How we collect, use, and protect your information
Last Updated: January 13, 2026
Welcome to Career Forward, a workforce development platform operated by Martin Built Strategies LLC ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our platform at careerforward.io and related services (collectively, the "Service").
We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data transparently. By accessing or using Career Forward, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not access or use our Service.
Career Forward is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18.
We collect information that you provide directly to us, information collected automatically, and information from third-party sources.
• Account information: name, email address, phone number, password
• Profile information: career goals, industry preferences, work experience, education history, skills
• Resume content: work history, education, certifications, skills, achievements
• Job search activity: applications tracked, companies of interest, interview notes
• Communications: messages with coaches, support requests, feedback
• Payment information (organizations only): billing address, payment method details
• Device information: browser type, operating system, device identifiers
• Usage data: pages visited, features used, time spent on platform
• Log data: IP address, access times, referring URLs
• Cookies and similar technologies: session data, preferences
• Resume parsing services (Affinda): extracted resume data from uploaded documents
• Job board integrations: job listing data from partner job boards
• Authentication providers: if you sign in using third-party services
We use the information we collect to provide, maintain, and improve our services:
• Create and manage your account
• Provide career coaching tools and resources
• Enable resume building and job application tracking
• Facilitate communication between job seekers and coaches
• Process transactions and send related information
• Analyze usage patterns to improve user experience
• Develop new features and functionality
• Debug and fix technical issues
• Conduct research and analytics
• Send service-related notifications
• Respond to your inquiries and support requests
• Provide updates about Career Forward features
• Send promotional communications (with your consent)
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud or abuse
• Enforce our terms of service
• Protect the rights and safety of our users
• Comply with legal obligations
Career Forward uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to enhance your experience. We want to be transparent about how AI is used with your data.
We integrate with AI systems, including Claude (Anthropic) and similar large language model (LLM) technologies, to power features such as:
• Resume parsing and content analysis
• Personalized career recommendations
• Cover letter generation assistance
• Job matching algorithms
• Interview preparation guidance
• Chatbot and support features
• Your resume content and profile information may be processed by AI systems to provide personalized recommendations
• AI-generated content is created based on the information you provide
• We do not use your personal data to train AI models
• AI processing is performed by trusted third-party providers under strict data protection agreements
• You can review and edit any AI-generated content before using it
• You may request information about how AI features use your data
• You can opt out of certain AI-powered features through your account settings
AI-generated recommendations and content are provided as suggestions only. We encourage you to review all AI outputs for accuracy and appropriateness before use. See our Terms of Service for important disclaimers about AI features and employment outcomes.
We do not sell your personal information. We share information only in the following circumstances:
• When you connect with a career coach, they can view your profile, resumes, and progress (read-only)
• When you explicitly authorize sharing with third parties
We share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist in operating our platform:
• Affinda: Resume parsing and data extraction
• Resend: Email delivery services
• Vercel: Hosting and infrastructure
• Payment processors: Secure payment processing
These providers are contractually obligated to use your information only for the services they provide to us.
We may disclose information if required by law or in response to valid legal requests, such as court orders or subpoenas.
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change.
We may share aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information:
• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
• Encryption at rest for sensitive PII fields
• Bcrypt password hashing with high security cost factor
• JWT-based authentication with secure session management
• Rate limiting to prevent brute-force attacks
• Input validation and sanitization
• Role-based access controls
• Regular security audits and assessments
• Employee training on data protection
• Incident response procedures
• Secure, enterprise-grade hosting infrastructure (Vercel, Vercel Postgres)
• Continuous monitoring and logging
• Regular backups with secure storage
While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes described in this policy:
Your data is retained indefinitely while your account remains active.
• 30 days of inactivity: Reminder email sent
• 5 months of inactivity: Final warning email
• 6 months of inactivity: Account archived, resumes emailed to you
• 18 months from archival: Data permanently deleted (except anonymized audit logs)
When you delete your account, your personal data is removed from active systems immediately. Certain records may be retained for up to 12 months for legal compliance purposes, after which they are permanently deleted.
Organizations that cancel maintain access to data for 30 days to export information. After 30 days, accounts transition to read-only mode. Job seekers retain access to their individual accounts.
You have several rights regarding your personal information:
• View and download your personal data through Account Settings
• Export resumes, job tracking data, and profile information
• Request a complete copy of your data
• Update your profile information at any time
• Correct inaccuracies in your data through your dashboard
• Delete your account through Account Settings
• Request deletion of specific data elements
• All personal data removed from active systems upon deletion
• Opt out of promotional emails
• Manage notification settings
• Control coach communication preferences
• Disconnect from coaches at any time
• Revoke third-party integrations
• Withdraw consent for non-essential data processing
To exercise these rights, access your Account Settings or contact us at support@martinbuiltstrategies.com.
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have additional rights under GDPR: • Right to access your personal data • Right to rectification of inaccurate data • Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") • Right to restrict processing • Right to data portability • Right to object to processing • Right to withdraw consent • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
Our legal basis for processing includes: consent, contract performance, legitimate interests, and legal obligations.
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights: • Right to know what personal information is collected • Right to know if personal information is sold or disclosed • Right to say no to the sale of personal information (we do not sell your data) • Right to access your personal information • Right to delete your personal information • Right to equal service and price (non-discrimination)
To submit a CCPA request, contact us at support@martinbuiltstrategies.com. We will verify your identity before processing requests.
We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience:
Required for basic platform functionality, including authentication and session management. These cannot be disabled.
Remember your preferences and settings to provide a personalized experience.
Help us understand how users interact with our platform to improve our services. These may be disabled.
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect platform functionality.
We do not use advertising cookies or engage in targeted advertising based on your activity on other websites.
Our platform may contain links to third-party websites or integrate with third-party services:
When you search for jobs, we display listings from external job boards. Clicking on a job listing may take you to an external site with its own privacy policy.
When you upload a resume, it is processed by Affinda to extract information. Affinda processes this data according to their privacy policy and our data processing agreement.
Transactional emails are delivered through Resend's secure infrastructure.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites or services. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.
Career Forward is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18.
If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 18, please contact us immediately at support@martinbuiltstrategies.com.
Career Forward is operated from the United States. If you access our Service from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.
For users in the EEA, UK, or other regions with data transfer restrictions, we implement appropriate safeguards for international transfers, including: • Standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission • Data processing agreements with service providers • Compliance with applicable data protection frameworks
By using our Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other countries where we or our service providers operate.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors.
When we make material changes, we will: • Post the updated policy on this page with a new "Last Updated" date • Notify you via email or prominent notice on our platform • Obtain your consent if required by applicable law
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of Career Forward after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Email: support@martinbuiltstrategies.com
Website: careerforward.io
For GDPR-related inquiries, you may also contact us at support@martinbuiltstrategies.com.
We will respond to your inquiry within 30 days. For California residents exercising CCPA rights, we will respond within 45 days as required by law.
We're here to help. Contact our privacy team for any questions or concerns.
Contact Privacy Team