HackerEarth Privacy Policy

1.Introduction

This Privacy Policy governs any personal information of any user ("Your" or "You") that is collected, used or processed by HackerEarth Inc. and its affiliates ("HackerEarth", "we", "our" or "us") on our website hackerearth.com and all the subdomains under hackerearth.com. ("Site") or while using our services, products or any applications developed or created by us (collectively, "Services").

This Privacy Policy details our commitment to protecting Your privacy and ensuring that You have a positive experience on our Site. "Personal Data" in this Privacy Policy means any information that can be used to personally identify a person and may include, but is not limited to, name, email ID, postal or other physical addresses, title, and other Personally Identifiable Information ("PII").

2.Collecting Your Personal Data

2.1Personal Data Collected by Us

Based on how the Site is accessed and the way the Services are used, we collect Your Personal Data as follows:

A. When You access the Site on Your own accord for personal reasons:

• Name (first name/last name/full name);
• Title;
• Email ID (both personal and professional).

B. When You have been granted access to the Site by our existing customer, the customer may choose to collect the additional details but not limited to the the below to use our Services:

• Profile/display picture;
• E mail ID (both personal and professional)
• Country, state, postal code, or city of residence;
• Login name, screen name, nickname, or handle;
• Telephone number (home/work/mobile number);
• Postal or other physical addresses;
• Date of birth;
• Gender;
• Name(s) of the school/university (including grades and graduation year);
• Name(s) of the workplace;
• Job position/designation (including salary);
• Resume/CV;
• Information related to social profiles, such as Facebook, Google, GitHub, etc.

Your consent shall be explicitly sought before collecting any additional Personal Data.

2.2Usage Information

We also automatically collect Usage Information through account registration, use of service features, test creation, report generation, support requests, event registration, surveys, forums, newsletter subscriptions, and content customization, including: cookies and tracking technologies; page-view activity; geolocation data; Internet Protocol (IP) addresses; browser type; Internet Service Provider (ISP); referring/exit pages; files viewed on the site; operating system; date/time stamps; and clickstream data.

Network information, including product and service usage details, is transmitted to us for service improvement purposes. We adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the limited use requirements.

This Usage Information is retained without a fixed expiry date. It is retained only in anonymized and/or aggregated form, from which all direct and indirect identifiers have been removed. Such anonymized data cannot reasonably be used, on its own or in combination with other information reasonably available to us, to re-identify or relate the data back to a specific individual.

2.3Geolocation

When You use our Services, we collect information about Your location. This information is used for optimizing Your connection to our data center and suggesting customizations to Your experience with our Services (e.g., Your language preference, relevant events, challenges, hackathons, and more). We share this information with third parties such as our cloud service provider. If You wish Your information, not be shared in this manner, You may opt-out by contacting us at support@hackerearth.com.

However, certain features of Services depend on geolocation. If You choose to block Your geolocation identity, You may not have optimal experience on the Site and You may not be able to sign in or use those features and preferences that are dependent on geolocation.

2.4Invites

If You choose to use our 'Invite Service' to tell a friend about our Services, You represent that You have Your friend's consent to give us their name and email ID. We will automatically send Your friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the Site. Unless otherwise authorized by Your friend, we will only use Your friend's name and email ID for the purpose of sending them this one-time email and maintaining an activity log of our referral program.

2.5Interest-based Advertisements

We use cookies to examine Your browsing activity and interest on the Site to provide personalised advertisements. We also partner with third parties to either display advertising on the Site or to manage our advertising on other sites. Some of our third-party partners may use cookies to gather information about Your browsing activities and interests on the Site, our affiliates' websites, and unaffiliated websites to provide You with customised advertisements.

2.6Your Choice

You can choose whether to provide Personal Data to us. However, You may not be able to access certain options, offers, and Services if You have not provided Your Personal Data. You can sign up, and therefore consent to receiving emails or newsletters from us. If You would like to discontinue receiving this communication, You can unsubscribe by using the Unsubscribe link at the end of such emails or write to us at support@hackerearth.com.

