Last updated: March 23, 2024
The privacy of your data — and it is your data, not ours! — is a big deal to us. In this policy, we lay out: what data we collect and why; how your data is handled; and your rights with respect to your data. We promise we never sell your data: never have, never will.
This policy applies to all products built and maintained by HiWork LLC including HiWork CRM (all versions).
What we collect and why
Our guiding principle is to collect only what we need. Here’s what that means in practice:
Identity & access
When you sign up for a HiWork product, we ask for identifying information such as your name, email address, and maybe a company name. That’s so you can personalize your new account, and we can send you product updates and other essential information. We may also send you optional surveys from time to time to help us understand how you use our products and to make improvements. With your consent, we will send you our newsletter and other updates. We sometimes also give you the option to add a profile picture that displays in our products.
We’ll never sell your personal information to third parties, and we won’t use your name or company in marketing statements without your permission either.
Billing information
If you sign up for a paid HiWork product, you will be asked to provide your payment information and billing address. Credit card information is submitted directly to our payment processor and doesn’t hit HiWork servers. We store a record of the payment transaction, including the last 4 digits of the credit card number, for purposes of account history, invoicing, and billing support. We store your billing address so we can charge you for service, calculate any sales tax due, send you invoices, and detect fraudulent credit card transactions. We occasionally use aggregate billing information to guide our marketing efforts.
Product interactions
We store on our servers the content that you upload or receive or maintain in your HiWork product accounts. This is so you can use our products as intended. We keep this content as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we’ll delete the content within 60 days.
Geolocation data
For most of our products, we log the full IP address used to sign up a product account and retain that for use in mitigating future spammy signups. We also log all account access by full IP address for security and fraud prevention purposes, and we keep this login data for as long as your product account is active.
Website interactions
We collect information about your browsing activity for analytics and statistical purposes such as conversion rate testing and experimenting with new product designs. This includes, for example, your browser and operating system versions, your IP address, which web pages you visited and how long they took to load, and which website referred you to us. If you have an account and are signed in, these web analytics data are tied to your IP address and user account until your account is no longer active. The web analytics we use are described further in the Advertising and Cookies section.
Anti-bot assessments
We use CAPTCHA across our applications to mitigate brute force logins and as a means of spam protection. We have a legitimate interest in protecting our apps and the broader Internet community from credential stuffing attacks and spam. When you log into your HiWork accounts and when you fill in certain forms, the CAPTCHA service evaluates various information (e.g., IP address, how long the visitor has been on the app, mouse movements) to try to detect if the activity is from an automated program instead of a human. The CAPTCHA service then provides HiWork with the spam score results; we do not have access to the evaluated information.
Advertising and Cookies
HiWork runs contextual ads on various third-party platforms such as Google, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Users who click on one of our ads will be sent to the HiWork marketing site. Where permissible under law, we may load an ad-company script on their browsers that sets a third-party cookie and sends information to the ad network to enable evaluation of the effectiveness of our ads, e.g., which ad they clicked and which keyword triggered the ad, and whether they performed certain actions such as clicking a button or submitting a form.
We also use persistent first-party cookies and some third-party cookies to store certain preferences, make it easier for you to use our applications, and perform A/B testing as well as support some analytics.
A cookie is a piece of text stored by your browser. It may help remember login information and site preferences. It might also collect information such as your browser type, operating system, web pages visited, duration of visit, content viewed, and other click-stream data. You can adjust cookie retention settings and accept or block individual cookies in your browser settings, although our apps won’t work and other aspects of our service may not function properly if you turn cookies off.
Voluntary correspondence
When you email HiWork with a question or to ask for help, we keep that correspondence, including your email address, so that we have a history of past correspondence to reference if you reach out in the future.
We also store information you may volunteer, for example, written responses to surveys. If you agree to a customer interview, we may ask for your permission to record the conversation for future reference or use. We will only do so with your express consent.
