Privacy Policy

Who We Are

FirstApply ("we", "us", "our") is an internship job search platform that aggregates publicly available job listings and helps students find and track internship opportunities. We are operated by the FirstApply team and can be reached at sawalwade.s@northeastern.edu.

This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights as a user. By creating an account or using FirstApply, you agree to this policy.

What Data We Collect

Account information:

• Email address (used to create and identify your account)
• Password (stored as a one-way bcrypt hash — we never store your plain-text password)

Resume data:

• PDF files you upload (up to 5 resumes)
• Text extracted from your resume (used for job scoring)
• Skills identified from your resume text

Activity data:

• Jobs you mark as applied
• Job scores computed for your profile
• Browser push notification subscription (if you opt in)
• In-app events such as page views and filter usage (for improving the product)

How We Use Your Data

• To create and manage your account
• To score job listings against your resume and surface the best matches
• To send you push notifications about new internship postings (only if you opt in)
• To track which jobs you have applied to across sessions
• To improve our scoring algorithm and product experience

We do not use your resume or application data for advertising. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for their marketing purposes.

Data Storage & Security

• All data is stored in a PostgreSQL database hosted on Supabase (AWS us-west-1)
• Your account is protected with JWT authentication and bcrypt password hashing
• Your resume data and application history are private to your account only — no other user can access them
• Data is transmitted over HTTPS at all times

While we use industry-standard security practices, no system is 100% secure. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password for your account.

Third-Party Services

FirstApply uses the following third-party services to operate:

• Supabase — database hosting (AWS us-west-1)
• Railway — application hosting and deployment
• Google Fonts — font loading (Inter typeface)

Each of these services has their own privacy policy. We only share data with them to the extent necessary to operate FirstApply.

The job listings shown in FirstApply are aggregated from publicly available sources including LinkedIn, Indeed, Greenhouse, YC Startups, and HackerNews. We do not control the content or privacy practices of those platforms.

Push Notifications

If you enable push notifications, your browser sends us a push subscription token. We use this solely to notify you about new internship postings that match your profile. You can revoke notification permissions at any time through your browser settings. Disabling notifications does not affect any other part of your account.

Local Storage

We store your authentication token and email address in your browser's localStorage to keep you logged in between sessions. This data stays on your device and is cleared when you log out. We do not use advertising cookies or tracking pixels.

Your Rights (CCPA & General)

As a user you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate data
• Deletion — request that we delete your account and all associated data
• Opt out of notifications — disable push notifications at any time via browser settings
• Data portability — request your data in a readable format

To exercise any of these rights, email us at sawalwade.s@northeastern.edu with the subject line "Privacy Request". We will respond within 30 days.

California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). We do not sell personal information and do not discriminate against users who exercise their privacy rights.

Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will permanently delete your email, resume files, extracted skills, job application history, scores, and push subscription within 30 days.

Aggregate, anonymized analytics (such as total job counts) may be retained indefinitely as they contain no personally identifiable information.

Children's Privacy

FirstApply is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from users under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of FirstApply after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

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