Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

HireCicle ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our platform at hirecicle.com (the "Service"). It also explains your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable data protection laws.

2. Data Controller

HireCicle is the data controller for personal data collected through this Service. If you have questions about how we handle your data, contact us at admin@hirecicle.com.

3. Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• Account data: name, email address, password (hashed), and account role.
• Profile data: work experience, education, skills, certifications, location preferences, and salary expectations (for job seekers); company name, description, and recruiter details (for employers).
• Usage data: pages visited, actions taken, and feature usage, collected via server logs and analytics.
• Payment data: billing information processed securely by Stripe. We do not store full card numbers.
• Communications: messages, support tickets, and notification preferences.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Contract performance: to provide the Service you signed up for.
• Legitimate interests: to improve the platform, prevent fraud, and ensure security.
• Consent: for optional features such as marketing emails. You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation: to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

5. How We Use Your Data

• To create and manage your account
• To match job seekers with relevant job postings
• To provide employers with ranked applicant lists
• To process subscription payments
• To send transactional notifications (application updates, status changes)
• To improve our AI matching algorithms using anonymised data
• To comply with legal obligations

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with:

• Employers — only the profile information you choose to make visible.
• Service providers — Stripe (payments), Vercel (hosting), and database providers, all operating under data processing agreements.
• Legal authorities — when required by law or to protect our rights.

7. Your Rights (GDPR)

Under GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure: request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten").
• Right to portability: receive your data in a machine-readable format.
• Right to object: object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to restrict processing: request that we limit how we use your data.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at admin@hirecicle.com. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 90 days, unless we are required to retain it by law.

9. Cookies

We use essential cookies to maintain your session and authentication state. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. You can configure your browser to block cookies, but some features of the Service may not function correctly.

10. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including TLS encryption for data in transit, hashed passwords, and access controls. While we take every precaution, no system is 100% secure. Please report any security concerns to admin@hirecicle.com.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or via an in-app notification. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, complaints, or wish to exercise your rights, contact our Data Protection Officer at admin@hirecicle.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.