Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Who we are. For the Service, GoValidate is the data controller. Contact: privacy@govalidate.dev; postal: Dubai, UAE. If you collect lead data from your visitors, you are the controller of that lead data and GoValidate acts as your processor only to provide the Service.

At GoValidate ("we," "our," or "us"), we are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we collect, use, and share your information. This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of information we receive from users of our website and services (collectively, the "Service").

By using our Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

Personal Information

We may collect personally identifiable information that you voluntarily provide to us when you:

• Register for an account
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Contact us for support
• Use our services

This may include your name, email address, and any other information you choose to provide.

Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate our Service:

• Log and usage data (IP address, browser type, device information)
• Pages visited and time spent on pages
• Click-through rates and other interaction data
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies

Public Forum Data

Our Service analyzes publicly available information from platforms like Reddit to generate startup ideas and insights. We only analyze publicly available information and/or data obtained via permitted methods (including official APIs). We do not circumvent access controls or rate limits. On notice of a platform ToS issue, we may remove related features or content.

2A. Lawful Bases

We process personal data under these legal bases: Contract (to provide the Service), Legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, product analytics, improving the Service), Consent (marketing emails, non-essential cookies), and Legal obligation (tax/records).

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes:

• To provide and maintain our Service
• To authenticate users and prevent fraud
• To analyze public discussions and generate business insights
• To personalize your experience
• To communicate with you about our Service
• To send you marketing communications (with your consent)
• To improve our Service and develop new features
• To comply with legal obligations
• To monitor usage patterns and prevent abuse

For materials you upload or share through GoValidate: You control what you choose to submit or publish. We process that data only to provide the Service, generate reports, support sharing features, and enable the integrations you turn on.

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

Service Providers

We may employ third-party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service, provide services on our behalf, or assist us in analyzing how our Service is used. These third parties have access to your personal information only to perform these tasks and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

Service Providers / Subprocessors

We use vetted providers for hosting, storage, and analytics (e.g., Vercel/Edge, Railway/compute, Cloudflare/CDN & DNS, MongoDB Atlas/DB, object storage (S3/R2/Blob), email/transactional). We require appropriate data protection terms with all subprocessors.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or if we believe that such action is necessary to:

• Comply with a legal obligation
• Protect and defend our rights or property
• Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing
• Protect the personal safety of users or the public

Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Security measures are applied appropriate to the data and risk, including:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Regular security assessments and updates
• Access controls and authentication protocols
• Employee training on data protection
• Incident response procedures

However, please remember that no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to provide you with our Service and as described in this Privacy Policy. We will retain your information:

• Accounts: retained while active; deleted or anonymized within 90 days of closure (backups within 180 days)
• Logs/security events: 90 days
• Leads: retained while your account is active or until you delete/export them
• Transactional records (billing/invoices): 7 years (or as required by law)

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: You can request access to your personal information
• Rectification: You can request correction of inaccurate information
• Erasure: You can request deletion of your personal information
• Portability: You can request a copy of your data in a structured format
• Objection: You can object to certain processing of your information
• Restriction: You can request restriction of processing

To exercise rights, email privacy@govalidate.dev. We verify requests and respond within 30 days (extendable where permitted). If we act as processor for your lead data, we will forward requests to the relevant controller.

Marketing Communications

We send marketing emails only with your consent. You can opt out via unsubscribe links or by contacting us.

California Privacy Rights

We do not "sell" or "share" personal information as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA). We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where applicable.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our Service and hold certain information. Cookies are files with small amounts of data that may include an anonymous unique identifier.

We use essential cookies (auth, security) and optional analytics. In the EEA/UK we show a consent banner; you can change preferences anytime. If analytics are enabled, we respect Do Not Track where supported.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete such information.

10. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and maintained on computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.

Where data is transferred outside your region, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and equivalent lawful transfer mechanisms, plus technical and organizational measures.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "last updated" date.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us: