layiq
/la·yiq/adjective
worthy; deserving; fitting; suitable.
A role, opportunity, or path that merits attention, time, and pursuit.
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Does a job site sell your data? How to read a privacy policy
Check three things in a job site’s privacy policy: whether it says it sells personal information, whether it shares data for targeted advertising, and who can see your résumé. Some states let you opt out of sale and sharing, though some leave out people acting in an employment context, such as job applicants.567 LAYIQ’s privacy policy says it does not sell personal information.17 This is general information as of October 7, 2026, not legal advice.
On this page
What “sell” and “share” mean in a privacy policy
Privacy policies use a few words with legal meanings. California’s privacy law, as posted by the state’s privacy agency, defines selling as giving a consumer’s personal information to a third party “for monetary or other valuable consideration.” It defines sharing as giving it to a third party “for cross-context behavioral advertising, whether or not for monetary or other valuable consideration.”2 The California Attorney General puts cross-context behavioral advertising in plain terms: “the targeting of advertising to a consumer based on the consumer’s personal information obtained from the consumer’s online activity across numerous websites.”1
So a site can fall short of ‘selling’ and still ‘sharing’ data for ads that follow you from site to site. The FTC draws a related line between two kinds of tracking: “When a website you visit tracks you, that’s first-party tracking. When a website you visit lets another company track you, that’s third-party tracking.”11
Some disclosures are not sales. California’s statute says a business does not sell personal information when a consumer “uses or directs the business to intentionally” disclose it or interact with third parties, which covers sending your résumé to an employer you chose to apply to.2 It also separates sales from a service provider that “processes personal information on behalf of a business” under a written contract that prohibits “Selling or sharing the personal information.”2 That is why policies list service providers apart from other third parties.
How to read a job site’s privacy policy
Find the sections on sale, sharing, advertising and your choices, and note the policy’s effective date. The California Attorney General says that if you cannot find a ‘Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information’ link, you can “review its privacy policy to see if it sells or shares personal information. If the business does, it must also include that link in its privacy policy.”1
| If the policy says | It can mean | Look for |
|---|---|---|
| ‘We sell personal information’ | The site hands personal information to a third party “for monetary or other valuable consideration,” California’s definition of a sale.2 | Which kinds of information, who receives them, and a ‘Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information’ link.1 |
| ‘We share’ or ‘targeted advertising’ | In California’s law, sharing means giving personal information to a third party “for cross-context behavioral advertising,” with or without payment.2 | A named advertising purpose and a way to opt out. Colorado, Connecticut and Virginia each list a right to opt out of targeted advertising.568 |
| ‘Service providers’ or ‘processors’ | Companies that handle data for the site under a contract. California’s law says that contract must prohibit “Selling or sharing the personal information.”2 | What kinds of providers are named, such as hosting, analytics, AI or email, and what they may do with the data. |
| ‘Employers can find you’ or a public profile setting | Your résumé details are visible to employers who search. Indeed’s page says to “Change your profile privacy status in your profile settings to help employers find you on Indeed.”13 | The default setting, which details are shown, and what happens to employers who already received your résumé. |
| ‘Data broker’ | California’s privacy agency describes a data broker as a business that “collects personal information about consumers from various sources and sells that information to other companies, even when the consumer did not interact with the business for its products or services.”4 | Whether the site sells your information to such companies, or buys information about you from them. |
What state privacy laws let you do, as of October 7, 2026
The rules differ by state. Several states have comprehensive privacy laws, and the four below are examples with official pages. The list changes, so check a current tracker. The IAPP, a privacy professionals’ association, keeps one, and its page showed a last update of September 8, 2026 when we read it.9
| State | What the official source says you can do | Who is covered, and limits |
|---|---|---|
| California | The Attorney General lists “The right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of their personal information including via the GPC.” A business must respond “as soon as feasibly possible,” “up to a maximum of 15 business days.”1 | The law applies to for-profit businesses that do business in California and meet a threshold, such as annual gross revenue above $26,625,000 as of October 7, 2026, the amount California’s privacy agency set from January 1, 2025.3 The Attorney General says the exemptions for employment-related personal information “expired on December 31, 2022.”1 |
| Colorado | The Attorney General describes “the right to opt out of the sale of their personal data or its use for targeted advertising or certain kinds of profiling.” Controllers must accept universal opt-out mechanisms “starting on July 1, 2024.”5 | The law “does not cover the personal data of individuals acting in a commercial or employment context, such as a job applicant”.5 |
| Connecticut | The Attorney General says residents can opt out of the sale of personal data and of its use for targeted advertising.6 Since January 1, 2025, businesses covered “must honor universal opt out preference signals.”6 | The law “does not protect an individual acting in an employment context, such as applying for a job.”6 |
| Virginia | The Code lists a right “To opt out of the processing of the personal data for purposes of (i) targeted advertising, (ii) the sale of personal data,” or profiling for significant decisions.8 | A “consumer” is a resident “acting only in an individual or household context” and “does not include a natural person acting in a commercial or employment context.”7 |
Job seekers are a special case
Colorado, Connecticut and Virginia each leave out people acting in an employment context. Colorado’s Attorney General gives a job applicant as the example, and Connecticut’s gives applying for a job.567 California’s Attorney General says its exemptions for that kind of information have expired.1 Whether someone using a job site is acting in that context is a question for a lawyer or a regulator, so treat opt-out rights as something to try rather than something to count on. This guide is general information as of October 7, 2026, not legal advice.
