Privacy Policy

HomeschoolGo ("we," "our," or "us") provides software that homeschool co-ops and similar groups use to manage membership, classes, scheduling, payments, and communication. This policy explains what information we handle, why, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have when you use our website and services (the "Service").

Most of what the Service stores is entered by a parent, guardian, or co-op administrator about their own family or members. Students aged 13 or older whose parent has turned on a student sign-in also add their own schoolwork activity, described under Children's and students' privacy. Because the Service holds information about children, we have tried to be specific about how it is handled. Each co-op decides what to collect from its members and how to run its group; HomeschoolGo provides the software and processes that information on the co-op's and its families' behalf.

Information we collect

• Account data. Name, email address, sign-in credentials, and your role (for example, parent, teacher, or administrator). For a student sign-in, the username or email address the parent chose, and a password.
• Family and student data. When you build your family or a co-op administrator builds a roster, we store details such as parent and guardian contact information and, for each child, name, birthdate, grade level, and similar profile fields. Depending on how your co-op uses the Service, this can also include attendance, grades and academic progress, class enrollments, allergy or medical notes your co-op chooses to collect, and emergency contacts. Some of this is sensitive information about minors; see Children's and students' privacy below.
• Content you submit. Photos uploaded to a co-op gallery, documents, calendar events, directory entries, forum posts, and direct messages that you or your co-op create.
• Payment data. Payments are processed by our payment provider (Stripe). We do not store full payment card numbers on our servers; the provider handles card data under its own policies.
• Phone number (SMS). If you or your co-op enables text messaging, we collect your mobile number to send the operational messages described under SMS messaging.
• Device tokens (push notifications). If you use our mobile apps and turn on notifications, we store a device token so we can deliver push notifications to your device.
• Usage and technical data. IP address, browser and device information, and log and diagnostic data needed to operate, secure, and improve the Service.
• Support communications. If you contact us or use the in-app chat, the messages and contact details you provide.

How we use information

We use the information above to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Service
• Authenticate users and enforce access controls
• Process transactions and communicate about billing
• Send service-related notices and the messages your co-op chooses to send its members
• Provide the AI-assisted features you choose to use (described below)
• Respond to support requests
• Detect abuse, fraud, and security issues
• Comply with legal obligations

Children's and students' privacy

The Service is designed for adults: parents, guardians, and co-op administrators who manage information about their families, including their children. Children under 13 cannot create or hold accounts, and we do not knowingly collect information directly from any child under 13. A parent or guardian can turn on a limited sign-in for a student who is 13 or older, described under "Student sign-ins" below.

Information about a child under 13 is provided by that child's parent or guardian, or by an administrator of a co-op the family has joined, not collected from the child directly. When you add a child, you provide that information voluntarily and you control it. Photos and other files that show a child are treated as that child's personal information.

As a parent or guardian, you may at any time:

• Review the personal information we hold about your child;
• Ask us to correct or delete your child's personal information; and
• Refuse to permit any further collection or use of your child's personal information.

These rights cover everything connected to a student sign-in as well, including the student's sign-in activity and submitted work.

You can do much of this yourself from your family dashboard. For anything else, email [email protected]. We will verify that you are the child's parent or guardian before acting on a request, using a process that is not unduly burdensome. If you refuse further collection, we may be unable to continue providing some parts of the Service for that child.

We keep a child's personal information only as long as it is needed for the purpose it was provided, and we delete it when it is no longer needed or when you ask us to. We do not sell children's information, and we do not make it publicly available outside your co-op except where your co-op chooses to publish content itself (for example, on a public page it builds). We do not run facial recognition or other biometric analysis on photos.

If you upload a photo, you confirm that you have permission to share it, including from the parent or guardian of any child it shows. Any parent or guardian may ask us to remove a photo of their child at any time, and co-op administrators can remove photos as well.

Student sign-ins (ages 13 to 17)

If a co-op has student sign-ins enabled, a parent or guardian can create a limited sign-in for a student who is at least 13. Students cannot sign up on their own. The parent provides the student's date of birth, which we check before a sign-in can be created, and the parent accepts our Terms of Service on their own behalf when they create one.

A signed-in student sees only their own school information: their class schedule, assignments, grades, attendance, and announcements and files for the classes they are enrolled in. Students can mark their own assignments turned in and upload their own homework files. A student cannot see billing, the co-op directory, messages, information about other family members, or anything belonging to another student. Student pages carry no advertising, no social features, and no analytics.

