Privacy Policy

2. What We Collect from Job Seekers

In short: What you tell us in the chat, what's on a resume you upload, your contact info, what you need from a job, and how you use Prelim.

We collect what you give us, plus some details about how you use Prelim:

• Your chat answers. What you type or tap in the chat, like your past jobs, what you did there, dates, numbers, certifications and licenses, schools, skills, and languages.
• Your resume. Everything on it, including changes you make.
• A resume you upload. If you upload a PDF or Word file, we read the text to fill in your resume. We don't keep the file itself. We keep the extracted text privately for up to 30 days to check resume rewrites.
• Contact info. Your name, email, phone number, and city or ZIP code.
• Your location. We use your ZIP code or city to find jobs near you and to measure how far away they are. We don't track your exact location.
• What you need from a job. When you can work, when you can start, how you get to work, how far you'll travel, the lowest pay you'll take, and full or part time. Also yes or no answers that some jobs need, like whether you're allowed to work in the US, are 18 or older, have a driver's license, or can lift a certain weight.
• What you want. What you want more or less of in your next job, your deal breakers, and why you passed on a job.
• Your job activity. Jobs you look at, save, or pass on, apply links you tap, jobs you apply to with Prelim, and whether you tell us you applied.
• Account info. If you make an account: your email, name, and settings, like whether job alerts are on. If you sign in with Google, Google shares your name, email, and profile photo with us.
• Help chat. If you ask a question in the help chat on our site, what you type there.
• Usage info. Pages you visit, buttons you tap, how long you stay, the site or ad that sent you, your browser and device type, and your IP address. Section 18 has more on this.

What we don't ask for. We never ask for your age or birth date, race, religion, disabilities or medical conditions, pregnancy, marital status, citizenship or immigration status (beyond whether you're allowed to work in the US), arrests or criminal records, or what you were paid at past jobs. Graduation years stay off your resume unless you choose to show them. Please don't type things like your Social Security number, bank details, or health information into the chat.

3. How We Use It

In short: To build your resume, rank jobs for you, and run and improve Prelim. We only email you about new jobs if you turn on job alerts.

We use your information to:

• Build your resume and make your PDF.
• Rank jobs for you and tell you why you fit each one.
• Send your resume to an employer when you choose Apply with Prelim.
• Keep track of the jobs you apply to, and ask whether you applied after you open a job on another site.
• Email you new jobs that fit, but only if you turn on job alerts. Every alert has a link to turn them off.
• Send emails you need, like sign-in codes, and answer your questions.
• Keep Prelim working and safe, like stopping spam and fraud.
• Improve Prelim. We study how people use it, and people on our team may read chats to fix a problem or make the questions better.

We don't use your information to train AI models, and we don't use it to target ads.

4. AI and Your Resume

In short: AI helps write your questions and resume lines from what you tell us. You check every line. Matches are suggestions, and employers make all hiring decisions.

What the AI does. We use OpenAI's models to read your chat messages and any resume you upload. They write your next question, turn your answers into resume lines, help rank your matches, and write the "Why you fit" and "Heads up" notes on them. OpenAI handles this text for us. It doesn't use it to train its models, and it deletes it within 30 days.

Your resume only says what you told us. Every line has to trace back to something you said or uploaded. We remove numbers you didn't give us, block puffed-up wording, and never upgrade your job title. You can edit or delete any line. AI can still get things wrong, so read your resume before you send it.

Your fit is a suggestion. Strong fit, Good fit, and Stretch are our best guess, based on your answers and the job post. They can be wrong, and employers never see them. You can always browse every job on the job board without taking the interview.

People make hiring decisions. Prelim doesn't decide who gets an interview or a job. Employers do.

Applying with Prelim. When you apply with Prelim, you take that employer's own chat interview. That interview is scored with AI for the employer, the same way as for every other applicant, and the employer decides what happens next. Section 12 explains how those interviews work.

5. Who Sees Your Information

In short: Employers see your resume and answers only when you choose Apply with Prelim. We don't sell your personal information.

