Privacy Policy

Welcome to PeerVerified ("we," "our," or "us"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website and services (collectively, the "Service").

By using our Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access the Service.

Platform Role

PeerVerified operates as a neutral platform that enables users to share professional reviews and insights about individuals. We do not:

• Create, author, or endorse any reviews or ratings
• Verify the accuracy or truthfulness of user-submitted content
• Take responsibility for opinions expressed by users
• Act as the publisher of user-generated content

Content Responsibility

Users who submit reviews are solely responsible for:

• The accuracy and truthfulness of their submissions
• Ensuring their content does not violate any laws or regulations
• Respecting the privacy and rights of others
• Any consequences arising from their posted content

Content Moderation

While we reserve the right to remove content that violates our Terms of Service or applicable laws, we do not pre-screen or endorse user submissions. The presence of content on our platform does not imply our agreement with or validation of such content.

Personal Information

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Name and contact information (email address)
• Account credentials (username and encrypted password)
• Profile information (professional details, LinkedIn profile)
• Payment information (processed securely through Stripe)
• Communications you send to us

Usage Information

We automatically collect certain information when you use our Service:

• IP address and device information
• Browser type and operating system
• Pages visited and features used
• Time and date of visits
• Search queries within our platform

User-Generated Content

When you submit reviews or other content, we collect:

• Review content and ratings
• Timestamps of submissions
• Any supporting documentation you choose to provide

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• To provide and maintain our Service
• To process your account registration and manage your profile
• To facilitate user reviews and professional insights
• To process payments and manage subscriptions
• To respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
• To send important service updates and notifications
• To improve our Service and develop new features
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or illegal activities
• To comply with legal obligations

We may share your information in the following circumstances:

Public Information

Reviews and ratings you submit are publicly visible on our platform. Your username or display name may be shown alongside your reviews.

Service Providers

We may share information with third-party service providers who assist us in operating our Service:

• Payment processors (Stripe) for handling transactions
• Authentication services (NextAuth) for secure login
• Database and hosting providers
• Analytics services to understand usage patterns

Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law or in response to valid legal requests, including court orders, subpoenas, or government regulations.

Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of the business transaction.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption of sensitive data in transit and at rest
• Secure authentication mechanisms
• Regular security assessments and updates
• Limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• Secure payment processing through PCI-compliant providers

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right to Access (Article 15 GDPR)

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, including details about how we process it.

Right to Rectification (Article 16 GDPR)

You can request correction of inaccurate personal data or completion of incomplete data through your profile settings or by contacting us.

Right to Erasure (Article 17 GDPR)

Also known as the "right to be forgotten," you can request deletion of your personal data when it's no longer necessary for the purposes it was collected, subject to legal obligations.

Right to Restrict Processing (Article 18 GDPR)

You can request that we limit the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances, such as when you contest its accuracy.

Right to Data Portability (Article 20 GDPR)

You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and transfer it to another service provider.

Right to Object (Article 21 GDPR)

You can object to processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes or when processing is based on legitimate interests.

Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making

You have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing that significantly affect you.

Right to Withdraw Consent

Where we process your data based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@peerverified.com or through our contact form. We will respond to your request within 30 days as required by GDPR.

Right to Lodge a Complaint

You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe we have violated your privacy rights.

We process your personal data only when we have a legal basis to do so. Our legal bases include:

Consent

We process certain data based on your explicit consent:

• Marketing communications and newsletters
• Non-essential cookies and analytics
• Optional profile information

Contractual Necessity

We process data necessary to provide our services:

• Account creation and management
• Processing subscriptions and payments
• Providing platform features and functionality

Legitimate Interests

We process data for legitimate business interests that don't override your rights:

• Improving our services and user experience
• Ensuring platform security and preventing fraud
• Analyzing aggregated usage patterns
• Enforcing our Terms of Service

Legal Obligations

We process data when required by law:

• Tax and accounting requirements
• Responding to legal requests and court orders
• Compliance with data protection regulations

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies in compliance with EU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR. We obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies.

Types of cookies we use:

• Essential: Required for basic functionality (always active)
• Functional: Remember your preferences (optional)
• Analytics: Help us understand usage patterns (optional)
• Marketing: Deliver relevant content (optional)

For detailed information about cookies, please read our Cookie Policy. You can manage your cookie preferences at any time through our cookie consent banner.

Our Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated by us. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through our platform, including LinkedIn profiles and other professional networking sites.

Our Service is not intended for individuals under the age of 16 (or the applicable age of digital consent in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under this age without parental consent.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us immediately at privacy@peerverified.com.

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). When we transfer data outside the EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place:

• Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission
• Adequacy decisions for countries with equivalent data protection laws
• Other valid transfer mechanisms under GDPR

You have the right to request information about the safeguards we use for international data transfers by contacting us at privacy@peerverified.com.

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, plus any legal retention requirements. Our retention periods:

• Account Information: Retained while your account is active plus 30 days after deletion request
• Transaction Records: 7 years for tax and accounting purposes
• User Reviews: Indefinitely unless deletion is requested and approved
• Marketing Data: Until consent is withdrawn plus any legal requirements
• Security Logs: 12 months for security and fraud prevention
• Cookie Data: As specified in our Cookie Policy

After retention periods expire, we securely delete or anonymize personal data so it can no longer be associated with you.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date.

Your continued use of our Service after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

Data Protection Officer

For all data protection inquiries, including exercising your GDPR rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer:

Supervisory Authority

If you are located in the EU/EEA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority if you believe we have violated your privacy rights.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

We will respond to your inquiries in a timely manner and work to address your concerns.