From a signed-in student we collect only: the username or email address and password used to sign in; standard log data about their use of the student pages; and the assignment actions and files they submit. A sign-in does not require the student to have an email address. A parent can choose a username instead, and then the sign-in collects no email address from the student.

The parent stays in control. Any adult on the family account can reset the student's password, pause the sign-in, or remove it at any time from the family dashboard, and can see everything the student sees and submits. HomeschoolGo accounts are family accounts: turning on a student sign-in never reduces what the parent can see.

We keep a student's sign-in credentials and the record of the parent's consent for as long as the sign-in exists. When a parent removes a sign-in, or the family leaves the co-op, we delete the login credentials within 30 days. The student's school records, such as enrollments, grades, attendance, and submitted work, belong to the family's relationship with the co-op and follow the Data retention section below. A sign-in that goes unused for 18 months is paused automatically, and we notify the parent.

We use information from a student sign-in only to show the student their own school pages and to keep the Service secure. We do not use it for advertising of any kind, we do not sell it, we do not build profiles of students for any purpose other than showing them their own school information, we do not use it to train AI models, and we do not disclose it except as needed to provide the Service (see "How we share information"). We maintain a list of the service providers that can receive student information, update it at least once a year, and provide it to any co-op on request.

AI-assisted features

A few optional features use large language models operated by a third party (currently Anthropic, accessed through Vercel's AI Gateway) to save you time:

• Roster import. When you import a spreadsheet, we send the column headers and a small sample of rows so the model can suggest how your columns map to our fields. Email addresses and phone numbers in that sample are automatically replaced with placeholders (such as [email] and [phone]) before anything is sent.
• Website import.If you choose the "Enhance with AI" option when importing an existing co-op website, the text of those pages is sent so it can be organized into a layout.
• EIN letter reading. If you set up text messaging and upload your IRS EIN assignment letter (Form CP-575), the document is sent so your legal business name and EIN can be read accurately for registration.

Under our agreements with these providers, your inputs are not used to train their models, and inputs are retained by the provider for a limited time (generally no more than 30 days) for abuse monitoring before deletion, in accordance with the provider's own policies. Our AI provider is listed in the sub-processors section below.

How we share information

We do not sell your personal information for money, and we do not share it with third parties for their own advertising. We share it only in these ways:

• Within your co-op.Information you submit is visible to your co-op's administrators, and to other members and teachers according to that co-op's settings and your role. Each organization is responsible for how it uses member data.
• With service providers (sub-processors). Vendors that run parts of the Service for us, under contracts that require them to protect the data and use it only to provide their service to us. They are listed below.
• For legal and safety reasons. When required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and integrity of the Service and its users.

Sub-processors

These providers help us operate the Service. Each maintains its own privacy policy. This list also serves as our list of providers that can receive student information; we review it at least once a year and provide it to any co-op on request.

Core services (always used):

• Supabase — database, authentication, and file storage; stores your core account, family, student, and content data. United States.
• Vercel — application hosting, content delivery, and performance analytics; processes requests, page URLs, and technical data. United States.
• Stripe — payment processing and subscription billing; handles payment details (we never store full card numbers). United States.
• Resend — delivery of transactional and announcement email; handles email addresses and message content. United States.
• Google Analytics — website usage analytics; handles page URLs, device and browser information, and IP-derived data.
• Sentry — error and performance monitoring, including a session replay captured when an error occurs, with on-screen text and media masked; handles diagnostic data, account and organization identifiers, and error context. United States.
• Crisp — in-app support chat; handles your name, email, and the messages you send in chat.

Optional services (only when you use the feature):

• Twilio — SMS delivery, used only if your co-op enables text messaging; handles phone numbers and message content. United States.
• Apple Push Notification service — push notifications on our iOS app; handles a device token and notification content.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google) — push notifications on our Android app; handles a device token and notification content. United States.
• Anthropic, accessed via Vercel's AI Gateway — the AI-assisted features described above; handles the specific inputs described in that section. United States.

We may add or change sub-processors as the Service evolves. We will update this list and, where the law requires it, provide notice.

Payments

Payments your family makes to a co-op are processed by Stripe on that co-op's own Stripe account; the co-op is the merchant of record. HomeschoolGo does not receive or store your full card number. Card data is handled by Stripe under its own policies.

SMS messaging

If you or your co-op administrator enables SMS notifications, we collect your mobile phone number for the sole purpose of sending you operational messages from your co-op (such as class reminders, schedule updates, and announcements).

