Privacy Policy

1. Personal Data We Collect

When you sign up for a SmartCV account, you provide us with your basic information, as well as any other data you want to be included in your resume, cover letter and/or online portfolio. This information helps us provide you with personalized assistance in your job seeking & career development journey.

Mandatory Account Information

To create an account, you must provide:

  • First and last name
  • Email address
  • Password

Without this essential information, you won't be able to use SmartCV's services. We recommend keeping your account information up to date at all times.

Automatically Collected Information

Like many web applications, we automatically collect certain information when you visit SmartCV. This information helps us improve our services, ensure security, and provide you with a better user experience:

  • IP Address and Location Data

    We collect your IP address and approximate location (city, country) to ensure service reliability, prevent fraud, and comply with legal requirements. This also helps us provide region-specific features and content.

  • Browser Information

    Understanding your browser type and version helps us optimize our website's performance and ensure compatibility. This information is essential for troubleshooting technical issues and improving your browsing experience.

  • Usage Patterns

    We track which pages you visit, when you visit them, and how long you spend on each page. This helps us understand which features are most valuable to our users and identify areas for improvement. For example, if we notice many users spending extra time on certain resume templates, we might prioritize developing similar designs.

  • Session Information

    We monitor your session duration and interactions to maintain security and prevent unauthorized access to your account. This data also helps us optimize our website's performance and user experience.

AI and Learning Features

Our AI-powered features are designed to provide you with personalized assistance and improve your job-seeking journey. Here's how we handle data in these features:

  • Resume Review Conversations

    When you use our AI resume review system, we store your conversations to provide continuity in your resume improvement journey. This allows you to refer back to previous suggestions and track your progress over time. These conversations are private and are not used to train our AI models.

  • AI Coaching Interactions

    Our AI career coach provides personalized guidance based on your profile and goals. While these conversations are powered by ChatGPT/OpenAI, we maintain strict privacy controls. Your data is only used to provide you with relevant advice and is not shared for any other purpose.

Privacy Commitment: We understand the sensitive nature of your career-related data. All AI features are designed with privacy-first principles, ensuring your information is used solely for providing and improving our services to you. You maintain control over your data and can request its deletion at any time through your account settings.

Optional Profile Information

To enhance your resume and career development experience, you may choose to provide:

  • Resume Content:

    Educational background, work experience, skills, achievements, and other professional information

  • Profile Picture:

    Used for your professional profile and analyzed (with your consent) to provide optimization suggestions

  • Contact Information:

    Additional contact details for enhanced communication options

  • Payment Information:

    Securely processed and stored when you subscribe to premium features

2. How We Use Your Data

At SmartCV, we are committed to using your personal data responsibly and transparently. We process your information only for purposes directly related to providing and improving our services. Here's a detailed explanation of how we use your data:

Core Service Delivery

Your personal data is essential for operating SmartCV and providing you with our core services:

  • Account Management and Security

    We use your data to verify your identity during sign-in, maintain account security, and manage your profile settings. This ensures that your resume information and personal data remain protected and accessible only to you.

  • Resume Creation and Management

    Your information is used to automatically populate resume templates, save your progress, and maintain document versions. This allows you to create, edit, and manage multiple versions of your resume efficiently while ensuring no work is lost.

  • Personalized Experience

    We analyze your preferences, usage patterns, and career goals to customize your experience. This includes recommending relevant templates, suggesting content improvements, and providing personalized career guidance.

  • Technical Support and Service Improvement

    Your feedback and usage data help us identify and resolve technical issues, improve our services, and develop new features that better meet your needs. We continuously monitor system performance to ensure a smooth experience.

Communication and Career Development

We use your contact information to enhance your career development journey:

  • Essential Service Updates

    We send important notifications about service changes, security updates, and system maintenance to ensure you're always informed about changes that might affect your use of SmartCV.

  • Career Resources and Guidance

    Based on your profile and interests, we share relevant job search tips, industry insights, and career development resources to help you advance in your professional journey.

  • Support and Feedback

    We use your contact information to respond to your inquiries, provide assistance, and gather feedback about our services. Your input helps us improve and adapt our platform to better serve your needs.

AI and Advanced Features

For users engaging with our AI-powered features, we process data with enhanced privacy controls:

  • Resume Analysis and Optimization

    Our AI system analyzes your resume content to provide personalized suggestions for improvement, including content optimization, formatting recommendations, and industry-specific best practices.

  • AI Career Coaching

    Through our AI coaching system, we process your career goals and preferences to deliver tailored advice and guidance. This includes interview preparation tips, career path recommendations, and skill development suggestions.

Privacy Commitment: All AI features are designed with privacy-first principles. Your data is processed securely and is not used to train AI models. We maintain strict data protection measures and ensure your information is used solely for providing you with personalized services.

