Privacy policy

Introduction

Kinship, operated by Kinship Foundation ("Kinship," "we," "our," or "us"), respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this Privacy Policy. Kinship is a permissioned platform that helps founders, investors, mentors, catalysts, and community partners connect and create value together through trust-based, mutually consented interactions. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you, or that you may provide, when you visit, register for, or use the Kinship website, web and mobile applications, and any other Kinship platforms or services that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the "Platform"), and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please refrain from using the Platform.

1. Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to information we collect:

  • On the Platform;
  • In email, text messages, in-platform messages, notifications, and other electronic communications between you and the Platform or the Kinship team;
  • Through any Kinship-branded mobile or web applications you access from or download via the Platform;
  • When you interact with Kinship content, advertising, or applications on third-party websites or services where those applications or advertisements link to or reference this Privacy Policy.

This Policy does not apply to information collected:

  • By us offline or through any other means, including any other website operated by Kinship, our affiliates, or any third party that does not link to this Privacy Policy;
  • By any third party (including, without limitation, our service providers, partner organizations, mentors, investors, accelerators, or community partners), even if you reach that third party via a link or introduction made on the Platform.

2. Children under the age of 13 (and 16 where applicable)

The Platform is not intended for children under the age of 13, and is not intended for children under the age of 16 in jurisdictions (such as the European Union and the United Kingdom) where 16 is the minimum age for processing personal data without parental consent. No one under the applicable minimum age may provide personal information to or on the Platform. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the applicable minimum age. If you are under the applicable minimum age, do not register, use, or provide any information through the Platform. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a person below the applicable minimum age without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information.

3. Information we collect about you and how we collect it

We collect several types of information from and about users of the Platform, including:

  • Personal information: information by which you may be personally identified, such as your name, email address, postal address, telephone number, photograph, professional role, employer or organization, geographic location, payment or donation information (where applicable), or any other identifier by which you may be contacted online or offline.
  • Profile and participation information: information you provide as part of your Kinship profile or participation, including your background, experience, education, interests, role (such as founder, investor, mentor, catalyst, or community partner), goals, startup ideas, business plans, pitch decks, supporting materials, criteria and preferences for mentors, investors, and collaborators, and the messages, introductions, ratings, and other interactions you have within the Platform.
  • Account and authentication information: information used to create and secure your account, such as login credentials and authentication identifiers (including from single sign-on providers, where applicable).
  • Non-personal information: information about you or your device that does not personally identify you, such as browser, device, and operating system details, or aggregated or de-identified data.
  • Usage data: details of your visits to and interactions with the Platform, including traffic data, location data, log data, IP addresses, pages or features accessed, and other communication and engagement data.

We collect this information:

  1. Directly from you when you provide it to us (for example, when you complete a profile, request an introduction, upload materials, complete a form, make a donation, or send us a message);
  2. Automatically as you navigate or interact with the Platform (for example, usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies);
  3. From third parties, such as our service providers, business partners, partner organizations, ecosystem collaborators, authentication providers, payment processors, or members of the Kinship team who facilitate introductions on your behalf.

You may provide information that is shared with other Platform users or partner organizations through Platform features (collectively, "User Contributions"). By default your profile and information are private; User Contributions are shared only in accordance with the privacy settings and consents you select. While we take reasonable measures to protect your information, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and information you affirmatively choose to share with other users is shared at your own discretion.

4. Cookies and other tracking technologies

We may use cookies (including browser cookies and local storage), web beacons, pixels, and similar tracking technologies to collect and store information about your preferences, browsing actions, and use of the Platform. We use these technologies to operate, secure, and improve the Platform, to remember your preferences and authentication state, to understand aggregate usage, and to support optional analytics and product features.

You may set your browser to refuse some or all cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. However, if you refuse cookies, some parts of the Platform may be inaccessible or may not function as intended. We do not use cookies or similar technologies to serve third-party advertising.

