Privacy & Cookie Policy
Effective Date: January 1, 2025
Last Updated: January 5, 2026
At PakLinked, Inc. ("PakLinked," "we," "us," or "our"), we take your privacy seriously. This Privacy & Cookie Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you use our Services.
This Policy applies to paklinked.com, our mobile applications, and all related services (collectively, the "Services"). By using our Services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Policy.
Table of Contents
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information You Provide Directly
We collect information you voluntarily provide when using our Services:
- Account Information: Email address, password (encrypted), name
- Profile Information: Profile photo, banner image, headline, summary, location, website, contact details
- Professional Information: Work experience, education, skills, certifications, languages, projects, publications
- Content: Posts, articles, comments, messages, job applications, resumes
- Connections: Information about your connections and professional network
- Communications: Messages you send to other users or to us (support tickets, feedback)
1.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you use our Services, we automatically collect:
- Usage Data: Pages viewed, features used, time spent, clicks, search queries
- Device Information: Device type, operating system, browser type and version, unique device identifiers
- Log Data: IP address, access times, referring URLs, error logs
- Location Data: Approximate location based on IP address (we do not collect precise GPS location)
- Cookies and Similar Technologies: See Section 9 for details
1.3 Information from Third Parties
We may receive information about you from:
- Other Users: When others post about you, tag you, or share your content
- Publicly Available Sources: Information you make publicly available on other platforms (only if you choose to import it)
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
2.1 Provide and Improve Our Services
- Create and maintain your account
- Enable you to connect with other professionals
- Display your profile and content to other users (based on your privacy settings)
- Facilitate messaging, job applications, and other interactions
- Improve, personalize, and optimize the Services
- Develop new features and services
2.2 Communicate With You
- Send notifications about activity on your account (based on your preferences)
- Respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
- Send important updates about our Services, policies, or terms
- Send promotional emails (you can opt out at any time)
2.3 Safety, Security, and Compliance
- Detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, and security incidents
- Enforce our User Agreement and other policies
- Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests
- Protect our rights, privacy, safety, and property
2.4 Analytics and Research
- Analyze usage patterns and trends (using aggregated, anonymized data)
- Conduct research and testing to improve our Services
- Generate statistical reports (no personally identifiable information)
2.5 Personalization and Recommendations
- Show you relevant content, connections, and opportunities
- Suggest people you may know or want to connect with
- Recommend jobs, articles, and posts based on your profile and activity
Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR): We process your personal data based on: (a) your consent; (b) necessity for performance of our contract with you; (c) compliance with legal obligations; and (d) our legitimate interests in operating and improving our Services.
3. Information Sharing and Disclosure
We share your information in the following circumstances:
3.1 With Other Users
Your profile information, posts, and activity are visible to other users in accordance with your privacy settings. You control what information is visible through your privacy settings.
3.2 With Service Providers
We engage third-party companies to perform services on our behalf, including:
- Cloud hosting and storage (servers, databases)
- Email delivery services
- Analytics providers
- Error monitoring and debugging tools
- Payment processors (if applicable)
These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the services they provide to us.
3.3 For Legal Reasons
We may disclose your information when required by law or when we believe disclosure is necessary to:
- Comply with a court order, subpoena, or other legal process
- Enforce our User Agreement or other policies
- Protect the rights, property, or safety of PakLinked, our users, or the public
- Investigate potential violations or fraud
- Respond to claims of illegal content or rights violations
3.4 Business Transfers
If PakLinked is involved in a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.
3.5 With Your Consent
We may share your information for purposes not described in this Policy when we have your explicit consent to do so.
3.6 Aggregated and Anonymized Data
We may share aggregated, anonymized data that does not identify you personally (e.g., "60% of our users are in Pakistan") for research, marketing, or other purposes.
4. Your Privacy Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
✓ Right to Access
You can request a copy of all personal data we hold about you. Download your data from your account settings.
✓ Right to Rectification
You can update or correct inaccurate information at any time through your profile settings.
✓ Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten")
You can delete your account at any time. Your data will be permanently deleted within 24 hours (except where retention is required by law).
✓ Right to Data Portability
You can export your data in a machine-readable format (JSON) from your account settings.
✓ Right to Object
You can object to certain uses of your data, including marketing communications (opt-out links in every email) and personalized recommendations (disable in privacy settings).
✓ Right to Restrict Processing
You can limit how we use your data while we verify its accuracy or resolve your concerns. Contact us at privacy@paklinked.com.
✓ Right to Withdraw Consent
Where we rely on your consent to process your data, you can withdraw that consent at any time through your settings or by contacting us.
To Exercise Your Rights:
Visit your account settings or contact us at privacy@paklinked.com. We will respond within 30 days.
5. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information:
- Encryption: Data in transit is encrypted using TLS/SSL. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt.
- Access Controls: Only authorized personnel can access personal data, on a need-to-know basis.
- Secure Infrastructure: Our servers are hosted in secure, certified data centers.
- Regular Audits: We conduct security assessments and vulnerability testing.
- Incident Response: We have procedures to detect, respond to, and notify users of security breaches.
However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
6. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our Services and fulfill the purposes described in this Policy:
- Active Accounts: We retain your data while your account is active.
- Deleted Accounts: Upon account deletion, most data is permanently deleted within 24 hours. Some data may be retained for legal compliance (e.g., audit logs, transaction records) as required by law.
- Shared Content: Content you shared with others (e.g., posts, comments) may remain visible until those users delete it.
- Backups: Deleted data may exist in backup systems for up to 30 days but is not accessible.
- Legal Holds: We may retain data longer when required by law, court order, or to resolve disputes.
7. Children's Privacy
PakLinked is not intended for children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16.
If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 16, we will immediately delete that information. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 16, please contact us at privacy@paklinked.com.
8. International Data Transfers
PakLinked is based in the United States (Houston, Texas). If you access our Services from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States or other countries where our service providers operate.
By using our Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other countries that may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.
For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), we use Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission to ensure adequate protection of your data during international transfers.
10. Third-Party Services and Links
Our Services may contain links to third-party websites, services, or content. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any information.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors.
Material changes will be notified to you via:
- Email notification to your registered email address
- Prominent notice on the Services
- In-app notification
We will provide at least 30 days' notice before material changes take effect. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.
We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the Policy was last revised.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Privacy Team
PakLinked, Inc.
Email: privacy@paklinked.com
General Inquiries: support@paklinked.com
Website: paklinked.com
Response Time: We will respond to privacy requests within 30 days.
For Users in the European Economic Area (EEA)
If you are located in the EEA, you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- Right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority
- Right not to be subject to automated decision-making (we do not use automated decision-making)
- Right to know the legal basis for data processing (see Section 2)
Our Data Protection Officer can be reached at dpo@paklinked.com.
For California Residents (CCPA)
If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):
- Right to know what personal information we collect, use, and share
- Right to delete your personal information
- Right to opt-out of the "sale" of your personal information (we do NOT sell your data)
- Right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights
To exercise your CCPA rights, contact us at privacy@paklinked.com or visit your account settings.
By using PakLinked, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this Privacy & Cookie Policy.
This Policy is effective as of the date you first access or use the Services and continues as updated from time to time.