Privacy Policy

Last Updated: November 4, 2026

HireEase ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our platform.

Your Privacy Matters: We only collect information necessary to provide our services. We never sell your personal data to third parties.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

  • Account Information: Name, email address, phone number, password, and profile photo
  • Profile Information: Bio, skills, location, work experience, portfolio items, and social media links
  • Payment Information: Payment method details (processed securely through Stripe)
  • Verification Information: Social media links (LinkedIn, GitHub, Twitter), professional certifications, and identity verification information
  • Communications: Messages sent through our platform and support requests
  • Files: Documents and images uploaded to project Storage or as deliverables
  • AI Interactions: Text you submit to our AI Project Assistant and AI Writing Assistant for content generation
  • Wallet Information: Deposit amounts, transaction history, and wallet balance (payment card details are processed by Stripe and not stored on our servers)

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, and time spent on the platform
  • Device Information: Device type, operating system, browser type, and IP address
  • Location Data: General location based on IP address (used for local matching)
  • Cookies: Session cookies and analytics cookies

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for:

  • Providing and improving our services
  • Matching clients with local freelancers (~25 mile radius)
  • Processing payments and managing escrow
  • Verifying user identities and preventing fraud
  • Sending service-related communications
  • Providing customer support
  • Analyzing usage patterns to improve the platform
  • Powering AI-assisted tools (project creation, writing assistance) using third-party AI services
  • Complying with legal obligations

3. Information Sharing

We may share your information with:

3.1 Other Users

Profile information (name, bio, skills, reviews) is visible to other users. Clients and freelancers on the same project can see each other's contact information.

3.2 Service Providers

  • Stripe: Payment processing
  • Email Services: Transactional emails
  • Analytics: Platform usage analysis
  • AI Services (Anthropic): Project descriptions, profile information, and user-submitted text for AI-assisted content generation. Anthropic does not use your data to train their models.
  • Background Check Providers: Identity and background verification
  • Security Services (Google reCAPTCHA, Cloudflare Turnstile): Bot and abuse protection for our forms — see Section 7

3.3 Hub Owners

If you're a freelancer associated with a Hub, the Hub Owner may have access to your profile information and project activity.

3.4 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information when required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and safety.

4. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including:

  • SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmission (HTTPS enforced)
  • Encrypted password storage using bcrypt with high cost factor
  • Secure payment processing through Stripe (PCI DSS compliant)
  • CSRF protection, rate limiting, and input validation on all forms
  • Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to prevent script injection
  • Regular security audits and monitoring
  • Access controls and role-based authentication
  • Authenticated file downloads (project attachments served through access-controlled proxy)

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.

5. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. After account deletion:

  • Personal data is deleted within 30 days
  • Transaction records may be retained for legal compliance (7 years)
  • Anonymized analytics data may be retained indefinitely

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of your personal data
  • Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your account and data
  • Portability: Receive your data in a portable format
  • Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing communications
  • Restriction: Request limitation of data processing

7. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies for:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for platform functionality (login, security)
  • Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how users interact with the platform

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect platform functionality.

Third-party security services. We use two services to protect our forms from bots and automated abuse. They are security services, not advertising or analytics:

  • Cloudflare Turnstile protects our newsletter sign-up and waitlist forms. The newsletter form is in the site footer, so Turnstile loads when you open most public pages, including the home page, whether or not you use the form. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.
  • Google reCAPTCHA protects our sign-up, sign-in, contact and support forms. Those forms are on our sign-up/sign-in and contact pages, and it loads only on those pages. See Google's privacy policy.

When one of these loads, the provider receives your IP address and request metadata and may set its own cookies on its own domain. We receive only a pass/fail or score result. See our Cookie Policy for details.

8. Children's Privacy

HireEase is not intended for users under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we discover we have collected information from a child, we will delete it immediately.

9. Third-Party Links

Our platform may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

10. International Users

HireEase is based in the United States. By using our platform, you consent to the transfer and processing of your information in the United States.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify you of material changes via email or platform notification. Your continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

12. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

  • Right to Know: You may request details about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collect about you
  • Right to Delete: You may request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions
  • Right to Opt-Out: We do not sell personal information. If this changes, you will have the right to opt out
  • Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@hireease.us.

13. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights, contact us:

HireEase Privacy Team
Email: privacy@hireease.us
Phone: 833-HIT US UP
Gainesville, FL

Questions? We're here to help. Contact our support team anytime at info@hireease.us