Effective Date: 23-Jan-2023
Last Updated: 08-May-2026
Plain-language summary: This policy explains what personal information we collect when you use techfleet.network, why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and what choices and rights you have. It is written for a general audience and is meant to be easy to read.
1. Who We Are and How to Reach Us
Tech Fleet, a Delaware nonprofit corporation (“Tech Fleet,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website and learning platform at techfleet.org, guide.techfleet.org, and techfleet.network (the “Platform”). We are a nonprofit training organization based in the United States.
For any privacy question, request, or complaint, contact us at: info@techfleet.org. You can also write to Tech Fleet, Delaware, USA.
For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom (UK), or Switzerland, you may also contact our designated representative through the same email address.
2. Scope of This Policy
This policy applies to personal information we collect through the Platform, our emails, our Discord community, our learning tools, and any related services that link to this policy. It does not apply to third-party websites, apps, or services that we do not own or control, even if you reach them through a link on the Platform.
3. Information We Collect
3.1 Information you give us
Account information: name, email address, password, profile picture, country, time zone, and similar details you enter when you sign up or update your profile.
Application and program information: the answers you provide when you apply for a project, class, cohort, or volunteer role, including your background, goals, skills, experience, and any documents you upload.
Communications: messages, feedback, surveys, support tickets, and other content you send to us or post in our community spaces.
Payment-related information: if we ever process a donation or paid service, our payment processor will collect your card or bank details. We do not store full payment card numbers.
3.2 Information collected automatically
Device and connection data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, screen size, language, and time zone.
Usage data: pages you view, links you click, time spent on pages, referring website, and similar analytics.
Performance data: anonymous Core Web Vitals (such as page load speed) used to keep the Platform fast and reliable.
Cookies and similar technologies: see our separate Cookie Policy for full details.
3.3 Information from third parties
Single sign-on providers (for example, Google) when you choose to sign in with them. We receive your name, email, profile picture, and a unique ID.
Discord, when you choose to link your Discord account so we can grant you community roles.
Public sources, such as professional networks, when you give us a public profile link.
Service providers who help us run the Platform, such as analytics, email delivery, error monitoring, and meeting recording tools.
3.4 Sensitive information
We try to avoid collecting sensitive personal information. We do not ask for government ID numbers, health data, biometric data, precise geolocation, financial account credentials, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or trade union membership. If you choose to share this kind of information in a free-text field, you do so voluntarily and we will treat it with extra care and only use it to respond to you.
3.5 Children’s information
The Platform is intended for adults aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 in the United States, under 16 in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom (or the lower age set by an EU/EEA member state, but never below 18), under 14 in South Korea, or under 14 in China without parental or guardian consent. If you believe a child has given us personal information without proper consent, contact us at info@techfleet.org and we will delete it promptly.
4. Why We Use Your Information (Purposes and Legal Bases)
We use your personal information for the purposes listed below. For users in jurisdictions that require a legal basis (such as the EU/UK GDPR, Swiss FADP, or Brazil’s LGPD), the matching legal basis is shown in brackets.
Provide and operate the Platform, including creating your account, authenticating you, and showing you content [contract / legitimate interests / Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR].
Run our training programs, projects, classes, cohorts, certifications, and learning paths [contract / legitimate interests].
Communicate with you about your account, applications, programs, security alerts, and policy updates [contract / legal obligation / legitimate interests].
Send marketing, newsletters, or community updates where allowed [consent or legitimate interests, with an easy way to opt out].
Personalize your experience, such as recommending courses or projects [legitimate interests / consent where required].
Keep the Platform safe and secure, prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access [legitimate interests / legal obligation].
Comply with laws, court orders, and regulatory requests, and to defend legal claims [legal obligation / legitimate interests].
Improve our services, including bug fixing, analytics, and research [legitimate interests / consent for non-essential cookies].
Where we rely on consent (for example, for non-essential cookies, certain marketing, or sensitive data), you can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.
5. Automated Decisions and Profiling
We do not make decisions about you that produce legal or similarly significant effects using automated processing alone. Some features (for example, course recommendations, AI-assisted help from our chatbot “Fleety,” or matching you to projects) use automated logic, but a human is involved in any decision that materially affects your participation. You may ask us to explain these features and request human review by emailing info@techfleet.org.
6. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal information for money. We share information only as described below:
With service providers that host, analyze, secure, or otherwise help operate the Platform under written contracts that limit how they use your data.
With other Platform users when you choose to participate in projects, teams, or community spaces — only the profile fields you make visible.
With Discord, Google, and similar providers when you connect those accounts.
With clients of Tech Fleet projects, only when you apply to or join their project, and only the information needed for that project.
With law enforcement, regulators, or courts when we are legally required, or to protect rights, property, or safety.
In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, with appropriate confidentiality protections.
With your consent or at your direction.
6.1 “Sale” and “Sharing” under U.S. state laws
Some U.S. state privacy laws (including California’s CCPA/CPRA, Virginia’s VCDPA, Colorado’s CPA, Connecticut’s CTDPA, Utah’s UCPA, Texas’s TDPSA, Oregon’s OCPA, Montana’s MCDPA, and similar laws) define “sale” and “sharing” broadly. We do not sell personal information for monetary value. We do not knowingly share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We may use limited analytics cookies and tracking pixels that some regulators consider “sharing”; you can opt out using our cookie banner, the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link, or a Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal, which we honor as a valid opt-out request for the browser that sends it.
7. International Data Transfers
We are based in the United States. If you use the Platform from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States and other countries where we or our service providers operate. These countries may have data protection laws that are different from the laws in your country.
When we transfer personal information out of the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, we use lawful transfer mechanisms, such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, the Swiss–U.S. Data Privacy Framework where applicable, or your explicit consent. You may request a copy of the safeguards by emailing info@techfleet.org.
8. How Long We Keep Your Information
We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy, plus a reasonable period to meet legal, accounting, or reporting obligations and to defend legal claims. In general:
Account data: while your account is active, plus up to 24 months after deletion for backup, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution.
Application and program data: for the length of the program plus up to 7 years for nonprofit recordkeeping and tax purposes.
Audit logs: retained for the period required by SOC 2 and ISO 27001 controls (typically up to 7 years), with cryptographic integrity protection.
Analytics and performance data: aggregated and de-identified after a short window (typically up to 25 months).
Marketing data: until you unsubscribe, plus a short suppression-list period.
When data is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it using secure methods.
9. How We Protect Your Information
We use a layered set of technical and organizational measures aligned with SOC 2, ISO 27001, and applicable HIPAA safeguards, including encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest, role-based access control, row-level security on our database, multi-factor authentication for administrators, vulnerability scanning, audit logging, and a written incident response plan. No system can be 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work hard to protect your information and to notify you and regulators if a notifiable security incident affects you.
10. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the rights below. We do not charge a fee for most requests and we will respond within the time required by law (usually 30–45 days, with one extension where allowed).
Right to know or access the personal information we hold about you, including categories, sources, purposes, and recipients.
Right to receive a portable copy of your information in a commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to delete or erase your personal information.
Right to restrict or object to processing, including profiling, for direct marketing or based on legitimate interests.
Right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
Right to opt out of “sale” or “sharing” of personal information and of targeted advertising.
Right to opt out of certain profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
Right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising your rights.
Right to appeal a decision we make about your privacy request.
Right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority in your country (for EU/EEA, your local supervisory authority; for the UK, the ICO; for Brazil, the ANPD; for Canada, the OPC; etc.).