PRIVACY POLICY

1. SCOPE & NON-CUSTODIAL ARCHITECTURE

• Separation of Off-Chain and On-Chain Data: The Platform operates a hybrid architecture consisting of an off-chain web application interface and decentralized on-chain settlement powered by the Stellar Network and Trustless Work Soroban smart contracts.
• Zero Custody of Cryptographic Keys: We never request, receive, transmit, or store your private keys, mnemonic seed phrases, or wallet passwords. All cryptographic signing (including SEP-53 wallet ownership verification and XDR transaction signing) occurs locally inside your third-party wallet extension (such as Freighter, Albedo, or xBull).

2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

• Account & Profile Data: When you register as a Buyer or Freelancer, we collect your name or display alias, email address, hashed authentication credentials, optional two-factor authentication settings, profile biography, skills, portfolio items, and service catalog listings ("Gigs").
• Cryptographic Wallet & Verification Metadata: When you connect a Stellar wallet, we collect and store your public Stellar key (`G...` address), the one-time challenge nonce signature used to prove wallet ownership, and the exact timestamp confirming your acceptance of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
• Contract Workroom & Resolution Center Records: We store project briefs, proposals, milestone definitions, workroom messages, deliverable attachments, milestone change requests, and peer-to-peer Resolution Center negotiation timestamps required to administer the strict 48-hour automated response window.
• Technical & Security Telemetry: We automatically log standard HTTP request metadata, IP addresses, browser user-agent strings, rate-limiting counters, and session identifiers to prevent abuse, unauthorized access, and denial-of-service attacks.

3. PUBLIC BLOCKCHAIN LEDGER & IMMUTABILITY

• Public Transparency of On-Chain Activity: Your Stellar public wallet address, smart contract escrow IDs (`C...` addresses), transaction hashes, milestone funding amounts, and stablecoin (USDC) releases or refunds are broadcasted to the decentralized Stellar Network. Anyone with access to a Stellar block explorer or Horizon/Soroban RPC node can inspect these records.
• Inability to Modify or Erase Blockchain Data: Because the Stellar Network is a decentralized, append-only public ledger not controlled by the Platform, we cannot delete, anonymize, modify, or reverse any transaction, wallet address, or smart contract state once committed on-chain. Statutory "right to erasure" or "right to be forgotten" requests cannot be applied to on-chain blockchain records.

4. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We process off-chain personal and transactional metadata strictly to operate and secure the Platform:

• Smart Contract Escrow Preparation: Associating Buyer and Freelancer public Stellar addresses with project milestones so unsigned Soroban XDR payloads can be constructed via Trustless Work and presented to your wallet for signature.
• Automated 48-Hour Resolution Center Enforcement: Recording exact submission timestamps on cancellation, refund, or milestone adjustment requests and delivering transactional notifications so that unanswered requests can be deterministically marked "Approved by Default" upon expiration of the 48-hour window.
• Trust, Safety & Policy Compliance: Investigating prohibited gigs, academic dishonesty, malware distribution, off-platform payment circumvention, or prohibited legacy chargeback attempts in accordance with our Terms of Service.

5. THIRD-PARTY INFRASTRUCTURE & DISCLOSURES

We do not sell or rent your personal information to data brokers or advertisers. Your data interacts only with the following categories of infrastructure providers:

• Trustless Work & Stellar Network Nodes: Public wallet addresses, milestone amounts, and signed XDR transactions are transmitted to Trustless Work API endpoints and Stellar Soroban RPC nodes to deploy, fund, release, or refund smart contract escrows.
• Decentralized Wallet Extensions: Your browser communicates directly with wallet software you install (such as Freighter) under that wallet provider’s own independent terms and privacy policy.
• Counterparties & Legal Compliance: Your public profile, gig listings, and connected public wallet address are visible to counterparties you contract with. We may disclose off-chain account records if required by valid subpoena, court order, or applicable federal or Delaware law.

6. COOKIES, SESSIONS, AND LOCAL STORAGE

• Essential Security Cookies: We use strictly necessary HTTP-only session cookies and Cross-Site Request Forgery (`XSRF-TOKEN`) tokens to authenticate Buyer, Freelancer, and Resolver sessions and protect your account against unauthorized requests.
• Interface Preferences: We use browser `localStorage` solely for user-interface preferences such as light/dark theme selection (`smart-gig-theme`) and workspace UI state. We do not use invasive third-party behavioral advertising cookies.

7. DATA RETENTION & ACCOUNT DELETION

• Off-Chain Account Deletion: Buyers and Freelancers may delete their off-chain platform accounts through their account settings when no active funded escrow or unresolved dispute is pending.
• Audit & Dispute Logs: Even after off-chain profile deletion, we may retain anonymized or legally required audit logs of completed contract records, Terms acceptance timestamps, and Resolution Center logs as necessary to defend against legal claims, enforce chargeback bans, and comply with applicable law.

8. SECURITY & CRYPTOGRAPHIC VERIFICATION

We implement industry-standard administrative and technical safeguards—including bcrypt/argon2 password hashing, optional two-factor authentication (2FA), short-lived cached SEP-53 wallet challenge nonces, and TLS encryption in transit. However, no internet transmission or blockchain protocol is completely immune from risk, and you remain solely responsible for safeguarding your cryptographic wallet and private keys.

9. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or request deletion of the off-chain personal information we hold about you. You can update your profile, email address, connected wallet address, and visibility settings directly within your Client or Freelancer dashboard settings. Please note that neither you nor the Platform can alter or delete public Stellar blockchain history.

10. UPDATES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our marketplace features, Trustless Work escrow integration, or applicable regulations. Updated versions will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date. Continued use of the Platform or connection of a cryptographic wallet following any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.