1. Introduction
VKM Sidecar LLC, doing business as Fifty Most Beautiful ("we," "our," or "us") operates the Fifty Most Beautiful platform (the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service.
By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, do not use the Service.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide
- Account Information: When you sign in, we collect your educational email address (.edu domain) and create a user profile.
- Nomination Data: When you nominate someone, we collect the nominee's name, TikTok profile/video URL, graduation year (optional), and your confirmation acknowledgements.
- Voting Data: When you vote, we record which candidates you selected and the timestamp of your votes.
- Opt-Out Requests: If you request removal from the platform, we collect your name, TikTok URL, school, email address, and reason for removal.
2.2 Automatically Collected Information
- Usage Data: We collect information about your interactions with the Service, including pages visited, time spent, and features used.
- Device Information: We may collect device type, browser type, IP address, and operating system.
- Cookies: We use essential cookies for authentication and session management via Supabase Auth.
2.3 Third-Party Content
We display publicly available content from TikTok, including profile thumbnails and video previews. This content is fetched from TikTok's public APIs and is subject to TikTok's own privacy policies and terms of service.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information to:
- Provide, operate, and maintain the Service
- Verify that users are students at participating universities (via .edu email)
- Display nominees and voting results
- Process nominations and maintain candidate profiles
- Handle opt-out requests and remove content as requested
- Prevent duplicate nominations and voting fraud
- Improve and personalize user experience
- Communicate with you about the Service
- Monitor and analyze usage patterns and trends
- Detect and prevent technical issues or abuse
4. Data Sharing and Disclosure
4.1 Public Information
The following information is publicly visible on the Service:
- Nominee names and TikTok profile links
- TikTok video thumbnails and previews
- Graduation years (if provided)
We do NOT publicly display: voter identities, nominator identities, or .edu email addresses.
4.2 Service Providers
We use third-party service providers to help us operate the Service:
- Supabase: Database hosting, authentication, and backend services
- TikTok: Content embedding and thumbnail fetching via public APIs
- Vercel: Website hosting and deployment
- Resend: Email delivery for verification and notifications
4.3 Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government request, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
5. Your Rights and Choices
5.1 Opt-Out Rights
If you are featured as a nominee and wish to be removed, you have the right to request removal at any time by visiting our Opt-Out page. We will process your request and remove your profile from public view.
5.2 Access and Correction
You may request access to or correction of your personal information by contacting us at info@fiftymostbeautiful.com.
5.3 Data Deletion
You may request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us. Please note that we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.
5.4 Do Not Track
We do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" signals from web browsers.
6. Data Security
We implement reasonable security measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. However, no internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Security measures include:
- Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/SSL)
- Secure authentication via Supabase Auth
- Access controls limiting who can view sensitive data
- Regular security updates and monitoring
7. Data Retention
We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide the Service and fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
- Active accounts: Retained while you use the Service
- Nominations: Retained as necessary for the operation of the Service, with Fifty Most Beautiful selections maintained as a permanent record
- Opt-out requests: Nominee data is removed from public view but may be retained for record-keeping
- Voting data: Retained to maintain voting integrity and prevent fraud
8. Children's Privacy
The Service is intended for college students (ages 18+). We do not knowingly collect information from individuals under 18. If we become aware that we have collected information from someone under 18, we will take steps to delete that information.
9. Educational Records (FERPA)
We collect .edu email addresses solely for identity verification purposes. We are not affiliated with any university and do not have access to or collect official educational records protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
10. International Users
The Service is operated from the United States and is primarily intended for users located in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the U.S., your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at: