Privacy Policy

1. Overview & Scope

This policy applies to:

• Candidates whose information is submitted to Squad by a recruiter, or who apply directly
• Recruiters and other users of Squad's platform
• Visitors to our website

If you are located outside the United States, see Section 9 for information about international data transfers.

If a recruiter submits you to Squad, our Candidate Privacy Notice explains in more detail how we handle your information.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

• Candidate information: name, email address, phone number, resume/CV, LinkedIn profile, professional and employment history, location, salary expectations, work authorization if you share it, notes from your recruiter’s screening call, and other information submitted by you or by the recruiter who refers you. We may also obtain information from public professional profiles and from the identity and fraud-prevention services described in Section 3.
• Recruiter information: name, email address, phone number, and account details for recruiters using Squad's platform.
• Recordings: audio, video, and transcripts of screening calls or interviews, either shared with Squad by your recruiter with your agreement or recorded by Squad on video calls with your agreement, processed by a third-party recording and transcription service (see Section 5). We tell you at the start of any call Squad records, and you can ask us not to record.
• Verification information: to confirm the authenticity of a candidate's identity and application, Squad may process a candidate's name, email address, phone number, and LinkedIn profile through a third-party fraud-prevention service (see Section 3), and keeps the results of those checks.
• Usage data: IP address, browser type, device information, and access times when you use our website.
• Other information: anything else you choose to share with us.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to inquiries and requests
• Provide, operate, and improve the Services
• Communicate with candidates about applications, interviews, or opportunities
• Match candidates to the role they were submitted for and to other open roles. We may share your profile with companies hiring for those roles unless you opt out, and we never share it with your current employer. Being shown to a company does not put you in its hiring process: we will get your confirmation if you are interested.
• Record, store, and share recordings with hiring companies for evaluation, where you agreed (Section 5)
• Verify that a candidate's identity and application are authentic
• Use automated tools to help review candidates, as described in Section 4
• Analyze website usage and trends
• Maintain the security and integrity of our platform
• Comply with legal obligations

Authenticity and fraud verification. When a candidate is submitted to Squad, Squad runs an identity and authenticity check using a third-party identity and fraud-prevention service. This check reviews a candidate's name, email address, phone number, and LinkedIn profile against publicly available professional information and other fraud-prevention data sources to confirm they are consistent and to detect impersonation or fraudulent applications. Squad introduced this check in response to a rise in fraudulent candidate submissions across the recruiting industry.

Legal basis for this processing:

This reflects how Squad approaches the different purposes above.

4. Automated Tools and Human Review

We use automated tools, including AI, throughout our process. They match candidates to open roles, compare your experience, skills, and education with a role’s requirements, and check your identity and contact details with fraud-prevention services. We use AI to assess candidates, and a member of our team reviews each assessment before we decide whether to share your profile. You can ask for a person to review any decision. A fraud check never decides on its own: a person reviews every flag. More about how we use AI in hiring, including in New York City, is in the “AI in hiring” section below.

The authenticity check described in Section 3 may flag an application for further review. A flag is never treated as a final decision:

• A person at Squad reviews every flag before any decision is made about a candidate's submission.
• If a check raises a question, we’ll ask you to confirm your identity, by email or through your recruiter. We don’t use facial recognition or voice analysis.
• We don’t screen candidates based on age or any other characteristic protected by law, and we don’t act on a request from a hiring company to do so.

If your application is affected by this process, or you’d prefer we not use our automated tools, you may contact us at privacy@squadtalent.xyz to ask about the flag or request a review, an alternative to our automated tools, or a reasonable accommodation. We can confirm your identity through a short call with our team instead, and have a person review your profile without our AI assessment. If we weren’t able to confirm your identity and you think that’s wrong, a different member of our team will review it within 5 business days.

AI in hiring

We use an automated tool, including AI, to assess candidates submitted to us for a role and to help decide whether to share their profile with the hiring company. It compares your experience, skills, and education with the role’s requirements, and considers location and salary expectations. A member of our team reviews each assessment before we decide.

