1. Introduction
Career Unified is an independent, third-party career discovery platform designed to help users find publicly available opportunities such as jobs, bursaries, universities, and career tools, including the CV Generator, ATS analytics, AI Tailor, interview preparation, career guides, and the Z83 Filler.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling information responsibly in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) of South Africa and generally accepted data-protection principles such as transparency, minimal data collection, purpose limitation, and security safeguards.
Last updated: 21 August 2026
2. Scope of This Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to your use of the Career Unified website, tools, and content. It explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, how we protect it, and what choices you have.
This policy also covers accounts, CV and document tools, profile CV uploads, search and filters, ATS analytics, AI features, Z83 tools, subscriptions and billing records, recruiter features, user submissions, guides, website analytics, and support requests. By using Career Unified, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.
3. Data Controller (Responsible Party)
Career Unified is the responsible party (sometimes called the "data controller") for the information processed through this platform. This means we determine the purpose and method of processing information in line with this Privacy Policy and applicable South African law.
Career Unified has an Information Officer registered with the South African Information Regulator in accordance with POPIA. Privacy questions and data-subject requests can be submitted through the Contact Us page or by emailing contact@careerunified.com.
4. Information We Collect
Career Unified collects information reasonably necessary to operate, secure, support, and improve the platform. Depending on how you use the site, we may collect:
- Account information: name, email address, optional profile photo, Firebase user identifier, account role, authentication provider, account dates, and related profile information
- CV and career information: contact details, employment and education history, skills, uploaded CV files, imported resume text, job descriptions, ATS feedback, and content used with CV or AI tools
- Subscription and usage information: plan, subscription status, billing-period dates, feature usage, AI credits, pending payment status, and limited PayFast transaction metadata
- Search and activity information: search terms, filters, pages viewed, feature interactions, downloads, and application-link clicks
- Advertising information: ad impressions, ad interactions, page URLs, approximate location derived from an IP address, browser or device information, and cookie or advertising identifiers that may be processed by Google AdSense and its approved advertising partners
- Technical and security information: browser or device information, timestamps, network information made available by hosting services, and hashed identifiers used for rate limiting and abuse prevention
- Information submitted through forms: job alert emails, contact requests, recruiter information, interview questions, contributor names, anonymous preferences, preparation tips, feedback, reports, and moderation records
Some features can be used without an account, while account registration is required for features that need authentication, saved profile information, billing, or usage controls. Email/password and Google sign-in are handled through Firebase Authentication. Career Unified does not receive or store users' plaintext passwords. Please do not submit identity numbers, banking credentials, medical information, or other highly sensitive information unless a specific feature clearly requires it.
5. How We Use Information
We use the limited information described above strictly for legitimate business purposes aligned with POPIA, including operating the service, improving user experience, and maintaining platform safety. This includes:
- Platform functionality: create and authenticate accounts, provide CV and Z83 tools, import documents, calculate ATS feedback, generate requested AI content, and operate recruiter and community features
- Subscriptions and support: verify PayFast payments, maintain plans and usage limits, provide billing history, process cancellation or support requests, and resolve account issues
- Performance and reliability: diagnose failures, maintain service availability, and improve how tools work across devices
- Analytics and improvement: understand which pages and features are used, measure user journeys, and improve content and subscription experiences
- Advertising: fund selected free public content, display and measure ads, limit repeated ads, and help detect advertising fraud or abuse
- Security and abuse prevention: verify requests, apply rate limits, detect misuse, prevent fraud, and protect accounts and services
- Legal and operational requirements: maintain necessary transaction, moderation, compliance, and dispute records
We do not sell your personal information and we do not use personal information for profiling or automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you. Career Unified does not make hiring, bursary, university admission, or government recruitment decisions.
6. CV Generator, Document Tools & Storage
If you upload a profile photo, the validated image may be stored in Firebase Storage while its storage path and access URL are saved with your Firebase profile. The photo is displayed on your account and may be shown to authenticated recruiters in candidate and application views. You can replace or remove it from your profile.
Ordinary CV drafts, resume versions, active job descriptions, and Z83 drafts may be saved in your browser's local or session storage so that the tools can work on your device. Clearing browser storage may permanently remove this locally saved information.