3. Data Retention

At SmartCV, we maintain specific data retention policies to ensure your information is kept only as long as necessary while complying with legal requirements and enabling you to access your career development history when needed.

Account and Resume Data

Your personal information and resume data will be retained on our secure servers for up to 6 years from your last activity on SmartCV. This extended retention period ensures you can access your professional documents even after long periods of inactivity, which is particularly useful when returning to job searching or career development.

  • Active Accounts

    For active accounts, we maintain all your data to ensure continuous access to your resumes, cover letters, and career development tools. Regular activity keeps your account in active status.

  • Inactive Accounts

    After 2 years of inactivity, we'll send notification emails about your account status. You can log in to reactivate your account or request data deletion if you no longer need our services.

AI Interactions and Learning Data

We handle AI-related data with specific retention policies to balance functionality with privacy:

  • AI Resume Review History

    Your AI resume review conversations are stored for the duration of your account's active status. You can access past suggestions and track improvements over time, or manually delete these conversations at any point through your account settings.

  • AI Career Coach Interactions

    Conversations with our AI career coach are retained as long as you maintain an active account. This allows you to reference previous career advice and maintain continuity in your career development journey. You have the option to delete these conversations at any time.

Usage and Technical Data

  • Analytics and Usage Patterns

    Aggregated usage data is retained for up to 24 months to help us improve our services and understand user behavior patterns. This data is anonymized after 12 months.

  • Security Logs

    Security-related logs, including login attempts and account modifications, are retained for 12 months to maintain platform security and investigate potential unauthorized access.

Your Control Over Data Retention

You maintain control over your data throughout its retention period. Through your account settings, you can:

  • Request immediate deletion of your account and associated data
  • Export your data in a portable format
  • Selectively delete specific content or conversations
  • Modify or update your retained information

5. Data Sharing

SmartCV is committed to protecting your privacy and only shares your personal data when necessary to provide our services or as required by law. We carefully select and monitor all our partners and service providers to ensure your data remains protected.

Essential Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers who help us deliver and improve our services:

  • Cloud Infrastructure Providers

    We use secure cloud services (AWS/Google Cloud) to host our platform and store your data. These providers maintain high security standards and data protection certifications, ensuring your information remains safe and accessible.

  • AI Technology Partners

    Our AI-powered resume review and career coaching features utilize OpenAI's technology. When you use these features, your resume content and career-related queries are processed through their secure API with strict privacy controls and data handling agreements in place.

  • Payment Processors

    For premium subscriptions, we partner with secure payment processors (e.g., Stripe) who handle your payment information. We never store complete credit card details on our servers.

Analytics and Service Improvement

To improve our platform and user experience, we share limited data with:

  • Analytics Services

    We use analytics tools to understand how users interact with our platform. This data is anonymized and aggregated, focusing on usage patterns rather than individual user behavior. You can opt-out of analytics tracking through your privacy settings.

  • Error Monitoring Services

    To maintain platform stability and quickly resolve technical issues, we use error monitoring tools that collect technical data about any problems you encounter. This data is stripped of personal identifiers and used solely for technical improvement.

Legal and Corporate Circumstances

In certain situations, we may need to share your data for legal or corporate reasons:

  • Legal Requirements

    We may share your information if required by law, court order, or other legal process. We'll notify you about such disclosures unless legally prohibited from doing so.

  • Corporate Transactions

    If SmartCV undergoes a business transition (merger, acquisition, or sale), your data may be transferred as part of the company assets. We'll notify you via email and provide options regarding your data in such cases.

  • Protection of Rights

    We may share data to protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, as well as those of our users or others. This includes investigating and preventing fraud or other illegal activities.

Data Protection Measures

When sharing data with third parties, we implement these protective measures:

  • Data Processing Agreements

    All our service providers are bound by strict data processing agreements that require them to protect your data and use it only for specified purposes.

  • Security Standards

    We verify that all partners maintain appropriate security certifications and implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data.

  • Data Minimization

    We share only the minimum amount of data necessary for each specific purpose, ensuring that service providers can't access information they don't need.

Your Control Over Data Sharing

You maintain control over how your data is shared:

  • Opt out of analytics tracking through privacy settings
  • Choose which optional features to use (AI review, career coaching)
  • Control email communications and marketing preferences
  • Request information about our service providers and data sharing practices

6. Cookies and Tracking

SmartCV uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience and provide essential platform functionality. This section explains how we use these technologies and what control you have over them.

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our website. They help us remember your preferences, understand how you use our platform, and provide you with a more personalized experience. We use both session cookies (which expire when you close your browser) and persistent cookies (which stay on your device for a set period).

