Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

SkillLink ("we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through compliance with this policy. This overview details the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when subscribing to the platform.

2. Information We Collect

We divide collected information into three primary clusters:

3. How We Use Your Data

We use information we collect about you or that you provide to us strictly to:

• Power the AI-matching engine that actively pairs job hunters to vacancies.
• Verify provider licenses and identities to uphold platform safety.
• Process payments, issue automated escrow tax forms (like 1099s), and prevent financial fraud.
• Provide customer support logs for rapid dispute resolution.

4. Information Sharing & Disclosure

We absolutely never sell your personal data to third-party data brokers.

We only share your data in the following restricted scenarios:

• With Employers/Clients: Only your public profile and anonymized stats are shown in search. Full contact/resume data is only revealed after you explicitly accept an interview request or service booking.
• With Payment Processors: Escrow and transactional metadata are securely transmitted to Stripe (our PCI-compliant banking partner).
• For Legal Compliance: We may disclose information if required to comply with binding court orders, lawful subpoenas, or to prevent imminent physical harm.

5. Data Security & Retention

All databases are encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3). Identity verification documents (passports, driver's licenses) are permanently expunged or heavily redacted natively within 30 days of successful verification. We retain your general operational data only for as long as your account remains active.

6. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR & CCPA)

Depending on your jurisdiction, you maintain robust rights regulating your data:

• Right of Access: You can download an entire structural JSON payload of your platform data via the Dashboard settings.
• Right to be Forgotten: Triggering an account deletion permanently anonymizes your operational records and hard-deletes your personal entity within 72 hours.
• Right to Opt-Out: You can unsubscribe from marketing communications and disable algorithmic profile-boosting without facing functional penalties.

7. Cookies & Tracking

We deploy localized cookie storage exclusively for session management, CSRF protection, and anonymous aggregate analytics. Please reference our Cookie Policy for exhaustive details.

8. Changes to This Policy

SkillLink may update this policy periodically. If the modifications are material, we will provide at least 30 days' advance notice via email and platform banners.