Ask HN: Do employees at startups generally have easy access to my private info?

1 point·sixQuarks··5 comments

I've been using a popular SAAS app and it bugged me when I had an issue and the support person had access to all my files within the app. It had marketing emails that I had sent out, and they have the ability to send email as me through the app.

Is this right?

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In general support people have access to all your info, and developpers have access to your data for troubleshooting. Except if they do a really good job at making so no loopholes exist, but it's the exception more than the rule, and it takes time an effort for a result that is not self evident to the customer and causes heavier frustrations when there are bugs in the app.

Now, in small to middle companies most of the time support people = developper, so you shouldn't think of your data to be unreadable inside the company thay handles it, except if advertised otherwise and you trust their words.

In most small to medium sized businesses and startups the developers and IT admins have access to absolutely everything!! Developers can see things and run reports that even the CEO cannot see. IT staff often have access to all the passwords and data of all of the users too. I'm certainly not saying its 'right', just this lack of security from internal staff is more the rule than the exception.

In most startups, the password should be encrypted, so no one would have "access" to your password. The developers would for sure have access to change your password and have access to your data.

Yeah, I think for most start-ups they do have access to your data, especially if it's stored on their servers. It may not be right though

Yep. If you ask really nicely they'll lie to you and tell you it's not true.

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