Privacy Policy

1. what we collect

we collect only what's necessary to provide and improve the service. here's a breakdown:

data type	when	why
quiz answers	when you take the quiz	to generate your trade matches
name & email	when you create an account	to save your data and authenticate you
contact info	when you request school info	shared with the school you selected
usage analytics	automatically	to understand how people use hardhat

2. how we use your data

generate personalized trade career recommendations
save your quiz results and bookmarked trades (if you have an account)
connect you with schools when you request program information
send you emails only if you explicitly opt in to our newsletter
improve the platform based on aggregated, anonymized usage patterns

3. what we never do

sell your personal data to third parties
share your information with anyone other than schools you explicitly contact
send spam or unsolicited marketing emails
use your data for targeted advertising
track you across other websites

4. data storage

account data is stored securely using firebase (google cloud infrastructure). quiz results can be stored locally in your browser (localStorage) even without an account. we use industry-standard encryption for data in transit (TLS/SSL).

5. school information requests

when you submit a "request info" form for a school, we share your provided contact information (name, email, phone, and message) with that specific school only. schools may contact you via phone, email, or text about their programs. you agree to this when you submit the form.

6. cookies & local storage

we use localStorage (not tracking cookies) to save your quiz progress, results, and preferences. we use firebase analytics which may set minimal cookies for aggregated usage data. we do not use third-party advertising cookies.

7. your rights

you have the right to:

access all data we have about you
correct any inaccurate data
delete your account and all associated data at any time
export your data
opt out of analytics tracking

to exercise any of these rights, use the account settings on your profile page or contact us directly.

8. children's privacy

hardhat is not intended for children under 13. we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. if we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly.

9. changes to this policy

we may update this privacy policy from time to time. we will note the date of the last update at the top of this page. continued use of the service constitutes acceptance of any changes.