Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

1. About these Terms

These Terms and Conditions (the "Terms") are a legally binding agreement between you and Cloverr ("Cloverr", "we", "us"), operating in India. They govern your access to and use of the Cloverr website, apps and related services (the "Platform").

By creating an account, verifying your email, signing in with Google, or otherwise using the Platform, you confirm that you have read and agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

Cloverr is a network that connects early-stage startup founders with university students and recent graduates for internships, projects, co-founder discovery and startup-to-startup collaboration.

2. Eligibility: 18 and over only

• You must be at least 18 years old and capable of entering into a binding contract under applicable law (including Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872). Cloverr is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly allow minors to create accounts.
• By registering, you declare that you are 18 or older. We may ask you to confirm your age or identity at any time (for example through your college email, a government-issued ID, or another reasonable method). If we have reason to believe you are under 18, we may suspend your account until you prove otherwise and delete the account and its data if you cannot.
• You must not have been previously suspended or removed from the Platform for a serious violation, unless we have agreed in writing to let you return.
• You may hold one account and choose one account type, either Founder or Student. If you need both roles, contact us.
• If you register on behalf of a startup or company, you confirm that you are authorised to bind it, and "you" includes that entity.

3. Your account

• Provide accurate, current and complete information, including your name, email, college or venture details, and keep it updated.
• Verify your email using the 6-digit one-time verification code we send. Unverified accounts cannot log in, may have limited functionality, or may be deleted.
• Keep your password and session credentials confidential. You are responsible for all activity under your account. Tell us immediately at security@cloverr.in if you suspect unauthorised access.
• Do not share, sell, rent or transfer your account.
• If you sign in with Google, Google's own terms and privacy policy also apply to that sign-in.

4. What Cloverr is, and is not

• We are an intermediary and a venue. Cloverr provides technology (as an intermediary under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000) that lets users publish profiles, vacancies, pitches and messages, and lets other users discover and respond to them. We do not create, select or endorse user content, and we are not a party to any arrangement made between users.
• We are not an employer, recruiter, staffing agency, placement agency, investment adviser, broker, or legal or tax adviser. Any internship, project, employment, equity or co-founder arrangement is solely between the people involved.
• We do not guarantee outcomes. We do not promise that you will be hired, shortlisted, find a co-founder, receive applications, obtain funding, or that any collaboration will succeed.
• Verification is limited. Labels such as "verified" mean only the specific check described next to the label (for example, that an email address was confirmed by a one-time code or Google OAuth). They do not mean we have confirmed a person's identity, qualifications, college enrolment, project ownership, startup registration, funding status, or intentions, unless we expressly say so. Do your own due diligence.

5. Additional terms for Founders

If you use a Founder account, you also agree that:

1. Everything you publish about your startup, including name, pitch, stage, industry, headquarters, founding date, team roster, traction and role requirements, is accurate and not misleading, and you are authorised to represent the venture.
2. You will not charge students any fee, deposit, registration or training charge, or ask them to buy products or services, in connection with an opportunity posted on Cloverr.
3. Each vacancy states honestly the type of work and compensation (stipend, equity, or unpaid), location or work mode, duration and expectations. Any stipend you advertise must be paid as promised.
4. You will comply with all laws that apply to your engagement of students, including applicable labour, minimum wage, intellectual property, tax, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws, and will provide a safe and respectful working environment.
5. You will not use student data, including contact details, portfolios and messages, for any purpose other than evaluating and engaging candidates through Cloverr. You will not scrape, bulk export, resell or spam.
6. Equity, ESOP or co-founder offers must be genuine. You are responsible for documenting any such arrangement properly through your own legal counsel. Nothing on Cloverr is an offer or solicitation of securities by Cloverr, and you must not use the Platform to raise money from the public or from users.
7. You will respond to applicants fairly and update application statuses honestly (Applied → Shortlisted → Accepted / Rejected), and will not misuse the feedback and invitation tools.

6. Additional terms for Students

If you use a Student account, you also agree that:

1. Your profile, education details, college, degree, branch, graduation year, skills, experience, awards and projects are truthful. You will not claim work that is not yours or credentials you do not hold.
2. You own, or have permission to publish, every portfolio item, image, video and link you upload.
3. You understand that selection, shortlisting, rejection and offers are decisions made by founders, not Cloverr, and that you are responsible for evaluating any opportunity, including checking that you are not asked to pay money and that the terms are acceptable to you before starting work.
4. You will honour commitments you accept in good faith, and communicate promptly if your circumstances change.
5. Information you place on your public profile may be seen by other users and, depending on your settings, by people outside Cloverr. You can control your public contact email visibility through the privacy toggle (show_email) in your profile.

7. Co-founder matching and startup collaboration

• Co-founder and collaboration features let users express interest, send proposals and message each other. They are discovery tools only.
• Cloverr does not evaluate fairness or suitability of proposed equity percentages (such as 15–25% brackets), roles or collaboration terms.
• No binding agreement is created on Cloverr by clicking "accept". Accepting a request only opens communication and adds the connection to your dashboard. Any equity, partnership or joint venture must be set out in a separate written agreement that you should have reviewed by a qualified lawyer.
• Do not share confidential information, trade secrets or personal identification documents in early conversations unless you have a suitable confidentiality agreement (NDA) in place.

8. Your content and our licence

• "Content" means everything you submit or post: profile details, images, videos, projects, posts, comments, pitches, applications, messages and feedback.
• You keep ownership of your Content.
• You grant Cloverr a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to host, store, reproduce, display, distribute and adapt your Content solely to operate, secure, improve and promote the Platform (for example, showing your profile in search, feed and discovery pages, generating thumbnails, and making backups). This licence ends when you delete the Content or your account, except for copies in backups or retained under our Privacy Policy and legal obligations, and Content that others have already shared or reposted.
• You confirm that you have all rights needed to grant this licence and that your Content does not infringe anyone's rights.
• Cloverr, its logo, design system, software and non-user content are owned by us or our licensors. You may not copy, reverse engineer or exploit them except as permitted by law or in writing.

9. Prohibited conduct

You must not post, upload, share or do anything that:

• is unlawful, fraudulent, deceptive or impersonates any person or organisation, or misrepresents your affiliation;
• is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, hateful, harassing, threatening, discriminatory, or invades another's privacy;
• harms or exploits children, or contains content that endangers the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, or incites any offence;
• infringes any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary right;
• is knowingly false or misleading, including fake vacancies, fake startups, fake credentials, or advertising non-existent roles or compensation;
• seeks money, fees, deposits, personal financial details or identity documents from other users, or is a scam, multi-level marketing, pyramid scheme, gambling, or investment solicitation;
• contains malware or is intended to disrupt, probe or gain unauthorised access to the Platform, accounts or data, or circumvents rate limits, security or access controls;
• scrapes, harvests or bulk-collects data, or uses bots or automated tools without our written permission;
• uses another user's information for marketing, spam or purposes other than those the user would reasonably expect on Cloverr;
• creates multiple or fake accounts, manipulates likes, views, search rankings or reports; or
• violates any law or the rights of others, or encourages others to do so.

10. Messaging and communications

• You may exchange direct messages with other users. Use messaging respectfully and only for legitimate purposes connected with Cloverr.
• We store messages and delivery status (sent, delivered, read) to provide the service. Messages are protected by encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and stored in our access-controlled database protected by Row Level Security (RLS); direct messages are not end-to-end encrypted.
• We may review messages and other Content only as permitted by our Privacy Policy, for example to investigate a user abuse report, respond to legal process, or prevent harm.
• You agree to receive essential service emails (verification codes, password resets, security alerts, application status updates). You can opt out of optional marketing messages at any time.

11. Reporting, moderation and grievances

• Use the built-in "Report" feature on posts to flag spam, fraudulent hiring, inappropriate content or conduct. Reports are logged with your reason and reviewed by our Trust & Safety team.
• We may remove or disable access to Content, restrict features, or suspend or terminate accounts that we reasonably believe violate these Terms or the law, or where required by a court or government authority.
• Grievance Officer (under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021):
  Designation: Grievance Officer — Cloverr Trust & Legal
  Email: grievance@cloverr.in
  We will acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days. Complaints about content that exposes a person's private areas or is in the nature of impersonation (including morphed images) will be acted on within the shorter timelines (24 hours) required by law.
• Copyright owners who believe their work has been used without authorisation may write to the Grievance Officer with details of the work, the URL/location of the infringing material and proof of ownership.

12. Suspension and termination

• You may close your account at any time from your settings or by writing to hello@cloverr.in. Deleting your account removes your profile, posts, comments, likes, bookmarks, messages and applications from the Platform via cascading relational deletion, subject to the retention described in our Privacy Policy.
• We may suspend or terminate your access with or without notice if you breach these Terms, create risk or legal exposure for Cloverr or others, are inactive for an extended period, or if we discontinue the Platform. Where practical and lawful, we will tell you why.
• Provisions that by nature should survive (content licence for retained copies, disclaimers, liability, indemnity, governing law and dispute resolution) survive termination.

13. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy (Part II below) explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and your rights as a Data Principal. It forms an integral part of these Terms.

14. Third-party links and services

The Platform may link to GitHub, LinkedIn, personal websites, Google OAuth, hosting services and other third-party sites. We do not control and are not responsible for their content, security or practices. Your use of them is at your own risk and subject to their terms.

15. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Platform and all Content are provided "as is" and "as available". We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free, that Content is accurate, lawful or non-infringing, that any user is who they claim to be, or that any opportunity, equity arrangement or collaboration is genuine, safe or suitable. You are responsible for your decisions and for verifying other users and opportunities before relying on them or sharing sensitive information.

16. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• Cloverr is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for loss of profit, goodwill, data, opportunity or equity value, arising from your use of the Platform or dealings with other users.
• Cloverr is not liable for acts or omissions of users, including any dispute over compensation, stipends, equity, intellectual property, workplace conduct or partnership.
• Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim relating to the Platform is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, and (b) INR 5,000.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including liability for fraud or wilful misconduct, or any rights you have under mandatory consumer or data protection law.

17. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Cloverr, its founders, directors, officers, employees and affiliates from claims, losses, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your Content, your breach of these Terms or the law, your infringement of any third-party right, or your dealings with other users.

18. Users outside India

Cloverr is operated from India. You may access the Platform from other countries, but you are responsible for complying with the laws of your location to the extent they apply. We do not guarantee that the Platform or any opportunity is lawful, available or appropriate outside India. Users who are not resident in India should note that their personal data will be processed in India and other countries as described in the Privacy Policy. Mandatory local consumer or data-protection rights, if any, are not affected by these Terms.

19. Governing law and dispute resolution

• These Terms are governed by the laws of India, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
• Informal resolution first. Please contact legal@cloverr.in and give us 30 days to try to resolve a dispute amicably.
• Arbitration. Any dispute not resolved informally will be referred to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, before a sole arbitrator appointed by mutual agreement in accordance with the Act. The seat and venue of arbitration shall be in India, and the language shall be English.
• Courts. Subject to the above, competent courts in India shall have exclusive jurisdiction. Nothing prevents either party from seeking urgent interim relief from a competent court, or a user from approaching the Data Protection Board of India or any consumer or regulatory authority where entitled.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in our services or the law. We will post the updated version with a new date and, for material changes, notify you by email or in the app at least 15 days in advance where practicable. Continued use after the effective date means you accept the changes. If you disagree, you must stop using the Platform and may close your account.

21. General

• Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy and any posted guidelines are the entire agreement between you and us on this subject.
• Severability. If a provision is unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce a right is not a waiver.
• Assignment. You may not assign your rights. We may assign ours in connection with a merger, acquisition or restructuring, with notice to you.
• Electronic records. You agree to receive notices electronically; these Terms are an electronic record under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and do not require physical signature.
• Force majeure. We are not liable for failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

22. Contact

Cloverr Platform (India)
Support: hello@cloverr.in · Grievance Officer: grievance@cloverr.in · Legal Notices: legal@cloverr.in

1. Who we are and what this policy covers

This Privacy Policy explains how Cloverr ("Cloverr", "we", "us"), operating in India, collects, uses, shares, stores and protects your personal data when you use the Cloverr website, apps and services (the "Platform"). For the purposes of Indian law we are the Data Fiduciary for personal data you give us. You are the Data Principal.

This policy is written to meet the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules under it (including the SPDI Rules, 2011, to the extent they continue to apply, and the Intermediary Guidelines Rules, 2021). Section 15 explains additional rights for people in the EU/UK, California and other regions.

Cloverr is only for people who are 18 or older (see Section 12). By creating an account and ticking the consent box at sign-up, you agree to the processing described here. You can withdraw consent at any time (Section 11).

2. The personal data we collect

2.1 Account and security data (all users)

• Name and email address.
• Password, stored only as a salted cryptographic hash (100,000-iteration PBKDF2-SHA512 / bcrypt). We never store or log your plaintext password.
• Account type (Founder or Student) and account status.
• One-time verification code (OTP) used to confirm your email, and whether you are verified (is_verified).
• Session identifiers (sid) and expiry times that keep you logged in.
• Google sign-in data (name, email, profile picture, verified token) if you choose Google OAuth 2.0.
• Timestamps showing when your account was created and last updated.

