Privacy policy

StartShop Inc ("we", "us", "our") operates the FDE-Jobs.com website, mobile experiences, and related services (collectively, the "Service"). We are the controller of personal information processed through the Service.

StartShop Inc, 3723 Greenville Ave STE 61917, Dallas, TX 75206, United States. Privacy contact: privacy@fde-jobs.com.

This policy applies to Engineers, Companies, visitors, and anyone whose information is submitted to us through the Service. It does not cover third-party sites we link to or services operated by Companies that engage Engineers through us.

3.1 Information you provide

• Account: email, name, password (hashed), role (Engineer / Company / Admin).
• Engineer profile: location, US work authorization, tech stack, domains, years of experience, target day rate, résumé/CV, links (GitHub, LinkedIn, portfolio), availability.
• Company profile: organization name, contact details, role descriptions, scoping interview answers.
• Interviews: audio and video recordings, transcripts, and AI-generated summaries from scoping and screening interviews.
• Engagement records: placement agreements, timesheets, invoices, payment information needed to operate placements.
• Communications: messages you send to us and other users via the Service.
• Consents: timestamped record of which policy version you accepted.

3.2 Information collected automatically

• Device and log data: IP address, browser, OS, device identifiers, pages viewed, referring/exit pages, timestamps.
• Cookies and similar technologies: strictly necessary cookies (session, auth, consent flag) and, with your consent, analytics cookies. See our Cookie Policy.

3.3 Information from third parties

• Identity providers (Google) when you sign in with them — we receive your name, email, and profile image.
• References, background-check providers, and identity verification vendors, where applicable to a specific placement and with your consent.

• Create and manage accounts; authenticate users.
• Match Engineers with Companies, including AI-assisted scoping, screening, and ranking.
• Operate placements: agreements, timesheets, invoices, payments, and compliance.
• Provide customer support and communicate about the Service.
• Improve and develop the Service, including aggregated and anonymized analytics.
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
• Comply with legal obligations (tax, accounting, anti-money-laundering, sanctions screening, lawful requests).

Legal bases (where required): performance of a contract, our legitimate interests (operating and securing the Service, marketplace integrity), consent (interview recordings, optional analytics cookies, some marketing), and compliance with legal obligations.

We use AI to transcribe interviews, summarize candidate fit, surface relevant roles, and score matches. These outputs assist humans; a human reviews and makes the final decision to shortlist, introduce, or place an Engineer. You may request human review of any decision that significantly affects you by emailing privacy@fde-jobs.com.

• With Companies: Engineer profiles, interview summaries and, when you choose to share them, full transcripts and recordings.
• With Engineers: Company role descriptions and scoping outputs relevant to an introduction.
• Service providers (processors): hosting and database (Lovable Cloud / Supabase, AWS-region infrastructure), email delivery (Resend), interview platform (Tavus), AI model providers (Google, OpenAI), analytics, and payment processors. Each is contractually bound to confidentiality and to use data only on our instructions.
• Professional advisors: accountants, auditors, and lawyers as needed.
• Legal and safety: when required by law, to enforce our Terms, or to protect rights, safety, or property.
• Corporate transactions: in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, subject to confidentiality.

We do not sell personal information for money, and we do not "share" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as defined by the CCPA/CPRA.

We are based in the United States, and the Service is operated from the US. If you access the Service from outside the US, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the US. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) for transfers from the EU/UK/Switzerland.

• Active account data: while your account is active.
• Engineer/Company profiles after deletion: anonymized within 30 days, except records we are required to keep.
• Interview recordings and transcripts: 24 months from the interview, then deleted unless tied to an active placement.
• Placement contracts, timesheets, invoices, and tax records: up to 7 years to meet US recordkeeping and tax obligations.
• Security logs: 12 months.

We implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including encryption in transit, encryption at rest for sensitive fields, role-based access controls, row-level security on our database, audit logging, and least-privilege service accounts. No system is perfectly secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Report a suspected vulnerability to security@fde-jobs.com.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to:

• Know what personal information we hold about you.
• Access a copy of it in a portable format.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete your information (subject to legal retention).
• Opt out of "sale" or "sharing" (we do neither, but you may still send a request).
• Limit use of sensitive personal information.
• Withdraw consent for processing that relies on consent.
• Appeal a decision we make about your request.

To exercise these rights, use the in-product controls at Account → Privacy, or email privacy@fde-jobs.com. We will verify your identity using information already on file. You may use an authorized agent. We do not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

Notice for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, and other US state residents: we honor the rights granted under your state's privacy law (including the CCPA/CPRA and Texas Data Privacy and Security Act).

The Service is intended for users 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact privacy@fde-jobs.com and we will delete it.

We send transactional emails about your account and placements. Marketing emails are optional and include an unsubscribe link in every message. Unsubscribing does not stop transactional emails.

We use a minimal set of cookies. See our Cookie Policy for details and controls. We do not respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals, but we honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals as opt-outs of "sale/sharing" where applicable.

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced by email or in-product notice at least 14 days before they take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the latest version.

Privacy questions or requests: privacy@fde-jobs.com
StartShop Inc, 3723 Greenville Ave STE 61917, Dallas, TX 75206, United States.