Privacy Policy

Distributed Technologies LLC ("we," "us," or "our") operates the Ask Tutor mobile application (the "App"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our App, with special attention to protecting young learners.

Our Commitment to Student Privacy

Ask Tutor is designed for educational use. We are committed to protecting the privacy of all users, especially students. We comply with applicable privacy laws including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and aim to align with student data privacy best practices.

Age Requirements and Verification

Ask Tutor is intended for users aged 13 and older. We verify age at registration and do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has provided personal information to us without your consent, please contact us immediately at privacy@distributedtech.org. We will promptly delete such information.

Information We Collect

Account Information: When you create an account using Google Sign-In or Apple Sign-In, we receive:

• Your email address
• Your display name
• A unique user identifier from the authentication provider

Learning Preferences: To personalize your educational experience, we collect:

• Grade level
• Preferred subjects (math, science, English, social studies, etc.)
• Learning style preferences
• Response complexity preferences

Conversation Data: When you interact with the tutor, we collect:

• Questions and messages you send
• Images of homework or educational materials you upload
• AI-generated educational responses
• Conversation timestamps

User Preferences: We store your preferences including:

• Theme preferences (light/dark mode)
• Language preferences
• Accessibility settings (font size, text-to-speech)

Technical Data: We automatically collect:

• Device type and operating system
• App version
• General usage patterns (not conversation content)
• Crash logs and error reports

Payment Information: If you subscribe to Tutor Pro, payment processing is handled entirely by Apple (App Store) or Google (Play Store). We do not collect or store credit card numbers, bank account information, or other payment details.

How We Use Your Information

We use your information solely for educational purposes:

• Provide personalized learning assistance
• Adapt explanations to your grade level and learning style
• Save and sync your learning history across devices
• Track your educational progress (for your own review)
• Improve our educational content and AI responses
• Manage your subscription
• Ensure age-appropriate content
• Maintain a safe learning environment

How We Process Your Conversations

When you ask the tutor a question:

• Your question is transmitted securely (HTTPS) to our servers hosted on Cloudflare
• We use AI models (Meta Llama) to generate educational responses
• Content is moderated to ensure age-appropriate, educational responses
• Conversations are stored to enable learning continuity

Educational Focus: Our AI is specifically designed to:

• Provide helpful explanations, not complete homework for you
• Encourage learning and understanding
• Refuse requests that could enable academic dishonesty
• Maintain appropriate educational boundaries

Important: We do not sell student data. We do not use student conversations for advertising. We do not share student data with third parties for non-educational purposes.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Cloudflare: Hosting and content delivery (Privacy Policy)
• Google Sign-In: Authentication (Privacy Policy)
• Apple Sign-In: Authentication (Privacy Policy)
• RevenueCat: Subscription management (Privacy Policy)
• Meta Llama AI: AI model processing (via Cloudflare Workers AI)

These services are used solely to provide educational functionality and do not receive student data for advertising or other non-educational purposes.

Data Retention

We retain your data as follows:

• Account information: Until you delete your account
• Learning conversations: Until you delete them or delete your account
• Learning preferences: Until you update them or delete your account
• Technical data: Up to 90 days for operational purposes

When you delete your account, all associated data is permanently removed from our systems within 30 days.

Data Security

We implement appropriate measures to protect student data:

• All data transmission uses TLS/HTTPS encryption
• Data at rest is encrypted
• Access to user data is strictly limited and logged
• Regular security assessments are conducted
• We do not store unnecessary personal information

Your Rights and Choices

You (or your parent/guardian if you are a minor) have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
• Deletion: Delete your account and all associated data
• Export: Export your learning history
• Restrict: Limit how we use your data

To exercise these rights, use the in-app settings or contact us at privacy@distributedtech.org.

Information for Parents and Guardians

If your child (aged 13-17) uses Ask Tutor:

• You may review your child's account information upon request
• You may request deletion of your child's data at any time
• You may revoke consent for data collection
• We will not condition your child's use on providing more data than necessary

Contact us at parents@distributedtech.org for parent-specific inquiries.

California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:

• Right to know what personal information is collected
• Right to know if personal information is sold or disclosed
• Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights

We do not sell personal information, including student data.

International Data Transfers

Your data may be processed in the United States. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for international transfers.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy in the App and updating the "Last updated" date. For significant changes affecting student data, we will provide prominent notice.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

• Privacy inquiries: privacy@distributedtech.org
• Parent inquiries: parents@distributedtech.org
• General support: support@distributedtech.org

Distributed Technologies LLC
Washington, United States