Privacy
Your information, in plain language.
Werkles exists to help you verify facts before you rely on anyone. That only works if you can verify what we do with your information too. No fog here either.
Last updated July 31, 2026 — draft pending Operator review.
What we collect
- Account basics. Your email address and a password, handled by our authentication provider. We never see or store your password in readable form.
- Profile facts you choose to add. Name, trade, where you work, your goals and timeline. You decide how much of your story to tell.
- What you write in intake. When you describe what's stuck, that text is used to build your recommendation — that's its whole job.
- Interest-list signups. Email and lane from the Foundry interest form. Follow-up is manual; no automated marketing emails are sent.
Who holds what — by name
No mystery vendors. These are the companies that see or hold your information, what each one keeps, and what Werkles itself ever learns.
- SupabaseAccountHolds: Your email, your password (stored only as a one-way hash — unreadable even to us), and your profileWerkles sees: Your email and profile. Never your password.Live today
- VercelHostingHolds: Runs the website itselfWerkles sees: Standard hosting logsLive today
- StripePaymentsHolds: Your card number when you pay duesWerkles sees: Paid / not paid. Never the card.Ready — payments not yet live
- Stripe IdentityIdentityHolds: Your ID photo and selfie during an identity checkWerkles sees: Pass / fail. Never the photos.Test integration — not yet live
- PlaidFundsHolds: Your bank sign-in during a funds checkWerkles sees: A yes/no answer. Never your login, never your balance.Sandbox — not yet live
- TwilioPhoneHolds: Your phone number, to text a confirmation codeWerkles sees: Confirmed / not confirmedPlanned — not connected yet
What verification actually looks like
Not a description — the steps themselves, so nothing surprises you when a check begins. Every check is opt-in, every check happens inside the provider's own window, and Werkles only ever receives the answer.
An identity check — what you'd actually see
- You choose to verify — nothing starts without you.
- A Stripe Identity window opens. You photograph your ID and take a selfie there — inside Stripe's window, not ours.
- Stripe compares them and tells us pass or fail. The photos stay with Stripe under their retention rules.
- Your profile shows “Identity verified” — that's all anyone on Werkles ever sees.
A funds check — what you'd actually see
- Someone asks: “can you show at least $25k?” You decide whether to answer.
- A Plaid window opens and you sign in to your own bank — inside Plaid, not Werkles.
- Plaid confirms whether the threshold is met — Werkles is designed to keep only that answer, never your login. This flow is in sandbox today; before it goes live we will publish exactly what Plaid shares.
- The answer is designed to expire after 30 days. Nothing about your account stays on Werkles.
A phone check — what you'd actually see
- You enter your number; Twilio texts you a six-digit code.
- You type the code back. That's the whole ceremony.
- Werkles records “phone confirmed” and nothing else.
How you know other members are real
Werkles is not a feed you scroll past bots on. The same checks that protect your information protect you from everyone else — and the rule applies to us too.
The rule. A “verified” badge appears only when a real check ran through one of the providers named above, and you can always see which checks ran before you rely on anyone. No check, no badge, no exceptions.
Today. Verification is in preview. No badge anywhere on Werkles yet reflects a live check — when that changes, this page changes first.
What we use it for
Running Werkles: naming what your business is missing, showing you reachable help, and keeping your Workshop. Nothing else. We do not sell your information. We do not run advertising networks on your data.
What matching remembers—and what it does not watch
Match order comes from information you deliberately give Werkles, not a hidden personality score. You can change the result by correcting or resubmitting Intake, or by changing your city, state, or work style.
Used for matching
- Your latest submitted Intake: what you are building, what is stuck, what you can offer, and what kind of help you want.
- Your profile city, state, and work-style preference when you choose to add them.
- Corrections and choices you deliberately submit for the purpose of improving matches.
Not used to rank people
- Your bank balance, net worth, or how far you are above a financial eligibility threshold.
- How long you stare at a profile, scrolling, hovering, or ordinary card clicks.
- Browsing outside Werkles, purchased behavioral profiles, or ad-network data.
- Guessed protected or sensitive traits, private messages or calls you did not submit for matching, or precise location inferred from your IP address.
Practice conversations in the current Match Deck are temporary and do not retrain or reorder your matches. If Werkles later adds controls such as “not a fit” or “show me more like this,” the site must tell you what will be saved before you use them and let you correct or delete that information.
Verification data, before it goes live
Proof surfaces on Werkles are currently previews; the provider statuses above say exactly what is and isn't connected today. We will update this page before any live check runs. Werkles does not offer consumer background checks, and will not until that path is approved by counsel.
Your choices
You can update your profile anytime. You can ask us to export or delete your account data — reach us through the Werkles questions and we will handle it manually while the floor is small.
