Privacy & Safety
You are Primary. We are Secondary.
At Secondary AI, we believe the teacher is primary, and AI is a tool to enhance your workflows. Your data, your privacy, and the safety of your students are paramount to us. We are built on the belief that AI should empower educators, streamlining processes and providing innovative support, all without compromising your trust or control.
Your Data is Yours
We never sell your data. You retain full ownership and control over all your content.
AI Training
Your materials are not used to train public AI models. Your content is for your chatbots, and yours alone.
Student-First Safety
No student accounts required. Anonymous mode and teacher oversight ensure a safe, private space for learning.
Built for Compliance
Our platform is meticulously built to align with your school's safety standards by safeguarding sensitive information.
What we collect and how we protect it
Teacher Account Information
What We Collect
When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and optional information like your school and subjects taught. This data is essential for setting up and personalizing your AI workflows, enabling features like customized chatbot creation and tailored lesson planning.
Your Content Ownership
The prompts, documents, and configurations you create are stored securely to provide the service. You retain full ownership and control over all your content, and it is used exclusively to power your AI workflows. We never sell your data or content to third parties.
Student Privacy & Data Minimization
No Student Accounts Required
We do not require students to create accounts. Students can interact with chatbots by simply providing a name or anonymous ID (teacher's choice), eliminating the need for email addresses, passwords, or other personal information.
Anonymous Mode
Teachers can enable Anonymous Mode, where students only provide an anonymous ID instead of their real name. This further minimizes the collection of personally identifiable information and is ideal for schools with strict privacy requirements.
Student Interaction Data
Student conversations with chatbots are stored to provide feedback, grading, and insights to teachers. If anonymous mode is disabled, we temporarily use the student-provided name for the session, which is viewable by the teacher. In anonymous mode, we only use the provided anonymous ID. All data is designed for privacy and can never be traced back to individual students in aggregated analytics.
Our Data Privacy Principles
No Data Selling, Ever
We will never sell your personal information or student data to third parties. Your trust is the foundation of our business, and we take that responsibility seriously.
Aggregated Analytics Only
We may use aggregated, anonymized data (which cannot be traced back to any individual) to understand usage trends and continuously improve the features and functionality of Secondary AI. This helps us build better tools for educators while protecting individual privacy.
AI & Your Data
For detailed information about how our AI uses your content and student data, please see our AI Transparency & Ethics page.
Data Storage & Location
Servers are currently located in the United States with industry-standard security measures. As a Canadian company, we are actively working towards providing data storage options within Canada to offer additional regional data residency choices.
How AI helps ensure a safe and engaging learning environment
AI Moderation (Safety Flags)
Our AI system continuously monitors chat interactions for content that may be inappropriate, harmful, or indicative of bullying, self-harm, or other safety concerns. When such content is detected, a "safety flag" is applied to the specific message and the chat session. This allows teachers to quickly identify and address potentially sensitive situations, ensuring a safe learning environment for all students. All flagged content is reviewed by the teacher and is never shared publicly.
Disengagement Detection (Disengagement Flags)
To support student well-being and engagement, our AI also identifies potential signs of student disengagement. This can include patterns such as multiple short, unthoughtful messages, a low overall message count in a session, or the use of keywords that indicate frustration, confusion, or a lack of understanding (e.g., "I don't get it", "This is too hard", "I give up"). When disengagement is detected, a "disengagement flag" is applied to the session to alert the teacher. This helps teachers proactively intervene and provide additional support to students who may be struggling.
Teacher Review & Support
It is important to note that both safety and disengagement flags are designed as tools to empower teachers, not to penalize students. These flags provide valuable insights to educators, enabling them to offer timely and targeted support. Teachers have full access to review flagged content and sessions, understand the context, and make informed decisions about student well-being and academic progress.
Regulatory Compliance
How we meet privacy standards across different jurisdictions
COPPA Compliance
Children Under 13
Our Commitment to Children's Privacy
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of children under 13 years old. Secondary AI is committed to full compliance with COPPA and takes the protection of children's personal information seriously.
Minimal Data Collection from Children
We designed Secondary AI to minimize the collection of personal information from children:
- No Account Creation: Students do not create accounts, eliminating the need for email addresses or passwords.
- Anonymous Mode: Teachers can enable Anonymous Mode so students only provide an anonymous ID instead of their real name.
- No Tracking: We do not use cookies or tracking technologies to collect personal information from student users.
- Educational Purpose Only: Any information collected (such as chat transcripts) is used solely for educational purposes—to provide feedback, grading, and insights to teachers.
No Marketing to Children
We do not use personal information collected from children for any commercial purposes. We do not display targeted advertising to students, and we do not sell or rent children's personal information to third parties.
Parental Rights
Parents have the right to:
- Review: Review their child's personal information collected by the service (facilitated through the teacher/school).
- Request Deletion: Request that we delete their child's personal information.
- Refuse Further Collection: Refuse to allow further collection or use of their child's information.
Data Security for Children's Information
We maintain reasonable security procedures to protect children's personal information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and access is restricted to authorized personnel only.
Data Retention
We retain student chat data only as long as necessary to provide educational services to the teacher and school. Teachers can delete individual student sessions or entire chatbots at any time from their dashboard. Upon request, we will delete all data associated with a student or class within 30 days.
FERPA Compliance
Educational Records
Supporting Schools' FERPA Obligations
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. When schools use Secondary AI, student interactions become part of the school's education records. We act as a "school official" with a legitimate educational interest in these records.
School as Data Controller
Schools remain the primary controller of student education records. Secondary AI acts as a service provider (a "school official" under FERPA) that processes student data on behalf of the school to provide educational services. We use student education records only for providing and improving our educational services.
Restricted Access & No Unauthorized Disclosure
Access to student records is strictly limited to: the teacher who created the chatbot, authorized school administrators, the individual student (their own data), and authorized Secondary AI personnel for technical support only. We will not disclose records to third parties without written consent from parents/eligible students or a valid FERPA exception (school officials with legitimate interest, lawful subpoena, or health/safety emergency).
Data Protection & Agreements
We maintain Data Use Agreements with schools outlining the specific education records accessed, legitimate educational purposes, data security and confidentiality requirements, retention and deletion procedures, and our commitment to not re-disclose student information. All student data is treated as confidential education records—we do not consider any as "directory information" that can be publicly disclosed.
Audit, Access & Deletion Rights
We maintain detailed audit logs of record access available to schools upon request. Schools and teachers can export all student data in a standard format anytime. Upon termination or request, we securely delete all records within 30 days or return them as directed. Parents or eligible students can request amendments to inaccurate records through their school. Contact us at thesecondaryai@gmail.com to facilitate requests.
PIPEDA Compliance
Canadian Privacy Law
Our Commitment to Canadian Privacy Standards
As a Canadian company, Secondary AI is committed to complying with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada's federal privacy law. PIPEDA establishes rules for how private-sector organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information. We adhere to PIPEDA's 10 Fair Information Principles to ensure your personal information is handled responsibly and transparently.
Accountability & Purpose
We are responsible for all personal information under our control and clearly identify collection purposes. Teacher data (name, email) is used for account management and service delivery. Student data (names/IDs, chat transcripts) is used solely for providing educational feedback and insights. Our privacy officer can be reached at thesecondaryai@gmail.com.
Consent & Minimal Collection
Teachers provide consent by creating accounts. We rely on teachers as school officials to provide consent for student data. We collect only necessary information—our Anonymous Mode feature minimizes student data to just an anonymous ID. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.
Limited Use & Retention
Personal information is used only for stated purposes. We never sell your data. Service providers are contractually bound to protect your information. We retain data only as long as necessary. Teachers can delete sessions anytime, and we delete all data within 30 days upon request.
Accuracy & Security
Teachers can update their information anytime through account settings. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access is restricted to authorized personnel only. We conduct regular security audits and carefully vet all service providers.
Access Rights & Transparency
You can access your personal information by contacting us—we respond within 30 days. This Privacy Policy and our AI Transparency page detail our practices. To challenge compliance, contact our privacy officer or file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Cross-Border Data Transfers
Our data is currently hosted in the United States, meaning your information may be subject to U.S. laws and disclosure requirements. We are working towards Canadian data storage options. All service providers maintain PIPEDA-level protections.
Have Questions About Privacy?
If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy & Safety practices, please do not hesitate to reach out. Your trust is important to us, and we want to be as transparent as possible with you.