Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 22, 2024

Clerk, Inc. ("Clerk," "we," "us," and "our") provides innovative technology to allow our customers to implement authentication and complete user management solutions. This Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we collect, use, and share personal information and to help you understand and exercise your privacy rights.

1. Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information processed by us, including on our website, mobile applications, and other online or offline offerings. To make this Privacy Policy easier to read, our website, products and solutions, and other offerings are collectively called "Services".

An Important Note: This Privacy Policy does not apply to any of the personal information that our customers may process using Clerk’s products and services ("Customer Data"). Our customers’ respective privacy policies govern the collection and use of Customer Data. Our processing of Customer Data is governed by the contracts that we have in place with our customers, not this Privacy Policy. Any questions or requests relating to Customer Data should be directed to our customer.

For clarity, Clerk is a controller for the personal information we collect from customers in order to market, service, and provide access to and use of the Services. For Customer Data that is entered into the Services, the customer is the controller and we act as a processor and will only process Customer Data as agreed to provide Services under our Terms of Service or other contract with a customer, and when applicable, a Data Processing Agreement.

2. Personal information we collect

The categories of personal information we collect depend on how you interact with us, our Services and the requirements of applicable law. We collect information that you provide to us, information we obtain automatically when you use our Services, and information from other sources such as third-party services and organizations, as described below.

A. Information you provide to us directly

We may collect the following personal information that you provide to us.

  • Account Creation. We may collect information when you create an account, such as a unique customer ID or an email address or phone number.
  • Your Communications with Us. We may collect personal information, such as email address, phone number, or mailing address when you request information about our Services, register for our newsletter, request customer or technical support, apply for a job or otherwise communicate with us.
  • Surveys. We may contact you to participate in surveys. If you decide to participate, you may be asked to provide certain information which may include personal information.
  • Business Development and Strategic Partnerships. We may collect personal information from individuals and third parties to assess and pursue potential business opportunities.
  • Job Applications. We may post job openings and opportunities on our Services. If you reply to one of these postings by submitting your application, resume, and/or cover letter to us, we will collect and use your information to assess your qualifications.If you respond to a job opening, your information will be shared with our talent management provider, Ashby, Inc., and is subject to its privacy policy.

B. Information collected automatically

We may collect personal information automatically when you use our Services:

  • Automatic Data Collection When You Visit Our Website. We may collect certain information automatically when you use our Services, such as your Internet protocol (IP) address, user settings, MAC address, cookie identifiers, mobile carrier, mobile advertising and other unique identifiers, browser or device information, location information (including approximate location derived from IP address), and Internet service provider. We may also automatically collect information regarding your use of our Services, such as pages that you visit before, during and after using our Services, information about the links you click, the types of content you interact with, the frequency and duration of your activities, and other information about how you use our Services.

  • Automatic Data Collection When You Use Our Services. We may collect other types of technical information about your use of our Services, such as what we call "telemetry" metrics, described here. None of this technical information is connected with your personal information or Customer Data and is only used to improve our Services.

  • Cookies, Pixel Tags/Web Beacons, and Other Technologies. We, as well as third parties that provide content, or other functionality on our Services, may use cookies, pixel tags, local storage, and other technologies ("Technologies") to automatically collect information through your use of our Services. Please also see our cookie management dashboard for cookie management options.

  • Cookies. Cookies are small text files placed in device browsers that store preferences and facilitate and enhance your experience.

  • Pixel Tags/Web Beacons. A pixel tag (also known as a web beacon) is a piece of code embedded in our Services that collects information about engagement on our Services. The use of a pixel tag allows us to record, for example, that a user has visited a particular web page or clicked on a particular advertisement. We may also include web beacons in e-mails to understand whether messages have been opened, acted on, or forwarded.

Our uses of these Technologies fall into the following general categories:

  • Essential. This includes Technologies that allow you access to our Services, applications, and tools that are required to identify irregular website behavior, prevent fraudulent activity and improve security or that allow you to make use of our functionality;
  • Marketing and Analytics. We may use Technologies to assess the performance of our Services, including as part of our analytic practices to help us understand how individuals use our Services (see Analytics below); and
  • Advertising. We may use Technologies that allow us to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing or using our Services. This may include identifying you when you sign into our Services or keeping track of your specified preferences, interests, or past items viewed.

