Privacy Policy

Summary of key points

What personal information do we process? It depends on how you interact with us — as a visitor, an account holder, a family using our concierge service, or a tutor.

Do we process information about children? Yes. Parents and guardians provide information about their children so we can suggest suitable tutors and learning groups. Children do not create accounts or use the platform themselves. See Section 8.

Do we process sensitive personal information? Only where you choose to give it to us. Some families tell us or a tutor about an allergy, medical condition, or learning difference so a tutor can teach safely. Tutors are also required to disclose certain criminal matters to us. We do not collect information about racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs.

Do we collect information from third parties? Yes, in one case. Where a tutor completes a background check, we receive the result from our screening provider.

How do we process your information? To provide, improve and administer our Services, make and support matches, assess tutor suitability, communicate with you, keep people safe, and comply with law.

Who do we share it with? Tutors and families we introduce you to, and the service providers listed in Section 3 — including an AI provider used for matching.

How do we keep your information safe? We use appropriate technical and organizational measures, though no system is completely secure. See Section 7.

What are your rights? Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of your personal information, and to withdraw consent. Parents have those rights over their children's information regardless of location.

How do you exercise your rights? The easiest way is to email hello@learninglot.co. We will consider and act on any request in accordance with applicable law.

1. What information do we collect?

Information you give us

In short: What we collect depends on how you use the Services.

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide — when you create an account, tell us about your family, use our concierge service, join as a tutor, or contact us.

If you visit our website or subscribe to our newsletter: your email address, and your name if you choose to give it.

If you create an account: account creation and login are handled by Clerk, our authentication provider. Clerk stores your login credentials on our behalf — we never see or store your password. We access your email address through Clerk so we can communicate with you about your account and the Services.You can create an account with an email address, or by signing in with your Google account through Clerk. If you use Google sign-in, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo from Google — we do not receive your Google password. Learning Lot accounts are created by adults only: parents or guardians, and tutors. You may hold both a family account and a tutor account.

When you accept our Terms. When you accept our Terms of Use, the applicable Addendum, and any related standards through our onboarding process, we record that acceptance — the date and time, your email address, your IP address and browser information, and which version of each document you accepted. This applies to both families and tutors.

From families, about themselves:

• Your name — optional
• Your home area — zip code or city. We do not collect a street address; you share that with a tutor directly if and when you choose to
• How many children are in your family
• Your goals — what you are hoping your child gets out of Learning Lot
• Availability and scheduling preferences
• A phone number, if you provide one
• Feedback you give us privately about tutors you have worked with
• Reviews you choose to publish about a tutor, which are visible to other users
• Payment information for Learning Lot fees, processed by our payment provider. We do not store full card details

From families, about their children — profile information:

• First name only — optional, and we recommend a nickname or alias
• Age — as a number of years. We do not collect or ask for a date of birth
• Interests — subjects and activities a child is curious about

We do not require a child's last name, do not collect a date of birth, and do not ask for a photograph as part of a profile.

If you use our concierge service: we speak with you directly — by phone, video call, email, or message — to understand what would help your child. In those conversations you may tell us more than the profile fields above, including a child's strengths, what they find difficult, their goals, and their schedule. We record only what we need in order to make useful introductions, and we treat it the same way as any other information about your child.

From tutors:

• Identity and contact information
• Qualifications, education, experience, subjects taught, and biography
• Availability, service area, and current availability status
• A profile photograph, if you choose to provide one
• Instructional materials you choose to upload
• Background check status and date, where a check has been completed
• Payment information for fees you pay Learning Lot, such as a contribution toward your background check, processed by our payment provider. We do not store full card details
• Information you are required to disclose to us under the Tutor Addendum — including arrests, charges or convictions bearing on suitability to work with minors, restraining or protective orders, registry listings, professional license actions, and substantiated or formal allegations of misconduct

Messages and content. Where the Platform allows you to communicate with another user, we collect and store those messages. We also collect content you submit, including profile information, photographs, and feedback.

Session logs. Where a tutor and family use our learning tracker, we collect and store what they record about sessions — what was covered, and observations about how a child is getting on. Both the tutor and the family can add to it.

Safety reports. If you contact us about a safety concern — as a tutor under Tutor Addendum § A3.5, or as a family under Family Addendum § F4 — we record what you tell us, what we did in response, and when.

