Privacy Policy

Ascent is a hiring transparency platform. The hiring companies (“Customers”) use Ascent services (“Services”) to develop job postings, manage applicants and give those who apply (“Applicants”) visibility into where they stand in the process. This Statement explains how Ascent collects, uses, and handles personal information across its operating regions, currently located in Canada and the EU. This privacy statement applies to both Customers who use the Ascent platform as well as the Applicants whose information passes through it. Regards to the commercial relationship between Ascent and Customers, including party’s legal roles and responsibilities, is governed by the Terms of Service.

This Statement covers personal information handled through the Ascent platform’s core features; the Applicant-facing status page as well as the live Question-Answer section, the Customer dashboard and Ascent’s own website. It does not cover the Customer’s own website, hiring practices, or separate tools Customer may choose to use in the hiring process, of which is governed by the Customer’s own privacy notice. As Ascent has no extension into the selection process itself, this statement should be read alongside the Customer’s own privacy notice.

We collect information in three ways: information provided by Customers, information provided by Applicants, and information collected automatically when either use the platform.

2.i Information Provided by Customers

When licensing the Service to a Customer, we collect the company’s business details, names, emails and phone numbers of the members with authorized access (of various hiring and recruitment positions), the job postings and hiring criteria uploaded onto the site, and an ongoing record of their activity within the dashboard.

2.ii Information Provided by Applicants

When an Applicant applies through Ascent, we collect the information submitted as a part of that application, including identifying factors such as their name, contact details, resume and CV and answers to any application questions, in addition to messages sent into the live Question-Answer section. Ascent will also collect and train applicant job history information in order to perform its Services, as well as metrics related to communications such as request for application reviews.

2.iii Information we collect automatically

Any usage of the status page, the dashboard, or on our website is automatically collected for technological information including but not limited browser type, IP, geographic region that IP indicates, pages viewed and time spent, referrals from links, and information gathered through cookies in Section 7.

• To run the service; to publish a Customer’s postings, receive and organize applications, operate the status page and question-and-answer channel, and let a Customer’s personnel manage hiring.
• To power the transparency features; to calculate and display an Applicant’s stage, their relative position in the queue, and an estimated likelihood of advancing. Where the applicant pool is small enough that an exact figure could reveal information about another specific candidate, we show a range or a general description instead of an exact number.
• To generate feedback; to produce the automated feedback described in Section 4 for Applicants who are not selected for the position.
• To communicate about an application; to send status updates and question-and-answer notifications, and to handle requests an Applicant makes about their own information.
• To secure, maintain, and improve the platform; to keep the service working and safe, diagnose problems, and understand how it is used so we can make it better.
• To send marketing; only where the recipient, either Customer or Applicant, has separately opted in, and as described in Section 7.

If an applicant is not selected, they will receive an email generated by an automated system that compares their application against applications that advanced further, in order to offer feedback. This content is generated automatically, and recipients are made aware if the response is entirely generated or feedback has been inputted directly by a Customer’s personnel. Ascent does not make the hiring decisions themselves. Where an automated feature has materially influenced a decision about an Applicant, the Applicant may be authorized by law to request for a review from the qualified persons.

5.1 With Customer Applicant Applied To

An Applicant’s application information is shared with the Customer whose posting they applied to. That is the purpose of the service: the Customer reviews applications and makes hiring decisions. How that Customer then handles the information is covered by the Customer’s own privacy notice.

5.2 With Service Providers Crucial to Operations

We share information with a limited set of providers who help us run the platform, such as email delivery services so they can provide that service to us. They are bound by contract to protect the information and to use it for no other purpose.

5.3 Where the Law Requires It

We may disclose information where we legally are required to, in response to a valid legal request, or to protect the rights, safety and security of Ascent, our Customers or others.

Messages about a specific application such as status updates, question-and-answer notifications and responses to requests about Applicant information are part of the service and will be received as long as the application is active. Marketing messages, which promote Ascent, are sent only if an Applicant or Customer has opted in, and consent can be withdrawn at any time using the unsubscribe link or through contact. This opt-in approach follows the direct-marketing rules in each of our markets including Canada’s anti-spam legislation.

The status page, dashboard and our website may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to keep the service working, remember preferences, and understand usage. Where the law requires, we ask for your consent before collecting any non-essential cookies, and you may change your choice at any time.

Applicant information is deleted 30 days after a hiring decision has been reached unless a Customer’s own legal obligations require the data to be kept for a prolonged period, after which the data is deleted or anonymized. Messages sent through Question-Answer channels are closed once the job posting has closed. Customer account and billing information is kept for the length of account activity and for 1 year to maintain legal and accounting obligations. Customers may ask for information to be deleted sooner, subject to legal retention requirements, using the contact details below.

Ascent utilizes technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse and unauthorized access. This Statement may be updated; any material changes will be posted and communicated to Customers before it takes effect. This Statement was last updated July 29, 2026.