Thumbtack Job Applicant Privacy Policy
Effective Date: June 10, 2026
Purpose and Scope
At Thumbtack, Inc., and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively “Thumbtack,” “our,” “us,” or “we”), we respect your privacy and are committed to taking measures designed to protect the personal information of job applicants. This Job Applicant Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains how we collect, use, disclose, and retain (collectively “process”) personal information of job applicants (collectively, “job applicants,’ “you” or “your”) when you interact with us relating to employment opportunities, including internship opportunities, via email, digital platforms, and through other online and offline interactions, such as if you interview with us onsite (collectively “Application Sites”) and who reside in jurisdictions that require the below disclosures, including, for example, California in compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), the Philippines in compliance with the Republic Act 10173, officially known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (“DPA”), and British Columbia in compliance with the British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (R.S.B.C. 2003, c. 63) (“BC PIPA”). This Policy also explains your rights relating to personal information about you to the extent applicable under the local laws, rules and regulations of jurisdictions that are applicable to Thumbtack.
For the avoidance of doubt, job applicants include current and former applicants for employment or those who otherwise engage with us regarding an available position at Thumbtack. This Policy does not apply to personal information that we collect on or through our website, services, and through other means (such as information collected offline, in person, and over the telephone) when you are acting outside of your capacity of a job applicant, e.g., as a customer, service professional, current or former employee, or independent contractor. Please visit our applicable website Privacy Policy for more information (http://thumbtack.com/privacy). This Policy is not intended and shall not be read to create any express or implied promise or contract for employment, for any benefit, or for specific treatment in specific situations. Nothing in this Policy should be construed to interfere with our ability to process personal information for purposes of complying with legal obligations or for investigating alleged misconduct or violations of Thumbtack policy or law, subject to compliance with local applicable law.
Thumbtack is the data controller with respect to personal information collected, used, stored, and disclosed (collectively “processed”) under this Policy. In accordance with applicable laws, such as the DPA, we process such personal information upon the following legal basis (taking into account the fundamental privacy rights of any relevant individuals), depending on the specific activity involved:
Our Contract With You: Our processing is necessary to perform steps requested by you or required by us as part of the job application and interviewing process prior to entering a contract with you (i.e., as reasonably anticipated in the job applicant process).
Important Interests: Our processing is necessary for the protection of vitally important interests of you, Thumbtack, and our personnel.
Our Legitimate Interests: Our processing is necessary for our legitimate interests, including to protect the security of our premises and personnel; to protect the health and safety of you or others; to establish, protect and defend our legal rights and interests; to prevent fraud and verify identity and authorization of clients; to understand and analyze usage trends; and to improve our products and services. Additionally, we have a legitimate interest in promoting our operations and goals as an organization.
Legal Obligation: Where our processing is required to comply with applicable law (e.g., in response to subpoenas, court orders and other lawful requests by regulators, courts and law enforcement agencies, or related to national security requests).
Your Consent: When we have your express consent as defined by applicable law.
Our legal basis for processing the personal information will depend on the personal information concerned and the specific context in which we collect it.
We may collect the following categories of your personal information from the below sources:
1. Personal information provided directly from you (such as through your application, resume, or communications)
We (and certain third-party vendors) may collect the following personal information from you when you are acting in your capacity as a job applicant:
2. Personal information provided from third-party sources (such as recruitment agencies, background check providers, or publicly available professional profiles, e.g., LinkedIn)
To the degree allowed by law, we may also collect your personal information from other sources if it's needed or allowed for the position that you are applying for and our interview process. This could include getting details from people you've listed as references, employment research companies, recruitment agencies, identity and background verification services, providers who help with disability or medical accommodations, and publicly available information on the internet (including, publicly available professional profiles (e.g., LinkedIn)).
3. Personal information that we passively or automatically collect as you navigate our Application Sites
We (and certain of our vendors) may collect the following personal information as you navigate through our Application Sites:
Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as IP addresses, access logs, browsing history, laptop and mobile device settings, search history, and information regarding a consumer’s interaction with an internet website and application. If part of your interview process involves visiting us onsite, then we may collect information relating to on-premise monitoring for security purposes (e.g., video surveillance, access and security logs / badge usage). If you access and use Thumbtack’s devices, networks (e.g., corporate wifi), or other resources, we may collect information related to your access and use, such as domain names and IP addresses.
You can choose to accept or decline nonessential cookies or similar tracking devices. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but your browser may allow you to modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you disable cookies, you may be prevented from taking full advantage of the Application Sites, because they may not function properly. As we adopt additional technologies, we may also gather additional information through other methods.
We will not collect or use any additional categories of your personal information or use your personal information for any other purposes without providing you with additional notice consistent with applicable law and, where required under applicable law, obtaining your consent.
