Privacy Policy

This policy explains how Forge & Wield (“we”, “us”, or “our”) handles information when you visit forgeandwield.com, submit an inquiry, apply for a job or internship, join through our candidate portal, or use Sentient, our website AI guide.

Information we handle

If you contact us, we collect the details you choose to provide: your name, email address, optional company and phone number, and your message. We also record delivery and submission status so we can respond and troubleshoot failures.

To protect the website, we process limited security information such as a pseudonymous, keyed hash derived from an IP address, request outcome, rejection reason, and short rate-limit windows. We do not use this information to identify you for advertising.

Sentient chat

Chat messages and the limited recent conversation needed for context are sent to Groq to generate an answer. Forge & Wield does not save chat transcripts or maintain user chat profiles.

Do not enter passwords, payment or banking details, government identity numbers, health information, security codes, private API keys, or other sensitive personal information in the contact form or chat.

Why we use information

• To review and respond to inquiries you submit.
• To provide answers through Sentient.
• To consider applicants and onboard people who join us.
• To secure, maintain, debug, and improve the website.
• To meet legal obligations and protect our rights where necessary.

Newsletter and job alerts

If you sign up for our newsletter or job alerts, we keep your email address, which lists you chose, the page you signed up on, and a record of each step (signing up, confirming, changing or unsubscribing) with the wording shown to you at the time. Nothing is sent until you confirm from the email we send you. Every email has a link to unsubscribe or change what you get, and unsubscribing takes effect at once. We use your address only to send what you asked for, never share or sell it, and delete it on request.

Job and internship applicants

If you apply for a role, we collect what you submit in the form: your name, email address, phone number, current location, your resume (a PDF file), and any optional details you choose to add, such as a profile link, availability, expected pay, how you heard about us, and a note. We record when you accepted this notice.

We use this information only to consider you for roles at Forge & Wield, to contact you about your application, and to keep basic hiring records. Your resume is stored in private storage and can be opened only by authorised Forge & Wield administrators. We do not sell applicant information or use it for advertising. We only contact applicants from official forgeandwield.com email addresses and never ask for money.

Candidates who receive an offer

If we make you an offer, our candidate portal collects what is needed to join: your details, education, an emergency contact, your CV, a photo, a government photo ID, signed documents and any prior work you declare. The portal shows its own short Candidate Privacy Notice.

If you upload Aadhaar, it must be a masked copy, with the first 8 digits hidden. We use your emergency contact only in an emergency and delete it when you leave. Please tell that person you shared their details.

Service providers and where data is

• Cloudflare: hosting, network security, Turnstile bot protection, and private file storage (R2).
• Supabase: our database, hosted in Tokyo, Japan (AWS ap-northeast-1).
• Google: Gmail and Google Workspace for email, and Google Places for city suggestions in forms. Copies of our notification emails stay in our Google Workspace mailbox.
• Groq: Sentient chat replies, processed in the United States.
• Microsoft Clarity: optional visit recordings, only after you agree, and never on admin or candidate pages.

These providers act on our behalf and may process information outside India under their own security and legal controls.

How long we keep it

• Contact inquiries: 24 months.
• Job applications: 12 months after you apply.
• Candidates whose offer is declined, withdrawn, rejected or lapses: 1 year after the offer closes.
• People who join us: while they work with Forge & Wield, as employment records.
• Security logs: 30 days. Rate-limit records expire automatically.
• Visit analytics detail: 13 months (daily totals are kept).

You can ask us to delete your information sooner. We may keep a record where the law requires it.

Cookies and similar technology

We do not intentionally deploy advertising or behavioural-analytics cookies. Cloudflare and essential website technology may use limited browser storage or security signals to deliver and protect the service.

We count visits anonymously to improve the website: which pages are viewed, how far they are scrolled, which buttons are clicked, how far a form is filled in and how quickly pages load. This uses no cookies and stores no names, email addresses, typed answers or internet addresses; a visitor is only recognised as the same within one day. If your browser asks websites not to track you, nothing is counted.

Only if you agree, we also record visits with Microsoft Clarity, which shows us where the website is confusing (for example, where people click or stop scrolling). Anything you type into a form and personal details on the page are hidden from these recordings, and they are never used for advertising. Clarity sets its cookies only after you agree; you can change your answer at any time with the "Recording settings" link at the bottom of each page. Microsoft's privacy statement applies to Clarity.

Sharing and selling

We do not sell your personal information. We disclose information only to the service providers needed to operate the website, when you direct us to, or when required to comply with law, prevent harm, or protect rights.

Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete your information, or withdraw your consent. For the newsletter, use the unsubscribe link in any email. For anything else, email privacy@forgeandwield.com. We may need to confirm it is you.

Grievance Officer

Our Grievance Officer is Chirag Dahiya, Founder. Email privacy@forgeandwield.com with any privacy question or complaint. We answer within 30 days. You may also complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

Security and children

We use access controls, bot protection, rate limiting, input validation, and pseudonymisation to reduce risk. No internet service can guarantee absolute security. This business website is not directed to children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information.

Policy changes

We may update this policy as the website or legal requirements change. The date above identifies the current version.