Sensitive information. We do not ask for information about racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs. Some families choose to tell us or a tutor about an allergy, medical condition, learning difference, or behavioral need so a tutor can teach safely. This is never required. Where you share it, we use it only for that purpose and share it only with a tutor you are matched with. The information tutors are required to disclose to us about criminal matters is also treated as sensitive, and used only to assess suitability for the network.

Information we receive from third parties. Where a tutor completes a background check through our screening provider, we receive the result directly from that provider — the information we are legally permitted to receive.

Surveys, contests and support. We may also collect information you give us outside the situations described above — for example when you take part in a survey or contest we run, or when you contact us for help. What we collect depends on what you choose to share.

All personal information you provide must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must tell us if it changes.

Information collected automatically

In short: Some information is collected automatically when you visit our Services.

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the Services. This does not reveal your specific identity but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, approximate location, and information about how and when you use our Services. This is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Services and for internal analytics.

We also collect information through cookies and similar technologies.

• Log and usage data. Service-related, diagnostic, usage and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use the Services and record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include your IP address, device information, browser type and settings, information about your activity in the Services (date and time stamps, pages and files viewed, searches, and other actions such as which features you use), device event information (system activity and error reports, sometimes called "crash dumps"), and hardware settings.
• Device data. We collect device data such as information about your computer, phone, tablet, or other device you use to access the Services. Depending on the device used, this device data may include information such as your IP address (or proxy server), device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, hardware model, Internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, operating system, and system configuration information.
• Location data. We collect approximate location derived from your IP address. We do not collect precise device location or GPS data. The home area we use for matching is the zip code or city you tell us.

Google API

Our use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use Requirements.

2. How do we process your information?

In short: To run the Services, make matches, keep people safe, and comply with law.

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:

• To create and manage accounts, and authenticate users.
• To deliver the Services, including concierge matching, platform matching, scheduling support, the learning tracker, and communications between families and tutors.
• To match users. We use the information you give us — including your child's first name or alias, age and interests, your home area, and your availability — to suggest tutors, and where a shared group looks like a good fit, other families. This involves both automated processing and human review. A suggestion is a proposal only: both you and the tutor are free to decline. See Section 5.
• To enable communication between users. Where the Platform allows you to communicate with another user, we process your information to make that possible.
• To request feedback. We may contact you about your use of the Services and ask how a session or a match went.
• To improve matching. We use feedback you give us about tutors to make better recommendations over time.
• To publish reviews. Where you choose to write a review of a tutor, we may display it on that tutor's profile and elsewhere on the Platform.
• To assess tutor suitability. We process information tutors provide, information they are required to disclose, and background check results, to decide whether a tutor may join or remain in our network.
• To display tutor profiles to families on the Platform, and to promote the Services.
• To process payments for Learning Lot fees, and to handle any refunds.
• To respond to inquiries and provide support.
• To send administrative messages, including information about our products and services, changes to our terms or policies, and notices we send by email or by posting on the Platform.
• To send marketing communications, where you have not opted out. You can opt out at any time — see Section 9. We never market to children.
• To keep people safe. We review safety reports, investigate concerns, prevent fraud, and enforce our terms. We may report matters to authorities where required or appropriate.
• To evaluate and improve our Services, products, marketing, and your experience, including identifying usage trends and assessing the effectiveness of our campaigns.
• To comply with law, including responding to lawful requests and meeting record-keeping obligations.

3. When and with whom do we share personal information?

In short: With tutors and families we introduce you to, and with the service providers listed below.

Service providers

We share information with these providers only so they can perform services for us, under written contracts that require them to protect it and prohibit them from using it for their own purposes.

With other users

Tutors and families we match you with. When we introduce you to a tutor, we share what that tutor needs in order to decide whether to accept and to teach well — typically your child's first name or alias, age and interests, your general area and availability, and any safety-relevant information you have chosen to share. Contact details are shared once both sides agree to proceed. Where we introduce families to one another for a small group, we share only what is needed to decide whether the group is a good fit.

Anyone who receives personal information about another user — including any information about a child — may use it only for the purpose of the Session or Introduction it relates to, and may not disclose it to anyone else. Tutors are additionally bound by Tutor Addendum § A6.

Tutor profiles. If you are a tutor, the profile information you provide — including your biography, subjects, experience, age groups, service area, availability, and photograph if you provide one — is displayed to families on the Platform and may be used in our marketing materials. Your background check status and the date of completion may also be displayed.

Reviews. A review you publish about a tutor is visible to other users of the Platform and may appear on that tutor's profile. Your name or the name you use on the Platform may be shown alongside it.

Group Sessions. Where your child takes part in a group, other participating families see only what is needed to decide whether the group is a good fit.

