Privacy Policy for Auguste

• Effective Date: December 14, 2025
• Last Updated: November 11, 2026
• Developer: Blaze Talent Engineering
• Operated by: Blaze Talent LLC
• Contact: dominic@blazetalent.com

1. Introduction & Purpose

Auguste ("the Extension," "we," "our," or "the Service") is a decision-support intelligence tool designed to assist recruitment professionals in verifying candidate data consistency. This Privacy Policy explains how data is handled, processed, and discarded during the operation of the Extension, and describes your rights over any personal data we hold.

Core Privacy Principle — Zero-Retention Architecture. Auguste is built on a zero-retention architecture for candidate data. On our own systems, we do not store, archive, or resell candidate resumes, phone numbers, or personally identifiable information (PII) — candidate data is processed in memory only, for the duration of the request, and never written to disk or to a database we control.

We do keep a limited set of data about the users of Auguste: an account record for each person who signs in, usage counts, and technical logs. Section 3 lists exactly what we keep, and Section 7 says how long we keep it.

Delivering carrier checks, consistency analysis, and web verification requires forwarding certain inputs to specialist third-party subprocessors (see Section 6). We select subprocessors who take data protection seriously and hold them to written data processing agreements. For phone/carrier verification, single-number lookups are processed transiently and are not retained by the subprocessor. Where any subprocessor processes data, the terms and any applicable retention are disclosed in Sections 6 and 7.

2. Controller and Processor Roles

Understanding who controls which data matters for your rights under this policy:

• Candidate data (resumes, phone numbers, and any PII submitted for verification) is processed on behalf of the recruiting client who initiates the request. For that data, the recruiting client is the data controller and Auguste acts as a data processor. Because this data is transient and never stored (see Section 6), Auguste does not hold candidate records to which access, correction, or deletion requests could be applied — such requests should be directed to the recruiting client that ran the verification. Where required by applicable data protection laws, our processing of candidate data on behalf of a client is governed by our standard Data Processing Agreement (DPA). Clients may request our DPA by contacting dominic@blazetalent.com.
• Account, usage, and log data (Google Sign-In account records, including your Google account ID and email address; Access Code records; usage counts; and request and error logs) is data for which Auguste is the controller. The rights in Section 8 apply to this data.

3. Information We Collect (And Don't Collect)

A. Candidate Inputs (Transient)

To perform its functions, the Extension processes the following user-provided inputs:

• PDF Documents — candidate resumes uploaded for technical review.
• Phone Numbers — numbers entered for carrier signal verification.

How it is handled: These inputs are held in the browser's volatile memory (RAM) only for the duration of the specific task. They are never saved to local storage, cookies, or persistent databases on the user's device or in the cloud.

B. Data Stored on Your Device

The Extension uses Chrome's local storage on your device to keep:

• Your Access Code, if you sign in with one, so you do not have to re-enter it each time. It stays on your device until you sign out or uninstall the Extension. When you move to Google Sign-In, the Extension deletes its local copy (see Section 5).
• A disclaimer acceptance flag, recording that you have accepted the Extension's usage disclaimer.

C. Account Data (Google Sign-In)

When you sign in with Google, we create an account record containing:

• Your Google account ID and email address;
• Your account status (pending, active, or suspended) and role;
• The date your account was created and the date it was last used; and
• If you moved from an Access Code, the client name linked to that Access Code.

We use this data to identify you, to approve, manage, and suspend accounts, and for billing. We do not currently collect your name or profile photo.

D. Access Code Records

For clients still using Access Codes, we keep a record of each Access Code, whether it is active, and the client name linked to it. Access Codes are being retired in favor of Google Sign-In.

E. Usage and Log Data

• Usage counters — a daily count of requests for each account (or each Access Code), used for usage limits and billing.
• Request logs — each request to our server is logged with a pseudonymous user identifier (your Google account ID, or the first 8 characters of your Access Code), the feature used, the result status, and the response time.
• Error and diagnostic logs — technical metadata used for debugging and cost control, such as error types (for example, "API Timeout"), the AI model used, token counts, and the number of web searches performed.

Because the user identifier can be linked to your account, we treat these logs as personal data. Logs never contain resume content, data extracted from resumes, search queries, or phone numbers.

F. What We Do NOT Collect

• We do not store candidate resumes, phone numbers, or verification reports on our own systems after a request completes. (For brief, disclosed retention by subprocessors, see Sections 6 and 7.)
• From your Google account, we receive only your Google account ID and email address. We do not access your contacts, Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, or any other Google account data.
• We do not collect browsing history, page content, screenshots, keystrokes, or clipboard data.
• We do not use behavioral profiling, advertising identifiers, or in-extension tracking analytics.

G. This Website (Google Analytics)

The website that hosts this Privacy Policy uses Google Analytics to measure visits to the site. Google Analytics uses cookies and collects standard technical information, such as your device and browser type, approximate location derived from your IP address, and the pages you view. This applies to the website only; the Extension itself contains no analytics, and this website data is not linked to your Auguste account or to any candidate data. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

4. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)

Where the EU or UK GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract — signing you in (with Google Sign-In or an Access Code), checking that your account is active, and delivering verification results to authorized clients.
• Legitimate interests — approving, managing, and suspending accounts; keeping usage counts for usage limits and billing; and keeping request and error logs, which contain a pseudonymous user identifier, to secure the Service, prevent abuse, debug errors, and control costs. We balance these interests against your rights and process only the minimum data required.
• Consent — where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it at any time (see Section 8).

For candidate data processed on a client's behalf, the recruiting client is responsible for establishing the applicable legal basis (typically its own legitimate interest or the candidate's consent) as the controller.

5. Data Processing & Transfer

Signing in.

• Google Sign-In — you sign in through Google. Our server checks your Google sign-in token with Google and receives your Google account ID and email address. New accounts start as "pending" until a Blaze Talent administrator approves them.
• Access Code — our server checks your Access Code against our records.
• Moving from an Access Code to Google Sign-In — the first time you sign in with Google, the Extension sends your existing Access Code once. We use it only to look up the client name linked to it and whether it is still active, so your account can be activated automatically. We do not store the Access Code against your account. The Extension then deletes its local copy.

Verification. When you initiate a "Phone Verification" or "Profile Review," the data follows this strictly defined path:

1. Encryption — data is transmitted via HTTPS (TLS 1.2/1.3) from the Chrome Extension to our secure middleware (hosted on Google Cloud Platform).
2. Middleware processing — our server confirms you are signed in and analyzes uploaded files in memory, including embedded file metadata, Content Credentials (C2PA), and formatting characteristics. Every file is opened in an isolated sandbox with size, page, memory, and time limits. The server then injects our secure API credentials and forwards requests to our third-party subprocessors. The only other outside request made during file analysis retrieves the public C2PA trust list, which contains no candidate data.
3. No storage on our systems — the middleware contains no logic to write input files or PII to disk or database. Analysis results are not cached. Once the response is returned, the data is evicted from our server memory.
4. Phone verification — phone numbers are sent only to ClearoutPhone. Single-number lookups are processed transiently: the queried number is not retained or stored by the subprocessor after the response is returned. When you then review a resume, the Extension sends only the result of that check to our server, as two yes/no flags (whether the number is wireless and whether it is VoIP). The phone number itself is not sent.
5. Resume analysis — resume analysis runs through Anthropic's Claude API in two steps.
   • Step 1: Document analysis. The full resume PDF is sent to Anthropic, including any email address or phone number printed in it. Claude extracts the candidate's name, title, employer, location, and LinkedIn URL, and identifies inconsistencies within the document. This step has no web access.
   • Step 2: Web verification. Only the extracted name, title, employer, location, and LinkedIn URL, not the full resume, are used to verify the candidate's claims against publicly available web sources. Search queries built from those fields are run by Anthropic's web search tool under Anthropic's terms. This step is instructed to stay within public professional information and not to look up home addresses, family members, or other personal details. If a request cannot be completed, it may be retried automatically on a different Claude model; the data stays with Anthropic.
   Resume content is not stored by us after the response is returned.
6. Email domain check — where a resume contains an email address, our server checks the email's domain with a standard public DNS lookup to confirm it can receive mail. Only the domain is queried. The email-domain and phone-carrier checks themselves do not use an AI provider; however, contact details printed in the resume are part of the document sent for analysis.

6. Third-Party Subprocessors

We use the following third-party providers to host the Service, sign users in, and generate intelligence reports. Data sent to these providers is processed under our agreements with them and their respective terms.

Email domain checks use standard public DNS and share only the email's domain. Phone numbers entered for carrier verification are sent only to ClearoutPhone.

We maintain executed data processing agreements (DPAs) with subprocessors that handle personal data on our behalf. A current list of subprocessors is available on request at dominic@blazetalent.com.

Subprocessor changes (notice and objection). Where Blaze Talent acts as a processor for a Controller client, we will give that client at least 14 days' prior written notice (by email to the account contact) before adding or replacing a subprocessor that processes personal data. During that notice period, the client may object on reasonable data-protection grounds; we will work in good faith to address the objection, and if it cannot be resolved, the client may terminate the affected Service without penalty. Absent a timely objection, the change takes effect at the end of the notice period.

7. Data Retention Policy

• Candidate documents (PDFs) and phone numbers: 0 seconds on our systems. These are processed in memory only and are not written to disk or to a database. ClearoutPhone does not retain queried phone numbers after the response is returned. Resume content sent to Anthropic is retained by Anthropic as described in Section 6.
• Analysis reports: 0 seconds. Reports are returned directly to your browser and are never saved or cached on our servers. Closing the extension window discards the report.
• Account data (Google Sign-In): kept while your account exists, and deleted within 30 days after your account is closed or we receive a verified deletion request.
• Access Code records: kept while the Access Code is active, and deleted within 90 days of the Access Code being deactivated.
• Usage counters: deleted automatically 2 days after the last use.
• Request and error logs (pseudonymous user identifier only; no resume content, extracted data, search queries, or phone numbers): retained for 30 days, then automatically purged.
• Data on your device: your Access Code and disclaimer flag stay in Chrome's local storage until you sign out or uninstall the Extension. The Access Code is deleted from your device when you move to Google Sign-In.

8. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR / UK GDPR / CCPA-CPRA and Similar Laws)

Depending on where you reside, you may have the following rights over the account, usage, and log data we control (Section 2), including your account record and email address:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — request that inaccurate or incomplete data be corrected.
• Deletion / erasure — request that we delete your personal data.
• Portability — request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection / restriction — object to or restrict certain processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdrawal of consent — withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent, without affecting prior lawful processing.
• Non-discrimination — we will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.
• Lodge a complaint — you may complain to your local data protection authority (for example, your national supervisory authority in the EEA, or the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK).

To exercise any of these rights, email dominic@blazetalent.com. We will respond within 30 days (and no later than the statutory deadline that applies to you). We may ask you to confirm your identity, for example by writing from the email address linked to your account.

Deleting your account. Email dominic@blazetalent.com from the email address linked to your account. A Blaze Talent administrator will delete your account record, and we will confirm when it is done. Usage counters and logs linked to your account are then deleted on the schedule in Section 7. Uninstalling the Extension removes the data stored on your device but does not delete your account record.

For California residents (CCPA/CPRA): we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA. The categories of personal information we collect are described in Section 3.

Sensitive personal information (SPI). Resumes and candidate records may contain sensitive personal information (for example, information that could reveal racial or ethnic origin, union membership, religion, or health). Any such information contained in material submitted for analysis is processed strictly on a transient, in-memory basis, solely to perform the verification or consistency check the user requested. We do not retain it, and we do not use it to infer characteristics or for any secondary purpose such as profiling, targeting, or model training. Our AI subprocessor, Anthropic, does not use data submitted through its commercial API to train its models. Under the CCPA/CPRA, we limit our use of sensitive personal information to what is necessary to provide the requested Service.

Because candidate data is transient and never stored, we generally hold no candidate records to fulfill an access or deletion request; such requests should be directed to the recruiting client that initiated the verification (see Section 2).

9. Permissions & Security

The Extension requires specific Chrome permissions to function:

• storage — used strictly to save your Access Code (while Access Codes remain in use) and your disclaimer acceptance on your device.
• identity — used to sign you in with your Google account.

The Extension does not request host permissions.

All communication between the Extension and our backend is transmitted over HTTPS (TLS 1.2/1.3). API keys for third-party services are stored as server-side secrets and are never exposed to the extension client. We follow industry-standard practices to protect against unauthorized access, but no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure.

Access to account records. Only authorized Blaze Talent administrators can view account records (email address and account status), and only to approve, suspend, and manage accounts and to administer billing.

Chrome Web Store Limited Use. Our use of information received through the Extension, including information received from Google APIs, adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements. We use user data only to provide and improve the Extension's single purpose: helping recruitment professionals verify candidate data consistency. We do not sell user data, and we do not use or transfer it for advertising, to determine creditworthiness, or for lending purposes.

Security incident notification. Although candidate data is processed in transit only and not stored, data in transit can in principle be compromised. If we confirm a personal data breach — including any unauthorized access to, or disclosure of, data in transit — we will notify the affected Controller client without undue delay and in any event within 72 hours of confirming the incident. The notification will describe, to the extent known, the nature of the incident, the categories of data involved, and the measures taken or proposed in response.

10. International Data Transfers

Auguste is operated from the United States. Our middleware, account records, usage counters, and logs are hosted on Google Cloud in the United States (us-central1). Phone/carrier verification data is processed exclusively on US infrastructure (AWS US regions) and is not processed on compute located outside the United States. Resume analysis and web searches are processed by Anthropic in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, information you provide may be processed in the United States. Where required for transfers of personal data out of the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we and our subprocessors rely on appropriate safeguards such as the Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum where applicable).

11. Children's Privacy

Auguste is designed for professional use by recruiters and hiring teams. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18 years of age. If you believe we have collected data from a minor, contact us at dominic@blazetalent.com and we will delete it.

12. Relationship to Our Terms of Service

This Privacy Policy is a notice describing how we handle data. It is not a contract and does not set out the terms of use of the Service. Warranty disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and the terms governing use of Auguste's outputs — including that Auguste is a decision-support tool and not a Consumer Reporting Agency, and that its outputs should not be used as the sole basis for employment decisions — are set out in our separate Terms of Service / End User License Agreement, which governs your use of the Service.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our technical architecture or legal obligations. When we make changes, we will revise the "Last Updated" date above. Significant changes to data-handling practices will be communicated via an extension update notification or email to the primary account holder prior to the changes taking effect.