Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

PeopleGrove Inc. (“PeopleGrove”, “us”, “we”, or “our”) operates the PeopleGrove platform, which includes this website (the “Service”). We operate this site in conjunction with our partners (universities and other organizations) who manage the day to day operation of their respective site (our “Partners”). This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information when you use our Service. We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. We use your Personal Information for providing and improving the Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information under this policy. We encourage you to read the applicable Terms of Service to understand the terms related to the use of the Platform/Service, which is generally accessible at https://www.peoplegrove.com/terms-of-service.

2. Objective and Scope

This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) explains how we use and protect the Personal Information (defined below) of the users/customers of our PeopleGrove Platform. This Privacy Policy describes the usage of information provided or collected through sites and applications, where this Privacy Policy is posted (“Platform”) and affiliate or third-party sites/platforms through which the Platform and/or any of its features and/or services available on the Platform may be provided.  We follow this Privacy Policy under applicable law in the places where we operate. In some cases, we may provide additional Privacy Policies specific to certain features or services. Those notices are to be read in combination with this Privacy Policy. Please also keep in observance that our platform may contain links to other sites not owned or controlled by us and we are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. 

3. Collection of Personal Information

When we refer to ‘Personal Information’ we mean any information related to a particular individual who we identify (whether directly or indirectly) a particular individual or natural person. This includes direct identifiers such as your name, postal address, email address, and mobile number, and also includes all other information which is linked to that information such as your profile information, etc.

3.1 Information provided by you

We may ask for and you may choose to provide the below information, which may include Personal Information when you use or register on PeopleGrove Platform/Service and create an account and use any of the features or services available on the Platform or contact us directly:

• Name
• Email Address
• Phone number
• Age or date of birth
• Password
• Education History
• Work History
• Other data fields set up by PeopleGrove or our partners which can be visible on your profile or used for mentor matching (you will have control over which data is visible by visiting your profile)

3.2 Information we collect automatically

We and certain partners/third parties on our behalf may collect information about you and your use of our Platform, your interactions with us, as well as information regarding your computer or other smart/mobile device used to access our service.  The information may be collected using tracking technologies such as cookies, pixels, tags, software development kits, application program interfaces, and Web beacons, etc and may include:

• Your interactions with our emails, communications, messages;
• Your interactions with our customer support such as the date, time, and reason for contacting us, transcripts of any chat conversations, and if you call us, your phone number and call recordings;
• Device and software information such as device id, device model, platform, type of operating system, installed version, time zone setting, mobile carrier, screen resolution, etc., and other unique identifiers;
• We capture information related to the performance of the Platform, such as crash logs, build analytics, and other performance statistics generated when you use the Platform

Data collected on the PeopleGrove platform is on behalf of our Partners, and our Partners retain ownership of the data you provide on this Platform as a hosting service and/or data processor. If you do not agree to give ownership of your data on the PeopleGrove platform to our Partner who is operating this site, please contact support@peoplegrove.com to delete your account and all associated data.

3.3. Information we collect through third party sources

We may obtain your Personal Information from other sources. If you choose to link, connect, or log in to our Platform using a social media platform like Facebook, LinkedIn or Google the social media platform may send us your profile and social information such as Email, Name, and other profile data provided by the social media platform.

3.4 Information we collect via Personal Communication Using the PeopleGrove Platform.

We collect information about you when you send, receive, or engage with messages in connection with our Services. For example, the main purpose of the PeopleGrove platform is to communicate with other individuals on the platform. When connecting with an individual using the Service, you may be exchanging personal information with that individual, such as email or phone numbers. The content of communications on PeopleGrove is stored by PeopleGrove. PeopleGrove and our Partners reserve the right to screen the content of communications on the platform to improve the Service and prevent spam and abuse.

4. Purpose of Processing

We will only collect and process Personal Information about you where we have a lawful basis to do so. Our lawful basis for processing your Personal Information will vary depending on your country, the context in which we collect and use it, and the following examples give you a guide as to which basis we think applies (but if the context changes or other circumstances arise then the lawful basis may also change). Our primary purpose in collecting your information, including Personal Information is to deliver the PeopleGrove Platform/Service and its various features. Please note that should you choose to not provide us consent to collect your information, including Personal Information, we may not be able to perform the contract with you. Where we refer to ‘perform the contract’ we mean the Terms of Service apply to your use of the PeopleGrove Platform/Service, which means that you may either not be able to access certain features of the PeopleGrove Platform/Service or we may not be able to provide you the PeopleGrove Platform/Service in entirety. For example, we use your information where we need the Personal Information to perform the contract with you (for example, to provide the Platform or our services to you) to:

