Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Proveit ("we", "our", "us") is a proof-of-work social network that lets builders showcase their skills through builds, posts, and projects. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our platform.

We are committed to protecting your personal data in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), 2023 of India.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: When you register via Google, GitHub, or email/password, we collect your name, email address, profile photo, and authentication credentials (handled securely by Firebase Authentication).
• Profile Data: Bio, skills, location, website URLs, social media handles, roles, and avatar/cover images you upload.
• Content: Proof-of-work builds, feed posts, comments, images, videos, and any other content you create on the platform.
• Communications: Direct messages sent through our chat system.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Pages visited, features used (Discover, Feed, Explore, Messages, Profile), time spent, and interaction patterns via PostHog analytics.
• Device Information: Browser type, operating system, IP address (anonymized), and screen resolution.
• Firebase Data: Authentication timestamps, session duration, and Firestore read/write patterns.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide, operate, and maintain the Proveit platform.
• To verify builder identities and proof-of-work submissions.
• To facilitate communication between builders and recruiters.
• To send notifications about activity (follows, likes, comments, messages).
• To improve our platform through analytics and usage patterns.
• To display relevant advertisements (see Section 8).
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.

4. Data Sharing & Disclosure

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

• Firebase (Google): Authentication, Firestore database, and storage. Firebase Privacy Policy
• Cloudinary: Image and video hosting. Cloudinary Privacy Policy
• PostHog: Product analytics. PostHog Privacy Policy
• Google AdSense/AdMob: Third-party advertising (see Section 8). Google Privacy Policy
• Legal Compliance: If required by law or to protect our rights.

5. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. Upon account deletion:

• Your profile, builds, posts, and comments are deleted within 30 days.
• Direct messages are anonymized (sender references removed) but retained for platform integrity.
• Analytics data is retained in aggregated, anonymized form.

6. Your Rights (GDPR & DPDP)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA) or India, you have the following rights:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of your personal data.
• Right to Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data via Settings.
• Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): Delete your account and data via Settings → Account → Delete Profile.
• Right to Data Portability: Export your data by contacting us.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Disable notifications or revoke OAuth access at any time.
• Right to Grievance Redressal: Contact our Grievance Officer (see Section 11).

To exercise any of these rights, email us at proveit.contactus@gmail.com.

7. Cookies & Tracking

We use minimal cookies and local storage for:

• Authentication session persistence (Firebase Auth).
• Theme preference (dark mode only).
• Saved posts and blocked content preferences.
• PostHog analytics cookies (optional — you can opt out via browser settings).

8. Advertising

Proveit may display third-party advertisements via Google AdSense and Google AdMob. These ad networks may use cookies and similar technologies to serve personalized ads based on your browsing activity. You can learn more about how Google uses your data at Google's Partner Sites Policy.

We do not serve personalized ads to users we know are under 18. Ad networks may collect data for interest-based advertising — you can manage your ad preferences via Google Ad Settings.

9. Security Measures

We implement the following security measures to protect your data:

• All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption.
• Firebase Authentication with multi-provider OAuth and email/password with salted hashing.
• Firestore Security Rules enforcing strict data isolation (users can only read/write their own data).
• Input sanitization on all user-generated content to prevent XSS and injection attacks.
• Rate limiting on API endpoints to prevent abuse.
• Regular security audits and dependency updates.

10. Children's Privacy

Proveit is not intended for users under the age of 13 (or 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect data from children. If we discover that a child has provided us with personal data, we will delete it immediately. We do not serve personalized ads to users under 18.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be notified via email or an in-app notice. Your continued use of Proveit after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact & Grievance Officer

For privacy-related inquiries, data requests, or grievances: