Privacy Policy

When you create an account or use the Service, we collect:

• Account information: first and last name, email, date of birth, and (for paid plans) information needed to process payment, which is collected and stored by our payment processor, Stripe.
• Authentication identifiers: a unique account id provided by our auth provider (Firebase Authentication).
• Usage information: the lessons you view, exercises you complete, quiz answers, and progress through courses.
• Submissions: code, written answers, and project files you submit while completing exercises.
• Technical information: IP address, browser type, device type, and approximate location derived from IP, used for operating and securing the Service.
• Cookies: session cookies, profile-completion cookies, and visitor cookies used to keep you logged in and to remember your preferences.

• To provide and operate the Service (deliver lessons, grade exercises, track progress).
• To process subscriptions, payments, and referral credits.
• To send transactional emails (account verification, password reset, billing).
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access.
• To improve the Service and develop new features.
• To comply with legal obligations.

We share information with the third-party processors needed to operate the Service. Each is bound by their own terms and privacy practices. The main ones:

• Stripe — payment processing, subscription management, billing, referral coupons.
• Google / Firebase — authentication, hosting (Cloud Run, Cloud SQL), and AI features (Vertex AI).
• Resend — transactional email delivery (verification, password reset, account notices).
• Anthropic — AI features within lessons (only the lesson context and any user-typed query is sent; no payment or DOB information).

We do not sell personal information to third parties.

The Service is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

For users 13 to 17, a parent or legal guardian must accept the Terms of Service on their behalf, set up payment, and is responsible for the account.

• Access and correction: you can view and update your account information from your account settings.
• Deletion: you can request deletion of your account by emailing us at cayla@stemseedsacademy.com. We may retain limited information as required to comply with legal obligations and to resolve disputes.
• Email preferences: you can opt out of non-essential email at any time.
• State-specific rights: depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law (for example, the California Consumer Privacy Act). To exercise those rights, contact us at the address above.

We retain account information for as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period afterward to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Anonymized usage analytics may be retained longer.

We use industry-standard practices to protect your information, including encryption in transit, role-based access, and limiting who on our team can see what. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure; we do our best, but cannot guarantee absolute security.

We operate the Service from the United States. If you are accessing it from outside the U.S., your information may be transferred to and processed in the U.S., where data-protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via email or a prominent notice on the Service. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent change.

Questions about this Privacy Policy? Email cayla@stemseedsacademy.com.