Startup hiring and jobs · Privacy summary guide

Wellfound Privacy Summary

Your Wellfound profile is publicly viewable, and employers can use it to find and track you. Wellfound's data can also go to advertisers, and the policy says it does not honour Do Not Track. Deletion is by email or phone with no self-service tool, so decide what goes into your profile before you add it. ^{[1] [2] [5]}

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What Wellfound collects, and what happens to it

Identity and contact details, résumé, applications

Why: Running your account and applying
Who sees it: You, the employers you apply to, and Wellfound
How long it's kept: Not stated; may be kept after deactivation ^[1]

Public profile

Why: Employers find and evaluate you
Who sees it: Anyone who can view it; employers; some recruiters
How long it's kept: No period given ^{[1] [2]}

Verified Badge (optional)

Why: Shows that you are verified
Who sees it: Anyone who can view your profile; Metamap
How long it's kept: No period given ^[1]

Cookies and ad data

Why: Targeted ads and analytics
Who sees it: Advertisers and ad networks
How long it's kept: Set in Cookie Preferences ^[1]

Desired salary

Why: Matching
Who sees it: Recruit Pro recruiters, per help article
How long it's kept: Not stated ^{[3] [4]}

ATS and AI tools

Why: Connecting an ATS through Merge; AI interviews
Who sees it: Merge and AI providers
How long it's kept: Retention not stated ^{[1] [6]}

What	Why	Who sees it	How long it's kept
Identity and contact details, résumé, applications	Running your account and applying	You, the employers you apply to, and Wellfound	Not stated; may be kept after deactivation^[1]
Public profile	Employers find and evaluate you	Anyone who can view it; employers; some recruiters	No period given^{[1] [2]}
Verified Badge (optional)	Shows that you are verified	Anyone who can view your profile; Metamap	No period given^[1]
Cookies and ad data	Targeted ads and analytics	Advertisers and ad networks	Set in Cookie Preferences^[1]
Desired salary	Matching	Recruit Pro recruiters, per help article	Not stated^{[3] [4]}
ATS and AI tools	Connecting an ATS through Merge; AI interviews	Merge and AI providers	Retention not stated^{[1] [6]}

The one thing to know: your profile is public

Profile information is publicly viewable, and employers may use it to find, evaluate and track candidates. Your job-seeking status and target role can be shared with certain recruiters. Setting your status to Open to Offers or Ready to Interview makes the profile visible in candidate search. ^{[1] [2]}

Keep the profile to what you would show a stranger. Anything you add to it, including a verification badge, is visible to anyone who can view the profile. ^[1]

Identity checks: what you may have to hand over

Wellfound may ask for identity verification, run by its Trust and Safety team with an outside provider, and it does not say what triggers the request. The accepted ID must be a government ID with Latin characters, at least 600 by 600 pixels and no more than 15 MB. The optional Verified Badge can require a photo ID, a Social Security number and an address. ^{[5] [1]}

Recruit Pro's help article says recruiters see your desired salary, but the desired-salary article doesn't say employers see it. Assume a recruiter may see it until Wellfound confirms otherwise. ^{[3] [4]}

The privacy policy predates the ATS and AI tools

The 2023 privacy policy does not mention ATS or AI features. Wellfound connects an applicant tracking system through Merge, and its ATS notice was updated on 2 April 2026. Neither notice gives a retention period for the AI providers. ^[1]

The AI video interview keeps results private unless they are attached to an application. Whether they affect hiring is not explained, so treat the beta as a tool with unknown data retention. ^[6]

How to delete your account

Email Wellfound or call its toll-free number, using the contact details in its privacy policy.
Ask for deletion in writing and note the date you asked.
Expect a one-month response target. Wellfound describes no self-service deletion tool.
Ask what it keeps after deactivation. The policy says some data may be kept for business, audit or legal reasons, and gives no period. ^[1]

The verdict: ad tracking is the clearest thing to change

Wellfound is reasonable if you accept a public profile. Its clearest privacy cost is ad tracking, and the policy says it does not honour Do Not Track. Use Cookie Preferences to limit what you can, and keep sensitive documents out of your profile and off optional features you don't need. ^[1]

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