Privacy Policy

STEMtiq AI (“STEMtiq,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal information of our users, including high school students and their parents or legal guardians. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website at stemtiq.org and use our related services, applications, and platforms (collectively, the “Services”).

Because our Services are designed for high school students in the United States (typically ages 13-18), we take additional care to comply with applicable laws protecting the privacy of minors, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), and state student privacy laws such as the California Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (“SOPIPA”) and the Student Online Personal Protection Act, where applicable.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By accessing or using our Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If you are a parent or legal guardian registering a student, you are agreeing to this Privacy Policy on your own behalf and on behalf of your child.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide to Us

We collect information that you voluntarily provide to us when you register for an account, apply to a program, participate in our services, or contact us. This may include:

• Student Information: Name, email address, school name, grade level, date of birth or age, and areas of academic interest.
• Parent/Guardian Information: Name, email address, phone number, and relationship to the student.
• Application Information: Responses to application questions, essays, statements of interest, and any supporting materials submitted as part of the application process.
• Program Participation Data: Project submissions, code, reports, challenge responses, peer review content, and other work product created during program participation.
• Payment Information: Billing name and address, and payment card details. Payment card information is processed by our third-party payment processor and is not stored on our servers.
• Communications: Information you provide when you contact us via email, form submissions, or other channels.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you access our Services, we may automatically collect certain information, including:

• Device and Usage Information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time and date of visits, and time spent on pages.
• Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use essential cookies necessary for the functioning of our Services (such as session management and authentication). We do not use tracking cookies for advertising purposes. For more details, see Section 7 below.

1.3 Information We Do Not Collect

We do not knowingly collect:

• Social Security numbers or government-issued identification numbers from students.
• Biometric data from students.
• Precise geolocation data from students.
• Information from students under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Program Administration: To process applications, manage enrollments, facilitate program participation, assign mentors, evaluate student work, and issue certificates and letters of recommendation.
• Communication: To send program-related updates, notifications, and announcements to students and their parents or guardians.
• Account Management: To create and manage your account, authenticate users, and provide customer support.
• Service Improvement: To analyze usage patterns and improve our Services, curriculum, and user experience.
• Safety and Compliance: To monitor for inappropriate content or conduct, ensure the safety of our student community, and comply with legal obligations.
• Legal Obligations: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.

We do not use student personal information for targeted advertising. We do not sell, rent, or trade the personal information of students or their parents to third parties for marketing purposes. We do not create advertising profiles based on student data.

3. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service Providers: We may share information with third-party vendors and service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, email delivery, hosting, and analytics. These providers are contractually obligated to use personal information only as necessary to provide services to us and are prohibited from using it for their own purposes.
• Program Mentors and Staff: Student names, work product, and program-related information may be shared with mentors, instructors, and program staff for educational purposes. Mentors and staff are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• With Parental Consent: We may share student information (such as attributed project showcases) with explicit written consent from the student’s parent or legal guardian.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required to do so by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request.
• Business Transfers: In connection with any merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, user information may be transferred as a business asset. If such a transfer occurs, we will require the acquiring entity to honor this Privacy Policy or provide you with notice and an opportunity to opt out.

4. Protections for Minors

4.1 COPPA Compliance

While our programs are primarily designed for high school students ages 13 and older, we recognize our responsibilities under COPPA. If we discover that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, we will promptly delete that information. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at admissions@stemtiq.org.

4.2 Parental Rights

Parents and legal guardians have the right to:

• Review the personal information we have collected from their child.
• Request the deletion of their child’s personal information.
• Refuse to permit further collection or use of their child’s personal information.
• Receive notice of and provide consent for any material changes to our data collection practices involving their child’s information.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at admissions@stemtiq.org with the subject line “Parental Rights Request.” We will verify your identity and relationship to the student before processing any request.

4.3 Student Data Protections

Consistent with best practices and applicable student privacy laws, we commit to the following:

• We will not sell student personal information.
• We will not use student personal information for behavioral targeting of advertisements to students.
• We will not use student personal information to create an advertising profile about a student.
• We will not knowingly retain student personal information beyond the period necessary to support our authorized educational purpose.
• We will implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect student personal information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure.
• We will delete student personal information upon request from the parent, guardian, or eligible student, or when it is no longer needed for its collected purpose.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Specifically:

• Student Program Data: We retain student program participation data (submissions, evaluations, certificates) for up to three (3) years following program completion to support certificate verification, letter of recommendation requests, and portfolio access. Students or their parents may request earlier deletion.
• Application Data: For applicants who do not enroll, we retain application data for up to one (1) year to support potential future enrollment, after which it is deleted.
• Account Information: Account information is retained for the duration of the active account and for up to one (1) year following account closure.
• Automatic Deletion: We conduct periodic reviews to identify and delete personal information that is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

6. Data Security

We implement administrative, technical, and physical security measures designed to protect the personal information we collect and store. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using TLS/SSL protocols.
• Encryption of sensitive data at rest.
• Access controls that limit access to personal information to authorized personnel on a need-to-know basis.
• Regular security assessments and monitoring.
• Employee and contractor training on data privacy and security practices.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you and any applicable regulatory authorities as required by law.

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies on our Services. Our use of cookies is limited to:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies: Required for the operation of our Services, such as session management, authentication, and security. These cookies cannot be disabled.
• Analytics Cookies: We may use privacy-respecting analytics tools to understand how users interact with our Services. These tools are configured to anonymize IP addresses and do not track users across third-party websites. We do not use analytics data to build advertising profiles.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies or tracking pixels. We do not participate in cross-site tracking or retargeting networks.

Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can choose to set your browser to remove or reject cookies; however, doing so may affect the availability and functionality of our Services.

8. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your state of residence, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. These may include:

8.1 General Rights

• Access: The right to request access to the personal information we hold about you or your child.
• Correction: The right to request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Deletion: The right to request deletion of personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
• Portability: The right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Opt-Out: The right to opt out of certain data processing activities, such as receiving marketing communications.

8.2 California Residents

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete your personal information, and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. As stated above, we do not sell or share personal information for advertising purposes.

California residents under the age of 18 who are registered users of our Services may request removal of content or information they have publicly posted. Please note that such removal does not ensure complete erasure of the content from the Internet.

8.3 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of the rights described above, please contact us at admissions@stemtiq.org with the subject line “Privacy Rights Request.” We will respond to verifiable requests within 45 days. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

9. International Users

Our Services are operated in and intended for users in the United States. If you are accessing our Services from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where our servers are located and our central database is operated. By using our Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States.

10. Third-Party Services

Our Services may integrate with or contain links to third-party services (such as payment processors or authentication providers). This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you interact with through our platform. We select third-party service providers who demonstrate a commitment to data privacy and who agree to contractual safeguards for the protection of personal information.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Last Updated” date. For material changes affecting the collection or use of student personal information, we will also provide notice via the email address associated with the applicable account at least 30 days before the changes take effect and obtain any additional parental consent required by law.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy, our data practices, or if you wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us at:

If you believe we have not adequately addressed your privacy concern, you may also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ftc.gov/complaint or your state attorney general’s office.