• Employers, only when you apply with Prelim. When you tap Apply with Prelim on a job and start that employer's interview, we send that one employer your resume, name, and email. They also see your answers to their interview. They don't see your chat with us, your fit, your other matches, or what you told us you need or want in a job, like the lowest pay you'll take or your schedule.
• After you apply. The employer has its own copy of your application, and its own privacy policy applies to it. The employer may contact you by phone, text, or email using the info on your resume.
• Other job sites. When you tap "Apply on their site," you leave Prelim. We don't send that site your resume or answers. You choose what to give them, and their terms and privacy policy apply. They may be able to tell that you came from Prelim.
• Companies that help us run Prelim. For example, hosting, our database, email, and AI. They may use your information only to do that work for us. Section 15 lists them.
• Legal and safety reasons. If the law requires it, or to protect people from harm or fraud.
• If Prelim changes hands. If Prelim is sold or merges with another company, your information would go with it, and this policy would still apply to it.

We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for targeted ads.

6. Job Listings

In short: Most jobs come from other companies. Some may be paid ads, and we may earn money when you click them. We can't promise every detail is right.

• Where jobs come from. Companies' own career pages and job boards, job ad networks, and employers that use Prelim.
• Sponsored jobs. Some listings may be ads, and we may be paid when you click them. Getting paid never changes your fit. When two jobs fit you about the same, we may show a job from an employer that uses Prelim, or a sponsored job, first.
• We don't control listings. Pay, hours, requirements, and whether a job is still open can be wrong or out of date. Check with the employer.
• Clicks. When you tap a listing's apply link, we note it so we can ask you later whether you applied. If the link belongs to a job ad network, the network sees the click too.

Our Terms of Service say more about job listings.

7. How Long We Keep It

In short: No account? We delete your draft 30 days after you last use it. With an account, we keep your info until you delete it, and you can delete it any time.

• No account. If you never make an account, we delete your draft, including your interview chat, resume, answers, matches, and the jobs you opened, 30 days after your last activity.
• Uploaded files. We never store the file. We keep its original extracted text privately for up to 30 days to check that rewrites stay faithful, then delete that source text. The jobs and schools copied onto your resume stay with your draft or account and are deleted with it.
• With an account. We keep your resume, answers, and matches while you have an account, so they're there when you come back.
• Delete any time. Tap "Delete my data" on your account page at app.prelim.chat/me. We delete your profile, resume, interview chat, answers, matches, saved jobs, and applications. If you only use Prelim to look for work, we close your account too. It's all gone within 30 days.
• What deleting doesn't undo. If you already applied with Prelim, the employer keeps its own copy of your application. Ask the employer if you want it deleted. Help chat messages are kept apart from your resume, so email us if you want those deleted too.
• What we may keep. A record that you asked us to delete your data, anything the law requires us to keep, and basic usage records, like page views, that are no longer tied to your name or account. Backups are overwritten on a rolling basis and are not used to bring back deleted data, except to recover from a disaster.
• Job alerts. They stop as soon as you turn them off.

8. Text Messages

In short: We don't send text messages.

Prelim doesn't text or call job seekers. We only use your phone number to put it on your resume. If we ever add text messages, we'll ask you first, and you can say no. Employers you apply to may call or text you using the number on your resume.

9. Minimum Age

In short: You must be 16 or older to use Prelim's job seeker tools.

Prelim's job seeker tools are for people 16 and older. Some jobs require you to be 18 or older. When a job needs that, we may ask you yes or no, but we never ask your age or birth date.

We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you think someone under 16 has used our job seeker tools, email us at marcus@prelim.chat and we'll delete their information.

10. Information We Collect

In short: Account and billing details from employers, and interview answers and scores for applicants.

When employers and their applicants use Prelim's screening service, we collect information provided directly to us, including:

• Account information (name, email address, company name)
• Interview content (questions you create, candidate responses, scoring data)
• Usage data (how you interact with our platform)
• Payment information (processed securely through our payment provider, Stripe)

11. How We Use Your Information

In short: To run interviews, score them, and support employers.

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve our services
• Process AI-powered screening interviews and generate candidate scores
• Send you technical notices and support messages
• Respond to your comments, questions, and requests
• Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities on our platform

12. AI and Data Processing

In short: AI asks the employer's questions and scores the answers for the employer. The employer, not Prelim, makes the hiring decision. Applicants can ask us for a copy of their scores.

Prelim uses artificial intelligence to conduct text-based screening interviews and evaluate candidate responses. Prelim does not collect or process video, voice, or biometric data.