You do not have to opt out site by site. California’s Attorney General says a user-enabled control like Global Privacy Control is a “‘stop selling or sharing my data switch’ that is available on some internet browsers, like Mozilla Firefox, Duck Duck Go, and Brave, or as a browser extension,” and that “it must be honored by covered businesses as a valid consumer request to stop the sale or sharing of personal information.”1 The project’s own site says “Your browser will send the GPC signal to websites you visit.”10
If your details are already with companies you never dealt with, California has a tool for its residents. Its privacy agency says “As of January 1, 2026, California residents may use DROP to submit one request to all active data brokers, including those on this registry, requesting the deletion of their personal information,” and that “Data brokers are required to begin processing these requests on August 1, 2026,” a date that has passed.4
Where résumé data can travel
A résumé holds your name, contact details and work history. These examples come from the sites’ own help and employer pages. They show routes a résumé can take. Whether a route counts as a sale under a state’s law is for the site’s privacy policy and that law to say.
- To employers who can find you. On Indeed, setting your profile so employers can find you shares your contact information, city and state, and résumé. Indeed notes that “Employers who received your resume before you changed your profile settings may still have access to your resume details.”13
- To an employer when you apply. Indeed says “Employers can see the information on the resume you used to apply.”13
- To employers who pay to search résumés. ZipRecruiter says employers using its Resume Database can “Preview as many resumes as you like for free—only paying to access candidate contact information.”15
- To recruiters on a social network. LinkedIn’s Open to Work option can be limited to recruiters. LinkedIn says it takes steps to keep recruiters at your current company from seeing it, “but we can’t guarantee complete privacy.”16
- To the employer’s own hiring system. When Indeed’s Apply button leaves Indeed, “Indeed will redirect you to the employer’s applicant tracking system (ATS),” and “You won’t receive communication from Indeed about your application status.”14 Read the employer’s privacy notice there too.
Share less when you can. The FTC advises that you “never give out personal information before doing some research,” and to “Contact the company directly using a phone number you know to be legitimate.”12 A résumé needs your work history and a way to reach you. It does not need a Social Security number or a bank account number.
Practical steps
- Read the sale and sharing sections, and the date. Look for plain statements about selling, sharing and advertising. Policies change, so note the effective date.
- Use an opt-out signal. Turn on Global Privacy Control in a browser or extension that supports it,1 and look for the site’s own opt-out link.1
- Check your visibility settings. On a board that lets employers search profiles, see whether yours is on and which details it shows.13
- Ask what a site has about you. California’s Attorney General lists a right to know what personal information a business has collected and a right to delete it, where the law applies.1
- Limit tracking in your browser and phone. The FTC says your browser’s privacy settings let you “choose whether to allow or block personalized ads based on your browsing history,” and that advertising industry groups offer free opt-out tools. “If you opt out, be sure to opt out on each device and browser.”11
- California residents can use DROP. One request goes to all active data brokers, which the privacy agency says were required to begin processing requests on August 1, 2026.4
What LAYIQ’s privacy policy says
LAYIQ’s privacy policy, effective 2026-10-03, opens with “LAYIQ’s mission includes protecting job seekers’ privacy. We do not sell user data.” Its section titled “We do not sell personal information” says “LAYIQ does not sell personal information” and “LAYIQ does not sell resume data, job-search data, profile data, cover-letter content, saved jobs, or application notes.” Its AI section adds “We do not use your data to sell advertising profiles. We do not sell your resume or job-search data.” Its California notice says “We do not sell personal information. We do not knowingly share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.”17
Not selling is not the same as sharing with no one. The same policy lists who LAYIQ may share information with, including “AI service providers” and “email, support, logging, analytics, and security providers,” and says “Service providers are allowed to use information only to provide services to LAYIQ or as otherwise permitted by law and their own terms.” On AI, it says “we may send relevant User Content to AI service providers or models.” It also says LAYIQ uses PostHog and Vercel Web Analytics, and that “Product analytics are on by default for signed-in LAYIQ accounts.”17
The policy tells members not to enter Social Security numbers, government identification numbers, full payment card numbers or bank credentials.17 It lists a right to “opt out of sale or sharing of personal information” depending on where you live, and says to make a request, “contact us at support@layiq.ai.”17
Read the full policy and its effective date, and judge it the way you would any other site’s. LAYIQ also answers the question in its FAQ: “No. LAYIQ does not sell user data.”18
Read LAYIQ’s privacy policyFrequently asked questions
What does “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” mean?
It is the link California’s law requires of businesses that sell or share personal information. The Attorney General says such businesses must provide “a clear and conspicuous ‘Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information’ link on their website” so you can submit an opt-out request.1
Does applying for a job count as selling my data?
Generally not, for the copy you send to the employer you chose. California’s statute says a business does not sell personal information when a consumer “uses or directs the business to intentionally” disclose it or interact with third parties.2 What else a site does with your data is a separate question for its privacy policy, and what the employer’s hiring system does with it is in the employer’s own notice. This is general information as of October 7, 2026, not legal advice.
Do state privacy laws protect job applicants?
It depends on the state. Colorado’s Attorney General says its law does not cover “individuals acting in a commercial or employment context, such as a job applicant,”5 Connecticut’s says its law “does not protect an individual acting in an employment context, such as applying for a job,”6 and California’s says its exemptions for employment-related information “expired on December 31, 2022.”1 This is general information as of October 7, 2026, not legal advice.
What is Global Privacy Control?
A browser setting or extension that sends an opt-out signal to the sites you visit. California’s Attorney General says covered businesses must honor it “as a valid consumer request to stop the sale or sharing of personal information,”1 and Connecticut’s says that since January 1, 2025, businesses covered by its law must honor opt out preference signals.6
Does LAYIQ sell my data?
LAYIQ’s privacy policy says “LAYIQ does not sell personal information,” and its FAQ answers “No. LAYIQ does not sell user data.”1718 The policy also lists the kinds of service providers LAYIQ may share information with, including AI service providers.17
What can I do if my state has no privacy law?
Use the controls that do not depend on a state law. The FTC says to adjust the privacy settings in your browser and phone, and that advertising industry groups have free tools “that let you control how participating advertisers use your information.”11 Read each site’s policy, and share only what a job application needs.
Sources
- California Attorney General. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) (opens in a new tab). Published August 28, 2026. Accessed October 7, 2026.
- California Privacy Protection Agency. California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (statute text effective January 1, 2026, as posted) (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- California Privacy Protection Agency. Updated Monetary Thresholds in CCPA (opens in a new tab). Published December 17, 2024. Accessed October 7, 2026.
- California Privacy Protection Agency. California Data Broker Registry (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Colorado Attorney General. Colorado Privacy Act (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Connecticut Attorney General. The Connecticut Data Privacy Act (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Code of Virginia. § 59.1-575. Definitions (Consumer Data Protection Act) (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Code of Virginia. § 59.1-577. Personal data rights; consumers (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- IAPP. US State Privacy Legislation Tracker (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Global Privacy Control. Take control of your privacy (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. How Websites and Apps Collect and Use Your Information (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. Scammers impersonate well-known companies to recruit for fake jobs on LinkedIn and other job platforms (opens in a new tab). Published August 8, 2023. Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Indeed Help Center for Job Seekers. About Jobs on Indeed: What You Need to Know (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- ZipRecruiter. Enterprise FAQ (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- LinkedIn Help. Let recruiters know you’re Open to Work (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- LAYIQ. LAYIQ Privacy Policy (effective 2026-10-03) (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.
- LAYIQ. LAYIQ FAQ (opens in a new tab). Accessed October 7, 2026.