We may use your personal information for the following “Business Purposes”:
To evaluate your application and qualification;
To identify and shortlist prospects and job applicants;
To schedule interviews and communicate with you during the recruitment process about your application, employment opportunities, and your candidacy;
To conduct background checks and verify employment history (with your consent, where required by law);
To comply with legal obligations, such as equal opportunity monitoring or reporting;
To aggregate demographic data, where legally permitted and voluntarily provided;
To improve our recruitment processes and systems;
To protect our operations, rights, privacy, safety or property, or that of our affiliates and subsidiaries, job applicants, or other parties;
To maintain job applicant records;
To handle accommodation requests;
For recruiting purposes, such as to notify you about employment opportunities;
As required or permitted by applicable law;
For safety or security reasons;
Disclosing it to you or to other parties at your direction or through your action (e.g., payroll processors, benefits providers, some software website operators, etc.);
For the additional purposes explained at the time of collection (and with your consent, where legally required); and
In connection with a corporate transaction, such as if we acquire, or some or all of our assets are acquired by, another entity, including through a sale in connection with bankruptcy and other forms of corporate change.
We may combine the personal information we receive from various sources with personal information we collect from you and use it as described in this Policy. Additionally, we may, either independently or through a vendor, aggregate or de-identify personal information such that it no longer reasonably identifies you, and we may use anonymized, de-identified, or aggregated information for any purpose permitted by law.
We may use automated tools to help with any of the processing listed above.
We may disclose your personal information with the categories of recipients described below:
Affiliates and subsidiaries to manage recruitment across our organization;
Vendors that perform services for us (e.g., vendors supporting our recruitment and hiring processes, such as applicant tracking systems or background check providers);
You or to other parties at your direction or through your action, such as external recruiters, if you applied through such recruiters (e.g., if the recruiter is authorized to receive feedback about a candidate regarding the application and interview process), payroll processors, benefits providers, some software operators, etc.;
For the additional purposes explained at the time of collection (such as in the applicable privacy policy or notice);
Law enforcement, government agencies, and other recipients for legal, security, or safety, such as when we disclose information to comply with law or legal requirements, to enforce or apply our policies, and to protect ours or other parties’ safety, property or rights;
To other entities in connection with a corporate transaction, such as if we, or some or all of our assets, are acquired by another entity, including through a sale in connection with bankruptcy or other forms of corporate change;
Other parties, such as certification providers or other internet websites, e.g., LinkedIn; and
Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure.
Your Rights Under Applicable Laws, such as the CCPA
In accordance with applicable laws, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information (subject to all applicable exemptions and exceptions):
Right to Access: Request confirmation if and how we are processing your personal information. Examples include, but are not limited to the following: what personal information has been collected, the categories of our sources of such information; our business purpose for processing the personal information; the categories (or names and addresses in accordance with certain laws) of other parties to whom we disclose personal information about you; details with respect to any automated processing where the personal information is or likely is the sole basis for a significant decision (if applicable); and the date on which the personal information was last accessed. Note that, per CCPA, Thumbtack does not sell job applicant personal information or share job applicant personal information for cross-contextual behavioral advertising purposes and has not done so in the twelve months prior to the effective date of this Policy. Furthermore, Thumbtack does not engage in decisions based solely on automated decision making in furtherance of legal or similarly significant decisions.
Right to Delete: Request the suspension, withdrawal, blocking, or deletion of your personal information.
Right to Correct: Request corrections to inaccurate personal information to ensure its accuracy and reliability.
Right to Opt-Out: Opt-out of either the sale of your personal information by Thumbtack to third parties or “share” of your personal information with third parties for cross-contextual behavior advertising. However, Thumbtack does not sell job applicant personal information or share job applicant information for cross-contextual behavioral advertising purposes and has not done so in the twelve months prior to the effective date of this Policy.
Right to Restrict: Request that we restrict processing of your personal information, such as when you dispute the accuracy of personal information.
Right to Data Portability: Request that we provide you access to your personal information in a portable format.
Right against Discrimination: You may also have the right to not be discriminated against (as provided for in California law) for exercising certain of your rights referenced herein.
Rights to Object or Withdraw Consent: If we process your personal information in reliance upon your consent, you can contact us at any time to withdraw your consent. You may also have the right to object to certain processing of your personal information.
Right to file a Complaint: Furthermore, if you consider that our collection and use of your personal information violate this Policy or applicable law, then you have the right to lodge a complaint with your regulatory body, e.g., the Filipino National Privacy Commission (“NPC”) or the applicable Canadian provincial regulatory body.