See Section 5 below to understand your choices regarding these Technologies.

  • Analytics. We may use Technologies and other third-party tools to process analytics information on our Services, such as:

    • Google Analytics: For more information, please visit Google Analytics’ Privacy Policy. To learn more about how to opt-out of Google Analytics’ use of your information, please click here.

    • Hotjar: We use Hotjar in order to better understand our users’ needs and to optimize this service and experience. Hotjar is a technology service that helps us better understand our users’ experience (e.g. how much time they spend on which pages, which links they choose to click, what users do and don’t like, etc.) and this enables us to build and maintain our service with user feedback. Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on our users’ behavior and their devices. This includes a device's IP address (processed during your session and stored in a de-identified form), device screen size, device type (unique device identifiers), browser information, geographic location (country only), and the preferred language used to display our website. Hotjar stores this information on our behalf in a pseudonymized user profile. Hotjar is contractually forbidden to sell any of the data collected on our behalf. For further details, please see the ‘about Hotjar’ section of Hotjar’s support site.

    We also use Hotjar’s session-replay technologies to record your interactions with the Services to help us diagnose problems and improve our Services.  These technologies allow us to watch a DVR-like visual video playback of user sessions on our Services and capture user activities such as clicks, mouse movements, scrolls, and keystrokes/key touches when you use our Services, and may collect personal information from and about you. You can opt-out of session recording by Hotjar at https://www.hotjar.com/policies/do-not-track/.

    • Mixpanel: We use a service provided by Mixpanel, Inc. ("Mixpanel") to provide us with analytics data regarding users’ interactions with our Site and Services. You may opt-out of Mixpanel’s automatic retention of data that is collected while using the Services by visiting https://mixpanel.com/optout.

    • Social Media Platforms: Our Services may contain social media buttons such as LinkedIn and Twitter (that might include widgets such as the "share this" button or other interactive mini programs). These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our Services, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Your interactions with these platforms are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.

C. Information collected from other sources

We may obtain information about you from other sources, including through third-party services and organizations. For example, if you access our Services through a third-party application, such as an app store, a third-party login service, or a social networking site, we may collect information about you from that third-party application that you have made available via your privacy settings.

3. How we use your information

We use your information for a variety of business purposes, including to provide our Services, for administrative purposes, and to market our products and Services, as described below.

A. Provide our services

We use your information to fulfill our contract with you and provide you with our Services, such as:

  • Managing your information and accounts;
  • Providing access to certain areas, functionalities, and features of our Services;
  • Answering requests for customer or technical support;
  • Communicating with you about your account, activities on our Services, and policy changes;
  • Processing applications if you apply for a job, we post on our Services; and
  • Allowing you to register for events.

B. Administrative purposes

We use your information for various administrative purposes, such as:

  • Pursuing our legitimate interests such as direct marketing, research and development (including marketing research), network and information security, and fraud prevention;
  • Detecting security incidents, protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity;
  • Measuring interest and engagement in our Services;
  • Improving, upgrading or enhancing our Services;
  • Developing new products and Services;
  • Ensuring internal quality control and safety;
  • Authenticating and verifying individual identities;
  • Debugging to identify and repair errors with our Services;
  • Auditing relating to interactions, transactions and other compliance activities;
  • Enforcing our agreements and policies; and
  • Complying with our legal obligations.

C. Marketing and advertising our products and services

We may use personal information to tailor and provide you with content and advertisements. We may provide you with these materials as permitted by applicable law.

Some of the ways we market to you include email campaigns.

If you have any questions about our marketing practices or if you would like to opt out of the use of your personal information for marketing purposes, you may contact us at any time as set forth below.

D. Other Purposes

We also use your information for other purposes as requested by you or as permitted by applicable law.

  • Consent. We may use personal information for other purposes that are clearly disclosed to you at the time you provide personal information or with your consent.
  • De-identified and Aggregated Information. We may use personal information and other information about you to create de-identified and/or aggregated information, such as de-identified demographic information, de-identified location information, information about the device from which you access our Services, or other analyses we create.
  • Share Content with Friends or Colleagues. Our Services may offer various tools and functionalities. For example, we may allow you to provide information about your friends or colleagues through our referral services. Our referral services may allow you to forward or share certain content with a friend or colleague, such as an email inviting your friend to use our Services.

