Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to College Coach AI ("we," "our," or "us"). This Privacy Policy explains how COLLEGE COACH AI collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our College Coach mobile application and visit our website at collegecoach.ai (collectively, the "Service").

We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency about our data practices. This Privacy Policy applies to all users of our Service.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

When you use College Coach, we may collect the following information that you voluntarily provide:

• Personal Identification Information: Name and date of birth (used to verify you meet our minimum age requirement of 13 years). No personal data is collected until age verification is complete.
• Profile Information: Year of graduation, geographical location, hobbies, interests, GPA data (optional), and other educational and personal details you choose to share
• Account Information: Information necessary to create and maintain your account
• Voice and Conversation Data: During AI-powered voice coaching sessions, your spoken responses and text inputs are processed to generate personalized college planning recommendations. This data is transmitted to our AI service providers solely for the purpose of generating your results.
• Communications: When you contact us at support@collegecoach.ai, we collect the information you provide in those communications

2.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you use our mobile application, we automatically collect certain technical information:

• Device Information: Device type, operating system, and app version
• Usage Information: How you interact with our Service to help us improve functionality and user experience
• Push Notification Token: If you grant permission, we collect a device push notification token to send you reminders and updates related to your college planning progress. You may revoke this permission at any time in your device settings.

2.3 Website Analytics

On our website at collegecoach.ai, we use Google Analytics to collect information about how visitors interact with our site, including:

• Pages visited and time spent on pages
• Referring websites and search terms
• Browser type, device type, and operating system
• General geographic location (city/region level)
• IP addresses (which may be anonymized)

Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect this information.

2.4 Information We Do Not Collect

We do not collect:

• Sensitive financial information (payments are processed through Apple's App Store systems)
• Detailed academic records such as specific test scores or individual grades beyond GPA
• Any personal information from users under the age of 13 (see Section 9)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• Service Provision: To provide personalized college coaching recommendations and app functionality
• AI-Powered Features: To generate personalized college recommendations, roadmaps, and essay coaching using AI services
• Account Management: To create, maintain, and manage your account
• Push Notifications: To send you reminders and progress updates related to your college planning, where you have granted permission
• Service Improvement: To analyze usage patterns and improve our Service (using anonymized data)
• Age Verification: To ensure compliance with our minimum age requirement of 13 years
• Customer Support: To respond to your inquiries and provide customer service
• Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws and regulations

4. How We Share Your Information

4.1 No Third-Party Data Selling

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.

4.2 AI Service Providers

To deliver our core AI-powered features, we share certain data with the following AI service providers:

• Anthropic (Claude): Your profile information and conversation inputs are sent to Anthropic's Claude AI to generate personalized college coaching responses, recommendations, and essay feedback. Anthropic processes this data solely to provide the requested AI functionality.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) Polly: Text content is sent to AWS Polly to generate AI voice audio during voice coaching sessions.
• OpenAI (Whisper): Audio from your voice responses is sent to OpenAI's Whisper service for speech-to-text transcription during voice coaching sessions.

Each of these providers is bound by their own privacy policies and data processing agreements. They are not permitted to use your data for any purpose beyond delivering the services described above.

4.3 Infrastructure and Cloud Services

We use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host and operate our backend infrastructure, including data storage via DynamoDB and serverless computing via AWS Lambda. Your data is stored in AWS data centers within the United States.

4.4 Analytics Services

We use Google Analytics on our website to understand visitor behavior. See Section 2.3 for details. Google Analytics is not used within the mobile application.

4.5 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government request, or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of others.

5. Data Storage and Security

5.1 Data Storage

Your information is stored securely using Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure within the United States.

5.2 Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

6. Data Retention

6.1 Active Users

We retain your personal information for as long as you maintain an active account with us.

6.2 After Account Deletion

When you delete your account:

• All personally identifiable information is permanently deleted from our systems
• Usage and interaction data may be anonymized (by removing your name and other identifying information) and retained for internal analysis and service improvement purposes

7. Your Rights and Choices

7.1 Access and Update

You can access and update certain information in your account, including:

• Name
• Location
• Year of graduation
• Other profile information

7.2 Account Deletion

You may delete your account at any time directly within the app. Deleting your account will result in the permanent deletion of all your personal information from our systems. To delete your account, navigate to Settings within the app and select "Delete Account." You may also request account deletion by contacting us at support@collegecoach.ai.

7.3 Push Notifications

You may enable or disable push notifications at any time through your device's Settings app. Disabling notifications will not affect your ability to use the core features of College Coach.

7.4 Communication Preferences

You can contact us at support@collegecoach.ai to manage your communication preferences or exercise any of your rights regarding your personal information.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

8.1 Website Cookies

Our website at collegecoach.ai uses cookies and similar tracking technologies, primarily through Google Analytics, to:

• Understand how visitors use our website
• Improve website performance and user experience
• Analyze traffic patterns and popular content

8.2 Mobile App

Our mobile application does not use cookies or similar tracking technologies.

8.3 Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. For more information about cookies and how to manage them, visit your browser's help section. You can also visit www.allaboutcookies.org for comprehensive information about cookies.

9. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

9.1 Age Requirements

College Coach is intended for users who are at least 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

9.2 Age Verification

We require users to provide their date of birth before any account is created or any personal data is collected. Users who indicate they are under 13 years of age are denied access to the app at that point, and no personal data from those users is stored or transmitted to our servers. If we discover that we have collected information from a child under 13 despite these measures, we will delete that information immediately.

9.3 Parental Rights

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@collegecoach.ai so we can promptly delete such information.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
• Notify users of material changes through the app or via email
• For users under 18, we may require re-acknowledgment of significant changes

Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

11. Geographic Scope

This Privacy Policy and our Service are currently designed for users located in the United States. If you access our Service from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

12. Contact Us

13. Effective Date

This Privacy Policy is effective as of April 20, 2026 and applies to all information collected by us on or after that date.