You can ask for a person to review a decision, for an alternative selection process, or for a reasonable accommodation by emailing privacy@squadtalent.xyz.

New York City: this is our notice under Local Law 144. A summary of the most recent independent bias audit of this tool will be posted here before we use it without a person reviewing each decision. The data we collect, where it comes from, and how long we keep it are described above; you can also ask us in writing and we’ll answer within 30 days.

Illinois: we use AI, as described in this section, in recruiting and screening.

5. How We Share Your Information

We may share information with:

• Employers and hiring companies: for the role you were submitted for and, if you haven’t opted out, other roles as described in Section 3 (if you're in the UK, the EU, Quebec, Hong Kong, South Korea, the UAE, or anywhere else the law requires it, we'll ask you first), your professional profile and work history, including a resume generated from your profile without contact details or graduation dates, and, once you confirm interest, your original resume file and contact details and, with consent, interview recordings or summaries, solely for recruitment and hiring purposes. We never share your profile with your current employer, and you can name companies to skip.
• The recruiter who submitted you: updates on your application.
• Service providers that help us run Squad: identity and fraud-prevention services (such as Tofu and the data providers it uses), AI model providers, cloud hosting and email, communication tools (such as Slack), and call recording and transcription tools (such as Fathom).
• Legal requirements: if required by law, regulation, or legal process.
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• With your consent: as directed by you.

Our service providers are contractually bound to protect your information and to process it only as we direct, consistent with this policy.

We don’t share the results of identity or fraud checks with employers, hiring companies, or recruiters.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes in this policy, meet legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. We decide how long to keep information based on these criteria:

• Candidate profiles: while you’re active with Squad, and for as long as you may reasonably be a fit for open or future roles. We regularly review inactive profiles and delete or anonymize those we no longer need, or sooner if you ask.
• Recordings: as long as needed for the hiring process for that role and to answer any questions about it.
• Identity/authenticity verification results: as long as needed to complete verification and handle any review or dispute about it.
• Placements and recruiter records: as long as needed for our agreements with hiring companies and recruiters, and to meet tax, accounting, and legal obligations.
• Records of permissions and decisions: as long as needed to show how we handled your information and to resolve any question or dispute about it.

We may keep information longer if the law requires it, or to establish or defend a legal claim. When no longer needed, information is securely deleted or anonymized.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access, correct, or delete your personal information, including interview recordings and verification records
• Object to or restrict certain processing
• Ask a person to review a decision made with automated tools, or ask us not to use our automated tools for you (Section 4)
• Ask for a reasonable accommodation or an alternative to our automated tools
• Withdraw consent, where consent is the basis for processing (this does not affect processing already completed)
• Request information about how your data has been processed and shared
• Opt out of marketing communications

When you ask us to delete your information, we’ll also instruct our service providers to delete it, and ask the recruiter who submitted you to delete what we sent them; some service providers may keep limited information where the law allows, such as to prevent fraud. You can use an authorized agent where the law allows. We won’t treat you differently for using your rights.

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@squadtalent.xyz. We acknowledge requests within 10 business days and respond within the time the law requires (generally 30 to 45 days).

8. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information, including encryption of sensitive data, role-based access controls, and secure storage and transmission. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. International Data Transfers

If you access our Services from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States and other countries, which may have data protection laws different from those in your jurisdiction. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK Addendum, for these transfers.

If you’re in the EU or UK, Squad is the controller of your information and relies on its legitimate interests in matching candidates with roles and preventing hiring fraud, and on steps taken at your request before you’re hired. You can object at any time. For candidates in the EU, a member of our team makes any decision not to move you forward. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

10. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If we learn we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly. Contact us if you believe a child has provided us with personal information.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by posting the updated policy here and revising the effective date above.

12. Contact Us

Volar Labs, Inc.

privacy@squadtalent.xyz

19 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10010

13. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We may use cookies and similar technologies to analyze site traffic and usage, and to improve your experience on our website. You can control cookies through your browser settings. If you have questions about the cookies we use, contact us at privacy@squadtalent.xyz.

14. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party sites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please review their policies before providing information to them.