4. How we disclose your information

We disclose your information to third parties for a variety of business purposes, including to provide our Services, to protect us or others, or in the event of a major business transaction such as a merger, sale, or asset transfer, as described below.

A. Disclosures to Provide our Services

The categories of third parties with whom we may share your information are described below.

  • Service Providers. We may share your personal information with our third-party service providers who use that information to help us provide our Services. This includes service providers that provide us with IT support, hosting, payment processing, customer service, and related services.
  • Business Partners. We may share your personal information with business partners to provide you with a product or service you have requested. We may also share your personal information to business partners with whom we jointly offer products or services.
  • Advertising Partners. We may share your personal information with third-party advertising partners. These third-party advertising partners may set Technologies and other tracking tools on our Services to collect information regarding your activities and your device (e.g., your IP address, cookie identifiers, page(s) visited, location, time of day). These advertising partners may use this information (and similar information collected from other services) for purposes of delivering personalized advertisements to you when you visit digital properties within their networks. This practice is commonly referred to as "interest-based advertising" or "personalized advertising."
  • APIs/SDKs. We may use third-party Application Program Interfaces ("APIs") and software development kits ("SDKs") as part of the functionality of our Services. For more information about our use of APIs and SDKs, please contact us as set forth below.

B. Disclosures to Protect Us or Others

We may access, preserve, and disclose any information we store associated with you to external parties if we, in good faith, believe doing so is required or appropriate to: comply with law enforcement or national security requests and legal process, such as a court order or subpoena; protect your, our, or others’ rights, property, or safety; enforce our policies or contracts; collect amounts owed to us; or assist with an investigation or prosecution of suspected or actual illegal activity.

C. Disclosure in the Event of Merger, Sale, or Other Asset Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing due diligence, reorganization, bankruptcy, receivership, purchase or sale of assets, or transition of service to another provider, your information may be sold or transferred as part of such a transaction, as permitted by law and/or contract.

5. Your privacy and rights

Your Privacy Choices. The privacy choices you may have about your personal information are determined by applicable law and are described below.

  • Email and Telephone Communications. If you receive an unwanted email from us, you can use the unsubscribe link found at the bottom of the email to opt out of receiving future emails. Note that you will continue to receive transaction-related emails regarding products or Services you have requested. We may also send you certain non-promotional communications regarding us and our Services, and you will not be able to opt out of those communications (e.g., communications regarding our Services or updates to our Terms or this Privacy Policy).

We process requests to be placed on do-not-mail, do-not-phone, and do-not-contact lists as required by applicable law.

  • "Do Not Track." Do Not Track ("DNT") is a privacy preference that users can set in certain web browsers. Please note that we do not respond to or honor DNT signals or similar mechanisms transmitted by web browsers.
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Advertising. You may stop or restrict the placement of Technologies on your device or remove them by adjusting your preferences as your browser or device permits. However, if you adjust your preferences, our Services may not work properly. Please note that cookie-based opt-outs are not effective on mobile applications. However, you may opt-out of personalized advertisements on some mobile applications by following the instructions for Android, iOS and others. Please also see our cookie management dashboard for cookie management options.
  • The online advertising industry also provides websites from which you may opt out of receiving targeted ads from data partners and other advertising partners that participate in self-regulatory programs. You can access these and learn more about targeted advertising and consumer choice and privacy by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative, the Digital Advertising Alliance, the European Digital Advertising Alliance, and the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada.
  • Please note you must separately opt out in each browser and on each device.

Your Privacy Rights. In accordance with applicable law, you may have the right to:

  • Access Personal Information about you, including: (i) confirming whether we are processing your personal information; (ii) obtaining access to or a copy of your personal information; and (iii) receiving an electronic copy of personal information that you have provided to us, or asking us to send that information to another company (the "right of data portability");
  • Request Correction of your personal information where it is inaccurate or incomplete. In some cases, we may provide self-service tools that enable you to update your personal information;
  • Request Deletion of your personal information;
  • Request Restriction of or Object to ourprocessing of your personal information; and
  • Withdraw your Consent to our processing of your personal information.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us as set forth below. We will process such requests in accordance with applicable laws

6. Security of your information

We take steps to ensure that your information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.Unfortunately, no system is 100% secure, and we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you provide to us. We have taken appropriate safeguards to require that your personal information will remain protected and require our third-party service providers and partners to have appropriate safeguards as well. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we do not accept liability for unauthorized disclosure.

