Privacy Notice

Our privacy approach

For platform data where VirtualAssistant.com.ph determines why and how personal information is processed, we apply the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose, proportionality, security, and appropriate retention. For users in the Philippines, this includes the privacy principles and data-subject rights recognized by the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173), its implementing rules, and applicable issuances of the National Privacy Commission.

Information we process

Depending on how you use the platform, information may include account and contact details, professional profile information, resumes, applications, role briefs, availability and schedule, training and assessment records, recruiter/client workflow records, interview and placement information, security and audit records, payment and transaction records, and product analytics. We aim to collect only information that is relevant to the hiring, training, marketplace, security, support, and legal purposes described in this notice.

Public VA profiles require a separate choice

Creating a VA account, completing vetting, or being approved by a recruiter does not by itself authorize public display. A VA must separately opt in to public-profile discovery. The platform records the consent state, the version of the notice/consent used, and the date of the grant or withdrawal. A VA can withdraw this choice from the VA Profile page.

Withdrawing public-profile consent makes the profile ineligible for the public VA directory and for public-profile semantic indexing. It does not delete the account, applications, interviews, workrooms, payment records, or other private hiring records that may still need to be retained for legitimate operational, contractual, security, accounting, dispute, or legal purposes.

What can appear publicly

When a VA has opted in and also satisfies the platform's approval and eligibility rules, the public directory can show a limited professional profile. This may include first name plus last initial, profile photo, professional headline and summary, specialty, skills, tools, industries, languages, years of experience, general availability and schedule, hourly rate, verified training, and selected professional-profile signals.

Public-profile consent is only for the professional information described in the consent control. It is not permission to publish private account or hiring records.

Training certificates and recipient names

When you earn a course certificate, the name provided with your account may be saved as the recipient name and displayed on its public credential-verification page and printable certificate. Anyone with the credential link may view that name. To request a correction or discuss certificate privacy, contact support. Your email address, assessment responses, and other private account details are not published on the certificate.

What stays private

Email addresses, phone numbers, home address, private resumes, identity documents, account records, assessment answers, recruiter/admin notes, private hiring records, client commercial terms, payment information, and other non-public data are not part of the public VA directory. Access is limited by role, purpose, and the relevant hiring relationship.

Matching, profiling, and AI-assisted search

The platform uses professional profile information such as skills, tools, experience, industries, availability, schedule, rates, vetting state, and job requirements to evaluate or rank possible matches. For privacy-compliance purposes, we treat this matching activity as profiling. Matching scores and search rankings are decision-support tools, not automatic hiring or rejection decisions: recruiters review candidates before client presentation and clients make the final hiring decision.

For public-profile search, the platform may create numerical representations (embeddings) from the professional text of VAs who are already eligible for the consented public directory. Private resumes, contact details, assessment answers, recruiter notes, and non-public candidate profiles are excluded from that public-search embedding process. The relevant data-processing system is handled in accordance with applicable National Privacy Commission registration and profiling requirements.

Why we process information

We process information to create and secure accounts, build VA and client profiles, run vetting and matching, manage role briefs and applications, support recruiter and client workflows, schedule interviews and calls, operate training and credential records, facilitate placements and workrooms, process and reconcile payments, prevent fraud and abuse, maintain audit/security records, provide support, comply with legal obligations, and understand product performance. Where consent is the basis for a specific optional feature, such as public-profile display, that consent can be withdrawn for future processing.

Service providers and international processing

The platform uses service providers for cloud hosting, database and authentication services, email delivery, analytics, calendar/video-meeting operations, payment processing, security, and AI/embedding processing. Some providers or their infrastructure may process data outside the Philippines. VirtualAssistant.com.ph remains responsible for selecting providers appropriate to the purpose and for applying contractual, access-control, security, and data-minimization safeguards appropriate to the information being processed.

Retention and deletion

Retention depends on the type of record and why it exists. Active account/profile records are generally kept while the account or hiring relationship remains active. Public-profile data stops being eligible for public display when consent is withdrawn. Applications, interview, placement, payment, accounting, dispute, fraud-prevention, and audit records may be retained after an account becomes inactive where they remain necessary for the transaction, contractual relationship, security investigation, accounting/tax requirement, dispute, or another legal obligation. Data that no longer has a valid purpose should be deleted, anonymized, or securely disposed of under the platform's retention schedule.

Your privacy rights

Depending on applicable law and the circumstances, you may have rights to be informed, access personal data, request correction, object to certain processing, withdraw consent, request deletion or blocking where appropriate, and raise a privacy concern. Public-profile consent can be changed directly from the VA Profile page. For other privacy requests, use the contact channel and provide enough information for us to verify the account and request safely. You may also raise a concern with the National Privacy Commission where applicable.

Security and incident handling

Private files use controlled access, account data is protected through role-based application and database controls, and sensitive operations are performed through authenticated server-side workflows. Security controls include least-privilege access, audit records, signed/verified webhook handling, and restricted storage links for private files. Security incidents and personal data breaches are assessed and handled under the platform's incident-response process, including applicable National Privacy Commission reporting requirements.

Public-profile controls

If you are a VA, open your VA Profile privacy settings to grant or withdraw public-profile consent. A profile can be approved for private recruiter matching without being publicly listed.