Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of information:

• Account information such as name, email address, and authentication details
• Profile and onboarding information such as school district preference, grade year, academic goals, and interests
• Academic information you provide or sync, including courses, grades, GPA-related data, college lists, deadlines, and saved resources
• Chat and interaction content you send to the AI counselor or other in-product tools
• Billing and subscription information processed by our payment provider (we do not store full payment card numbers)
• Technical information such as device/browser type, IP address, approximate location derived from IP, usage logs, and cookies or similar technologies

2. School System Connections

If you choose to connect a school portal (for example, Home Access Center where supported), you may provide credentials or authorize access so we can retrieve academic information you request. Use of those credentials is limited to performing the sync you initiate and operating related features.

School portals are operated by third parties. Their availability, accuracy, and policies are outside our control. Do not share credentials you are not authorized to use.

3. How We Use Information

We use information to:

• Provide, personalize, and improve the Service
• Operate the AI counselor and generate responses relevant to your questions and profile
• Manage accounts, subscriptions, and customer support
• Maintain security, prevent abuse, and troubleshoot issues
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms
• Communicate service-related notices; marketing communications are sent only where permitted and can be opted out of where applicable

4. AI Processing

To power counseling and discovery features, we may send relevant prompts, profile context, and retrieved documents to AI providers. Those providers process data to generate responses under agreements that restrict use of the data for operating the Service.

Do not submit sensitive information you do not want processed by AI systems, such as Social Security numbers, payment card details, or highly confidential medical information.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information with:

• Service providers that help us operate the product (for example hosting, authentication/database, payments, analytics, email, and AI infrastructure)
• Third-party data sources used for college or scholarship search when needed to fulfill a request
• Authorities or other parties when required by law, to protect rights and safety, or in connection with a corporate transaction
• Other people you explicitly ask us to share with

6. Students and Minors

PathwayCounselor is designed for high school students and related academic planning. If you are a parent or guardian, you may help a student create and manage an account where appropriate.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information, contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

7. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data, subject to limited retention required for security, billing, or legal compliance.

8. Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information, including encrypting sensitive profile answers, essay drafts, and college notes at rest with per-user keys so database contents are not readable as plaintext. Decryption happens only when your authenticated session (or your counselor tools acting for you) loads your own data. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Choices and Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export certain personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. You can often update profile details in account settings, and you may contact us to make additional requests.

If we rely on cookies or similar technologies, you can control many of them through your browser settings. Some features may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

10. International Users

The Service may be hosted and processed in the United States or other locations where we or our providers operate. If you use the Service from another country, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in those locations.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the revised policy on this page and update the effective date. Continued use of the Service after an update means you acknowledge the revised Policy.

12. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact the PathwayCounselor team through the support channels listed on pathwaycounselor.org or in the product.