Ascend

Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2, 2026

1. Who we are

Ascend ("we", "us", "our") provides a career-guidance app that helps you discover paths, track goals, and reflect on progress. We are the data controller for personal data processed through the Ascend website and apps. Contact: privacy@ascends.live.

2. What we collect

  • Account data: name, email, authentication identifiers (including any data from Google sign-in you choose to use).
  • App data you create: goals, reflections, applications, saved links, budgets, chat messages with the AI coach, resume content, and similar entries.
  • Subscription & payment data: handled by Stripe (web) or Apple (iOS in-app purchase). We store subscription status and limited transaction metadata, never full card numbers.
  • Usage & device data: pages viewed, basic interaction events, IP address, browser/OS, and crash diagnostics used to improve the product and prevent abuse.
  • Cookies & local storage: strictly necessary cookies for login/session, and limited functional storage. We do not use third-party advertising cookies.

3. How we use your data & legal bases (GDPR)

For users in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, we rely on the following legal bases:

  • Contract (Art. 6(1)(b)): to create your account, provide the app, deliver AI-generated guidance you request, and process subscriptions.
  • Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): to secure the service, prevent fraud and abuse, debug issues, and improve features. You may object at any time.
  • Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): for optional notifications, marketing emails, and any non-essential analytics. You can withdraw consent at any time in Settings.
  • Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): to keep tax/billing records and respond to lawful requests.

4. Sharing & sub-processors

We do not sell your personal data and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share data only with vetted infrastructure providers strictly needed to run the service, under data processing agreements:

  • Hosting & database: Supabase / Cloudflare (EU and US regions).
  • Authentication: Supabase Auth, Google (if you sign in with Google).
  • AI inference: Google (Gemini) and OpenAI via the Lovable AI Gateway. Prompts and responses are processed to deliver the feature and are not used by us to train third-party models.
  • Payments: Stripe (web) and Apple (iOS IAP, via RevenueCat for receipt validation).
  • Email delivery: our transactional email provider for account and security emails.

5. International data transfers

We are based in, and primarily process data in, the United States. When personal data is transferred outside the EEA/UK, we rely on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, together with supplementary technical measures (encryption in transit and at rest, least-privilege access). A copy of the SCCs is available on request.

6. Your rights (GDPR & UK GDPR)

If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you.
  • Rectify inaccurate data (most fields are editable in Settings).
  • Erasure ("right to be forgotten") — delete your account from Settings → Danger zone, or email us.
  • Restriction or objection to certain processing, including profiling.
  • Data portability — export your data on request.
  • Withdraw consent at any time (without affecting prior processing).
  • Lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority (e.g. your national DPA, or the UK ICO).

To exercise any right, email privacy@ascends.live. We respond within 30 days.

7. California privacy rights (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to: know what personal information we collect and how it is used and shared; access a portable copy; correct inaccurate information; delete your personal information; and limit the use of sensitive personal information. You also have the right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.

We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA, and we do not knowingly process the personal information of consumers under 16 for sale or sharing. To exercise your rights, email privacy@ascends.live with the subject "California privacy request". You may use an authorized agent; we will verify the request before responding.

8. Data retention

We retain account and app data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, your profile and linked records are removed from our production database within 30 days and purged from encrypted backups within 90 days. We retain limited billing records for as long as required by tax law (typically 7 years).

9. Security

We use row-level security, TLS encryption in transit, encryption at rest, secret isolation, and least-privilege access. We monitor for abuse and have an incident response process. No system is perfectly secure; report concerns to security@ascends.live.

10. Automated decisions & AI

Ascend uses AI models to generate suggestions, plans, and coaching responses. These outputs are guidance only and do not produce legal or similarly significant effects on you. You can ignore any suggestion, and a human can always review your case on request.

11. Children

Ascend is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16; if you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it.

12. Changes

We may update this policy. Material changes will be announced in-app or by email. The "Last updated" date above always reflects the current version.

13. Contact

Privacy & data requests: privacy@ascends.live
Security: security@ascends.live
See also our Data & Compliance page.