Privacy Policy

At Splinster Technologies ("Splinster", "we", "us", or "our"), we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal data of both our AI Experts and our Corporate Clients. This Privacy Policy details the types of information we collect, how it is processed, safeguarded, and shared when you access our platform, website (splinster.in), and associated services (collectively, the "Platform").

1. Information We Collect

To provide a highly vetted, premium AI talent marketplace, we must collect specific operational and identifiable data. The categories of information we collect include:

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Account & Profile Data: First and last name, professional email address, phone number, and account credentials.
• Professional Credentials (Experts): Resumes, GitHub/GitLab repositories, LinkedIn profiles, portfolio links, educational background, and AI/ML project history used for our vetting process.
• Corporate Information (Clients): Company name, registration details, business addresses, and verified work emails to ensure platform integrity.
• Financial Information: Bank account routing details, Stripe verification data, and billing addresses required for escrow funding and milestone payouts. Note: We do not store raw credit card numbers on our servers; these are handled securely by our payment partners.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Device & Usage Data: IP addresses, browser types, operating systems, referring URLs, and interaction metrics (e.g., time spent on pages, clickstream data) to optimize platform performance.
• Authentication Data: OAuth tokens and session identifiers when you authenticate using third-party services (such as Google Sign-In or GitHub OAuth).

2. How We Use Your Data

Our primary goal in collecting information is to provide a secure, efficient, and fraud-free marketplace. We utilize your data for the following core purposes:

• AI-Powered Matching: Analyzing Expert credentials and Client project requirements to train our proprietary matching algorithms, ensuring highly accurate talent pairing.
• Identity Verification & Security: Preventing fraudulent accounts, spam proposals, and malicious activity by verifying the identity of all marketplace participants.
• Escrow & Payment Processing: Facilitating secure financial transactions, holding milestone funds in escrow, and distributing payouts accurately.
• Platform Communications: Sending critical transaction alerts, project milestone updates, platform policy changes, and direct messaging between matched Clients and Experts.
• Legal Compliance: Complying with KYC (Know Your Customer), AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations, and applicable tax reporting requirements.

3. Data Sharing & Third-Party Providers

Splinster does not sell your personal data to data brokers or advertising networks. We only share data with trusted third parties strictly necessary to operate our Platform:

• Payment Processors: We partner with industry-leading financial infrastructure providers (such as Stripe) to manage escrow and process payments. They receive your financial details directly via encrypted channels.
• Cloud Infrastructure: Your data is stored on secure, enterprise-grade servers (e.g., AWS or Google Cloud) which are bound by strict data processing agreements.
• Identity Verification Partners: We may utilize third-party identity verification APIs to authenticate government IDs or corporate registrations to maintain the "Invitation-Only" integrity of our platform.
• Legal Authorities: We will disclose information if compelled by a subpoena, court order, or formal request from law enforcement agencies to protect the rights and safety of Splinster and our users.

4. Data Retention & Deletion

We retain your personal information only for as long as your account is active or as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy. For financial and tax auditing purposes, transaction records may be kept for up to seven (7) years as required by international tax laws.

You may request the deletion of your account and personal data at any time. Upon request, we will permanently anonymize or delete your profile data within 30 days, barring any ongoing dispute resolutions or active escrow contracts.

5. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your jurisdiction (including the GDPR in Europe and the CCPA in California), you possess specific rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we currently hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: You can update or correct inaccurate data directly through your dashboard settings.
• Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete your personal data ("Right to be Forgotten").
• Right to Data Portability: You can request your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

6. Security Protocols

Splinster employs state-of-the-art technical, administrative, and physical security measures to protect your data. This includes End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) for sensitive database fields, mandatory SSL/TLS transit encryption, and strict internal access controls. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

7. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our operational practices or regulatory requirements. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the "Effective Date" at the top. Active users will also be notified via email.

8. Contact Our Privacy Team

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data handling practices, please direct your inquiries to our Data Protection Officer at:

Email: splinsterhq@gmail.com
Legal Department: Splinster Technologies, Privacy Operations.