How we approach mobile app permissions
We offer optional desktop and mobile apps for some of our products. Because of how the platforms are designed, our apps typically must request your consent before accessing contacts, calendar, camera, and other privacy-sensitive features of your device. Consent is always optional and our apps will function without it, though some features may be unavailable. But there could a few exceptions as limited by different platforms and Operating Systems (for example, iOS and Android).
When we access or share your information
To provide products or services you’ve requested. We use some third-party subprocessors to help run our applications and provide the Services to you. We also use third-party processors for other business functions such as managing newsletter subscriptions, sending customer surveys, and providing our company storefront.
We may share your information at your direction if you integrate a third-party service into your use of our products.
No HiWork human looks at your content except for limited purposes with your express permission, for example, if an error occurs that stops an automated process from working and requires manual intervention to fix. These are rare cases, and when they happen, we look for root cause solutions as much as possible to avoid them recurring. We may also access your data if required in order to respond to legal process (see “When required under applicable law” below).
To exclude you from seeing our ads. Where permissible by law and if you have a HiWork account, we may share a one-way hash of your email address with ad companies to exclude you from seeing our ads.
To help you troubleshoot or squash a software bug, with your permission. If at any point we need to access your content to help you with a support case, we will ask for your consent before proceeding.
To investigate, prevent, or take action regarding restricted uses. Accessing a customer’s account when investigating potential abuse is a measure of last resort. We want to protect the privacy and safety of both our customers and the people reporting issues to us, and we do our best to balance those responsibilities throughout the process. If we discover you are using our products for a restricted purpose, we will take action as necessary, including notifying appropriate authorities where warranted.
When required under applicable law.
HiWork LLC is a U.S. company and all data infrastructure are located in the U.S.
Requests for user data. Our policy is to not respond to government requests for user data unless we are compelled by legal process or in limited circumstances in the event of an emergency request. However, if U.S. law enforcement authorities have the necessary warrant, criminal subpoena, or court order requiring us to share data, we must comply. Likewise, we will only respond to requests from government authorities outside the U.S. if compelled by the U.S. government through procedures outlined in a mutual legal assistance treaty or agreement. It is HiWork’s policy to notify affected users before we share data unless we are legally prohibited from doing so, and except in some emergency cases.
Preservation requests. Similarly, HiWork’s policy is to comply with requests to preserve data only if compelled by the U.S. Federal Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 2703(f), or by a properly served U.S. subpoena for civil matters. We do not share preserved data unless required by law or compelled by a court order that we choose not to appeal. Furthermore, unless we receive a proper warrant, court order, or subpoena before the required preservation period expires, we will destroy any preserved copies of customer data at the end of the preservation period.
If we are audited by a tax authority, we may be required to share billing-related information. If that happens, we will share only the minimum needed, such as billing addresses and tax exemption information.
Finally, if HiWork LLC is acquired by or merges with another company — we don’t plan on that, but if it happens — we’ll notify you well before any of your personal information is transferred or becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
Your rights with respect to your information
At HiWork, we strive to apply the same data rights to all customers, regardless of their location. Some of these rights include:
Right to Know. You have the right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared or sold. We outline both the categories and specific bits of data we collect, as well as how they are used, in this privacy policy.
Right of Access. This includes your right to access the personal information we gather about you, and your right to obtain information about the sharing, storage, security and processing of that information.
Right to Correction. You have the right to request correction of your personal information.
Right to Erasure / “To Be Forgotten”. This is your right to request, subject to certain limitations under applicable law, that your personal information be erased from our possession and, by extension, from all of our service providers. Fulfillment of some data deletion requests may prevent you from using HiWork services because our applications may then no longer work. In such cases, a data deletion request may result in closing your account.
Right to Complain. You have the right to make a complaint regarding our handling of your personal information with the appropriate supervisory authority.
Right to Restrict Processing. This is your right to request restriction of how and why your personal information is used or processed, including opting out of sale of personal information. (Again: we never have and never will sell your personal data.)
Right to Object. You have the right, in certain situations, to object to how or why your personal information is processed.
Right to Portability. You have the right to receive the personal information we have about you and the right to transmit it to another party.