What the AI does. When a candidate participates in an interview, our AI:

• Asks the candidate the questions configured by the employer and generates clarifying follow-up questions when responses are incomplete.
• Evaluates whether each question was answered (a first-stage model, currently OpenAI gpt-4o-mini).
• Scores the candidate's responses on a 0 to 100 scale with written reasoning, and produces a five-tier recommendation (strong_yes / yes / maybe / no / strong_no) using a second-stage model. New jobs use OpenAI gpt-6-sol, and the overall score and recommendation are worked out from its score for each question. Jobs created before that change stay on OpenAI gpt-4o, so every applicant to the same job is scored the same way.

Decision-support, not the decision. AI scores, reasoning, and recommendations are visible to the employer and are intended solely as decision-support. The employer is required, under our Terms of Service, to perform meaningful human review of AI output and make the final hiring decision. Prelim does not make hiring decisions.

Applicants from the Prelim job board. Job seekers who apply with Prelim take the employer's interview like any other applicant and are scored the same way. The employer also gets the resume the job seeker chose to send. The employer never sees the job seeker's Prelim fit, other matches, or job preferences.

Candidate access to scores. Candidates may request a copy of the AI score, reasoning, and recommendation generated about their own interview by emailing marcus@prelim.chat from the email address used to take the interview, or by contacting the employer directly.

We do not use candidate interview data to train our own AI models, and our sub-processors do not use API-submitted data to train their models (see Section 15).

13. Data Sharing

In short: Applicant answers and scores go to the employer that sent the interview. We don't sell personal information.

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information with:

• Service providers and sub-processors who assist in operating our platform (see Section 15)
• As required by law or to protect our rights and safety
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets

Candidate interview content (responses, scores, reasoning, recommendation) is shared with the employer that issued the interview. The employer is a separate controller of that data once it is delivered to them.

14. Data Retention

In short: Interview transcripts and scores are deleted 18 months after the interview. Account data stays while the account is open.

Interview transcripts and scores are retained for 18 months from interview completion, then deleted automatically. Account data is retained while the account is active. Customers and candidates may request earlier deletion at any time by contacting us (see Section 17).

Backups containing personal data are rotated and overwritten on a rolling basis and are not used to restore deleted records except in disaster-recovery scenarios.

15. Sub-Processors

In short: A few companies help us run Prelim: hosting, our database, email, and AI. All of them are in the United States.

Prelim uses a small number of sub-processors to deliver the Service. All are US-based and process data under contractual confidentiality and security obligations.

• OpenAI, L.L.C. (United States)

  Purpose

  AI-powered interview scoring and conversation; the job seeker chat, resume writing, and match notes; and answers in our help chat

  Data

  Candidate-provided text responses, the job description, and the scoring rubric; job seeker chat messages, uploaded resume text, and the profile details used to write match notes; help chat messages

  Retention

  Per OpenAI API policy: up to 30 days for abuse monitoring, then deleted. Not used to train OpenAI models.

• Neon (United States)

  Purpose

  Managed Postgres database

  Data

  Account data, interview definitions, candidate responses, scores, and reasoning; job seeker profiles, resumes, chats, answers, and matches

  Retention

  Per Prelim retention (Sections 7 and 14)

• Google Cloud Run (United States)

  Purpose

  API hosting

  Data

  Application data in transit; transient request/response logs

  Retention

  Operational logs retained up to 30 days

• Vercel (United States)

  Purpose

  Frontend hosting and cookieless page-view analytics

  Data

  Page-view and request metadata; no interview transcripts or resumes

  Retention

  Operational logs retained per Vercel defaults

• Resend (United States)

  Purpose

  Email delivery: sign-in links and codes, interview notifications, and other product emails

  Data

  Email address, name, and message content

  Retention

  Message logs retained per Resend defaults

• Postmark (United States)

  Purpose

  Email delivery for some product emails, like digests

  Data

  Email address, name, and message content

  Retention

  Message logs retained per Postmark defaults

Each sub-processor's handling of personal data is governed by that provider's published data-processing terms, which Prelim accepts by using the service. The data processing addenda of OpenAI, Google Cloud, Vercel, Neon, Resend, and Postmark are incorporated into their respective terms of service, and each includes safeguards for personal data transferred from the United Kingdom.

Customers entering into a Data Processing Addendum with Prelim receive notice of new sub-processors and a reasonable opportunity to object before onboarding. See the Data Processing Addendum for details.