5. How we use your information

We use information that we collect about you, or that you provide to us, including any personal information:

  • To present, operate, secure, and improve the Platform and its content;
  • To create and administer your account, verify your identity, and curate access to the Platform consistent with our mission;
  • To provide you with the information, products, services, introductions, and opportunities you request from us;
  • To suggest and facilitate connections among founders, investors, mentors, catalysts, and community partners using both human coordination and AI-assisted matching, in each case subject to your privacy settings and consents (see Sections 6 and 7);
  • To communicate with you about your account, your activity, the introductions and opportunities you have requested or that we believe may be relevant, and updates to the Platform;
  • To process donations or contributions (where applicable);
  • To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any agreements between you and us, including these and any related terms;
  • To enforce our Terms of Service, our Code of Conduct, and other applicable policies, and to protect the rights, property, and safety of Kinship, our users, and others;
  • To comply with applicable legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from public authorities;
  • In any other way we may describe at the point of collection, or for any other purpose with your consent.

6. AI-assisted matching and recommendations

Kinship uses artificial intelligence and similar technologies to enhance your experience — for example, to suggest relevant connections, to recommend mentors, investors, collaborators, or opportunities, and to improve the overall quality of matching and recommendations. AI-assisted features operate strictly within the privacy boundaries you have defined: information about you is used to generate recommendations for you and to surface you to others only in accordance with the sharing levels and consents you have selected. We do not use your personal information or User Contributions to train public, third-party, or generally available AI models. Human review and mutual consent remain required for introductions to be made.

7. Privacy controls and user-defined sharing

Kinship operates on a two-way, opt-in model. Your profile and information are private by default. You decide what is shared, with whom, and at what level of detail. You may, for example, share more detail with mentors than with investors, or vice versa. There are no public directories or open listings of your information unless you explicitly choose to participate in one. Whether an introduction is suggested by AI or coordinated by the Kinship team, your privacy preferences and consents govern whether and how it is made.

The Kinship team may review your profile and activity to support you and to facilitate the experience you have chosen to participate in — including to make introductions, surface opportunities, and coordinate approved interactions. The team operates under strict internal access controls aligned with your privacy settings.

8. Disclosure of your information

We may disclose aggregated or de-identified information that does not identify any individual without restriction. We may disclose personal information that we collect or that you provide as described in this Privacy Policy:

  • To other Platform users and partner organizations, including mentors, investors, accelerators, ecosystem collaborators, and community partners, in each case only as you direct through your privacy settings, your explicit consent, or your initiation of a request, introduction, or activity that requires such sharing;
  • To our service providers, vendors, and contractors that perform functions on our behalf (such as cloud hosting, infrastructure, email and messaging delivery, analytics, customer support, security, and payment processing) and that are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them;
  • To our subsidiaries and affiliates, where applicable;
  • To a buyer or successor in the event of a merger, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, asset transfer, or similar transaction involving some or all of Kinship's assets, in which event we will require the recipient to honor commitments materially consistent with this Privacy Policy;
  • To fulfill the purpose for which you provided the information or as otherwise disclosed at the time of collection;
  • With your consent, or where you specifically authorize such sharing, including where it is necessary to complete a transaction, introduction, or activity you have initiated;
  • To comply with any court order, law, regulation, or legal process, including to respond to a government, regulatory, or law enforcement request;
  • To enforce or apply our Terms of Service and other agreements;
  • To protect the rights, property, or safety of Kinship, our users, partner organizations, or others, including for fraud prevention and the protection of the integrity of the Platform.

9. Payment and donation information

Where Kinship accepts payments, donations, or contributions through the Platform, those transactions are typically processed via third-party payment processors. Kinship does not control, and is not liable for, any errors, omissions, security incidents, or practices of these third-party processors, and Kinship does not store complete payment-card information on its own systems. You should review the privacy policies and terms of any third-party payment processor before providing your payment information.

10. No sale of personal information; no advertising

Kinship does not sell, rent, lease, or trade your personal information to third parties. Kinship does not use your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising or to serve targeted advertisements, and Kinship does not monetize your information in any way. As a mission-driven platform, our purpose is to support founders, mentors, investors, and ecosystem partners — not to profit from personal information.

11. Data security

WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED REASONABLE, INDUSTRY-STANDARD ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL MEASURES DESIGNED TO SECURE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM ACCIDENTAL LOSS AND FROM UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE, ALTERATION, AND DISCLOSURE, INCLUDING SECURE STORAGE AND TRANSMISSION, INTERNAL ACCESS CONTROLS, AND ONGOING MONITORING. HOWEVER, THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION VIA THE INTERNET IS NOT COMPLETELY SECURE. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THE ABSOLUTE SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE PLATFORM, AND ANY TRANSMISSION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF YOUR ACCOUNT CREDENTIALS AND FOR ANY ACTIVITY UNDER YOUR ACCOUNT.

12. Retention of personal information

We retain personal information for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to provide and improve the Platform, to comply with legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, and security requirements, and to enforce our agreements. The specific retention period may vary depending on the context in which we processed your information and the type of information involved. You may request deletion of your account and personal information at any time and for any reason, as described in Section 14. Following deletion, we may retain limited information as required for legal, security, or operational reasons (for example, to comply with legal holds, prevent abuse, or maintain audit logs), and we may retain anonymized or aggregated data that is no longer linked to you.

13. International data transfers

Kinship operates in the United States. If you access or use the Platform from outside the United States, your personal information may be transferred to, stored in, or processed in the United States or other countries where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. Where required by applicable law (including the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the UK GDPR, and the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection), we will rely on appropriate transfer mechanisms (such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, adequacy decisions, or other lawful transfer mechanisms) to protect your personal information when it is transferred internationally. By using the Platform, you acknowledge and, where required by applicable law, consent to such transfers.

14. Your choices about your information

  • Account, profile, and privacy settings: You may review and update your profile information, sharing preferences, and privacy settings at any time through your account.
  • Access, correction, and deletion: Subject to applicable law, you may request access to, correction of, an exportable copy of, or deletion of your personal information by contacting us at privacy@joinkinship.org. You may also delete your account at any time and for any reason.
  • Communications and opt-out: You may opt out of non-essential communications (such as newsletters, event invitations, or marketing messages) by following the unsubscribe instructions in any such message or by contacting us. We may continue to send you transactional and service-related communications (such as account, security, and introduction notifications) while your account is active.
  • Cookies: You may set your browser to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are sent, although some Platform features may not function properly if you do.

15. Your rights under applicable privacy laws

Depending on where you reside and applicable law, you may have additional rights with respect to your personal information. We aim to honor applicable privacy rights requests in accordance with relevant law.

  • European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR / UK GDPR): You may have rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict the processing of, or object to the processing of your personal data; to data portability; to withdraw consent (where processing is based on consent) without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing; and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.
  • California (CCPA / CPRA): California residents may have the right to know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose; to request access, correction, or deletion of personal information; to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (Kinship does not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA); to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information; and to be free from discrimination for exercising these rights. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of California residents under the age of 16.
  • Other jurisdictions: Residents of other jurisdictions (including, without limitation, Canada, Brazil, and other countries with comprehensive privacy laws) may have rights similar to those described above. We will honor applicable privacy rights requests in accordance with relevant law.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@joinkinship.org. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request, and certain rights may be subject to exceptions provided by applicable law.

16. Third-party links and services

The Platform may contain links to, or otherwise interact with, third-party websites, applications, services, plug-ins, or content (including those of mentors, investors, partner organizations, accelerators, payment processors, and other ecosystem participants). We do not control these third parties and are not responsible for their privacy or information-handling practices. When you leave the Platform or interact with a third party, we encourage you to read the privacy policy and terms of every site or service you visit or use.

17. Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time in our sole discretion. If we make material changes to how we treat our users' personal information, we will post the updated Privacy Policy on this page and, where appropriate, provide additional notice (for example, by email or in-platform notification). The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of this page. You are responsible for periodically reviewing the Platform and this Privacy Policy for any changes. Your continued use of the Platform after any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

18. Contact information

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this Privacy Policy, our information practices, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact us at:

privacy@joinkinship.org

Last updated: May 6, 2026