Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

Account information

When you register, we collect your name, email address, phone number, role (seafarer, shore professional or employer) and encrypted authentication credentials. Login history and session tokens may also be recorded for security purposes.

Professional profile

Depending on your role, you may add professional details such as rank or shore position, department, vessel types, sea service history, certifications, skills, availability, education and career preferences. You choose what to enter; empty fields simply mean we cannot use them to match you with opportunities.

Documents

You may upload certificates, sea service records, identity documents and other supporting files. These documents are stored securely and are associated with your profile. CrewAhead may display file metadata (name, type, expiry where applicable) to you and, where relevant, to employers you have applied to or shortlisted with.

Technical information

We collect limited technical information needed to operate and secure the platform. This may include your browser type, device type, IP address, the pages you visit, and information stored in cookies or browser storage such as localStorage. Please see our Cookie Policy for more detail.

Communications

When you use the platform's messaging, notification or application features, we process the content of those communications, the recipient, and related timestamps so the feature can work. We do not read private messages for purposes other than delivering them, enforcing our policies, or where required by law.

2. Why we use your information

• Account operation: to create and maintain your account, authenticate you, and provide the platform features you access.
• Recruitment and matching: to help seafarers and shore professionals discover relevant roles, and to help employers discover relevant candidates.
• Applications and communication: to process job applications, route messages and notifications between users, and keep a record of recruitment activity.
• Platform improvement: to understand how the platform is used, diagnose issues, and improve features. Where possible, we use aggregated or anonymised data for this purpose.
• Security: to detect and prevent abuse, fraud, unauthorised access, and other harmful activity.
• Legal obligations: to comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, and protect our rights and the rights of others.

3. Profile visibility

Your profile discoverability is controlled by the settings you choose on the platform, where those settings are available. You can limit visibility to employers only, or make it more broadly discoverable, depending on the controls provided. Applications you have already submitted, and related messages, may remain visible to the employers involved in those recruitment processes even if you later reduce your profile visibility.

4. Sharing your information

• Employers: we share your profile and application information with employers when you apply for a job, when your profile is discoverable based on your visibility settings, or when an employer shortlists you through the platform.
• Service providers: we may use trusted third-party providers for hosting, cloud storage, email delivery, and other operational services. These providers process data only to perform the services we have engaged them for, and they are bound by appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.
• Payment processors: when you make a payment, we may share the transaction details needed to process it with the relevant payment provider. Payment processing may be handled through providers such as Stripe, Razorpay or PayPal, depending on the arrangement in place at the time.
• Legal requirements: we may disclose information if required by law, by a court order, or to protect the safety, rights or property of CrewAhead, our users, or the public.

We do not sell your personal information. We also do not share your information with third-party advertisers or analytics platforms for their own purposes.

5. Cookies and browser storage

We use cookies and browser storage to keep you signed in, support security, and remember necessary preferences. For full details, including how to manage these technologies, please read our Cookie Policy.

6. Data retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to operate the platform, meet legal obligations, and resolve disputes. When your account is closed, we will delete or anonymise your data as soon as we no longer need it for these purposes, unless a longer retention period is required by law. The exact period depends on the type of data and any legal requirements that apply.

7. Your rights

Under the DPDP Act, you have the following rights as a Data Principal, subject to any legal limitations:

• Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Withdrawal of consent: where we rely on your consent for processing, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect processing that was lawful before the withdrawal.
• Erasure: ask us to delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements and legitimate business needs.
• Grievance: raise a concern about how we handle your data. See Grievance Redressal for the process.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at crewsahead@gmail.com.

8. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards to protect your information, including encrypted credential storage, access controls, and secure infrastructure. No online service can be completely secure, so we also encourage you to use strong passwords, keep your credentials confidential, and report any suspected unauthorised access promptly.

9. Children's privacy

CrewAhead is intended for maritime professionals and employers. It is not directed at individuals under 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from minors.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this page, and the effective date will be shown at the top. We encourage you to review the policy periodically.

11. Contact and grievance officer

For privacy questions, data rights requests, or to raise a concern, contact the CrewAhead Trust & Safety Team at crewsahead@gmail.com.

For our complaint process and response approach, please see Grievance Redressal.