3.Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies or similar technologies to analyze trends, administer the Site, track users' movements around the Site, and gather information about the user base, such as location information based on IP addresses. Users can control the use of cookies in their respective browsers. Our Services do not support Do Not Track requests. When using our Services, information about Your online activity will be collected while and after You leave our Site.

Certain features of our Services depend on cookies and plugins. Please be aware that if You choose to block cookies and plugins, You may not be able to sign in or use those features. Preferences controlled by those cookies, including advertising preferences, will be deleted and may need to be recreated.

We collect information related to visitors and machines. Such information includes cookies, IP addresses, page-view activities, and geolocation data. The details of user activities collected using the Site are the number of visits, time spent, and pages clicked. More information with respect to our cookies and sub-processors can be found here.

4.Processing Your Personal Data

We will use Your Personal Data only in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If You do not wish for us to continue using Your Personal Data, You can request that Your account be deactivated from Your profile settings.

We will only process Your Personal Data if we have a lawful basis for doing so, which includes, but is not limited to, the following: consent, contractual necessity (i.e. processing that is necessary for the performance of a contract with You, such as Your user agreement with us that allows us to provide You Services), and our legitimate interests or the legitimate interest of others (e.g. our users) such as:

• Personalizing, improving, or operating our Services and business;
• Understanding Your needs and interests;
• Fulfilling Your requests related to our Services;
• Providing You with relevant information;
• Complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes with users, and enforcing our agreements;
• Protecting, investigating, and deterring against fraudulent, harmful, unauthorized, or illegal activities;
• Providing reports based on information collected from use of Services;
• Keeping You up-to-date about latest Services announcements, software updates, software upgrades, system enhancements, special offers, and other information;
• Providing support and assistance for our Services;
• Providing the ability to create personal profile;
• Providing the ability to contact You, if required;
• Providing customer feedback and support;
• Providing and administering opt-in events or other marketing or promotional activities;
• Being able to conduct surveys in order to provide You with better products and services;
• Supporting recruitment inquiries;
• Personalizing marketing communication and website content based on Your preferences such as in response to Your request for specific information on products and Services that may be of interest to You;
• Meeting contractual or legal obligations.

5.Sharing Your Personal Data

HackerEarth does not sell, rent, or otherwise disclose Your Personal Data to third parties without Your explicit permission, except as permitted or required by applicable law. Personal Data may be shared within HackerEarth and its affiliated companies, as well as with authorized third-party service providers, business partners, vendors, agents, and contractors for processing, storage, and delivery of the requested Services, including website hosting, event and seminar registration, and customer support. Our service providers and contractors process Personal Data only for these business purposes and under written contracts that restrict how they may use it. We may also use Personal Data for our own internal business purposes, such as improving and developing our Services.

Our use of cookies for interest-based advertising (Section 2.5) may be considered “sharing” under certain privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). You can opt out by managing cookies in Your browser (Section 3) or by contacting us.

In connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale or transfer of assets, insolvency, bankruptcy, or similar corporate transaction, Personal Data may form part of the assets transferred to or acquired by the relevant successor or third party. Where such transfer is permitted by applicable law, the acquiring entity may continue to process Personal Data in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Where required under the DPDPA, HackerEarth will obtain the Data Principal's consent before transferring Personal Data to a prospective purchaser in transactions that are not approved by a competent court or tribunal.

HackerEarth may disclose Personal Data where necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, subpoenas, court orders, or other lawful processes; establish, exercise, or defend legal rights and claims; or investigate, prevent, or take action against illegal activities, suspected fraud, security or safety threats, violations of our Terms of Service, or other unlawful activities.

6.Data Transfers and Disclosure

HackerEarth may provide Personal Data in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including national security or law enforcement requirements. We are subject to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) investigatory and enforcement powers. Binding arbitration under the DPF Panel may be available for complaint resolution.

Personal Data may be transferred to third parties, including across countries, consistent with the DPF Principles. Where we transfer the personal data of data principals located in India outside India, we make any such transfer in compliance with applicable law, including any list of restricted countries or territories that the Central Government of India may notify from time to time under the DPDPA.

