Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 6, 2026 · Written to be readable by an 8th grader, because it should be.

The short version

We collect the minimum we need to tutor you: your name, email, date of birth, what you say to the tutor, your homework answers, and your quiz scores. We never sell data, never show ads, and never ask for your address, school, phone number, or photos. Parents of students under 18 can see everything and delete everything.

What we collect

Account info: name, email, date of birth (to check age rules), grade level if you share it, and your timezone.

Learning data: session transcripts (what you and the tutor type or say), whiteboard snapshots, homework answers, quiz and diagnostic scores, and session attendance.

Under-13 waitlist: if someone under 13 tries to sign up, we store only a parent's email address so we can say hi when we support younger grades — nothing else.

Voice audio

If you use the microphone, your speech is transcribed in real time inside your own browser. The raw audio is never uploaded and never stored. Only the text transcript is kept — the same as if you had typed it.

Who processes your data

Session text is sent to NVIDIA (its NIM cloud API) to generate the tutor's responses. Our database and accounts are hosted by Appwrite Cloud. If email sending is enabled, emails go through Resend. These providers process data on our behalf and don't get to use it for anything else.

Parental consent (under 18)

Students under 18 need a parent or guardian's consent before any tutoring starts. The parent gets a full plain-English explanation, gives two separate consents (data collection, and AI processing), and signs by typing their name. Parents can view all of their child's data, export it, revoke consent, or request deletion at any time from the parent dashboard.

How long we keep data

While your account is active. If you (or your parent) delete the account, all personal data is permanently deleted within 30 days. We may keep fully anonymized statistics (scores with no names or identifiers) for research reporting. Accounts with no login for 12 months get a warning email, then are deleted at 13 months.

Safety monitoring

If a session is flagged for safety (for example, a student in crisis), our small admin team reviews the transcript within 24 hours. That's the only reason a human reads sessions other than your linked parent.

Your rights

Ask us what we have, get a copy, correct it, or delete it — any time, free. Parents exercise these rights for students under 18. Email hello@telost.org / telostutoring@outlook.com or use the parent dashboard. We reply within 24 hours during the pilot.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll email every account and require fresh consent where the law requires it.