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Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect information to provide and improve our services. This information is categorized as follows:

Information You Provide to Us:

• Account Information: When you register for an account, we collect a display name (a nickname is fine), email address, and grade level.
• Student Profile Information: To use the core features of our App, you may provide courses, grades, extracurricular activities, test scores, college preferences, interests, and goals. You may also upload documents such as transcripts or resumes. We encourage you to strip uploaded documents of personally identifying information — our services only need academic and activity details, and you can remain anonymous.
• Communications: We collect information when you contact us for support, provide feedback, or engage in other correspondence.

Information Collected Automatically:

• Log and Usage Data: We automatically collect information about your interactions with the App, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, access times, pages viewed, and features used.
• Analytics: To understand usage patterns and improve our service, we use third-party services like Google Analytics to collect data on feature adoption and performance metrics. This data is often aggregated and anonymized.
• Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use essential cookies for functions like authentication and remembering your preferences. You can control the use of cookies through your browser settings, but be aware that some App features may not function correctly without them.

2. How and Why We Use Your Information (Legal Basis for Processing)

We are required to have a legal basis for processing your data. We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To Provide and Maintain the Service (Performance of a Contract): We use your Account and Business Information to provide personalized college preparedness services including profile evaluation, action plans, course planning, opportunity discovery, college matching, and profile building.
• To Improve and Analyze Our Service (Legitimate Interests): We analyze usage data and analytics to understand how our users interact with the App, allowing us to enhance user experience and develop new features.
• For Communication (Legitimate Interests): We use your contact information to send essential service updates, security alerts, and support messages. We may also send marketing communications, which you can opt-out of at any time.
• For Security and Fraud Prevention (Legitimate Interests): We monitor for and take steps to prevent technical issues, fraud, and abuse of our App to protect VillageEd, our users, and the public.
• To Comply with Legal Obligations (Legal Obligation): We may process your information when required by law, court order, or other governmental request.

3. Data Security

We take the security of your data seriously and implement industry-standard measures to protect it. These include:

• Encryption: Data is encrypted in transit using HTTPS/TLS and at rest using advanced encryption standards (e.g., AES-256).
• Secure Infrastructure: Our App is hosted on secure cloud infrastructure, which provides robust physical and network security.
• Access Controls: We enforce strict access controls and authentication requirements to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to your information.
• Data Isolation: Each customer's data is logically isolated to prevent unauthorized access between accounts.
• Regular Audits: We conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
• Student Data Protections: We have specific internal policies and technical safeguards in place to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of student data.

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We only share your information with third parties in the following limited circumstances:

• With Your Consent: We will share information with third parties when you have given us your explicit consent to do so.
• Service Providers: We engage trusted third-party companies to perform services on our behalf. These may include:
  • Infrastructure & Cloud Providers: for data hosting and storage.
  • Analytics Providers: (e.g., Google Analytics) to help us understand usage patterns.
  These providers are contractually obligated to safeguard your data and are not permitted to use it for any other purpose.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect and defend our rights or property, or in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the App or the public.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

5. Your Data Rights and Choices

You have specific rights regarding your personal information. Subject to local law, these rights may include:

• The Right to Access: You can request copies of the personal information we hold about you.
• The Right to Correction (Rectification): You can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
• The Right to Deletion (Erasure): You can request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain legal limitations.
• The Right to Data Portability: You can request that we provide your data in a machine-readable format to transfer to another service.
• The Right to Object to Processing: You can object to our processing of your personal information for certain purposes (like direct marketing).
• The Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process information, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the details provided in the "Contact Information" section below.

6. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. We will also retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Upon termination of your account, your data will be securely deleted or anonymized within 90 days, unless a longer retention period is required by law.

7. International Data Transfers

Our servers are located in the United States. If you are accessing our App from outside the United States, please be aware that your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. We take appropriate safeguards to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), we rely on appropriate legal mechanisms for data transfers, such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

8. Jurisdiction-Specific Information

California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA):

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights. These include the right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold. VillageEd does not "sell" or "share" your personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA. You have the right to not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights.

European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom (GDPR):

If you are in the EEA or UK, you have the rights outlined in section 5, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our legal bases for processing your data are detailed in section 2.

9. Children's Privacy

VillageEd is designed for high school students aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If we learn that we have collected data from a user under 13, we will promptly delete it. Because many of our users are between 13 and 17, we collect only the minimum information necessary, encourage use of nicknames, and do not use student data for advertising or marketing.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy on this page, updating the "Last Updated" date, and, where feasible, notifying you directly via email.

11. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

VillageEd — Banyan Innovations LLC
Email: privacy@villageed.com
Support: support@villageed.com