Disclosure occurs under these conditions:

• Compliance and regulatory purposes or legal claim establishment
• Legal obligations, including lawful public authority requests and national security/law enforcement obligations
• When obtaining third-party services related to business operations, consistent with the purposes for which the data was collected. Our written contracts with third parties require at least the same level of privacy protection and security as required by the DPF Principles
• With your permission

To the extent provided by the DPF Principles, we remain responsible and liable under the DPF Principles if a third party that we engage to process Personal Data on our behalf does so in a manner inconsistent with the DPF Principles.

7.Data Retention

Your personal data is retained for the duration of your active account. Following the deactivation or termination of your account, we will retain your data for a period not to exceed one year. You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data from our systems. Upon receiving a valid request, we will initiate the deletion process without undue delay. While your account will be immediately marked for deletion, any residual data in our systems will be securely purged within thirty (30) days, at which point your account will be permanently closed.

8.Security of Your Personal Data

We are committed to protecting the Personal Data shared with us. We utilize a combination of industry-standard security technologies, procedures, and organizational measures to help protect Your Personal Data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. These measures include:

• Secure infrastructure: our Services are hosted with reputable cloud providers designed for availability and resilience.
• Encryption: Personal Data is protected with encryption in transit and at rest, and passwords are not stored in plain text.
• Access controls: access to Personal Data is limited to authorized personnel who need it to perform their roles.
• Monitoring and testing: we monitor our systems, review and test our security controls regularly, and address identified risks in a timely manner.
• Service providers: we require service providers who process Personal Data on our behalf to protect it with appropriate security measures.

Incident response. We have procedures to detect, investigate and respond to security incidents. If a personal data breach affects Your Personal Data, we will notify You and the relevant parties where required by applicable law.

Your role. Please keep Your account credentials confidential and contact us promptly if You suspect any unauthorized access to Your account.

We continuously review and strengthen our security practices to keep pace with evolving risks and industry standards. If You have any questions about the security of Your Personal Data, You can contact us at support@hackerearth.com.

9.Your Rights

You have certain rights with respect to Your Personal Data. Please note that under certain circumstances, we may not be able to fully comply with Your requests without reviewing the same or we may ask You to provide additional information in accordance with Your request. For example, if we need to verify Your identity or the nature of Your request, we may request for additional Personal Data. In such situations, we will respond to let You know our decision.

To make any of the following requests, contact us by sending an email to support@hackerearth.com.

• Right to Access: You can request a copy of Your Personal Data that was collected by us.
• Right to Rectification: If You believe that any Personal Data we are holding about You is incorrect or incomplete, You can request that we correct or supplement it. You can also correct some of this information directly through Your user profile or profile/account settings after logging into account on the Site. Please contact us as soon as possible upon noticing any inaccuracies or incomplete information.
• Right to Objection: You can contact us to let us know that You object to the collection or use of Your Personal Data for certain purposes.
• Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete some or all Your Personal Data from our systems. While this will be done immediately, residual data may be saved in certain logs, and this will be purged within a year of deleting Your data. Once Your data is purged, You will no longer have an account with us. Deletion is subject to exceptions in law, for example our legal obligations, preventing illegal activity, or another consumer’s right to free speech.
• Right to Restrict Processing: You can always request us to deactivate Your account to restrict further processing of Your Personal Data.
• Right to Data Portability: You have the right to ask for a copy of Your Personal Data in a machine-readable format.
• Right to Refuse or Withdraw Consent: If we are processing Your Personal Data based on Your consent (as indicated at the time of collection of such data), You have the right to withdraw Your consent at any time. Please note, however, that if You exercise this right, You may have to then provide express consent on a case-by-case basis for the use or disclosure of certain Personal Data of Yours, if use or disclosure is necessary to enable You to use some or all of our Services. You can withdraw consent as easily as You gave it, without affecting processing that happened before, and we will stop processing Your Personal Data within a reasonable time unless the law requires us to continue.
• Right to file a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint about our practices with respect to Your Personal Data with the supervisory authority of Your country or EU Member State, such as the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission or, in India, the Data Protection Board of India.
• Right to Information: You can request information about whether and how we collect, use, disclose or sell Your Personal Data, including a summary of Your Personal Data, the categories we collect, the purposes for which we use it, and the categories of third parties with whom it has been shared or to whom it has been sold or disclosed for a business purpose.
• Right to Opt Out of Sale: You can opt out of any future sale of Your Personal Data. We will act on the request as soon as feasibly possible, and no later than 15 days after we receive it.
• Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not treat You differently for exercising any of these rights.
• Right to Remove Public Content: If You are under 18 and registered on the Site, You can ask us to remove content You posted publicly on the Site. We will make sure the content is no longer publicly displayed, but copies may remain in our systems, such as backups.
• Right Not to be Subject to Automated Decision-Making: We do not currently use Your Personal Data for automated decision-making, and we will tell You if that changes.
• Right to Nominate: You can nominate another person to exercise Your rights if You die or become incapacitated.
• Right to Grievance Redressal: You can raise a grievance with us about how we handle Your Personal Data and have it addressed.

