PathwAI
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Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 2, 2026  ·  Last updated: April 2, 2026

PathwAI ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of students, parents, and families who use our platform. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit pathwai.app.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly to us, including:

  • Account information (name, email address, password)
  • Student profile data (grade level, GPA, test scores, activities, intended major)
  • Documents you upload for profile import (transcripts, résumés, questionnaires)
  • College list preferences and financial aid information
  • Communications with our AI counselor
  • Payment information (processed securely by Stripe — we do not store card details)
  • Date of birth (collected to verify age and comply with applicable laws)
  • Parent or guardian name and email address (collected for minor accounts requiring parental consent)
  • Account type (parent or student)
  • Consent records (timestamp, IP address, and approval status for minor accounts)

We also automatically collect certain technical information, including IP address, browser type, device information, and usage data.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Provide, maintain, and improve the PathwAI platform
  • Generate personalized academic roadmaps and college recommendations
  • Power AI counselor conversations and essay feedback
  • Send transactional emails (account verification, password reset, billing)
  • Respond to your questions and support requests
  • Monitor and analyze usage patterns to improve our service
  • Comply with legal obligations
  • Verify user age and obtain parental consent where required by law
  • Maintain legally required consent audit records

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

3. Children's Privacy (COPPA)

PathwAI is a K–12 platform designed to serve students of all ages, including children under 13. We take our obligations under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and applicable state minor privacy laws seriously.

Age verification: We collect date of birth at account creation. Users under 18 are required to obtain parental or guardian consent before accessing the platform. Users under 13 follow the same consent process — they cannot access any features until a parent or guardian approves their account.

How parental consent works: When a student under 18 signs up, we collect a parent or guardian's name and email address. We send the parent a consent request email describing what data we collect, how we use it, and their rights. The student's account remains inactive until the parent approves. Parents can also create accounts directly and set up their student's profile themselves — this constitutes consent at account creation.

What we collect from students: academic information (grades, test scores, activities), essays and writing samples, college preferences and goals. This information is used solely to provide personalized college counseling guidance.

AI processing of student data: We use Anthropic's AI to power personalized guidance. Student data is sent to Anthropic for processing under a Data Processing Agreement. Anthropic does not use this data to train its models. Inputs and outputs are retained by Anthropic for no more than 30 days. We have disabled the ability for users to submit feedback to Anthropic that would include their conversation data.

Parental rights: Parents and guardians may at any time:

  • Request access to their student's data
  • Request correction of inaccurate data
  • Request deletion of their student's account and all associated data
  • Revoke consent for continued data processing

To exercise these rights, email privacy@pathwai.app. We will respond within 10 business days.

If you believe a child's information has been collected without proper consent, contact us immediately at privacy@pathwai.app and we will delete it promptly.

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your information with:

  • Service providers — we share data with the following providers who assist us in operating our platform under strict data processing agreements:
    • Supabase (database hosting and authentication) — United States
    • Anthropic (AI processing for counseling features) — United States. Anthropic does not train on customer data. Data is retained for a maximum of 30 days.
    • OpenRouter (AI processing for chat features) — United States
    • Stripe (payment processing) — we do not store card details
    • Resend (transactional email delivery) — United States
  • Legal requirements — if required by law, court order, or governmental authority
  • Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets

We do not share student data with colleges, advertisers, data brokers, or any third party for commercial purposes.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including encrypted data transmission (TLS), secure authentication, and row-level security on our database. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

We conduct regular automated security audits of our database access controls and authentication systems. All database tables enforce row-level security — users can only access their own data. Consent records and audit logs are write-once and cannot be modified after creation.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account and student data for as long as your account is active. You may request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time by emailing privacy@pathwai.app or using the account deletion feature in Settings.

For minor accounts: if a parent revokes consent, the student's account is deactivated and their data is scheduled for deletion within 30 days.

Data sent to Anthropic for AI processing is deleted by Anthropic within 30 days of submission.

7. Essay Coaching and Academic Integrity

PathwAI's essay coaching feature is designed as a coaching tool, not a writing service. The platform asks students questions, helps them organize their thoughts, and provides structural guidance. Students write their own essays.

We log student consent to our essay coaching terms at the start of each coaching session. This consent records that the student understands PathwAI is a coaching tool and that they are responsible for ensuring any content they submit to colleges is their own original work.

We do not encourage or facilitate the submission of AI-generated content as original student work. Doing so may violate Common App policy and individual college honor codes.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you
  • Correct inaccurate data
  • Request deletion of your data
  • Object to or restrict certain processing
  • Data portability

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@pathwai.app.

9. Cookies

We use essential cookies to maintain your session and authentication state. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

10. Third-Party Links

Our platform may contain links to third-party websites (such as college websites). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the effective date. Continued use of PathwAI after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or would like to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us at:

For privacy and data requests: privacy@pathwai.app
For general support: support@pathwai.app
PathwAI, pathwai.app