Privacy Policy

Developer Events LLC ("we," "us," or "our") operates the HackerSquad platform at hackersquad.io (the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service.

By accessing or using HackerSquad, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account Information

When you sign up via GitHub, Google, or LinkedIn OAuth, we receive and store:

• Name and email address
• Profile photo (from your OAuth provider)
• OAuth provider account identifier

You may also voluntarily provide additional profile information including your phone number, LinkedIn URL, GitHub URL, Discord handle, and Twitter handle.

1.2 Event & Registration Data

When you register for or participate in events, we collect:

• Event registration details (role, project idea, tech stack, spectator goals)
• Check-in timestamps
• Team membership and invitations
• Project submissions (name, description, GitHub links, demo videos, technologies used)
• Engineering notebook entries and comments
• Community votes and judge scores
• Volunteer signups

1.3 Developer Feedback

When you submit feedback about sponsor technologies at events, we store your feedback content and may process it using AI models to categorize sentiment and content quality. We also use AI detection tools to distinguish human-written from AI-generated feedback.

1.4 Cloud IDE Data

If you use the HackerSquad Cloud IDE, we store your container session data, including file content you create within the IDE environment, to provide persistent development environments.

1.5 Presentation & Recording Data

If you participate in live demos or speaker presentations, we process WebRTC signaling data to enable streaming. Presentations may be recorded and stored for post-event viewing.

1.6 Contact & Business Inquiry Data

If you submit a contact form or business inquiry, we collect your name, email, phone number, company name, company website, and any notes you provide.

1.7 E-Signature Data

When you sign agreements through our platform, we capture your typed legal name, a hashed version of your IP address, browser user agent, and timezone for legal audit compliance. We do not store your raw IP address.

1.8 Application Data

If you apply to become a Squad Leader, submit a fireside chat application, or request a demo slot, we collect the professional and personal information you provide in those forms (e.g., name, email, LinkedIn profile, company details, experience, and event preferences).

1.9 Automatically Collected Data

We use PostHog for product analytics. This may collect usage data such as page views, feature interactions, device type, browser type, and approximate location. We also use cookies necessary for authentication (session tokens, PKCE code verifiers, and OAuth state parameters).

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the HackerSquad platform
• Authenticate your identity and manage your account
• Facilitate event registration, team formation, and project submissions
• Enable live presentations, streaming, and recording during events
• Provide Cloud IDE environments for hackathon participants
• Process and display developer feedback to sponsor companies
• Manage judging, scoring, community voting, and prize distribution
• Generate post-event sponsor reports with aggregated engagement metrics
• Send event-related notifications and reminders
• Process sponsorship payments and Squad Leader commissions
• Facilitate e-signature workflows for sponsorship agreements
• Improve the Service through product analytics
• Respond to your inquiries and support requests

3. How We Share Your Information

3.1 With Event Partners

When you register for or attend an event through HackerSquad, your registration data—including your name, email address, profile information, role, and any other information you provide during registration—may be shared with the partners involved in that event. Event partners include, but are not limited to:

• Sponsors — Companies sponsoring the event, who may use your registration data for recruiting outreach, product feedback follow-ups, and other communications related to their participation in the event
• Judges — Individuals or organizations serving as judges or mentors, who may receive your registration and project submission data to evaluate your work
• Venue hosts — The venue or facility hosting the event, who may require attendee information for building access, security, or capacity management purposes
• Co-hosts and collaborators — Other organizations or individuals co-organizing or contributing to the event, who may receive registration data to coordinate event logistics and communications

By registering for an event, you acknowledge and consent to your registration data being shared with that event's partners. The specific partners for each event may vary and are typically identified on the event registration page. Event partners who receive your data are expected to use it only for purposes related to the event and their role in it.

3.2 Sponsor Reports & Developer Feedback

When you submit projects using sponsor technologies or provide developer feedback about a sponsor's product, that feedback, project information, and related engagement data may be shared with the sponsoring company in post-event reports. These reports may include aggregated and individual-level data about event participation, project submissions, and technology usage.

3.3 With Event Organizers & Squad Leaders

Event managers and Squad Leaders can view registration data, project submissions, and attendance information for the events they organize.

3.4 Publicly Visible Information

Project submissions, demo presentations, community posts, and community votes are visible to other event participants. Speaker profiles and Squad Leader profiles may be publicly visible on the platform.

3.5 Third-Party Service Providers

We share data with the following third-party services that help us operate the platform:

• GitHub, Google, LinkedIn — OAuth authentication
• Stripe — Payment processing for sponsorships
• Fly.io — Cloud IDE container hosting
• Bytescale — File and media storage (photos, recordings, PDFs)
• PostHog — Product analytics
• AI/LLM Providers — Feedback categorization and content analysis
• GPTZero — AI content detection for feedback quality
• Luma — Event registration and management

These providers process data on our behalf and are contractually obligated to protect your information.

3.6 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

4. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. Event-related data (registrations, project submissions, feedback) is retained to maintain historical event records and to provide post-event reports to sponsors. E-signature audit logs are retained as required for legal compliance. You may request deletion of your account and personal data by contacting us at the email address below.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including:

• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
• Secure OAuth authentication (no passwords stored)
• HTTP-only, secure cookies for session management
• Hashing of IP addresses in e-signature audit logs
• Isolated Cloud IDE containers per user

While we strive to protect your information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Cookies

We use strictly necessary cookies for authentication and security purposes:

• Session cookies — To keep you logged in
• PKCE code verifier — To secure the OAuth login flow
• OAuth state parameter — To prevent cross-site request forgery

PostHog may also set analytics cookies to understand how the Service is used.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Delete your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Export your personal data in a portable format
• Object to or restrict certain processing of your data
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@hackersquad.io. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

8. Children's Privacy

HackerSquad is not intended for individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own, including the United States where our servers and third-party service providers are located. By using the Service, you consent to such transfers.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at: