Kotlin Foundation Mentorship Program Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice describes how the Kotlin Foundation (the “Kotlin Foundation”, “we”, or “us”), and its members, Google LLC and JetBrains s.r.o., and JetBrains N.V. (collectively, the “Foundation Members”), collect, use, and disclose information about you solely in connection with the Kotlin Foundation Mentorship Program (the “Program”). The Program is a mentorship cohort that pairs experienced Kotlin open-source contributors and maintainers (“Mentors”) with developers seeking to make their first meaningful contribution (“Mentees”). Each Program application is an “Application.”

This Privacy Notice applies only to information we collect when you access or use, solely in connection with the Program, our website or other online products and services that link to this Privacy Notice, submit a form in connection with the Program, or otherwise participate in the Program (collectively, our “Services”).

We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the bottom of this notice. We may also provide you with additional notice (such as by adding a statement to the Services or sending you a notification), such as in connection with making material changes to this Privacy Notice. We encourage you to review this Privacy Notice regularly to stay informed about our information practices and the choices available to you.

Please note that, as part of our Services, we may link to certain third-party websites and offerings (collectively, the “Third Party Services”) that are not covered by this Privacy Notice. As part of the Program, you may be asked to submit information to Third Party Services, such as GitHub. For information about how these Third Party Services collect, use, and disclose information about you and what information they may share with others or with Foundation Members, please refer to the Privacy Policy of the relevant Third Party Service.

Collection of Information

Information You Provide to Us

We collect information you provide directly to us. For example, we collect information directly from you when you fill out a form, submit or post content through our Services or participate in our Program, communicate with us via third-party platforms, or otherwise interact with us. The types of information about you that we collect include your name and email address, country, information you provide about your background, skills, interests, and availability relevant to the Program, program-related preferences and information, links you provide to third-party profiles or work, information you provide about Program outcomes and participation, and any other information you choose to provide.

If you are eligible to receive Program merchandise and/or are selected as a prize winner, we may request additional information needed to fulfill the reward/prize (for example, shipping details for merchandise, and travel-related information necessary to arrange the KotlinConf trip). We request and use such information only as needed for administration and fulfillment.

In connection with the Program, information shared with GitHub will be governed by the GitHub privacy policy, available here.

Information We Collect Automatically

We automatically collect certain information about your interactions with us or our Services, including:

  • Location Information: In accordance with your device permissions, we may collect information about the precise location of your device. You may stop the collection of precise location information at any time (see the Your Choices section below for details).
  • Information Collected by Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies: The Foundation Member that hosts the Services may use cookies and/or analytics tools. Further information about this collection and your choices with respect to it is accessible here: JetBrains Privacy Notice.

Use of Information

We use the information we collect to operate the Program and contact you with updates concerning the Program. We also use the information we collect to:

  • Communicate with you about products, services, and events offered by the Kotlin Foundation and others and provide news and information that we think will interest you (see the Your Choices section below for information about how to opt out of these communications at any time);
  • Detect, investigate, and help prevent security incidents and other malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity and help protect the rights and property of the Kotlin Foundation and others;
  • Comply with our legal and financial obligations;
  • Create de-identified, anonymized or aggregated information; and
  • Carry out any other purpose described to you at the time the information was collected.

Sharing of Information

We share personal information in the following circumstances or as otherwise described in this notice:

  • We share the personal information of Program Mentors and Mentees publicly on our website or the websites of our Foundation Members, including names, countries of residence, a Third Party Service link to their profile, and any promotional content we may create with the Program participant(s).
  • We share personal information with vendors and service providers that access personal information to perform work for us, such as companies that assist us with web hosting.
  • We may disclose personal information if we believe that disclosure is in accordance with, or required by, any applicable law or legal process, including lawful requests by public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.
  • We may share personal information if we believe that your actions are inconsistent with our policies, if we believe that you have violated the law, or if we believe it is necessary to protect the rights, property, and safety of the Kotlin Foundation, our users, the public, or others.
  • We share personal information with our lawyers and other professional advisors where necessary to obtain advice or otherwise protect and manage our business interests.
  • We may share personal information in connection with, or during negotiations concerning, any merger, sale of assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our organization by another entity.
  • Personal information is shared between and among the Kotlin Foundation and our current and future Foundation Members and their directors and employees.
  • We share personal information with your consent or at your direction.

We also share aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you.

Your Choices

Communications Preferences

You may opt out of receiving promotional emails from the Kotlin Foundation by following the instructions in those communications or by contacting us at privacy@kotlinfoundation.org. If you opt out, we may still send you non-promotional emails, such as those about the Program.

Additional Disclosures for Individuals in Europe

If you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have certain rights and protections under the law regarding the processing of your personal data, and this section applies to you.

Legal Bases for Processing

When we process your personal data, we will do so in reliance on the following lawful bases:

  • To perform our responsibilities under our contract with you (e.g., operating the Program).
  • When we have a legitimate interest in processing your personal data to operate our business or protect our interests (e.g., to provide, maintain, and improve our services and communicate with you).
  • To comply with our legal obligations (e.g., to maintain a record of your consents and track those who have opted out of marketing communications).
  • When we have your consent to do so (e.g., when you opt in to receive marketing communications from us). When consent is the legal basis for our processing your personal data, you may withdraw such consent at any time.

Data Retention

We store personal data associated with your Application and the Program until and unless you request that we delete it unless required by applicable laws to maintain the data. We store other personal data for as long as necessary to carry out the purposes for which we originally collected it and for other legitimate business purposes, including to meet our legal, regulatory, or other compliance obligations. For any personal information submitted in connection with the Program directly to GitHub, see GitHub’s retention policy here.

Data Subject Requests

Subject to those certain limitations, you have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you and to receive your data in a portable format, the right to ask that your personal data be corrected or erased, and the right to object to, or request that we restrict, certain processing. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please email us at privacy@kotlinfoundation.org.

Questions or Complaints

If you have a concern about our processing of personal data that we are not able to resolve, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority where you reside. Contact details for your Data Protection Authority can be found using the links below:

Consumer and Data Subject Access Requests

The Kotlin Foundation honors data subject access requests, regardless of the residency or location of the data subject, subject to certain limitation. If you would like to request access to the personal data we hold about you and to receive your data in a portable format, the right to ask that your personal data be corrected or erased, and the right to object to, or request that we restrict, certain processing, please email us at privacy@kotlinfoundation.org.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, please contact us at privacy@kotlinfoundation.org or by submitting a contact form through our Services.

Last Updated: 21 January 2026