• Opt-in. SMS opt-in is voluntary. You must explicitly enable SMS notifications and provide a mobile number before any messages are sent to you.
• Opt-out. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message, or by disabling SMS notifications in your account settings. After opting out, no further messages will be sent to that number.
• Message delivery.SMS messages are delivered through Twilio, Inc., our messaging service provider. Your phone number is transmitted to Twilio to facilitate delivery and is subject to Twilio's privacy policy. We do not sell or share your phone number with any other third party, and it is never used for marketing purposes unrelated to your co-op's operations.
• Message and data rates. Standard message and data rates from your mobile carrier may apply to messages you receive.

Cookies and analytics

We use cookies and similar technologies for sign-in, security, and preferences (these are essential and required for core features), and for analytics that help us understand usage and fix problems (Google Analytics and Vercel Analytics). Analytics do not run on student dashboard pages at all. You can opt out of analytics cookies at any time using the "Cookie preferences" link in the site footer, or by enabling your browser's Global Privacy Control signal, which we honor automatically. If our use of an analytics cookie is considered a "sale" or "sharing" of personal information under your state's law, this opt-out satisfies that requirement.

International users and cross-border storage

HomeschoolGo is operated from the United States, and our infrastructure providers store and process data on servers in the United States. If you use the Service from Canada or elsewhere, your information — and your children's information — is transferred to and stored in the United States. While it is in the United States, it is subject to US law and may be accessed by US courts, law enforcement, and government authorities under US legal processes. We remain accountable for your information and require our providers, by contract, to protect it at a level comparable to what applies where you live.

Canadian users. You may request access to or correction of your personal information, and we will respond within 30 days. You may also complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. If you are in Alberta or Quebec, additional local rules apply to storing personal information outside Canada; contact us for more information.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export your personal information, and to object to or restrict certain uses. You can view and edit much of your data directly in the app, and every member can export their own profile, family, and student records from their profile page. For anything else, email [email protected] or use the in-app contact option; we may verify your identity before responding.

California residents

In the past 12 months we have collected these categories of personal information: identifiers (such as name and email); account credentials; commercial information (payments and enrollments); internet and device activity (usage and log data); approximate location (derived from IP address); audio-visual information (photos you upload); education information (grades and attendance); and sensitive personal information (information about a child, and any medical or allergy notes your co-op collects). We collect it from you, your co-op, and your use of the Service, and we use it for the purposes described in How we use information.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not "share" it for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under California law. We do not use sensitive personal information for purposes beyond providing the Service, so the right to limit its use does not change our practices. You have the right to know, delete, and correct your personal information, to opt out of any sale or sharing, to limit the use of sensitive personal information, and not to be treated differently for exercising these rights. To make a request, email [email protected]or use the in-app contact option. We do not sell or share anyone's personal information, and in particular we never sell or share the personal information of minors. For children under 13, we collect information only from the parent or guardian. Students aged 13 to 17 with a parent-created sign-in provide only the sign-in information described in "Children's and students' privacy."

Data breach notification

If we determine that a security incident has led to unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal information that creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected users without undue delay and within the timeframes required by applicable law, and we will notify regulators where the law requires it. If a breach involves information connected to a student sign-in, we will notify the affected co-op (and any school customer) within 7 days of discovering it, and affected parents within 30 days. Our notice will describe, as far as we know at the time, what happened, the information involved, what we are doing about it, and steps you can take.

Security

We use technical and organizational measures designed to protect information, including encryption of data in transit, access controls, and database-level isolation so each co-op's data is separated from every other co-op's. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Data retention

We retain information for as long as your account or your co-op is active, and afterward as needed to provide the Service, comply with law, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. When a co-op closes its account, we purge its data from the active database and age it out of backups within about 30 days. Trial organizations that do not subscribe have their data removed after a limited window (about 90 days). Credentials and consent records for student sign-ins follow the shorter timelines described in "Children's and students' privacy." You may request deletion of your account, subject to legal and operational limits (for example, records we must keep for accounting or tax).

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the revised policy with an updated date and, for material changes, notify you by email or through the Service.

Contact

HomeschoolGo is a service of Pleiades Labs LLC. For privacy questions, or to exercise any right described in this policy, reach us at:

• Email: [email protected] for privacy requests, or [email protected] for general support.
• Phone: available on request.
• Mail: Pleiades Labs LLC, 6545 Market Ave North, Suite 100, Canton, OH 44721, USA.

You can also contact the administrator of your co-op with questions about how your co-op uses member data.