2.2 Student profile data (you provide)

• College, degree, branch, graduation year.
• Location, work mode preference (remote, hybrid, in-office), availability and commitment (full-time, part-time, internship, project-based), experience level, languages.
• Headline, bio, technical skills, industry interests.
• Work experience, projects (with links and tech stack), education history, certifications, awards and achievements.
• Portfolio images, screenshots and other media you upload, and avatar.
• Social links (GitHub, LinkedIn, personal website).
• A public contact email and your choice whether to show it (show_email).
• Whether you are open to co-founder opportunities.

2.3 Founder and venture data (you provide)

• Startup name, elevator pitch, industry, venture stage, founding date, headquarters location.
• Team member details (names, roles, LinkedIn links, photos).
• Logo and banner images.
• Whether you are seeking co-founders (open_to_receive_cofounder_requests), the target role and the equity range you are open to offering.

2.4 Content and activity data

• Posts (vacancies, pitches, collaboration posts, updates), including title, body, compensation details, hashtags, media and audience settings (Everyone, Students only, Founders only).
• Comments, likes and dislikes, reposts, bookmarks, and community memberships.
• Reports you file about posts, including your reason.
• Applications you submit, their status (Applied, Shortlisted, Accepted, Rejected), invitations sent or received, and response notes.
• Co-founder and startup collaboration requests, including your proposal note and their status.
• Notifications we generate for you.

2.5 Messages

The text of direct messages you send and receive, who is in each conversation, client message deduplication IDs, delivery status (sent, delivered, read), and a read marker used to show unread counts.

2.6 Usage and technical data we collect automatically

• Profile views: when a profile is viewed, we record whose profile, who viewed it (or that the viewer was a guest), the viewer's account type (Founder, Student, or Guest), and the source (direct link, search or feed). We show profile owners only aggregate view counts, 7-day growth trends, and account-type breakdowns—individual viewer identities are not exposed to profile owners.
• Search queries: what you search for on the Platform (keywords, roles, skills, startup names), your account ID and account type, and the time. We use this to improve search and to show founders how often their venture appeared in searches as aggregate counts.
• Device and log data: IP address (used for rate limiting and security), browser and device type, pages viewed, timestamps, error logs, and security events such as failed logins.
• Cookies and similar technologies (Section 10).

2.7 Data we do not ask for

We do not intentionally collect government ID numbers, financial account details, biometric data, precise GPS location, or sensitive personal data such as health, caste, religion or sexual orientation. Please do not put these in your profile, posts or messages. If we ever request an ID document for age or identity verification, we will state so at that point and handle it strictly as described in Section 12.

3. Why we use your data

We process personal data for specified purposes, based on your consent or, where the law allows, other legitimate uses:

We will not use your personal data for a new purpose without telling you and, where required, obtaining fresh consent. We do not sell your personal data. We do not use it for third-party advertising.

4. What other people can see

• Public by default: your name, headline, bio, college, degree, branch, graduation year, location, skills, interests, projects, experience, achievements, portfolio media and social links (for Students); and your startup name, pitch, industry, stage, team roster, logo and banner (for Founders). Public Content may be visible to other users and visitors.
• Your choice: your public contact email is shown only if you switch on "show email" (show_email). If you remove or hide it, your email is not displayed on your profile or portfolio.
• Limited audience: posts marked "Students only" or "Founders only" are filtered to that audience.
• Private: your password hash, verification code, session data, primary account email (unless you choose to show it), search history and direct messages are not shown to other users. Messages are visible only to the participants in the conversation.
• Applications: when you apply, the founder who posted the vacancy can see your application and your portfolio. Founders you invite or accept can see the details you share with them.

Anything you make public may be copied or shared by others outside our control. Think before you post.

5. Who we share data with

• Other users, as described in Section 4 and as part of features you choose to use (applications, invitations, co-founder and collaboration requests, messages).
• Service providers (Data Processors) who work for us under confidentiality and security obligations: cloud hosting and PostgreSQL database infrastructure (such as Supabase / Neon), transactional email and OTP delivery providers (such as Resend / SMTP), and Google (for Google OAuth 2.0 sign-in). They may use your data only to provide services to us.
• Authorities and legal process: where required by law, court order, or a lawful request from a government body, or to protect rights, safety and security. If the law permits, we will tell you.
• Business transfers: if we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of assets, personal data may be transferred to the successor, which will be bound by this policy or must give you notice of changes.
• With your direction: anyone else you ask us to share with.

We do not share your data with advertisers or data brokers.