Right to Damages: In certain jurisdictions, you may also have the right to be indemnified for any damage sustained due to such inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, false, unlawfully obtained or unauthorized use of personal information.
Note that certain information may be legally exempt from the requests listed above, and we will respond to all your rights requests within the timelines required under applicable law.
Certain jurisdictions, such as California, provide their residents the right to request that we limit certain uses and disclosures of your sensitive personal information. However, we do not use or disclose any sensitive personal information for purposes that are subject to the right to limit. See the “How We Use Personal Information” section above for more information.
Exercising Your Rights: The above rights are only exercisable by you where applicable law in the jurisdiction in which you reside actually grants you the right to be exerted and where no exception applies.
To exercise your rights as described under this Policy and under applicable law, job applicants may submit their privacy rights requests (i.e., requests to know/access, delete, correct) via email to recruitingops@thumbtack.com. Alternatively, visit https://help.thumbtack.com/data-privacy to submit your requests to know/access and delete requests. If you are a Filipino job applicant, you may also exercise your rights (which may include the right to access, modify, erase, and object to processing your personal information) or should you have any inquiries, feedback on this Policy, and/or complaints to us, you may reach us through a written letter (at the address listed in the “Contact Us” section below) or through an email to our Data Protection Officer (DPO).
Our DPO’s contact details are as follows:
Pascual Jerome Pattaui
Data Protection Officer
Mobile: +63918-425-3000
We expect you to promptly contact us to update your account information if it changes or is inaccurate. Upon your request, we will delete your personal information as soon as reasonably possible, if legally required. However, please note that we may retain certain personal information in order to comply with the law, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, and/or for any other purposes otherwise permitted by law that we deem necessary in our sole discretion. To the extent permitted under applicable law, we will verify your identity before processing your request and, if unable to verify your identity, we have the right (but not the obligation) to request additional information. For a description on how to exercise your rights, you can also reach out to 1-855-217-0135.
As noted above, with respect to certain requests to exercise the rights referenced above, we will require you to provide certain information for identity verification purposes. You may authorize an agent to make a request to us on your behalf, and we will verify the identity of your agent or authorized legal representative by seeking confirmation that they have the authorization to act on your behalf. Authorized agents may exercise your rights on your behalf by submitting a request via recruitingops@thumbtack.com and indicating that they are submitting the request as an agent. Location and Data Transfers
Thumbtack has centralized certain elements of its human resources management. As a result, we have centralized aspects of its processing of personal information in the United States of America. Accordingly, where we are permitted to do so under applicable law, we may transfer or provide your personal information both in and outside of the nation where you reside and/or work. Where required by applicable law, your prior consent will be obtained for such transfers, or we have ensured that personal information subject to such a transfer is adequately protected through the use of contractual clauses or another lawful data transfer mechanism and reasonable and appropriate security measures designed to safeguard such information.
Data Accuracy and Security
It is every job applicant’s responsibility to provide Thumbtack with accurate personal information. A job applicant must notify Thumbtack when there are changes to ensure the personal information collected is reliable for its intended use. Except as otherwise set forth in this Policy, we shall only use personal information in ways that are compatible with the purposes for which it was collected or subsequently authorized by the individual. To the extent necessary for these purposes, we take reasonable steps designed to ensure that personal information is accurate, complete, current and relevant to its intended use.
We maintain reasonable security procedures and technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, disclosure, alteration, or use. Unfortunately, the transmission of information is not completely secure. Despite our measures, we cannot guarantee the security of personal information. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk.
If you become aware of any breach regarding personal information security or of this Policy, please notify us at security@thumbtack.com immediately. Children
We do not knowingly collect, sell, or share (as defined under CCPA) personal information from minors (i.e., persons under the age of 18). Refrain from disclosing any personal information to us or attempting to complete our forms or send any personal information about yourself to us if you are under the age of 18. Should we discover that we've received personal information from someone under 18, then we will promptly delete it from our records. We may, where permitted by law, retain certain information internally for purposes described in this Policy.
Shine the Light
California law permits consumers who are California residents to request certain information once per year regarding our disclosure of “personal information” (as that term is defined under applicable California law). We do not disclose the personal information of California job applicants to third parties for third parties’ direct marketing purposes and therefore do not respond to such requests.
Do-Not-Track Disclosure
Thumbtack is committed to providing you with meaningful choices about the information collected on our website for third-party purposes. However, Thumbtack does not currently recognize or respond to browser-initiated Do-Not-Track signals, as the Internet industry is currently still working on Do-Not-Track standards, implementations, and solutions.
We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Additionally, Thumbtack removes it from its database, subject to its internal policies, and any applicable legal or regulatory obligations or for the period of time permitted by applicable law.
Updates to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Updates will be effective upon posting to our website with the updated “Effective Date.”
