Privacy Policy

1. What we collect

Account data: your email, display name, and how you sign in (Firebase Authentication: email/password or Google). If you turn on two-factor sign-in we store your authenticator secret (encrypted at rest by our database provider) and hashed recovery codes; if you add a passkey we store its public key and a name you choose, never your fingerprint or face data, which stay on your device.

Invitation request: if you ask for an invitation, your name, email, profession, the links you share, an optional note, how you found us, and your consent (date and policy version).

Membership application: your name, email, headline, profession, domain, work type, years of experience, skills, your CV (a file you upload, kept privately in our Google Cloud storage and opened through a private link, or a link you share) and portfolio links, how you confirmed your email (Google or email and password), and your consent to these terms with confirmation that you are 18 or over (date and policy version). Reviewers use it to decide on your application, and if you are approved it becomes the starting point of your profile, which you can edit.

How you found us: the campaign tags in the link you arrived on (utm_source, utm_campaign and similar), the referring site and the first page you visited. This is stored in your browser and sent only with your application, so we know which channels bring members.

Profile & content data you choose to add: profile details (including an optional contact email and phone), portfolio items, testimonials, posts, comments, messages, wiki pages, endorsements, skill badges with evidence links, clan and project memberships, event RSVPs, mentorship requests, job applications, and files/images you upload.

Usage & trust data: reputation, Shadow rank, invitation history, referral rewards, and audit-log entries for admin actions (used for community accountability, not advertising).

Purchases (once online payments open): the plan or add-on bought, invoice number, amount and GST, refund requests, and for Elite Access members the profile and engagement details shown to subscribers.

Technical data: standard server request logs (IP address, user agent, timestamps) retained briefly for security/abuse monitoring, and a device push-notification token if you opt into browser notifications.

Signed-in devices: for each browser you sign in on we keep a random device id, a description such as "Chrome on Windows", a shortened network address and when it was last active, so you can see and sign out devices in Settings → Security.

Job search data you choose to add: whether you are open to work (and a short note), and the applications you track in My applications. If you have the recruiter role: your shortlist and private notes about candidates.

Product usage events: a small set of first-party events such as "invite sent", "application approved" or "contact request accepted", recorded on our own servers to see where members get stuck. No third-party analytics or advertising trackers are used.

Email delivery records: the address, subject and delivery result of emails we send you, so we can spot failed deliveries.

Project opportunities: what you post (scope, skills, timeline, your expected budget and any note for reviewers), the reviewer's decision and notes, proposals and quotes, every offer and counter-offer, and the agreed price and platform fee.

Portfolio views: when a signed-in member opens your portfolio we record that member, your profile and the date (once per day). You see only totals; nobody is shown who viewed.

Messages: text, photos you attach, link preview cards, reactions, pins, and your per-chat mute and archive settings. A message you delete is hidden from everyone and its text and photo link are cleared.

2. How we use it

To operate core features: authentication, matching you with organizations/projects, messaging, notifications, search, and the member directory.

To maintain trust and safety: admin review of applications and reports, audit logs of moderation actions, and rate limiting to prevent abuse of invite/verification flows.

To communicate with you: transactional emails (e.g. invitation, application status) and, only if you opt in via Settings, product updates/newsletters and push notifications.

We do not use member data for third-party advertising, and we do not sell member data to third parties.

Opportunity budgets are shown only to the poster and ShadowClan admins, who use them to review posts, check that agreed prices are fair and decide disputes. Quotes and offers are shown only to the client, that member and admins.

Link previews: when you post or send a link, our servers fetch that page's public title, description and image to build the preview card. The linked site sees a request from ShadowClan's servers, not from you.

If you choose to create an AI CV report, the text of your uploaded CV is sent to our AI provider to produce the report. We don't use it for anything else, you can delete the report at any time, and it is shown only to the people who can open your CV.

Legal basis: you give consent when you request an invitation or apply (a checkbox that records the date and the policy version you accepted). You can withdraw consent at any time by erasing your account; anything we did before you withdrew stays lawful.

ShadowClan is only for people aged 18 or over. We ask you to confirm this when you apply and do not knowingly collect data about children; if we learn we have, we delete it.

3. Where it's stored and who processes it

Authentication is handled by Firebase Authentication. Application data (profiles, messages, posts, etc.) is stored in a managed PostgreSQL database (Google Cloud SQL) and uploaded files in Google Cloud Storage, in Google Cloud data centres in the United States. Short-lived real-time and rate-limit data passes through Upstash Redis. Transactional email is sent through our mailbox provider (Hostinger). Browser errors, with personal data and request bodies stripped, are sent to Sentry. These providers process data only to run ShadowClan for us.

4. Payments

ShadowClan is in beta and doesn't sell plans or paid extras yet, so we don't collect or process any payment or card data today, and no invoices are issued.