Key Functions of Cookies:

  • • Remember your login status and preferences
  • • Maintain your resume drafts and settings
  • • Enable AI-powered features and personalization
  • • Analyze platform performance and usage

Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for SmartCV to function properly. They enable core features like user authentication, resume saving, and security protections. You cannot opt out of these cookies as they are essential for platform operation.

Functionality Cookies

These cookies remember your preferences and settings, such as language choice, theme preferences, and AI feature configurations. They help provide a more personalized experience when building your resume.

Analytics Cookies

We use analytics cookies to understand how users interact with our platform, which features are most popular, and where we can improve. This data is anonymized and helps us develop better resume-building tools.

AI Feature Cookies

These cookies support our AI-powered resume review and career coaching features, maintaining context and personalization settings for improved suggestions and feedback.

Third-Party Technologies

Analytics Partners

We use services like Google Analytics to understand platform usage patterns. These services may place cookies on your device to track user behavior anonymously. You can opt out of analytics tracking through your privacy settings.

AI Service Integration

Our AI features powered by OpenAI may use cookies to maintain session context and improve response accuracy. These integrations follow strict privacy guidelines and data protection measures.

Payment Processing

For premium features, our payment processors may use cookies to ensure secure transactions and prevent fraud. These cookies are governed by the processor's own privacy policies.

Cookie Management

You have several options to control how cookies are used when visiting SmartCV:

Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can choose to block certain types of cookies or clear them periodically. However, blocking essential cookies will impact your ability to use SmartCV effectively.

Platform Preferences

Through your SmartCV account settings, you can manage preferences for non-essential cookies and tracking features. This includes analytics tracking and AI feature personalization.

Important Notes

  • • Blocking essential cookies may limit platform functionality
  • • Cookie preferences can be updated at any time through your account settings
  • • We regularly review and update our cookie practices to ensure privacy compliance
  • • Third-party cookies are subject to their providers' privacy policies

8. Your Rights

Under data protection laws, you have important rights regarding your personal information. SmartCV is committed to honoring these rights and making it easy for you to exercise them.

Core Data Rights

Right to Access

You can request a copy of all personal data we hold about you. This includes your resume content, account information, and usage history. We'll provide this information in a structured, commonly used format within 30 days of your request.

Right to Rectification

You can update or correct any inaccurate information in your profile at any time through your account settings. For information you can't directly edit, contact our support team for assistance.

Right to Erasure

You can request deletion of your account and associated data. Note that some information may be retained for legal or security purposes, such as transaction records for premium subscriptions.

Right to Data Portability

You can export your resume data and account information in common formats (PDF, DOCX, JSON) to use with other services. This includes all content you've created using SmartCV.

Privacy Controls and Preferences

Communication Preferences

Control what emails and notifications you receive through your account settings. You can opt out of marketing communications while still receiving essential service updates.

AI Feature Controls

Manage how our AI features process your data. You can disable AI-powered suggestions, delete conversation history, and control what information is used for personalization.

Data Sharing Options

Choose what information is visible in your public profile and control how your resume data is shared. You can make resumes private or share them using secure, time-limited links.

Security and Data Protection

Account Security

You can enable two-factor authentication, review login history, and manage active sessions. We recommend regularly updating your password and reviewing security settings.

Data Sharing Safety

When sharing resumes or portfolios, use our secure sharing features that let you control access and revoke permissions. Be cautious when sharing personal information through external platforms or email.

Exercising Your Rights

Making Requests

To exercise any of your data rights, you can:

  • Use the relevant controls in your account settings
  • Contact our support team through the help center
  • Email our Data Protection Officer at privacy@smartcv.com
Response Timeline

We'll respond to your requests within 30 days. For complex requests or multiple requests, we may extend this period by an additional 60 days, but we'll inform you if this is necessary.

Important Notes

  • • Some data may be retained for legal compliance even after account deletion
  • • We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests
  • • Rights may be limited by applicable laws and legitimate business needs
  • • We don't charge fees for exercising your rights unless requests are excessive

Need Help? If you need assistance understanding or exercising your rights, our support team is here to help. Contact us through the help center or email privacy@smartcv.com.

9. Changes to Privacy Policy

SmartCV may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, and other factors. We are committed to keeping you informed about any significant changes to how we handle your data.

Notification Process

When we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you through prominent notices within the SmartCV platform and by sending an email to your registered address. When possible, we will provide advance notice of significant changes to give you time to review the updates and make informed decisions about your data.

Your Options

You can always find the current version of our Privacy Policy on this page. If you do not agree with the changes, you can adjust your privacy settings, export your data, or contact our support team to discuss your concerns. Your continued use of SmartCV after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

Last Updated: January 2025

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