If you have questions about this Policy or practices, please contact us in either of the following manners:
Mailing Address:
Thumbtack, Inc.
415 Natoma Street, Suite 1300
San Francisco, California 94103
Additional Notice of Collection Practices for Certain Jurisdictions, Including California
As described further in the policy above, we may have collected the following categories of personal information from job applicants and disclosed such information (for at least the past 12 months as it relates to Californian job applicants) to the following categories of entities for the business purposes described below.
| Category of Personal Information Collected | Categories of Other Parties to Whom We Disclose this Personal Information | Business Purposes |
|---|
| Identifiers (such as name, postal address, email address, account name, telephone number, or onsite badge information) | • Affiliates and subsidiaries.
• Vendors, such as general IT and cloud/hosting, HR systems, and software vendors.
• Vendors that perform background checks and other Human Resources services
• To you or other parties at your direction
• Law enforcement, government, agencies, and other recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes
• Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure
• Other parties within the limits of Business Purposes. | • In connection with your application
• For recruiting purposes
• For legal, safety or security reasons
• With your consent
• Legal compliance
• For additional Business Purposes listed above. |
Professional or employment-related information (such as certifications, qualifications, membership in professional bodies, employment history, references, names of prior supervisors, job preferences (including your willingness to relocate or travel), and other details you choose to disclose in your application materials, curriculum vitae (CV), or resume)
| • Affiliates and subsidiaries
• Vendors, such as general IT and cloud/hosting, HR systems, and software vendors
• Vendors that perform background checks and other Human Resources services
• To you or other parties at your direction
• Law enforcement, government, agencies, and other recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes
• Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure
• Other parties within the limits of Business Purposes. | • In connection with your application
• For recruiting purposes
• For legal, safety or security reasons
• With your consent
• Legal compliance
• For additional Business Purposes listed above. |
| Education Information (such as education history, professional qualifications, academic certificates and licenses, languages spoken, and other relevant skills) | • Affiliates and subsidiaries
• Vendors, such as general IT and cloud/hosting, HR systems, and software vendors
• Vendors that perform background checks and other Human Resources services
• To you or other parties at your direction
• Law enforcement, government, agencies, and other recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes
• Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure
• Other parties within the limits of Business Purposes. | • In connection with your application
• For recruiting purposes
• For legal, safety or security reasons
• With your consent
• Legal compliance
• For additional Business Purposes listed above. |
| Internet or other similar network activity (such as IP address, unique device, and app identifiers, browsing history or other usage data, badge access, and information related to your access and use of Thumbtack devices, tools, systems, networks, and other resources) | • Affiliates and subsidiaries
• Vendors, such as general IT and cloud/hosting, HR systems, software, and security vendors
• Vendors that perform background checks and other Human Resources services
• To you or other parties at your direction
• Law enforcement, government, agencies, and other recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes
• Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure
• Other parties within the limits of Business Purposes. | • In connection with your application
• For recruiting purposes
• For legal, safety or security reasons
• With your consent
• Legal compliance
• For additional Business Purposes listed above. |
Audio, video, or other sensory media (such as CCTV footage, audio recordings, voicemail, or similar information, including recordings of interviews (with prior notice and consent))
| • Affiliates and subsidiaries
• Vendors, such as general IT and cloud/hosting, HR systems, and software vendors
• Vendors that perform background checks and other Human Resources services
• To you or other parties at your direction
• Law enforcement, government, agencies, and other recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes
• Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure
• Other parties within the limits of Business Purposes. | • In connection with your application
• For recruiting purposes
• For legal, safety or security reasons
• With your consent
• Legal compliance
• For additional Business Purposes listed above. |
| Individual preferences and characteristics (such as information about potential abilities drawn from the applicant information you submit) | • Affiliates and subsidiaries
• Vendors, such as general IT and cloud/hosting, HR systems, and software vendors
• Vendors that perform background checks and other Human Resources services
• To you or other parties at your direction
• Law enforcement, government, agencies, and other recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes
• Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure | • In connection with your application
• For recruiting purposes
• For legal, safety or security reasons
• With your consent
• Legal compliance
• For additional Business Purposes listed above. |
| Sensitive personal information (such as driver’s license, social security number, and passport number) | • Affiliates and subsidiaries
• Vendors, such as general IT and cloud/hosting, HR systems, and software vendors
• Vendors that perform background checks and other Human Resources services
• To you or other parties at your direction
• Law enforcement, government, agencies, and other recipients for legal, security, or safety purposes
• Entities to which you have consented to the disclosure | • In connection with your application and as reasonably expected in the job applicant-potential employer relationship
• For legal, safety or security reasons
• With your consent
• Legal compliance |