Privacy-First Approach
Privacy Policy
Effective Date: December 21, 2025
Welcome to startit.io. We are a platform built by founders, for founders. Because we value the entrepreneurial community, we take a "Privacy-First" approach to your data. We don't sell your data, and we don't track you across the web.
1. The Data We Collect
A. Account & Identity
- Authentication: We collect your email and password. Note: Passwords are cryptographically hashed; we never store or see your "plain-text" password.
- Web3 Identity: If you connect a wallet, we store your public Ethereum (EOA) address.
B. Professional Profile
- Founder/Developer Details: Information you provide such as your bio, skills, location, GitHub/LinkedIn URLs, and investment focus (for investors).
- Startup Info: Pitch decks, stage of company, and team membership details.
C. Community & Interactions
- Public Content: Threads, replies, and likes you post in the community.
- Private Messaging: Content of messages sent between users to facilitate co-founder matching.
2. How We Use Your Data
We use your information strictly to:
- Facilitate connections between founders, developers, and investors.
- Authenticate your access and secure your account.
- Notify you of messages or team invites (via email).
- Improve our platform by understanding which features are most used.
3. Third-Party Service Providers
Provider
Purpose
Data Involved
PostHog
Product Analytics
Anonymized usage events, clicks, and page views.
Resend
Email Delivery
Your email address and notification content.
Cloudzz
Infrastructure
All database and application data is hosted on our team's private cluster.
4. Data Security
As a security-focused team, we implement the following:
- Encryption: All data in transit is protected via TLS 1.3.
- Credential Safety: We use industry-standard salting and hashing for all passwords and API key hashes.
- Isolation: Our database is hosted within a private Kubernetes network, isolated from the public internet.
5. Your Rights & Data Deletion
We believe you should own your data.
- Access: You can request a copy of all data we have associated with your account.
- Deletion: You can delete your account at any time. Because our database uses "Cascading Deletes," removing your account automatically wipes your profile, sessions, and associated private data from our active records.
6. Children's Privacy
Startit.io is intended for users aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from children under the age of 13.