We do not have to provide or delete de-identified information, or re-identify data to verify a request. Some of these rights apply only in certain regions; see Section 10 for who they apply to and how to exercise them.

10.Region-Specific Privacy Rights

Depending on where You live, You may have rights in addition to those described in Section 9. This section explains, for each region, who the rules apply to, our role, the Personal Data involved and how to exercise Your rights. The rights themselves are listed in Section 9, and how we share Personal Data is described in Section 5.

10.1California (CCPA)

Who this applies to. This section applies to California residents under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA). Under the California Code of Regulations, You are a California “resident” if You are in California for anything other than a temporary or transitory purpose, or if You live in California and are away only temporarily. Everyone else is a “non-resident.”

Data we collect.

We may also collect other data when You contact our customer support team, take part in customer surveys or contests, or when we need it to deliver our Services and respond to Your inquiries.

Sharing. How we share Personal Data, including our approach to “selling” and “sharing” under the CCPA, is described in Section 5 (Sharing Your Personal Data).

Children. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from anyone under 16 and will promptly delete such data if identified. If You believe we may have collected a child’s data, please contact us using the details in Section 15 (Contact Us).

How to exercise. Email support@hackerearth.com with Your request, including the email address linked to Your account and confirmation that You live in California. We will verify Your identity using the information we already hold, and delete any extra details You give us once You are verified. An authorized agent can make a request for You if they show proof that You authorized them.

10.2EEA, UK and Switzerland (GDPR)

Who this applies to. This section applies to Personal Data from the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom and Switzerland under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and equivalent laws, including the UK GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act 2018. These rights add to the rest of this Privacy Policy. Where they conflict with it, these rights take priority. GDPR applies to any controller or processor handling the Personal Data of individuals in the EU, wherever that controller or processor is located.

Our role. HackerEarth, Inc. is the Controller of Personal Data You give us through our product. For Personal Data that our Customers provide, or that is provided on their behalf, HackerEarth is the Processor and the Customer is the Controller. If Your data was provided by a Customer, such as an employer that invited You to an assessment, please contact that Customer first; we will help them respond.

Data we collect. We collect non-HR data such as name, title and email ID. We do not collect HR data such as legal or health records. Our lawful bases for processing (consent, contractual necessity and legitimate interests) are described in Section 4.

Children. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from anyone under 16 and will promptly delete such data if identified. If You believe we may have collected a child’s data, please contact us using the details in Section 15 (Contact Us).

How to exercise. Email support@hackerearth.com. We may need to verify Your identity before acting on a request. You can also complain to the data protection supervisory authority in Your country or EU Member State. For complaints about Personal Data received under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and its UK and Swiss extensions, see Section 11.

10.3India (DPDPA)

Who this applies to. This section covers the digital Personal Data of Data Principals in India under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA) and the rules made under it, to the extent they are in force.

