Data Collection Practices and Compliance

Last updated: December 20, 2025

Our Commitment

We are committed to responsible, transparent, and lawful data collection from publicly accessible social networking platforms. Our practices are designed to comply with applicable laws, respect user privacy, and adhere to industry best practices for ethical data collection.

Our Data Collection Methodology

1. Public Information Only

We collect exclusively from publicly accessible profile information that users have intentionally made available without authentication requirements.

We do not:

  • Access password-protected or authentication-required content
  • Circumvent technical access controls or security measures
  • Collect private messages, restricted content, or non-public data
  • Exceed the access permissions granted to ordinary public visitors

2. Technical Compliance Standards

Robots.txt Protocol Adherence

We strictly honor the Robots Exclusion Protocol (robots.txt) directives for all target websites. Our systems:

  • Parse and respect all Disallow directives
  • Observe Crawl-delay specifications
  • Comply with user-agent-specific restrictions
  • Regularly refresh robots.txt files to capture policy updates

Rate Limiting and Server Resource Protection

To ensure we do not impose undue burden on target servers:

  • Request Rate Limiting: Maximum 1 request per 3-5 seconds per domain
  • Distributed Access: Requests distributed across multiple time periods to avoid concentrated load
  • Exponential Backoff: Automatic retry delays increasing exponentially upon receiving rate limit responses (HTTP 429)
  • Concurrent Connection Limits: Maximum 2 concurrent connections per domain
  • Respectful User-Agent: Clear identification in User-Agent headers with contact information

Error Handling and Graceful Degradation

Our systems implement sophisticated error handling:

  • Immediate cessation upon receiving HTTP 403 (Forbidden) responses
  • Respect for HTTP 503 (Service Unavailable) with extended retry delays
  • Automatic suspension of collection upon detecting blocking measures
  • No attempts to circumvent IP-based access restrictions

3. Data Minimization and Purpose Limitation

Consistent with data protection principles:

  • Targeted Collection: We collect only data fields necessary for our stated business purposes
  • No Bulk Downloads: We do not perform wholesale database replication
  • Temporal Limits: Historical data collection limited to reasonable timeframes
  • Purpose Specification: Data used exclusively for job market analytics and professional networking facilitation

4. Terms of Service Consideration

We maintain a respectful approach to platform terms of service:

  • Regularly review target platform terms of service
  • Avoid practices that could interfere with platform operations
  • Maintain documentation of our review and compliance efforts
  • Adjust practices in response to reasonable platform concerns

Privacy Law Compliance

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

For data subjects in the European Union:

  • Lawful Basis: Processing based on legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f))
  • Transparency: Clear privacy notice regarding data collection practices
  • Data Subject Rights: Mechanisms for access, rectification, erasure, and objection
  • Data Minimization: Collection limited to necessary information
  • Storage Limitation: Retention periods aligned with business purposes

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

For California residents:

  • Notice at Collection: Disclosure of categories of personal information collected
  • Right to Know: Provision of collected data categories upon request
  • Right to Delete: Deletion mechanisms for personal information
  • Right to Opt-Out: Opt-out mechanisms for data sales (if applicable)

Legal Risk Mitigation Framework

Documentation and Audit Trail

We maintain comprehensive records:

  • Collection Logs: Timestamped records of all data collection activities
  • Purpose Documentation: Written specifications of business purposes for each collection initiative
  • Compliance Reviews: Quarterly legal compliance audits
  • Policy Updates: Version-controlled documentation of policy changes

Ongoing Monitoring

  • Case Law Monitoring: Continuous tracking of relevant legal developments
  • Platform Policy Changes: Automated alerts for terms of service modifications
  • Technical Controls Verification: Regular testing of rate limiting and robots.txt compliance
  • Third-Party Audits: Annual independent compliance assessments

Distinction from Prohibited Practices

Our practices explicitly differ from prohibited activities:

We Do NOT:

  1. Circumvent Technical Measures: No bypassing of CAPTCHAs, login requirements, or IP blocks
  2. Misrepresent Identity: No false credentials or impersonation
  3. Cause Service Disruption: No denial-of-service effects or server overload
  4. Access Private Data: No collection of authentication-required or restricted content
  5. Exceed Authorized Access: No unauthorized access to protected systems or data

We DO:

  1. Respect Technical Boundaries: Honor robots.txt and rate limits
  2. Identify Transparently: Clear User-Agent identification
  3. Minimize Server Impact: Gentle, distributed request patterns
  4. Collect Public Data Only: Limit to intentionally public information
  5. Maintain Legal Compliance: Ongoing monitoring and adjustment

Conclusion

Our data collection practices are designed to operate within established legal boundaries while respecting user privacy and platform resources. We collect only publicly available information, respect technical access controls, minimize server impact, and maintain comprehensive compliance documentation.

These practices reflect our commitment to lawful, ethical, and respectful data collection that serves legitimate business purposes while honoring both legal requirements and industry best practices.

Legal Notice: This document describes our data collection practices as of the date of publication. Laws and regulations governing data collection continue to evolve, and we maintain ongoing legal review to ensure continued compliance.

Contact: For questions regarding our data collection practices, please contact our support team.