16. Data Security

In short: We encrypt your data and limit who can get to it. No system is perfectly secure.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. All data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest. Access to production data is restricted to authorized personnel and logged.

No way of storing or sending data is perfectly secure, so we can't promise it will never be accessed without permission. If a breach affects your information, we'll tell you as the law requires.

17. Your Rights

In short: You can see, fix, and delete your information. Job seekers can do most of it themselves. We don't sell personal information, so there's nothing to opt out of.

Depending on your location, you may have rights under laws such as the GDPR or CCPA. In addition, we extend the following rights to all job seekers, candidates, and customers, regardless of jurisdiction:

• Right to access. Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, including (for candidates) the AI scores, reasoning, and recommendation generated about your interview.
• Right to deletion. Request deletion of your personal data. We will process requests promptly, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Right to know what was shared. Request information about what data was shared with the employer who issued your interview, or with the employers you applied to with Prelim.
• Right to correct. Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Right to object / restrict. Object to or restrict processing of your data where applicable law permits.
• Right to portability. Request a copy of your data in a portable format.

Job seekers can do most of this themselves. You can see and download your resume, fix any line, update your job fit answers, and delete your data from your account page. For a copy of everything else we have about you, email us. No account? Your draft deletes itself 30 days after you last use it. To delete it sooner, email us the email address or phone number on your resume.

Do not sell or share. We don't sell personal information, and we don't share job seekers' information for targeted ads, so there's nothing you need to opt out of. The only data we send to ad networks is about employer accounts, like sign-ups and first jobs (see Section 18), and the Reddit Pixel turns off when your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal.

No penalty. We won't treat you differently for using your rights.

How to exercise these rights. Email marcus@prelim.chat from the email address associated with your account or interview, with the subject line "Privacy Request" and a description of what you would like us to do. We may ask you to verify your identity. Someone you trust can also make a request for you, and we may ask for proof that you agreed. We aim to respond within 30 days. Candidates may also contact the employer directly, as the employer is the controller of the data they collected via Prelim.

18. Cookies and Similar Tools

In short: We use a few cookies and browser storage to keep you signed in, save your draft, and count visits. We only send data to ad networks from our employer pages and employer accounts.

We use essential cookies to keep our platform functioning and analytics cookies to understand how you use our service:

• Signing in. A cookie keeps you signed in.
• Your draft. We save a random ID in your browser so your chat and resume are waiting when you come back on the same device. We also use it to count visits. If you clear your browser data before you make an account, we can't find your draft again.
• Where you came from. A cookie remembers the site or ad that first sent you to Prelim, for 90 days, so we know which links and ads work.
• Our usage stats. We record pages viewed and buttons tapped in our own system, along with your browser type and IP address. We also use Vercel Web Analytics, which counts page views without cookies.
• Logos from other sites. Some job listings show a company logo that loads from the site the job came from. That site can see your IP address and browser type, like any site you visit.
• Reddit, on employer pages only. We use Reddit's Pixel on our employer homepage (prelim.chat/employers) and employer onboarding flow, and its Conversions API to measure employer signup, job creation, link sharing, and first applicant completion. We send hashed employer email and account identifiers and Reddit click IDs for attribution. We do not send applicant or job seeker names, email addresses, answers, resumes, scores, or transcripts to Reddit, and the Reddit Pixel never runs on our job seeker tools. Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track disable this advertising measurement.
• Google Ads, for employer accounts only. If an employer came to us from a Google ad, we tell Google Ads when that account creates its first job or buys a paid plan, using only the ad's click ID. We don't send Google names, email addresses, or interview content.

You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings.

19. Changes to This Policy

In short: If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. We'll tell you before big changes take effect.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we'll change the effective date at the top. If we make a big change in how we use your information, we'll tell you before it takes effect, by email or with a notice on Prelim.

What changed on October 20, 2026. We now support employers and candidates in the United Kingdom, and updated how we describe our sub-processors' data processing terms (Section 15).

What changed on October 18, 2026. We added Part 1 for job seekers and the Prelim job board, and added job seeker details to Part 3, including our help chat and company logos on job listings. For employers, we updated the AI model names (Section 12), added our email providers, Resend and Postmark (Section 15), and described our ad measurement in more detail (Section 18).

20. Contact Us

In short: Questions? Email us.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at marcus@prelim.chat.