Ace Hired is a free interview-prep site, built and maintained by Vikas Dulgunde (a software engineer based in London, UK), who is the data controller for the limited data described below. We try to collect as little as possible while keeping the lights on. This page spells out exactly what we do collect, why, and what control you have over it.
What we collect
Page views. We use Google Analytics to understand aggregated traffic: which pages get visited, referring sources, approximate country, and device type. The tag loads on every page but runs in a cookieless, privacy-preserving mode (Google Consent Mode) until you accept analytics cookies. Before consent it sets no cookies and stores no persistent identifier, sending only aggregate, non-identifying signals. When you accept, it switches to full measurement with first-party cookies.
Affiliate click tracking. When you click an outbound partner link (e.g. a Coursera or LeetCode link), we log the event so we can count which recommendations are useful. We store a salted hash of your user-agent string, your country, the timestamp, and which link was clicked. We do not store your IP address. Logs are kept for 90 days, then deleted.
Newsletter email. Our newsletter is currently switched off, so no email sign-up is collected. If we re-enable it, we will store only your email address and the date you subscribed, send the emails through our transactional email provider, and let you unsubscribe with one click from any email; unsubscribing deletes your address from our list. We will update this policy before any sign-up is collected.
No accounts. There are no logins, no user profiles, no saved progress tied to an identity. Nothing to delete from a profile because there is no profile.
Cookies and similar technologies
We use two categories of cookies:
- Google AdSense advertising cookies. These are set by Google to personalise the ads you see and to limit how often you see the same ad. If you are in the UK or EEA, your consent is collected through a Google-certified consent management platform (CMP) on your first visit; until you consent, ads run in non-personalised mode only. Outside the UK and EEA, our own cookie banner asks you to accept or reject advertising and analytics, and no advertising loads until you accept. You can withdraw or change consent at any time through the consent controls or by clearing your site cookies for Ace Hired.
- Analytics cookies (Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity). Google Analytics loads on every page but runs cookieless under Google Consent Mode until you accept, then sets first-party cookies for full, aggregated, non-identifying measurement. Microsoft Clarity, which records anonymised session replays and heatmaps with input masked by default, loads only after you accept analytics cookies (or, in the UK and EEA, once the Google-certified consent platform records your choice). You can withdraw consent at any time through the consent controls or by clearing your site cookies for Ace Hired.
We do not use any other tracking pixels, fingerprinting scripts, or behavioural retargeting tools.
Third-party services
The following services may process limited personal data when you use Ace Hired:
- Google AdSense. Serves ads, may use cookies to personalise them, and (for UK/EEA visitors) provides the certified consent platform that records your ad-consent choice. See Google's privacy policy.
- Google Analytics. Measures aggregated site usage (pages viewed, referrers, device, approximate location). It loads on every page and runs under Google Consent Mode, so before you consent it sets no cookies and stores no persistent identifier; when you accept, it enables full, cookie-based measurement. See Google's privacy policy.
- Microsoft Clarity. Provides anonymised session replays and heatmaps (how pages are scrolled and clicked) to help us improve usability. It loads only through the same consent flow, masks text input by default, and does not sell data. See Microsoft's privacy statement.
- Affiliate networks (Coursera, AlgoExpert, and others). When you click an outbound affiliate link and land on their site, you are subject to their privacy practices. We pass no personal data to them ourselves; their tracking starts only after you click through.
- Hosting and database providers. Our hosting and database providers process traffic and stored data on our behalf as data processors.
Your rights
If you are in the UK or EU, the UK GDPR and EU GDPR give you the right to:
- Access the data we hold about you
- Have it corrected or completed
- Have it deleted ("right to erasure")
- Have it sent to you or another controller in a portable format
- Object to processing, including for direct marketing
- Withdraw consent for AdSense cookies at any time
To exercise any of these, email team@palenebula.com with "Privacy request" in the subject line. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to complain to the UK ICO or your local EU supervisory authority.
If you are in California, the CCPA gives you the right to:
- Know what categories of personal information we collect and why
- Request deletion of personal information we hold about you
- Opt out of any sale of personal information
We do not sell personal information. We never have.
Data retention
| Data | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Newsletter email | Until you unsubscribe |
| Affiliate click logs | 90 days |
| Google Analytics | Per Google's retention settings (GA4 default 14 months) |
| Microsoft Clarity | Per Microsoft's retention policy (about 12 months) |
| AdSense data | Per Google's retention policy |
Children
Ace Hired is built for working adults and adult students researching tech careers. It is not directed at anyone under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, email us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we make a meaningful change to how we handle data, we will update the date at the top of this page and, where the change is material, post a notice on the homepage for a reasonable period.
Contact
Privacy questions: team@palenebula.com.