Privacy policy

Ascent is a map of funded startups, their open roles and good places to work from in London and San Francisco. For the purposes of UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), Ascent is the controller of the personal data described in this policy.

You can reach us about anything in this policy at privacy@tryascent.tech.

You can browse the map, startup profiles, jobs and places without an account. We collect only what we need:

• Account details — your email address (used to sign you in with a one-time code) and, if you add one, your name.
• Saved searches and alerts — the filters you save and how often you want alert emails.
• Follows — the startups you follow, so we can tell you when they open roles.
• Reviews and place submissions — ratings, written reviews, tips and places you submit. Reviews show your first name or display name, never your email.
• Startup claims and edits — if you claim or manage a startup profile, the evidence you give us and the changes you make (kept in an audit log).
• Payments — if you buy a paid plan, Stripe handles your card details. We never see or store card numbers; we keep the plan, amount, currency, dates and Stripe reference numbers.
• Usage events — when someone views a startup profile or clicks a pin, card, apply link or website link, we record the event type, the startup or job, the city and a hashed anonymous session identifier, so we can count each visit once and show startups their analytics. We don’t store your IP address with these events.
• Server and security logs — technical logs (such as IP address, browser and time of request) kept briefly to run the service, prevent abuse and fix errors.
• Bot checks — sign-in and submission forms use Cloudflare Turnstile, which processes technical signals from your browser to tell people from bots.

• To provide the service you asked for (contract): signing you in, saving searches, sending the alerts you set up, managing a startup profile, processing payments.
• To keep Ascent useful and safe (legitimate interests): counting views and clicks for startup analytics, preventing spam and fraud, moderating reviews, fixing errors. We keep these uses limited and privacy-friendly.
• Optional analytics (consent): we only load product analytics if you accept them in the cookie banner. You can change your mind at any time — see the cookie policy.
• To meet legal obligations (legal obligation): keeping payment and tax records, responding to lawful requests.

We use a small number of trusted providers. Each acts on our instructions under a data processing agreement.

Some providers process data outside the UK, including in the United States and the EU. Where they do, we rely on UK adequacy regulations or on appropriate safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

• Account data, saved searches and follows: while your account is open. Deleting your account removes them.
• Reviews: while your account is open. When you delete your account, your reviews are anonymised rather than removed, so ratings stay accurate.
• Sign-in codes: a few minutes until they expire, then they are no longer usable; sign-in sessions last up to 30 days.
• Usage events: kept as daily totals for startup analytics; raw events are deleted after a limited period.
• Payment records: as long as UK tax law requires (normally six years).
• Server logs: kept for a short period for security and debugging.

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• Access and export your data — download a copy from your account page at any time.
• Correct your data — edit your details in your account, or ask us.
• Delete your account and data — use “Delete account” on your account page. It takes effect straight away.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests, and restrict processing in some circumstances.
• Withdraw consent to optional analytics at any time.

For anything you can’t do yourself, email privacy@tryascent.tech. We’ll reply within one month. If you’re unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Startup profiles describe companies, not people. They are built from public sources such as company websites and public job boards, and from what owners tell us. If a profile includes information about you that you’d like changed or removed, email privacy@tryascent.tech.

Ascent is for people looking for work and for companies hiring. It isn’t intended for anyone under 16, and we don’t knowingly collect their data.

If we make meaningful changes, we’ll update the date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, let account holders know by email.

Questions, requests or concerns about privacy: privacy@tryascent.tech.