Other situations

Business transfers. We may share or transfer information in connection with — or during negotiations of — a merger, financing, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our business.

Legal requirements and safety. We may disclose information where we are legally required to do so, or where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the safety of a child or any other person, to investigate a safety concern, or to protect our legal rights.

Public areas. Information you post in a public area of the Services may be visible to other users.

4. Do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?

In short: Yes, for security, functionality, analytics and advertising.

When you first visit our website we present a cookie banner allowing you to accept or decline non-essential cookies. You can change your choice at any time through that banner.

We use cookies and similar technologies — web beacons and pixels — to gather information when you interact with our Services. Some help us maintain security. We also permit third parties and service providers to use tracking technologies for analytics and advertising, including to tailor advertisements to your interests, which may appear on our Services or elsewhere.

To the extent these technologies are deemed a "sale" or "sharing" under applicable US state law, you can opt out as described in Section 11.

Most browsers accept cookies by default. You can usually set yours to remove or reject them, though some features may not work as a result.

Google Analytics. We share information with Google Analytics to track and analyze use of the Services. To opt out, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms page.

5. Do we offer artificial intelligence-based products?

In short: Yes — we use AI to help suggest matches, which involves sharing information with a third-party provider.

We offer features powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning ("AI Products"), provided through third-party service providers ("AI Service Providers"), including OpenAI. Your input, output and personal information will be shared with and processed by those providers to enable your use of the AI Products.

Our AI Products are used for matching — suggesting suitable tutors and learning groups.

This means the information you provide about your family — including your child's first name or alias, age and interests, information you share with us through our concierge service, and any feedback you give us about tutors — may be processed by that provider in order to generate a recommendation. We do not send information we do not need for that purpose.

A recommendation is a suggestion, not a decision. Every match is reviewed by a person before it is offered, and both the family and the tutor are free to decline. No automated system decides who you may work with, and we do not use AI to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you.

6. How long do we keep your information?

In short: Only as long as we need it.

We keep personal information for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Notice, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law.

Information about children. We delete or anonymize information about a child when you close your account, when you ask us to, or when it is no longer needed to provide the Services — whichever comes first.

Background check results. We retain these only as long as necessary to assess and maintain a tutor's participation in the network and to meet our legal obligations, then delete them. Where a tutor completes a further check, we retain earlier results only as long as needed for that purpose.

What we display about background checks. We display only limited status information on a tutor's profile — the fact that a check was completed and the date. We never display the contents of any report.

Information tutors disclose to us about criminal matters, orders or allegations is retained only as long as necessary to assess suitability for the network and to meet our legal obligations.

Safety reports. We retain reports and our records of how we responded for as long as necessary to protect the safety of users, to comply with law, and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Reviews. Where you have published a review, we may retain and continue to display it after you close your account, though we will remove your name on request.

Consent and acceptance records. When you accept our Terms of Use, the applicable Addendum, and any related standards through our onboarding process, we keep a record of that acceptance — including the date and time, your email address, your IP address and browser information, and which version of each document you accepted. We retain these for as long as necessary to evidence your acceptance and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Content you remove. If you remove content or close your account, we may retain copies as reasonably necessary for backup, archival, legal or compliance purposes, and may continue to use materials already incorporated into content created before removal, as described in Terms of Use § 4(b).

Where we no longer have a legitimate need to process your information, we delete or anonymize it — or, where that is not possible because it sits in backup archives, securely store it and isolate it from further processing until deletion is possible.

7. How do we keep your information safe?

In short: We use reasonable technical and organizational measures.

We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the personal information we process. However, no transmission over the internet or method of storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never defeat our security. You should access the Services in a secure environment.

8. Information about children

In short: Children do not use Learning Lot. Parents provide information about their children so we can suggest suitable tutors, and parents control that information at all times.

Children do not use the Services. Children may not create accounts, log in, or use the Platform. All information about a child is provided by that child's parent or legal guardian. We do not knowingly collect information directly from a child, and we do not market to children. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 18, and that you are the parent or legal guardian of any child whose information you provide.

What we hold about a child. A child's profile contains only three things: a first name, which is optional and which we recommend you give as a nickname or alias; an age, as a number of years; and interests. We do not require a last name, do not collect a date of birth, and do not ask for a photograph as part of a profile.

What you may tell us beyond that. If you use our concierge service, you may tell us more in conversation — what your child is good at, what they find hard, what you are hoping for, and when they are free. We record only what we need in order to make useful introductions, and you decide what to share.

