Privacy Policy - OfficeCred

1. Introduction

OfficeCred ("we," "our," or "us") operates officecred.com (the "Platform"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Platform.

By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access the Platform.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

Account Information: Email address for authentication purposes. When you sign in via LinkedIn, we receive your name and profile photo from LinkedIn's authentication service.
LinkedIn Profile URL: The LinkedIn profile URL you provide is used to create and identify your OfficeCred profile. This URL is stored and may be displayed on your profile page.
Employment History: Company names, role titles, start and end dates, and current employment status that you voluntarily submit to build your profile.
Poll Responses: Your anonymous responses to professional reference polls about other users.

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

Device Information: Browser type, operating system, and device identifiers.
Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent, and interaction patterns.
IP Address: Collected for security and fraud prevention purposes.

3. Anonymity Commitment

Our Core Promise:

Poll responses are permanently anonymous. We do not store any connection between your identity and the specific poll responses you submit about other users.
We use technical measures to ensure that even we cannot identify who submitted a particular response.
Aggregated scores are only displayed when a minimum threshold of responses has been received to prevent identification.

4. How We Use Your Information

To authenticate your account and prevent fraud
To create and maintain your OfficeCred profile
To aggregate anonymous poll responses into professional credibility scores across six categories (Competence, Reliability, Character, Leadership, Collaboration, Communication)
To display aggregated scores, composite scores, and tier-based signals (Gold, Silver, Bronze) on profile pages
To improve, optimize, and develop Platform features
To prevent abuse, fraud, and enforce our Terms of Service
To communicate important updates about the Platform
To comply with legal obligations

5. What Is Publicly Visible

Public profile information may include:

Your name, profile photo, and LinkedIn profile URL
Your employment history (companies, roles, dates)
Aggregated scores across professional categories, composite score, and tier badge
The total number of colleague responses received

Individual poll responses are never publicly visible. Only aggregated, profile-level scores derived from multiple responses are displayed. Individual feedback providers remain anonymous to the profile owner and all other users.

6. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share information only in the following circumstances:

Service Providers: Third-party vendors who assist in operating our Platform (e.g., hosting, authentication, analytics, transactional email), bound by confidentiality agreements.
Legal Requirements: When required by law, subpoena, or legal process.
Protection of Rights: To protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, or that of our users or the public.
Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

7. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your information. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Data Retention

Account Information: Retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period thereafter.
Anonymous Poll Data: Retained indefinitely as aggregated, non-identifiable data.
Employment History: Retained while your account is active. May be deleted upon account deletion request.
Usage Logs: Retained for up to 90 days for security purposes.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

Access: Request access to your personal data.
Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data.
Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated personal data (profile information, employment history).
Portability: Request a copy of your data in a portable format.
Objection: Object to certain processing of your data.

Note: Due to the anonymous nature of poll responses, we cannot identify, modify, or delete specific responses you may have submitted, as they are not linked to your identity. Aggregated scores derived from anonymous responses may persist even after account deletion because they cannot be attributed to individual respondents.

10. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us immediately.

11. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws. By using the Platform, you consent to such transfers.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Platform after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

Email: [email protected]