SkillSwap — Privacy Policy

1Overview

SkillSwap ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights in relation to it.

This policy applies to all users of skillswap.buzz and any related services.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Ever.

2Data We Collect

We collect data in three ways: data you provide directly, data generated by your use of the platform, and data from third-party services.

Data you provide:

Data	When collected
Name, email address, password	Registration
Username, bio, location, website	Profile setup
Profile photo or avatar emoji	Profile setup
Skills offered and skills wanted	Profile setup
Messages sent to other users	Using messaging
Webinar titles, descriptions, and content	Hosting webinars (Creator plan)
Reviews and ratings	After completed sessions

Data generated automatically:

Session activity (skills taught/learned, session duration)
Analytics data (global rank, hours, webinars attended/hosted)
Call invite records (caller, callee, status, timestamps)
Browser local storage values (sidebar state, active call, notification seen-state)

Data from third parties:

Google OAuth — name and email if you sign in with Google
Paddle — subscription status and billing events (we do not receive full card details)

3How We Use Your Data

Purpose	Legal basis
Providing and operating the platform	Contract performance
Authenticating your account and securing access	Contract performance
Matching you with other users based on skills	Contract performance
Processing subscription payments via Paddle	Contract performance
Sending transactional emails (e.g. password reset)	Contract performance
Displaying your public profile to other users	Legitimate interest
Calculating analytics, rankings, and badges	Legitimate interest
Improving and debugging the platform	Legitimate interest
Complying with legal obligations	Legal obligation

We do not use your data for advertising or sell it to data brokers.

4Sharing & Disclosure

We share your data only in the following limited circumstances:

Supabase — our database and authentication provider. Your data is stored on Supabase infrastructure.
Paddle — our payment processor. They handle billing and subscription management.
Other users — your public profile (name, bio, skills, avatar, rating) is visible to other SkillSwap users. Messages are visible only to you and the recipient.
Legal requirements — we may disclose data if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of users.

We do not share your data with advertisers, analytics companies, or any other third parties not listed above.

5Cookies & Local Storage

SkillSwap uses browser local storage (not traditional cookies) to store lightweight preferences on your device:

ss_sidebar — sidebar collapsed/expanded state
ss_active_call — active video call state for rejoin
ss_reminders — webinar reminder IDs
ss_notif_seen — notification seen timestamps

Supabase sets a session cookie to keep you logged in. This is strictly necessary for the service to function.

We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics cookies.

6Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account:

Your profile, messages, and session data are deleted
Reviews you have written or received are anonymised or removed
Billing records are retained by Paddle as required by financial regulations

You can request deletion of your data at any time by emailing support@skillswap.buzz.

7Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including:

All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS
Row-level security (RLS) policies on all database tables via Supabase
Passwords are hashed — we never store them in plain text
Payment data handled entirely by Paddle — we never see your card number

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it to support@skillswap.buzz.

8Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you
Correction — update inaccurate or incomplete data via your profile settings
Deletion — request deletion of your account and associated data
Portability — request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interest
Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@skillswap.buzz. We will respond within 30 days.

9Children's Privacy

SkillSwap is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10International Transfers

Your data may be stored and processed in countries outside your own, including the United States, where Supabase infrastructure operates. By using SkillSwap, you consent to these transfers.

We ensure that any such transfers are subject to appropriate safeguards in accordance with applicable data protection law.

11Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify you via email or the platform where appropriate.

Continued use of SkillSwap after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12Contact

For any privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns, please contact us:

Email: support@skillswap.buzz
Website: skillswap.buzz

We aim to respond to all privacy requests within 30 days.