6. International transfers and users outside India

Cloverr is run from India and our cloud database and hosting servers may be located in India or global cloud regions (such as Singapore, the EU, or the United States). If you use the Platform from outside India, your data will be transferred to and processed in India and these cloud regions. We transfer data outside India only as permitted by Indian law, including any restrictions the Government of India may notify under the DPDP Act, 2023, and we use contractual and technical safeguards (TLS encryption and Row Level Security) so that your data receives appropriate protection.

7. How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, or longer if the law requires:

If we are ever required to erase data after a period of inactivity, we will give you at least 48 hours' notice before erasing it, so you can log in or contact us to keep it.

8. How we protect your data

We use reasonable technical and organisational security safeguards, including:

• salted cryptographic password hashing (PBKDF2-SHA512 / bcrypt) with timing-safe verification, and HTTP-only expiring session tokens;
• encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) across all client-server and database connections;
• access controls, including Row Level Security (RLS) on all production PostgreSQL tables;
• rate limiting on registration, login, verification code resend and media uploads;
• strict MIME/extension validation, 20MB size caps, and randomised cryptographic filenames for uploaded files;
• defensive HTTP headers (X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff, X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN, Referrer-Policy); and
• automated cascading cleanup (ON DELETE CASCADE) preventing orphaned personal data.

No system is completely secure. Please use a strong, unique password and keep it confidential.

9. Data breaches

If a personal data breach affects you, we will tell you without delay, through your account or registered email, with a description of what happened, the likely consequences, what we are doing, what you can do to protect yourself, and a contact who can answer your questions. We will also notify the Data Protection Board of India and CERT-In as the law requires.

10. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies (specifically the sid HTTP-only session cookie) and browser local storage that are strictly necessary to keep you signed in, protect against fraud, and cache basic profile state. We do not use third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can block cookies in your browser, but authenticated parts of the Platform will not function without session cookies.

11. Your rights and how to use them

Under Indian law (the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023) you have the right to:

• Access a summary of the personal data we process about you and the identities of those we share it with;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data, and update data you can edit directly in your Student Portfolio or Founder Startup profile;
• Erase your personal data (we will do so unless retention is required by law or for the purposes in Section 7);
• Withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal is as easy as giving consent: toggle your privacy controls in Settings or email us. Withdrawing may mean we can no longer provide some or all features, and it does not affect processing done before withdrawal;
• Grievance redressal: lodge a complaint with our Grievance Officer, and if unsatisfied, complain to the Data Protection Board of India; and
• Nominate another person to exercise your rights if you die or become incapacitated.

To exercise a right, update your profile directly in-app or email privacy@cloverr.in from your registered email address. We may need to verify your identity first. We aim to respond within 15–30 days, and in any case within the period required by law. We do not charge a fee for reasonable requests.

12. Age and children

• Cloverr is for adults aged 18 and above only. We do not knowingly collect personal data of anyone under 18.
• At sign-up you must confirm that you are at least 18. Any ID or age data collected if age verification is triggered is used solely for verification and deleted promptly thereafter.
• Cloverr does not track or monitor the behaviour of children or target advertising at them.
• If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we will suspend it and delete the associated personal data. If you believe a minor has registered, write to privacy@cloverr.in immediately.

13. Automated features

We calculate a 5-pillar, 100-point profile-health score, compute 7-day view velocity, and surface similar startups or candidate profiles based on industry, skills, and stage you provide. These deterministic tools assist discovery; they do not make automated hiring or selection decisions, which are always made by human founders and students.

14. Third-party sites and links

Our Platform links to external sites (GitHub, LinkedIn, personal portfolios). This policy does not cover them. Review their privacy practices before sharing data.

15. Additional information for people outside India

These sections apply only if the relevant law applies to you:

• European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland (GDPR): Legal bases include consent, performance of a contract, legitimate interests (security and fraud prevention), and legal obligation. You have additional rights to object to processing, restrict processing, data portability, and lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
• California (CCPA/CPRA): We collect the categories of personal information listed in Section 2 for the purposes in Section 3. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. California residents may request to know, delete, correct and limit the use of personal information without discrimination.
• Other countries: Where local law gives you additional rights, contact us at privacy@cloverr.in and we will handle your request as required.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our practices or the law change. We will post the new version with a revised date and notify you by email or in the app when changes are material. Where the law requires fresh consent for a new purpose, we will ask for it before using your data in that way.

17. Contact us & Grievance Officer

Data Protection & Grievance Officer: Cloverr Trust, Safety & Privacy Office
Privacy Inquiries: privacy@cloverr.in
Grievance Redressal: grievance@cloverr.in
General Support: hello@cloverr.in

We will acknowledge privacy complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days, and in any case within the period required by law. If you are not satisfied, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India.