Privacy Policy

Last Updated: November 16, 2025

GradeWise ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting the privacy of our users. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information when you use our educational platform at gradewise.school.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: Name, school email address, student/teacher ID, grade level, and role (teacher or student)
• School Information: School name, domain, and organizational affiliation
• Academic Information: Course enrollments, assignments, grades, feedback, and educational progress
• User-Generated Content: Assignments, essays, responses, comments, and other educational materials you create
• Communication: Messages and communications within the platform

1.2 Information from Google Sign-In

When you use "Sign in with Google," we collect:

• Email address (from your school-provided Google Workspace account)
• Name (as provided by your Google account)
• Profile picture (optional)
• Google account ID (for authentication purposes only)
• School domain (to verify eligibility and assign you to the correct school organization)

1.3 Automatically Collected Information

• Usage Data: Login times, pages visited, features used, and time spent on platform
• Device Information: Browser type, operating system, IP address
• Session Information: Authentication tokens and session identifiers

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following educational purposes:

2.1 Educational Services

• Provide access to courses, assignments, and educational materials
• Track academic progress and performance
• Enable teachers to assign work and provide feedback
• Generate grade reports and academic analytics
• Facilitate student-teacher communication
• Organize users by school and maintain multi-school functionality

2.2 Platform Operation

• Authenticate users and maintain account security
• Verify school affiliation through email domain validation
• Improve platform functionality and user experience
• Troubleshoot technical issues
• Prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Ensure data segregation between different schools

2.3 Communication

• Send assignment notifications and deadline reminders
• Provide grade updates and feedback
• Share important announcements about the platform
• Respond to support requests

3. Information Sharing and Disclosure

3.1 Within Your School

• Teachers: Can view information of students enrolled in their courses at their school only
• Students: Can view their own academic information and teacher feedback
• School Administrators: May access user data for their school only
• Important: Your school's data is completely separate from other schools using GradeWise

3.2 Third-Party Services

• Google: For authentication via Google Sign-In (OAuth)
• Anthropic (Claude AI): For AI-powered grading and feedback features (content only, no personal identifiers)
• Hosting Provider: Amazon Web Services (AWS) for secure data storage

3.3 We Do NOT:

• ❌ Sell student or teacher data to third parties
• ❌ Use student data for advertising purposes
• ❌ Share personal information with marketers
• ❌ Use data for purposes unrelated to education
• ❌ Share data between different schools
• ❌ Allow cross-school access to student information

3.4 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government regulation, or to protect the safety of users or others.

4. Data Security

We implement appropriate security measures to protect your information:

• Encryption: HTTPS/SSL encryption for all data transmission
• Authentication: Secure password hashing and Google OAuth authentication
• Access Controls: Role-based access restrictions (students, teachers, admins)
• School Segregation: Complete data separation between different schools
• Secure Storage: Data stored on secure AWS RDS MySQL databases
• Regular Backups: Automated database backups for data recovery
• Session Management: Automatic logout after 24 hours of inactivity

5. Student Privacy (FERPA Compliance)

GradeWise complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for U.S.-based schools and similar regulations internationally:

• Student educational records are kept confidential
• Only authorized school personnel can access student data from their school
• Students and parents have rights to review educational records
• Data is used solely for legitimate educational purposes
• Each school maintains control over their own students' data

6. Multi-School Data Segregation

Important: If your school uses GradeWise, your data is completely separate from other schools:

• Teachers at one school cannot access students or data from other schools
• Students can only see information from their own school
• Each school's administrators manage only their own school's instance
• Cross-school data sharing requires explicit consent and separate agreements

7. Data Retention

• Active Students/Teachers: Data retained while actively enrolled or employed at your school
• Graduated/Former Users: Academic records retained according to your school's policy (typically 7 years)
• Deleted Accounts: Personal data removed within 30 days of account deletion request
• Backups: Backup data retained for 90 days
• School Cancellation: If a school discontinues using GradeWise, data is archived and made available for download, then deleted after 90 days

8. Your Rights and Choices

8.1 Access and Correction

• View your personal information and academic records
• Update your profile information
• Request correction of inaccurate data

8.2 Data Deletion

• Students: Contact teacher or school administrator to request account deletion
• Teachers: Contact school administrator for account deletion
• Note: Academic records may be retained per FERPA and school policy

8.3 Google Account

• You can revoke GradeWise's access to your Google account at any time via Google Account settings
• Visit: https://myaccount.google.com/permissions

9. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies for:

• Authentication: Keep you logged in
• Preferences: Remember your settings
• Security: Prevent unauthorized access
• School Assignment: Remember which school you belong to

We do NOT use cookies for:

• ❌ Advertising or marketing
• ❌ Tracking across other websites
• ❌ Selling user behavior data
• ❌ Cross-school tracking

10. Children's Privacy

GradeWise is an educational platform used in school settings:

• Students under 13 may use the platform with parental consent via school enrollment
• We collect only information necessary for educational purposes
• We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for commercial purposes
• Parents may contact their school to review, modify, or delete their child's information

11. International Users

GradeWise is operated globally and serves schools in multiple countries. Data is stored on secure servers and may be processed in different jurisdictions. By using the platform, you consent to the transfer and processing of your information as described in this policy.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify users of significant changes via:

• Email notification to registered users
• Announcement on the platform
• Updated "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy

13. Third-Party Links

GradeWise may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites. Please review their privacy policies before providing any information.

14. Contact Information

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact:

GradeWise
Platform Administrator: Stephen Shifflett
Email: support@gradewise.school
Website: gradewise.school

For school-specific inquiries: Please contact your school's GradeWise administrator or IT department.

15. Consent

By using GradeWise, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described herein.

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Summary: GradeWise collects and uses information solely for educational purposes. We protect your data with strong security measures, maintain complete separation between schools, comply with student privacy laws (FERPA), and never sell or misuse student information. You have rights to access, correct, and delete your data.