- Profile CV uploads: when an authenticated user uploads a profile CV, the file and related metadata may be stored in Firebase Storage and Firestore
- CV imports: an uploaded PDF or DOCX may be sent to a Career Unified server function to validate the file and extract readable text
- AI-assisted imports: extracted resume text may be sent to an AI service when the user requests automatic structuring or normalization
- Exports: generated CV, cover-letter, and Z83 files are provided to the user for review and download
The Z83 Filler is designed to save its working draft in browser storage and generate the completed PDF for the user. Career Unified does not intentionally upload the contents of a Z83 draft merely because the user fills in or generates the form. Users are responsible for protecting downloaded documents and sending them only to trusted recipients.
Direct applications and recruiter review
When you use Career Unified Direct Apply, we share the application information you choose to submit with the recruiter responsible for that vacancy. This can include your contact and profile snapshot, CV, cover note, screening answers, and application status. The recruiter may review and tag the application, use a consistent job-related scorecard, contact you, and schedule an interview through the platform.
Career Unified may provide explainable matching support based on vacancy requirements and evidence in the application. Protected personal characteristics are excluded from this analysis, the result does not automatically reject or progress an applicant, and the recruiter remains responsible for every hiring decision.
Future-opportunity consideration is optional and separate from applying for a vacancy. If you opt in, the recruiter may keep the application in its Career Unified talent pool for up to 12 months. You can withdraw this permission from My Applications at any time. Revoking it removes the application from the future-opportunity pool, although the original vacancy application may still be retained where reasonably required for recruitment, security, dispute, or legal records.
7. ATS Analytics, AI Tools & Data Processing
ATS analytics estimates resume readiness and job-description alignment using Career Unified's own scoring method. The score is guidance and is not an employer's ATS result. Some ATS analysis can occur in the browser. When a user requests AI Tailor, a cover letter, or AI-assisted resume import, relevant resume information, job descriptions, and feedback are sent to Career Unified server functions and an available AI service provider to generate the request.
- Purpose: AI inputs are processed to provide the specific output requested by the user
- Providers: processing may use providers such as Groq, Google Gemini, or DeepSeek, depending on the feature and service availability
- Data minimisation: we aim to send only information reasonably needed to complete the requested AI task
- No selling of AI inputs: Career Unified does not sell resume or AI-input information as a data product
AI providers and hosting services may process information on infrastructure outside South Africa and may retain limited operational or security logs under their own terms. Please remove unnecessary sensitive information before using an AI feature. You remain responsible for reviewing, correcting, and deciding how to use AI-generated content.
8. User Submissions, Job Alerts & Interview Question Feedback
Career Unified may collect information that users voluntarily submit through website forms, including job alert signups, interview question submissions, preparation tips, feedback votes, reports, and related timestamps.
Job-alert email addresses submitted through the website are processed and stored through Netlify Forms until they are exported or deleted as part of Career Unified's subscriber-list and retention management.
Where you submit interview questions or preparation tips, we may collect details such as the company name, role, interview year, category, questions asked, preparation notes, contributor name, anonymous preference, and upload date.
If you choose to post as anonymous, we may display your public contribution as "Anonymous". However, form submissions may still include technical submission details, timestamps, and moderation information needed to operate and protect the platform.
User-submitted content may be reviewed, moderated, edited, hidden, removed, or published where appropriate. Please do not submit confidential employer information, trade secrets, private documents, or personal information about other people.
9. Cookies, Local Storage, Analytics & Advertising
Career Unified uses cookies, local storage, session storage, Google Analytics, and Google AdSense to provide functionality, understand site usage, and support selected free public content. These technologies may be used to:
- Maintain authentication and remember user or tool preferences
- Store local CV versions, Z83 drafts, job descriptions, and temporary workflow state
- Measure page views, feature usage, downloads, subscription interest, checkout steps, and errors
- Serve and measure advertisements on selected public content pages, control how often ads appear, and detect invalid traffic or advertising fraud
- Improve platform performance, reliability, usability, and content
Analytics information is intended to measure usage rather than collect CV document contents. Google and other service providers may process technical identifiers according to their own privacy terms. Career Unified does not load Google AdSense on the CV Generator.
Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's previous visits to Career Unified or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables Google and its partners to serve personalised or contextual ads, measure ad performance, limit repeated ads, and protect against fraud and abuse. When a page uses Google services, the browser may automatically share information such as the page URL, IP address, browser or device information, and existing cookie identifiers with Google.
You can control personalised advertising through Google Ads Settings and manage or block cookies through your browser settings. Disabling personalised advertising does not necessarily prevent ads from appearing; ads may instead be based on the page topic or general location. Learn more about how Google uses information from partner sites. Restricting cookies or browser storage may affect certain account, analytics, advertising, or saved-draft features.
10. Payments & Financial Information
Career Unified does not collect, store, or process your full banking or card information directly on this platform when payments are handled through PayFast. PayFast manages payment checkout, recurring payment authorisation, payment security, and payment verification under its own terms and privacy practices.
Career Unified receives and stores limited payment and subscription metadata needed to provide the service, such as the user identifier, selected plan, amount, transaction references, payment status, billing-period dates, recurring subscription metadata, and verification timestamps. We do not receive full card details.
11. Data Retention
We keep information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, including operational, security, and legal requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and how it is processed.
Where information is stored locally on your device (for example, CV Generator data), retention is fully under your control. You can delete this data at any time by clearing your browser storage.
Account profiles, uploaded profile CVs, subscription and payment records, usage records, and support or security information may be retained while an account or service relationship is active and afterwards where reasonably necessary for legal, accounting, fraud-prevention, dispute, backup, or operational purposes.
Form submissions, including job alert signups, interview question submissions, reports, and feedback, may be retained for as long as needed for moderation, platform safety, communication, operational records, or legal compliance.
12. Third-Party Links & External Websites
Career Unified provides links to external websites, including employers, bursary providers, universities, advertisers, and service providers. When you click a third-party link, you leave Career Unified and your activity is governed by that third party’s policies.
We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy practices, security measures, accuracy of information, or application outcomes. Users interact with external sites at their own discretion and risk.
13. Accuracy, Availability & Editorial Disclaimer
While Career Unified makes reasonable efforts to keep information up to date, we do not guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or availability of any listing. Third-party content may change, expire, or be withdrawn without notice.
Editors, contributors, and developers of Career Unified shall not be held liable for reliance on outdated or incorrect information. Users are encouraged to verify details directly with the relevant third-party providers.
Interview questions and preparation tips submitted by users are based on individual experiences and may not reflect current employer processes, official recruitment policies, or future interview questions.
Career guides, ATS feedback, AI outputs, and Z83 assistance are educational tools and are not legal, recruitment, government, or professional advice. Users should verify important requirements with the relevant official source.
14. Security Measures
Career Unified applies reasonable technical and organisational safeguards to protect information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, or disclosure. These safeguards may include access controls, secure configurations, and monitoring for unusual activity.
However, no platform can guarantee absolute security. You are encouraged to use your own safeguards such as keeping your device secure, avoiding sharing sensitive information publicly, and using trusted networks where possible.
15. Limitation of Liability
Career Unified, its owners, developers, editors, contributors, and affiliates shall not be liable for any direct or indirect loss, damage, or harm arising from the use of this platform, including loss that may result from third-party content, external links, or actions taken based on information found on the platform.
16. POPIA Explained (Plain Language)
POPIA is South Africa's data-protection law that requires personal information to be collected and used in a lawful, transparent, and secure manner.
Under POPIA, you have the right to:
- Know what data is collected and why
- Request access to personal information (where applicable)
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Request deletion where legally permissible
- Expect reasonable safeguards to protect information
17. Your Rights & How to Exercise Them
If you would like to exercise your rights under POPIA (such as requesting access, correction, or deletion where applicable), you may contact us through the official Career Unified contact page.
To help us process your request efficiently, please include enough detail for us to understand what you are requesting. We may ask you to verify your identity before we share or change any information, to protect your privacy and prevent fraud.
We aim to respond within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Formal access-to-record requests can also be made through our PAIA Manual.
Requests may be submitted through the Contact Us page or to contact@careerunified.com. If a privacy concern is not resolved, you may also contact or submit a complaint to the South African Information Regulator.
18. Children’s Privacy
Career Unified is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has provided personal information to us, please contact us so we can address it appropriately.
19. Cross-Border Processing
Third-party services used for authentication, cloud storage, hosting, analytics, payments, document processing, or AI generation may process information outside South Africa. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place and that processing remains consistent with this Privacy Policy and accepted data-protection principles.
20. Severability
If any part of this Privacy Policy is found to be unlawful, invalid, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law.
21. Changes to This Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically to reflect legal, technical, or operational changes. Where practical, we will update the date and content on this page so users can understand what has changed.
Continued use of Career Unified after updates constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
22. Contact
If you have questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, or wish to contact our registered Information Officer, please use the official Career Unified contact page or email contact@careerunified.com.