• If the processing of your Personal Information is subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation, we rely on your consent as a lawful basis for processing personal data to provide you with marketing or promotional communications.
• We process personal data to provide you with services as requested by our Partners or to perform our contract with you as described in this document, including:
  • To enable the Service to function as expected; and
  • To communicate with you in response to customer service inquiries and to deliver non-promotional, service-related emails.
• Additionally, we process personal data based on our “legitimate interests” in providing you the Service as described in this document including:
  • Register you on our PeopleGrove Platform and create an account 
  • Allow you to Sign Up / Log In using social media accounts like Facebook/Google etc
  • To connect users on the platform for mentoring and networking purposes
  • To process event registrations, job applications, and surveys
• In some cases, PeopleGrove may process personal information pursuant to a legal obligation or to protect your vital interests or those of another person.
• Provide you with customer or technical support including addressing support queries related to, but not limited to, data processing, or to diagnose any problems with our servers/systems, etc.

Or, otherwise whenever the law requires us to get your permission or where we have stated we may seek your permission in this Privacy Policy. In some contexts, we use your Personal Information where we have a legal obligation to do so or to protect your vital interests or those of another person:

• Prevent, detect and investigate potentially prohibited or illegal activities, including fraud, and enforcing our terms (such as determining free trial eligibility);
• Confirming your identity if you are exercising legal rights;
• Notify you about changes in the Terms of Service or this Privacy Policy;
• Carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us/our distributor.
• When you access or use the Services or send any data, query, request, or communication to us via our Support email, you understand that you are communicating with us electronically and that we may respond via electronic means from us, such as by email.

5. Information Disclosure/Sharing

We will not share your information with anyone except as described in this section and other sections of this Privacy Policy. Please read it carefully. PeopleGrove operates online platforms on behalf of our Partners (universities or other organizations). When you sign up for a PeopleGrove powered platform, the Partner who has contracted with PeopleGrove to host the platform is explicitly clear. The PeopleGrove Partner for which PeopleGrove is hosting the Platform on behalf of retains ownership of the data collected.

5.1 Service Providers

We provide Personal Information to our contracted vendors and other trusted businesses or persons to process it for us (who are involved in the direct delivery of services to you (such as email or SMS providers), based on our instructions and in compliance with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.

5.2 Legal

In the event of any requirement by court order, government, or quasi-government agency to disclose your Personal Information, we will disclose information as may be legally required. We may also disclose your Personal Information if we, in good faith believe that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal processes. In the event PeopleGrove is merged with or acquired by another company or in case of reorganization or restructuring of the business, we and our affiliates may share your Personal Information, wholly or in part, with another business entity. PeopleGrove does not share your data with any third parties for marketing or data mining purposes.

6. Your Controls and Choices

We provide you the ability to exercise certain controls and choices regarding our collection, use, and sharing of your Personal Information. Under applicable law, your controls and choices may include:

6.1 Managing Your Information

You can access some of your Personal Information through the ‘My Profile’ section of the Platform after a successful login. You are responsible for providing us with your accurate Personal Information and keeping your Personal Information up-to-date. You may also request your account to be deleted by visiting the ‘My Preferences’ section of your account.

6.2 Rectification of Inaccurate or Incomplete Information

You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete Personal Information concerning you by sending us an email to our support email address ([email protected]).

6.3 Data Access and Portability

In some jurisdictions, applicable law may entitle you to request copies of your Personal Information held by us. You may also be entitled to request copies of Personal Information that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and/or request us to transmit this information to another service provider (where technically feasible). You can issue such a request by contacting us via the provided support email ([email protected]).

6.4  Withdrawing Consent and Restriction of Processing

For data that we collect, and process based on permissions or consent obtained from you, you may withdraw your consent at any time to receive marketing or promotional communications at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link found within PeopleGrove email updates and changing your contact preferences.  Note there are some emails which you may not unsubscribe from (such as message requests) and you must delete your account to stop these emails. You can also issue such a request by contacting us via the provided support email ([email protected]), or by visiting the ‘My Preferences’ section of your account on the Platform.

6.5. Data Retention and Erasure

We retain your Personal Information as long as necessary for providing you the services and as per the lawful basis of processing and to comply with our legal obligations. In particular, when determining how long we retain personal data, we take into account how long we need it to:

• Maintain business records for analysis and/or audit purposes;
• Comply with record retention requirements under the law;
• Defend or bring any existing or potential legal claims; and
• Deal with any complaints regarding the Platform/any services provided on the Platform.

If you no longer want us to use your information, then you can request that we erase your Personal Information and close your Platform account. You can ask us to erase or delete all or some of your personal data (e.g., if it is no longer necessary to provide Services to you) by emailing to [email protected]. Please note that if your request for the erasure of your Personal Information:

• We may retain some of your Personal Information as necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as fraud detection and prevention and enhancing safety. For example, if we suspend a Platform account for fraud or safety reasons, we may retain certain information from that account to prevent that user from opening a new account in the future.
• We may retain and use your Personal Information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations. For example, we may keep some of your information for legal reporting and auditing obligations.

