Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Stratum Solutions Group, LLC ("Stratum Solutions," "we," "us," or "our") operates the integrated business platform at stratum.solutions. We are the data controller responsible for your personal data collected through the Platform.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account information — name, email address, password, phone number, profile photo.
• Profile data — professional bio, skills, work history, portfolio items, credentials, social links, location.
• Payment information — billing address, payment method details (processed by our payment processors; we do not store card numbers).
• Communications — messages sent through the Platform, support requests, feedback.
• Verification data — government ID, professional certifications (for Vetted tier verification only).

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage data — pages viewed, features used, time spent, clicks, searches.
• Device data — IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers.
• Cookies and similar technologies — as described in our Cookie Notice below.

2.3 Information From Third Parties

• If you sign up using Google or LinkedIn OAuth, we receive your name, email, and profile picture from those providers.
• We may receive information from business partners who refer users to our Platform.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• Providing the Platform — creating and managing your account, enabling connections between users, processing transactions.
• Profile and matching — displaying your profile to relevant parties, powering our matching algorithms for gigs, talent search, and consulting requests.
• Communications — sending service-related notifications, responding to support requests, sending marketing emails (with your consent, which you can withdraw anytime).
• Safety and security — detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service.
• Legal compliance — meeting our obligations under applicable law.
• Analytics and improvement — understanding how users interact with our Platform to improve features and fix issues.
• Tier verification — processing identity and credential verification for Vetted and Invite-Only tier access.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

For users in the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract performance — processing necessary to provide the Platform services you've signed up for.
• Legitimate interests — improving our services, fraud prevention, and security (balanced against your rights).
• Consent — marketing communications and non-essential cookies (you can withdraw consent anytime).
• Legal obligation — where required by law.

5. Sharing Your Information

We share your information only as follows:

• Other users — your public profile is visible to other platform users. Message content is shared with recipients. You control what information you include in your public profile.
• Service providers — trusted third parties that help us operate the Platform (cloud hosting, payment processing, email delivery, analytics). They are contractually bound to use your data only for the services they provide to us.
• Legal requirements — when required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Stratum Solutions or others.
• Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets (you will be notified).
• With your consent — for any other purpose with your explicit consent.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

6. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies. You can control non-essential cookies through our cookie banner. Types of cookies we use:

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you have the following rights:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — update or correct inaccurate information (most can be done in Settings).
• Deletion — request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten").
• Portability — request your data in a machine-readable format.
• Restriction — request that we limit processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent — for processing based on consent (e.g., marketing emails), at any time.

California residents have additional rights under the CCPA, including the right to know what categories of personal information we collect and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information).

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@stratum.solutions. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. After account deletion, we retain certain data for up to 7 years as required for legal, tax, and fraud prevention purposes. De-identified analytics data may be retained indefinitely.

9. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including:

• Encryption in transit (TLS/SSL) and at rest.
• Row-level security policies in our database.
• Access controls limiting employee access to personal data on a need-to-know basis.
• Regular security audits and penetration testing.

No method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to protecting your data using best practices.

10. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not directed to individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at privacy@stratum.solutions and we will promptly delete that information.

11. International Transfers

Stratum Solutions is based in the United States. If you access our Platform from outside the U.S., your data may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the U.S. By using our Platform, you consent to this transfer. For EEA/UK users, we use Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission to ensure adequate protection.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or through a prominent notice on the Platform. The "Last updated" date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last revised.

13. Contact Us