, anonymised analytics
• Comply with applicable legal obligations

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

3. How We Share Your Information

With recruiters and employers:

When you apply for a job, your profile, resume, and cover letter are shared with the hiring company for the sole purpose of evaluating your application. Your contact details are only shared with a recruiter when you initiate a message or application.

With service providers:

We share data with trusted third-party providers that help us operate the Platform, including cloud infrastructure (Google Firebase / Google Cloud), payment processing, and email delivery. These providers are bound by confidentiality obligations and may only use your data to perform services on our behalf.

For legal reasons:

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of TalentWick, our users, or the public.

Business transfers:

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of TalentWick, your data may be transferred to the successor entity. We will notify you before your data is transferred and subject to a different privacy policy.

4. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored on Google Firebase (Google Cloud infrastructure), with servers located in geographically distributed data centres. We implement industry-standard security measures including:

• Encryption in transit (TLS/HTTPS) for all data exchanged with the Platform
• Encryption at rest for stored data via Google Cloud's default encryption
• Firebase Security Rules that enforce server-side access control on all database reads and writes
• Least-privilege service account permissions for all backend operations

No security measure is 100% foolproof. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you in accordance with applicable law.

5. Cookies and Session Tokens

We use session cookies solely to maintain your authenticated state. These are strictly necessary and do not track your browsing activity across other websites.

We do not use advertising cookies, third-party analytics pixels, or behavioural tracking technologies. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, but doing so will prevent you from staying logged in.

6. Candidate Profile Visibility

When your profile is set to "Open to Work", it becomes discoverable to registered recruiters using the Browse Candidates feature. Recruiters can see your name, headline, skills, location, experience summary, and preferred job type. Your full resume is only accessible to a recruiter when you explicitly submit an application or share it via message.

You can update your "Open to Work" status or remove your profile from recruiter search at any time through your profile settings.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services. When you delete your account:

• Your profile and personal information are permanently deleted within 30 days
• Uploaded files (resumes, images) are removed from storage within 30 days
• Transaction records may be retained for up to 7 years to comply with financial and tax regulations
• Anonymised aggregate analytics data may be retained indefinitely

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification — correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure — request deletion of your personal data
• Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Objection — object to processing of your data for certain purposes
• Withdrawal of consent — where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@talentwick.com. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.

9. Children's Privacy

TalentWick is not directed at persons under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect or process personal data from anyone under 16. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us immediately and we will delete it promptly.

10. International Data Transfers

TalentWick operates globally and your data may be stored or processed in countries other than your own. We rely on Google Cloud's standard contractual clauses and other lawful transfer mechanisms to ensure adequate protection of your data when it is transferred internationally.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make significant changes we will update the effective date above and notify you via email at least 14 days before the changes take effect. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions, data requests, or concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact: