Your teenager's online portfolio is more than a showcase of school projects — it is a collection of personal information governed by Québec's Law 25. Names, school details, photos, project descriptions, and contact pathways all qualify as personal data. When the portfolio owner is under 18, the law requires heightened protection and guardian involvement.
This guide explains what Law 25 means specifically for teen online portfolios, what should and should not appear publicly, and how NexTalent structures student profiles to stay compliant.
What counts as personal information on a portfolio
Law 25 defines personal information broadly. On a teen freelancer portfolio, this includes:
| Data type | Examples | Sensitivity |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Full name, photo, age | High |
| Contact | Email, phone, address, social handles | High |
| Educational | School name, program, graduation year | Moderate |
| Creative work | Project descriptions, code, designs | Moderate |
| Behavioral | Messaging history, login data | High (platform-held) |
Collecting and displaying this data triggers consent obligations — especially when the portfolio is publicly accessible to anyone on the internet.
Guardian consent: the non-negotiable first step
Before any under-18 portfolio goes live on NexTalent, a parent or guardian must provide informed consent under Law 25. This means:
- You understand what personal information NexTalent collects
- You understand how that information is used and displayed
- You explicitly approve your teen's participation
- You can withdraw consent and request deletion
No consent, no public profile. This is not a terms-of-service checkbox your teen clicks alone. Read our full Law 25 parent consent guide.
What should appear on a teen portfolio (and what should not)
Safe to display (with NexTalent's identity masking)
- First name — Not full legal name
- School — CEGEP or high-school name
- Skills — Specific, honest tags (React, Figma, Python)
- Projects — Titles, descriptions, live links, screenshots
- Bio — Brief professional summary (2–3 sentences)
- Verified badge — Indicates human review passed
Should NOT appear publicly
- Full legal name
- Personal email address
- Phone number
- Home address
- Personal social media with identifying info
- Age or date of birth
- Photos that reveal location or private details
NexTalent enforces identity masking at the platform level — these fields are not exposed on the public roster even if your teen enters them during account setup.
Portfolio content your teen controls
Within NexTalent's builder, your teen chooses which blocks to include: hero, bio, skills, projects, links, testimonials, and more. They curate what work to showcase — but the platform controls what identity data reaches the public.
Help your teen review their portfolio before submission:
- Project links — Do GitHub repos or live demos expose personal email in commit history? Use noreply addresses or platform-linked accounts.
- Screenshots — Do images show desktop notifications with names, locations, or messages?
- Bio text — Does it avoid oversharing (home neighborhood, specific age, personal schedule)?
- External links — Are LinkedIn or GitHub profiles set to appropriate privacy levels?
Our CEGEP portfolio guide covers presentation best practices for students.
How NexTalent protects portfolio data
| Protection | What it does |
|---|---|
| Guardian consent gate | Blocks public visibility until you approve |
| Identity masking | Hides full name, email, phone, address from businesses |
| In-app messaging | All client contact stays on-platform and logged |
| Manual review | Human checks portfolio before it goes live |
| Report and block | Your teen can stop inappropriate contact instantly |
| Data access rights | You can request to see or delete your teen's data |
These protections work together. Identity masking without guardian consent would be incomplete. Manual review without identity masking would leave contact data exposed. See all six protections on NexTalent for parents.
Your rights under Law 25
As a guardian, you can:
- Access all personal information NexTalent holds about your teen
- Request correction of inaccurate portfolio data
- Withdraw consent — deactivating the public profile
- Request deletion — removing account and associated data
- Be notified of privacy incidents affecting your teen
Contact hello@nextalent.tech for any privacy request.
Portfolio data and payment connection
When a business hires your teen through NexTalent, portfolio data and project data connect in the guardian billing workflow. You see active projects linked to the portfolio that attracted the client. Details in guardian billing explained.
Talking to your teen about portfolio privacy
Frame the conversation around professionalism, not surveillance:
- "Your portfolio is your storefront — show your best work, not your personal details."
- "Businesses hire you for skills, not your phone number."
- "I approve your account so you have a safe path — not so I can read every message."
Teens who understand why identity masking exists are more likely to maintain good privacy habits on and off the platform.
Related guides
- Law 25 parent consent guide
- Is it safe for teens to freelance online?
- Five gig platform red flags
- Balancing school and freelance
Next steps
Review NexTalent's privacy policy together. When your teen is ready, create a student account on NexTalent for students and complete guardian consent before submitting their portfolio for review.
A Law 25-compliant portfolio is not a lesser portfolio — it is a professional one that protects your teen while showcasing their best work to Montreal businesses.