Note: Users located within the EEA may contact us at [email protected] with questions or requests regarding their personal information. Please note that PeopleGrove may request additional information from you to verify your identity before we disclose any personal or account information.

7. Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly permit any person who is under 13 years of age to register or to provide any other personally-identifying information. Please do not register with us if you are below 13 years of age. If we become aware that any Personal Information of persons less than 13 years of age has been collected on the Platform without verified parental consent, then we will take the appropriate steps to delete any such information.

8. Data transfer, storage & processing globally

We operate globally and may transfer your Personal Information to PeopleGrove affiliated companies or service providers or third-party recipients to whom we provide services, in locations around the world for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Accordingly, by consenting to this Privacy Policy, you also provide consent to PeopleGrove to transfer your Personal Information to PeopleGrove affiliated companies or service providers or such third-party recipients in locations around the world. Wherever your Personal Information is transferred, stored, or processed by us or our affiliates or service providers, we will take reasonable steps to safeguard the privacy of your Personal Information. PeopleGrove Partners may request data hosting within a specific region. If a specific region is selected, PeopleGrove stores all data within the region where the Platform is hosted.

9. Security

We are continuously implementing and updating administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your Personal Information against unauthorized access, loss, destruction, or alteration. Some of the safeguards we use to protect your information are firewalls and data encryption, and information access controls. These measures are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risks of processing your Personal Information. If you know or have reason to believe that your account credentials have been lost, stolen, altered, or otherwise compromised or in case of any actual or suspected unauthorized use of your account, please (See Contact Information below). The PeopleGrove Platform uses commercially reasonable security practices and procedures industry practices and procedures designed to help keep your Personal Information safe and secure. Unfortunately, the transmission of information over the Internet is not completely secure.  Although we strive to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of your data while it is being transmitted to our PeopleGrove Platform/Service; any transmission is at your own risk. We will also ensure, on a commercially reasonable efforts basis, that any agent or third party that we employ complies with the same security standards as we do for the protection of your Personal Information.

10. Cookies

A cookie is a small text file that can be stored on and accessed from your device when you visit our Platform, to the extent you agree. The other tracking technologies work similarly to cookies and place small data files on your devices or monitor your website activity to enable us to collect information about how you use our sites. The information provided below about cookies also applies to these other tracking technologies. We and our service providers may use cookies and other technologies to store information in your web browser or on your mobile phone, tablet, computer, or other devices (collectively “devices”) that allow us to store and receive certain pieces of information whenever you use or interact with our Platform. We also use cookies and other tracking technologies to control access to certain content on our sites, protect the sites, and to process any requests that you make to us. If you do not want cookies to be dropped on your device, you can adjust the setting of your Internet browser to reject all or some cookies. For further information about how to do so, please refer to your browser ‘help’ / ‘tool’ or ‘edit’ section for cookie settings. Please note that if your browser setting is already set up to block all cookies then some of this site’s features may not operate as intended. If you want to remove previously-stored cookies, you can manually delete the cookies at any time through your browser settings. However, this will not prevent the Platform from placing further cookies on your device unless and until you adjust your Internet browser setting as described above.

11. Privacy Shield Compliance

PeopleGrove complies with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework (“Privacy Shield”) as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union to the United States. PeopleGrove has certified to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/. In compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles, PeopleGrove commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal information. EU individuals with inquiries or complaints regarding our Privacy Shield policy should first contact PeopleGrove at: PeopleGrove Inc. Attn: Legal Department / Privacy Shield 240 Stockton Street, 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 Email: [email protected] PeopleGrove has further committed to refer unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to JAMS, an alternative dispute resolution provider located in the United States. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint from us, or if we have not addressed your complaint to your satisfaction, please contact or visit https://www.jamsadr.com/file-an-eu-us-privacy-shield-or-safe-harbor-claim for more information or to file a complaint. The services of JAMS are provided at no cost to you. As part of Privacy Shield, PeopleGrove is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You have the possibility, under certain conditions, to invoke binding arbitration for complaints regarding Privacy Shield compliance not resolved by any of the other Privacy Shield mechanisms. See this link for more information: https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=ANNEX-I-introduction PeopleGrove remains responsible for the processing of personal information we have received under the Privacy Shield in the event of a transfer to a third party and subsequently transfers to a third party acting as an agent on its behalf. PeopleGrove shall remain liable if its agent processes such personal information in a manner inconsistent with Privacy Shield unless PeopleGrove proves that it is not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.

12. Change in Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is subject to change from time to time. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure compliance with applicable laws or in response to changing regulatory or operational requirements (“Terms of Service”). The Terms of Service shall be effective immediately (unless we state otherwise) and shall supersede the terms of this Privacy Policy. We will notify you of any changes to this Privacy Policy if the changes significantly affect your rights or as may be required by law. Your continued use of the PeopleGrove Platform/Service after any updates will mean you have accepted those changes. If you do not agree to the updates you should stop using the Service.

13. Contact us

If You have any questions about this Privacy and Cookie Policy, the practices of the Platform, or Your dealings with the Website, You can contact us at [email protected] or via the links at the bottom of the page, or you can write and send a letter to us at the below address:- PeopleGrove Inc. Attn: Legal Department / Privacy Shield 240 Stockton Street, 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 Please do not share any private information in the above-stated email. If you’re not satisfied with our response to any complaint or believe our processing of your information does not comply with data protection law, you can write to our Grievance Officer:  Reilly Davis, CTO [email protected] Attn: Grievance Officer 240 Stockton Street, 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108

Cookie Policy

PeopleGrove (“we”, “us”, “PeopleGrove”) understands that your privacy is important to you (“you”, “your”, “user”, “customers”) and we are committed to being transparent about the technologies we use. This Cookie Policy explains how and why cookies and other similar technologies may be stored on and accessed from your device when you use or visit PeopleGrove Platform/website or application that posts a link to this Policy (collectively, “the Sites”).  This Cookie Policy should be read together with our Privacy Policy (https://www.peoplegrove.com/privacy-policy) and Terms of Service (https://www.peoplegrove.com/terms-of-service). By continuing to browse or use our Sites, you agree that we can store and access Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies as described in this Cookie Policy.

What are Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies?

A cookie is a small text file that can be stored on and accessed from your device when you visit one of our Sites, to the extent you agree. The other tracking technologies work similarly to cookies and place small data files on your devices or monitor your website activity to enable us to collect information about how you use our Sites. This allows our sites to recognize your device from those of other users of the Sites. The information provided below about cookies also applies to these other tracking technologies. You can find more information at www.allaboutcookies.org and www.youronlinechoices.eu.

How do our sites and platforms/applications use cookies and other tracking technologies?

PeopleGrove uses cookies and other tracking technologies to identify you and your interests, to remember your preferences, and to track your use of our sites/platform. We also use cookies and other tracking technologies to control access to certain content on our sites, protect the sites, and to process any requests that you make to us.

First and Third-party Cookies

“First-party Cookies” are cookies that belong to us and which we place on your device. “Third-party Cookies” are cookies that another party places on your device through our site. PeopleGrove may contract with third-party service providers to send emails to users who have provided us with their contact information. To help measure and improve the effectiveness of our email communications, and/or to determine whether messages have been opened and links clicked on, the third-party service providers may place cookies on the devices of these users. We use the following types of cookies:

Persistent Cookies

We use persistent cookies to improve your experience of using the sites. This includes recording your acceptance of our Cookie Policy to remove the cookie message which first appears when you visit the site.

Session Cookies

Session Cookies are temporary and deleted from your machine when your web browser closes. We use session Cookies to help us track internet usage as described above. You may refuse to accept browser Cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of the Sites/Platform. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse Cookies, our system will check if Cookies can be captured when you direct your browser to our Sites/Platforms. The data collected by the sites/platforms and/or through cookies that may be placed on your computer will not be kept for longer than is necessary to fulfill the purposes mentioned above. These are the Cookies used for the following purposes:

How do I refuse or withdraw my consent to the use of Cookies?

If you do not want Cookies to be saved on your device, you can adjust the setting of your Internet browser to reject the setting of all or some Cookies and to alert you when a Cookie is placed on your device. For further information about how to do so, please refer to your browser ‘help’ / ‘tool’ or ‘edit’ section; Please note that if your browser setting is already setup to block all Cookies (including strictly necessary Cookies) you may not be able to access or use all or parts or functionalities of our Sites. If you want to remove previously-stored Cookies, you can manually delete the Cookies at any time. However, this will not prevent the sites/platforms from placing further Cookies on your device unless and until you adjust your Internet browser setting as described above.  For more information on the development of user-profiles and the use of targeting/advertising Cookies, please see www.youronlinechoices.eu if you are located in Europe or www.aboutads.info/choices if in the United States.

Contact us

If You have any questions about this Privacy and Cookie Policy, the practices of the Platform, or Your dealings with the Website, You can contact us at [email protected] or via the links at the bottom of the page, or you can write and send a letter to us at the below address:- PeopleGrove Inc. Attn: Legal Department / Privacy Shield 240 Stockton Street, 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 Please do not share any private information in the above-stated email. If you’re not satisfied with our response to any complaint or believe our processing of your information does not comply with data protection law, you can write to our Grievance Officer:  Reilly Davis, CTO [email protected] Attn: Grievance Officer 240 Stockton Street, 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108