Right to not Be Subject to Automated Decision-Making. You have the right to object to and prevent any decision that could have a legal or similarly significant effect on you from being made solely based on automated processes. This right is limited if the decision is necessary for performance of any contract between you and us, is allowed by applicable law, or is based on your explicit consent.
Right to Non-Discrimination. We do not and will not charge you a different amount to use our products, offer you different discounts, or give you a lower level of customer service because you have exercised your data privacy rights. However, the exercise of certain rights may, by virtue of your exercising those rights, prevent you from using our Services.
Many of these rights can be exercised by signing in and updating your account information.
If you have questions about exercising these rights or need assistance, please contact us at help@hiwork.io. If an authorized agent is corresponding on your behalf, we will need written consent with a signature from the account holder before proceeding.
If you are in the EU or UK, you can contact your data protection authority to file a complaint or learn more about local privacy laws.
How we secure your data
All data is encrypted via SSL/TLS when transmitted from our servers to your browser. The database backups are also encrypted. In addition, we go to great lengths to secure your data at rest.
Compliance with Google API Services User Data Policy
We adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Our use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app is strictly for the app's functionality and not for any other purpose. For more details, please visit the Google API Services User Data Policy.
What happens when you delete content in your product accounts
In many of our applications, we give you the option to trash content. Anything you trash in your product accounts while they are active will be kept in an accessible trash can for about 25 days. After that time, the trashed content cannot be accessed via the application and we are not able to retrieve it for you. The trashed content may remain on our active servers for another 30 days, and copies of the content may be held in backups of our application databases for up to another 30 days after that. Altogether, any content trashed in your product accounts should be purged from all of our systems and logs within 90 days.
If you choose to cancel your account, your content will become immediately inaccessible and should be purged from our systems in full within 60 days. This applies both for cases when an account owner directly cancels and for auto-canceled accounts.
Location of site and data
Our products and other web properties are operated in the United States. If you are located in the European Union, UK, or elsewhere outside of the United States, please be aware that any information you provide to us will be transferred to and stored in the United States. By using our websites or Services and/or providing us with your personal information, you consent to this transfer.
When transferring personal data from the EU
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has issued guidance that personal data transferred out of the EU must be treated with the same level of protection that is granted under EU privacy law. UK law provides similar safeguards for UK user data that is transferred out of the UK.
There are also a few ad hoc cases where EU personal data may be transferred to the U.S. in connection with HiWork LLC operations, for instance, if an EU user signs up for our newsletter. Such transfers are only occasional and data is transferred under the Article 49(1)(b) derogation under GDPR and the UK version of GDPR.
AI-Enabled Features and Data Sharing
HiWork leverages advanced AI capabilities, such as semantic search, natural language queries (NLQ), and conversational agents, to enhance user experience and provide smarter, more intuitive responses within our CRM platform. To support these features, HiWork may share data like uploaded contact information, notes, tasks, and projects with trusted third-party AI service providers, specifically OpenAI's API.
Data Handling and Privacy:
Data Types Shared: We may share contact information, notes, tasks, and project details, strictly limited to what's necessary for the AI features you use.
Purpose: This sharing enables HiWork to provide AI features that enhance productivity and user experience.
Data Anonymization: Data required for AI features is never identified to your user account.
Third-Party AI Services: OpenAI is our chosen provider for AI features. Data shared with OpenAI through API requests is not used for their model training, and they delete API request logs after 30 days. Please refer to OpenAI's Terms of Service for their specific retention policies.
User Control: Currently, there's no opt-out for data sharing with AI services, as it's essential for our CRM's key features.
We're committed to transparency and responsible data handling practices.
Changes & questions
We may update this policy as needed to comply with relevant regulations and reflect any new practices. Whenever we make a significant change to our policies, we will refresh the date at the top of this page and take any other appropriate steps to notify users.
Have any questions, comments, or concerns about this privacy policy, your data, or your rights with respect to your information? Please get in touch by emailing us at help@hiwork.io and we’ll be happy to try to answer them!
This policy was adapted from the Basecamp open-source policies / CC BY 4.0