By using our Services or providing personal information to us, you agree that we may communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of our Services. If we learn of a security system’s breach, we may attempt to notify you electronically by posting a notice on our Services, by mail or by sending an email to you.

7. International Data Transfers

All information processed by us may be transferred, processed, and stored anywhere in the world, including, but not limited to, the United States or other countries, which may have data protection laws that are different from the laws where you live. We endeavor to safeguard your information consistent with the requirements of applicable laws.

8. Supplemental Notice for Residents of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom

Name of data controller and contact details

Clerk, Inc.
660 King St.
Unit 345
San Francisco, CA 94107 USA
privacy@clerk.dev

Purposes of the processing

The purposes of the processing are described in the section of this Privacy Policy entitled How We Use Your Information.

Lawful basis for the processing

Generally, we process personal data on the basis that the processing is necessary for purposes of our legitimate interest in conducting our business in a manner typical in the US information technology industry, having taken into account any risks to your fundamental rights and freedoms (including your right to privacy).

We also may process personal data on other bases permitted by the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), the UK Data Protection Act 2018 ("UK GDPR") and other applicable laws, such as when the processing is necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations.

The legitimate interests of the controller or third party, where applicable

Our specific legitimate interests, such as responding to your requests, comments and questions, providing you with support and improving our Services, are described in the section of this Privacy Policy entitled How We Use Your Information.

The categories of personal data concerned

The categories of personal data that we process are described in the section of this Privacy Policy entitled Information We Collect.

The recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data

The potential recipients of the personal data that we collect via the Services are described in the section of this Privacy Policy entitled Sharing of Personal Information with Third Parties.

Information regarding the transfers of personal data outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK)

Clerk, Inc. is headquartered in the USA and the website is hosted in the USA. On 10 July 2023, the European Commission adopted an adequacy decision with respect to the transfer of personal data from the EEA to the US. On 21 September 2023, the United Kingdom adopted a "data bridge" framework between the UK and the US. Switzerland has not yet finalized an adequacy determination. Clerk, Inc. has certified to the Data Privacy Framework recently developed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission, UK Government, and Swiss Federal Administration. Please see Clerk’s Data Privacy Framework Notice.

When you provide your personal data to us via the website or contact us by email, you are providing your personal data directly to the USA.

Before you provide your personal data to us via the website, we request your explicit consent to the transfer of your personal data to the USA.

When you email us, the fact that you have chosen to email us knowing that we are located in the USA will be understood to constitute your express consent to the transfer of the personal data in your email (including your email address) to the USA.

Regardless of the differences in US and European privacy laws, we safeguard your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. If we transfer your personal data to a third party, we require the third party to commit contractually to process your personal data only in ways that are consistent with this Privacy Policy.

The period for which the personal data will be stored, or the criteria for determining the retention period

How long we retain personal data varies according to the type of data in question and the purpose for which it is used. See the section entitled Retention of Personal Information.

Your rights to access, correct, restrict or delete your personal data and object to processing

You have the right to request access to your personal data, to have your personal data corrected, restricted or deleted, and to object to our processing of your personal data.  Your rights may be subject to various limitations under the GDPR and the UK GDPR.  If you wish to exercise any of these rights, or if you have any concerns about our processing of your personal data, please contact us in any of the ways listed in the section entitled How to Contact Us. The data portability rights in the GDPR and the UK GDPR are not relevant to the kinds of processing that we do.

The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

You have the right to file a complaint concerning our processing of your personal data with your national (or in some countries, regional) data protection authority. The EU Commission has a list here: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm

See https://ico.org.uk for information about contacting the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

See https://edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home.html for information about contacting the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Statutory or contractual requirement or other obligation to provide any personal data

Users of the Services are under no statutory or contractual requirement or other obligation to provide personal data to us via the Services.

Our EU/UK Representative

VeraSafe has been appointed as Clerk's representative in the European Union for data protection matters, pursuant to Article 27 of the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union. If you are in the European Economic Area, VeraSafe can be contacted in addition to privacy@clerk.dev, only on matters related to the processing of personal data. To make such an inquiry, please contact VeraSafe using this contact form: https://verasafe.com/public-resources/contact-data-protection-representative or via telephone at: +420 228 881 031.

Alternatively, VeraSafe can be contacted at:

VeraSafe Ireland Ltd.
Unit 3D North Point House
North Point Business Park
New Mallow Road
Cork T23AT2P
Ireland

9. Retention of Personal Information

We store the personal information we collect as described in this Privacy Policy for as long as you use our Services or as necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was collected, provide our Services, resolve disputes, establish legal defenses, conduct audits, pursue legitimate business purposes, enforce our agreements, and comply with applicable laws.

10. Supplemental Notice for California Residents

This Supplemental Notice for California Residents only applies to our processing of personal information that is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 ("CCPA"). The CCPA provides California residents with the right to know what categories of personal information Clerk has collected about them and whether Clerk disclosed that personal information for a business purpose (e.g., to a service provider) in the preceding 12 months. California residents can find this information below:

Category of Personal Information Collected by ClerkCategory of Third Parties Information is Disclosed to for a Business Purpose
Identifiers: A real name, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers.Service providers
Personal information categories listed in the CCPA (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)): A name, email address, or other personal identifier. Some personal information included this category may overlap with other categories. .Service providers
Internet or other electronic network activity: Information on a consumer's interaction with an internet website or application.Service providers
Geolocation data: Physical locationService providers
Sensory data: Audio, electronic, or similar information.Service providers
Professional or employment-related information (job applicants only): Current or past job history or performance evaluations.Service providers
Inferences drawn from other personal information to create a profile about a consumer: Profile reflecting a consumer's preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.Service providers

The categories of sources from which we collect personal information and our business and commercial purposes for using personal information are set forth above.

"Sales" of Personal Information under the CCPA

For purposes of the CCPA, Clerk does not "sell" personal information, nor do we have actual knowledge of any "sale" of personal information of minors under 16 years of age.

Additional Privacy Rights for California Residents

Non-Discrimination. California residents have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment by us for the exercise of their rights conferred by the CCPA.

Authorized Agent. Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. To designate an authorized agent, please contact us as set forth below.

Verification. To protect your privacy, we will take the following steps to verify your identity before fulfilling your request. When you make a request, we will ask you to provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative, which may include your name and customer ID.

If you are a California resident and would like to exercise any of your rights under the CCPA, please contact us as set forth below. We will process such requests in accordance with applicable laws.

Accessibility. This Privacy Policy uses industry-standard technologies and was developed in line with the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.1. If you wish to print this policy, please do so from your web browser or by saving the page as a PDF.

11. Supplemental Notice for Nevada Residents

If you are a resident of Nevada, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of certain Personal Information to third parties who intend to license or sell that Personal Information. You can exercise this right by contacting us at compliance@clerk.dev with the subject line "Nevada Do Not Sell Request" and providing us with your name and the email address associated with your account. Please note that we do not currently sell your Personal Information as sales are defined in Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 603A.

12. Children's Information

Our Services are not intended for use by children under the age of 16.

If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information in violation of applicable law, we will delete any personal information we have collected.

13. Other Provisions

Third-Party Websites/Applications. The Services may contain links to other websites/applications and other websites/applications may reference or link to our Services. These third-party services are not controlled by us. We encourage our users to read the privacy policies of each website and application with which they interact. We do not endorse, screen or approve, and are not responsible for, the privacy practices or content of such other websites or applications. Providing personal information to third-party websites or applications is at your own risk.

Supervisory Authority.If you are located in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe our processing of your personal information violates applicable law.

Changes to our Privacy Policy. We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time in our sole discretion. If there are any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you as required by applicable law. You understand and agree that you will be deemed to have accepted the updated Privacy Policy if you continue to use our Services after the new Privacy Policy takes effect.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions about our privacy practices or this Privacy Policy, or to exercise your rights as detailed in this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Clerk, Inc.
660 King Street
Unit 345
San Francisco, CA 94107
privacy@clerk.dev