Who we are
Philly Software Exchange is an independent project connecting Philadelphia small businesses with college students for software projects. The platform is free. For privacy questions or help, email phillysoftwareexchange@gmail.com.
Information we collect
- Your account: verified email, account identifier, sign-in records and linked sign-in provider information. Google sign-in can provide your name, email, profile image and Google account identifier. We use basic identity permissions; Google sign-in does not give us access to your Gmail inbox, contacts or Drive.
- Projects and applications: names, business and neighborhood, project descriptions, skills, availability, compensation, work-example links, application questions and answers, and any PDF you choose to upload.
- Match activity: candidate decisions, interview arrangements and replies, project status, and records of verified email changes and activity transfers between accounts.
- Service records: notification recipients, message contents and delivery status; support messages; and session or security information such as browser information and IP addresses where available. Our hosting and email providers may also process technical logs.
Do not upload Social Security numbers, tax forms, bank details or other sensitive information. Share documents needed for paid work directly and securely with the other party.
How we use it
We use this information to verify sign-in, save your activity, review listings, connect applicants and businesses, arrange interviews, send service updates, provide support and protect the service. We also display aggregate community counts. Sign-in and match emails are service messages; applying does not subscribe you to an outreach mailing list.
Who can see your information
- Visitors: approved project details, including business name, neighborhood, scope, listed compensation and selection requirements. Avoid putting private contact details into these public fields.
- The site owner: submissions, applications, PDFs and matching information needed to review and manage the service.
- The relevant business: candidate information and application answers during review. Before release, the website limits direct contact details and portfolio access. After match release, the business can access the student’s contact information, work-example links and uploaded PDF. Avoid adding sensitive details to free-text answers.
- The applicant: their application, project information, interview instructions and match updates. Released matches allow the parties to connect.
Complete private tracking links act as access keys. Anyone you share a full link with may be able to view its associated record or document. Keep them private; use your signed-in dashboard to return to your activity.
Service providers and external links
The website uses OpenAI Sites hosting and Cloudflare database/file services. Google provides optional sign-in and the Gmail/Apps Script service used for email delivery. Pages also load fonts from Google Fonts, which involves a connection to Google. These providers process information needed to deliver their services under their own policies. External portfolios, scheduling tools and websites have their own privacy practices.
We do not sell account or application information or use it for targeted advertising. Information may also need to be disclosed where legally required or to respond to fraud, abuse or security issues.
Cookies and browser storage
Sign-in uses cookies to remember your session, currently for up to 30 days unless ended or revoked sooner. If you save a tracking link on a device, browser storage holds that private link. Temporary browser storage can also show an account-transfer confirmation. You can remove saved links from the tracking page or clear browser storage. Clearing browser storage does not delete server-side submissions.
Keeping, changing and deleting information
Your account and saved submissions remain available until removed; archiving a submission does not delete it. The app does not currently apply a scheduled deletion period to all inactive accounts, submissions, email delivery records or transfer audit records. Verification codes expire after a short period, but expiry does not necessarily mean immediate removal of the database entry.
You can change your email or transfer your projects and applications to another existing account from My dashboard, after verifying the required email addresses. Transferring activity keeps the two account profiles separate.
To delete your account, open My dashboard and choose Review account deletion. A dedicated email code and typed confirmation are required. This removes your account, sign-in sessions, linked provider records, currently owned applications and PDFs, related matches and associated stored email/transfer records handled by the deletion flow. Your projects close; a content-free “Removed project” reference can remain where another user needs their own application history. Activity already transferred to another account belongs to that account and is not deleted with your former profile.
Deletion cannot recall emails already delivered, files downloaded by others, or copies people keep outside this service. Hosting/provider backups and technical logs are managed separately and may persist under provider retention practices. We cannot promise an immediate purge from every provider backup. Deleting the website account does not delete your Google account or separate Site owner identity. You can manage Google connections in your Google account.
For corrections you cannot make in the dashboard, privacy requests or a deletion that fails, contact the support email above.
Updates
We will update this page when our practices change and show the revision date. Material changes affecting account information will be communicated through the website or service email as appropriate.