What you may choose to add. Some families tell us or a tutor about an allergy, medical condition, learning difference, or behavioral need so a tutor can teach safely. This is always optional. Where you share it, we use it only for that purpose and share it only with a tutor you are matched with.

Who sees it. Information about your child is shared with tutors we introduce you to, and — where you join a small group — the other families in that group see only what is needed to decide whether the group is a good fit. Tutors are contractually required to keep it confidential, use it only for teaching your child, and never use it for marketing. We do not sell information about children, and we do not use it for advertising.

Session logs. Where you and a tutor use our learning tracker, the record of what was covered and how your child is getting on is visible to you and to that tutor. If that tutor stops working with you, the record stays with you. We keep it for as long as we keep other information about your child, and you can ask us to delete it at any time.

Reviews. If you publish a review of a tutor, anything you write in it is visible to other users. Please avoid including details about your child that you would not want publicly visible.

Photographs and recordings. We do not ask for a photograph of a child as part of a profile. No tutor, family or other user may photograph, film or record your child without your prior written consent. We may ask separately for your consent to use an image of your child in our marketing — that consent is always optional, is requested separately, and you may withdraw it at any time by emailing hello@learninglot.co.

AI processing. As described in Section 5, information you provide about your child may be processed by a third-party AI provider to generate match suggestions. A person reviews every match before it is offered.

Your rights as a parent. At any time you may review the information we hold about your child, correct anything inaccurate, delete it or ask us to delete it, withdraw consent to our further use of it, and refuse to allow further collection. You can do any of these from your account settings, or by emailing hello@learninglot.co. We will respond promptly and will not require you to give a reason.

If you believe we hold information about a child that a parent or guardian did not provide, or that we should not have, contact us at hello@learninglot.co and we will delete it.

9. What are your privacy rights?

In short: You may review, change, or close your account at any time.

Withdrawing consent. Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time by contacting us. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal, nor processing carried out on another lawful basis.

Marketing. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails, by replying STOP to a text message, or by contacting us. We may still send service messages necessary to your account.

Mobile information is not shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Sharing with subcontractors providing support services, such as customer service, is permitted. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent are not shared with third parties.

Account information. You may review or update your information in your account settings, or contact us. On request we will deactivate or delete your account and information from our active databases, though we may retain limited information to prevent fraud, resolve disputes, assist investigations, enforce our terms, or comply with law.

If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, you may email us at: hello@learninglot.co

10. Controls for do-not-track features

Most browsers offer a Do-Not-Track ("DNT") setting. No uniform standard for recognizing DNT signals has been finalised, and we do not currently respond to them. California law requires us to disclose this. If a standard is adopted that we must follow, we will update this Notice.

11. Do United States residents have specific privacy rights?

In short: If you live in California or certain other states, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, and obtain a copy of your personal information.

Categories of personal information we collect

We collect this information directly from you, automatically through your use of the Services, and — for tutor background checks — from our screening provider.

Sensitive personal information is used only to enable a tutor to teach your child safely and to assess a tutor's suitability for our network. We do not use it to infer characteristics about anyone.

We do not sell personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We have not done so in the preceding twelve months. We do not knowingly sell or share personal information about anyone under 16.

Your rights

You have rights under certain US state data protection laws. However, these rights are not absolute, and in certain cases we may decline your request as permitted by law. These rights include:

• Right to know whether we process your personal data
• Right to access it
• Right to correct inaccuracies
• Right to request deletion
• Right to obtain a copy of data you provided
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights
• Right to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, or profiling with legal or similarly significant effects
• Right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive personal information, where applicable
• Right to obtain a list of the categories of third parties to which we have disclosed personal data, where applicable

How to exercise your rights

Email hello@learninglot.co. You may designate an authorized agent, who must provide proof of authorization.

Verification. We will need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and may ask for additional information for that purpose only.

California "Shine The Light"

California residents may request, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes. Submit requests in writing to the address in Section 13.

12. Do we make updates to this notice?

Yes. The updated version will be indicated by a revised date at the top. If we make material changes we will notify you by prominently posting a notice or by contacting you directly, and where appropriate we may ask you to accept the updated Notice before continuing to use some or all of the Services.

13. How can you contact us about this notice?

Email hello@learninglot.co, or write to:

Learning Lot, Inc.

60 29th Street #303

San Francisco, CA 94110

United States

14. How can you review, update, or delete your data?

To request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information — or your child's — email hello@learninglot.co.