Our role. HackerEarth, Inc. is the Data Fiduciary for Personal Data You give us through our product. For Personal Data that our Customers provide, or that is provided on their behalf, HackerEarth is the Data Processor and the Customer is the Data Fiduciary. If Your data was provided by a Customer, please contact that Customer first; we will help them respond.

Data we collect. We process Personal Data based on Your consent or on legitimate uses permitted by the DPDPA, as described in Sections 2 and 4. Where we rely on consent, we will tell You what Personal Data we collect and why. We may transfer Personal Data outside India, except to countries or territories restricted by the Central Government of India.

Children. Under the DPDPA, a child is anyone under 18. We collect or process the Personal Data of children only with verifiable consent from a parent or lawful guardian. If You believe we may have collected a child’s data, please contact us using the details in Section 15 (Contact Us).

How to exercise. Raise a request or grievance at support@hackerearth.com, or contact our Data Protection / Grievance Officer using the details in Section 15. We will respond within 90 days. If we do not resolve Your grievance to Your satisfaction, You can file a complaint with the Data Protection Board of India.

10.4Other Regions

Who this applies to. This section applies to users in all other countries and regions. We handle Personal Data in line with the data protection and privacy laws that apply where You are located, such as:

• United Kingdom: the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018
• Canada: the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
• Singapore: the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (PDPA)
• Other countries and regions: any other national, state or regional data protection laws that apply to our processing of Your Personal Data

Local laws. Where the law of Your country or region gives You rights over Your Personal Data, such as the right to access, correct or delete it, or to withdraw consent, we will respect those rights as that law requires.

11.Compliance with DPF

HackerEarth complies with the DPF as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. HackerEarth has certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles (EU-U.S. DPF Principles) with regard to the processing of personal data received from the European Union and the United Kingdom in reliance on the EU-U.S. DPF and the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF. HackerEarth has certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles (Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles) with regard to the processing of personal data received from Switzerland in reliance on the Swiss-U.S. DPF. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the EU-U.S. DPF Principles and/or the Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles, the Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Data Privacy Framework (DPF) Program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/.

In compliance with the DPF, HackerEarth commits to refer unresolved complaints concerning our handling of personal data received in reliance on the DPF to an alternative dispute resolution provider to and based in EU Data Protection Authorities (DPAs), UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC)(as applicable). If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your DPF Principles-related complaint from us, or if we have not addressed your DPF Principles- related complaint to your satisfaction, please visit EU Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) for EU DPA's, UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for UK Information Commissioner's Office, Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) for more information or to file a complaint. The services of EU Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) for Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) (as applicable) are provided at no cost to you.

12.Forums/Newsgroups

If You participate in a discussion forum or message, You should be aware that the information You provide on the Site will be made broadly available to others (potentially inside or outside HackerEarth), who have access to that discussion forum or message. Also, please recognize that individual forums and messages may have additional rules and conditions. Each participant's opinion on a forum or chat room is their own and should not be considered as reflecting our opinion.

13.Linked Websites and Third-Party Services

Our Site and Services may provide links to other third-party websites and services that are outside our control and not covered by this Privacy Policy. When information is collected on our behalf exclusively, this Privacy Policy will be referenced and will govern how Your Personal Data is used. For other, non-HackerEarth sites or services, the site/service owner's privacy policy will be referenced. You should review such third party's privacy and security policies prior to use.

14.Changes to Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time-to-time for reasons such as operational practices or regulatory changes. Hence, we recommend that You review our Privacy Policy regularly. You are bound by the updated Privacy Policy.

15.Contact Us

If You have any concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or privacy using the Services, please send us a detailed message to privacy@hackerearth.com or contact us at:

Data Protection / Grievance Officer

If You have any complaints or concerns relating to breach of the Privacy Policy and other policies of the HackerEarth, You can contact the Data Protection/ Grievance Officer at the details below:

Data Protection / Grievance Officer Name

Rajashekhara Saidam

Email address

privacy@hackerearth.com

Phone number

080-48651256

The Grievance Officer can be contacted between 10:00am to 7:00pm IST from Monday to Friday except on public holidays.