If you list yourself as a freelancer, your listing (headline, services, how you work, availability, city) is shown to signed-in members in the Freelancers directory. Quote requests you send or receive (project title, brief, timeline, reply) are visible only to the two members involved and to admins handling a report. Erasing your account removes your listing and requests.

If a live payment gateway (e.g. Razorpay) is introduced in future, this policy will be updated to describe what payment data the gateway processes on our behalf before any live payment is enabled. ShadowClan itself never stores full card numbers — that would be handled entirely by the gateway provider.

5. Your rights & choices

Export your data: Settings > Privacy > Export my data gives you a JSON file with your account, profile, content you wrote (posts, comments, messages you sent), endorsements, skill badges, clan memberships, job applications, your membership application and consent record, purchases, job-search data, contact requests, passkeys, signed-in devices and recent security events.

Correct your data: edit your profile at any time, or ask us to correct anything you can't edit yourself.

Delete your account: Settings > Privacy > Delete my account deactivates your account. Settings > Privacy > Erase my data permanently removes your personal data and login. Posts, comments and messages others are part of stay, shown as written by "Deleted member", because they are also part of other members' conversations; ask us if you want specific content removed.

Nominate someone: under the DPDP Act you can nominate a person to exercise these rights if you die or become unable to; email us with their name and contact details.

Control notifications: Settings lets you opt in/out of email, push, and specific notification types (mentions, likes, comments, messages) at any time.

Control visibility: your profile and portfolio each have a visibility setting (public / private / org-only). Your contact email and phone are shown only to people you follow who follow you back, to someone whose contact request you accepted, and to admins. Clan members' emails are shown only to that clan's owner and admins.

6. Data sharing

We share data only with the infrastructure providers necessary to run the platform (Firebase/Google Cloud, described above), and with other members strictly as intended by the platform's features (e.g. a message is visible to its recipients, a public portfolio is visible to visitors who follow its link).

Recruiters: members given the recruiter role by the ShadowClan owners can search public profiles and see whether you are open to work. They never see your email address or phone number. They can only message you after you accept their contact request, and you can decline privately. Recruiters' private notes about candidates are visible only to that recruiter.

We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the safety, rights, or property of ShadowClan or its members.

7. How we protect it

Encryption in transit (HTTPS everywhere, HSTS) and at rest (Google Cloud). The production database is reached only through Google's authenticated Cloud SQL connector; production secrets live in Google Secret Manager.

Account security: optional two-factor sign-in with single-use codes, passkeys, per-device sign-out, and alerts for new-device sign-ins. Platform owners must use two-factor sign-in and re-confirm before sensitive actions such as releases and access changes.

Least access: admin tools are limited to a small, named team; destructive actions need a super admin; every admin action is audit-logged. Production releases need an owner's approval after automated security tests pass.

Every release is checked automatically for access-control gaps, cross-member data access, forged sign-ins, unsafe links and spoofed rate limits. Logs mask email addresses, and error reports exclude personal data and request bodies.

8. Data breaches

If a breach affects your personal data we will tell you, by email and in the app, without undue delay: what happened, what data was involved, what we are doing and what you can do. We will also report it to the Data Protection Board of India and to CERT-In within the timelines the law sets (CERT-In: within 6 hours of noticing a reportable incident).

9. Data retention

Account and content data: while your account is active. Audit logs of admin actions: kept to preserve a trustworthy history of the community.

Email delivery records: 90 days. Signed-out or inactive device records: 90 days. Notifications: 180 days. Security events (sign-ins, 2FA changes): 2 years. Product usage events: 400 days. Portfolio view records: shown for 30 days and deleted with your account.

Opportunities, proposals, offers and agreements: kept while either side's account is active and for as long as needed for invoices, tax records and disputes.

Applications that are not approved: CV (the uploaded file is deleted), portfolio links, skills and source details cleared after 180 days. A CV file you replace or remove on your profile, or when you erase your data, is deleted. Invitation requests that were answered: deleted after 180 days. The email on an invitation that was never used: cleared after 180 days.

When you erase your account, your job-search data, contact requests, device records, passkeys and email records are deleted, and usage events are kept only as anonymous counts.

10. Your browser

We don't use advertising or third-party tracking cookies. The site stores a few things in your browser so it works: your sign-in session, a random device id (for per-device sign-out), a 12-hour trusted-device token after two-factor sign-in, unsent drafts, theme, a cache of pages you've viewed (cleared when you sign out), and, if you arrived from a campaign link, its tags until you request an invitation or apply.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the platform evolves. Material changes will be reflected by an updated "last updated" date on this page, and we will tell members by email or in the app before they take effect.

12. Contact and grievance officer

Questions about this policy, requests about your data (access, correction, erasure, nomination) and grievances under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the IT Rules go to our Grievance Officer at info@shadowclan.in (subject "Grievance"). We acknowledge within 24 hours and resolve within 15 days. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.