We built Academic Allies to help students manage their daily lives — things like energy, health check-ins, schedules, and staying connected with people who support them. We take privacy seriously, especially because some of what you share here is personal.
This policy explains what we collect, why, and who can see it. We've written the plain-language version first, with the more formal version below it in each section.
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1. What we collect
We collect the information you type in or tap through — things like how you're feeling today, your daily schedule, meal notes, and messages to your support team. We also collect your email address and name when you sign in with Google. If you say yes to location, we briefly note where your phone is during the day (more on that in section 4).
Academic Allies collects the following categories of personal data: (a) account identifiers including email address and display name via Google Firebase Authentication; (b) health and wellness data voluntarily entered through the daily check-in feature, including mental, physical, social, academic, and spiritual wellbeing indicators; (c) scheduling and task data entered via SpoonPal and related planning tools; (d) nutritional and meal planning data; (e) messages sent through the in-app messaging system; (f) device geolocation data, if and only if the user grants explicit permission (see Section 4); (g) audio recordings and speech-to-text transcripts created through the Audio Notes feature (see Section 4a).
2. Why we collect it
Everything we collect is used to make the app work for you — to show you your check-in history, let your support team see how you're doing (if you've invited them), and help you plan your day. We don't sell your data. We don't use it for ads. We're not building profiles to sell to anyone.
Personal data is collected and processed solely to provide the features of the Academic Allies application. This includes displaying user-generated content back to the user, enabling support-network members to view relevant wellness data with the student's explicit permission, and providing historical trend data within the app. Academic Allies does not sell personal data to third parties, does not use personal data for advertising or marketing purposes, and does not share data with third parties except as described in Section 3.
3. Who can see your information
You control who's in your support network. Only people you've personally invited can see your check-ins, meal data, and daily plans. They see what you see — no more. The app developer (that's us) can access data only when troubleshooting a problem you've reported. Nobody else.
Access to personal data is controlled by role-based permissions enforced at the database level. A student's wellness data (check-ins, meal logs, spoon plans) is readable only by: (a) the student themselves; (b) members of the student's support network, limited to individuals the student has explicitly invited via a one-time invite code; and (c) the platform administrator (the app developer), for maintenance and support purposes only. Support network members are further scoped by their assigned role (family, support, nearby-help, network-lead). Data is not accessible by other users of the platform.
4a. Audio notes
The Audio Notes feature lets you record voice memos with automatic speech-to-text transcription. Transcripts and metadata (date, category, location tag) are saved in your Academic Allies account on Firebase. If you choose to save the audio file itself, it goes to your personal Google Drive — not to our servers. You control your own Drive files and can delete them anytime. Your support network can see your note transcripts (same as check-ins), but the audio files in your Drive are yours alone.
Audio Notes creates two types of data: (a) text transcripts and metadata stored in Google Firebase Firestore under the user's account, subject to the same access controls as other wellness data (owner, support network, administrator); and (b) audio recording files, which are stored exclusively in the user's own Google Drive account via the Google Drive API. Academic Allies does not store audio recordings on its own infrastructure. Audio files in Google Drive are governed by the user's own Google account settings and are not accessible to Academic Allies or the user's support network. The user retains full ownership and control over their Drive-stored audio files, including the ability to delete them at any time independently of Academic Allies.
4b. Location data
We never track where you go. The only reason we ever ask for your location is to notice if you haven't left home all day — because sometimes that's a sign you're having a hard time socially, and it might pre-fill your social check-in as a gentle nudge. Your location data never leaves your phone. It's stored only in your browser and deleted regularly. You can say no when we ask — the rest of the app still works fine.
Geolocation data is an optional feature used solely to infer social engagement patterns for the daily check-in. Location coordinates are stored exclusively in the user's device local storage (browser localStorage) and are never transmitted to any server, database, or third party. Location data is retained for no more than 7 days and is cleared on sign-out. The maximum displacement algorithm uses coordinates only to determine whether the user has traveled beyond 150 meters from their starting point; precise coordinates are not stored beyond the raw snapshot. Users may decline location permission at any time without loss of core app functionality.
5. Where your data lives
Your data is stored using Google Firebase, which is Google's database service. That means Google's servers hold your information. Google has strong security practices, but it's worth knowing your data goes through their systems. We don't store anything on our own servers. Some things (like your location snapshots and today's check-in cache) are stored only on your own device and never sent anywhere.
Persistent user data is stored in Google Firebase Firestore, a cloud database service operated by Google LLC. By using Academic Allies, you acknowledge that your data is processed by Google in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy). Academic Allies does not operate independent servers. Certain transient data (geolocation snapshots, check-in cache) is stored exclusively in browser localStorage on the user's device and is not transmitted to Firebase or any other service. Firebase Authentication is used for identity management; authentication tokens are managed by Google Firebase.
6. Your rights
You can ask us to delete your account and all your data at any time — just email us and we'll take care of it within a week. You can also export your check-in history if you want a copy of it. If someone in your support network is seeing something they shouldn't, you can remove them from your network instantly in the app.
Users have the right to: (a) access their personal data through the app interface; (b) request deletion of their account and all associated data by contacting the administrator at the address in Section 9 — requests will be fulfilled within 7 days; (c) remove any member from their support network at any time, immediately revoking that member's access to their data; (d) withdraw consent for location data collection at any time via device settings. These rights apply regardless of the user's jurisdiction.
7. Kids and minors
Academic Allies is designed for college students and adults. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone under 13. If you're a parent and think your child under 13 has an account, email us and we'll delete it.
Academic Allies is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a user under the age of 13 has provided personal data, we will delete that information promptly. Parents or guardians who believe their child under 13 has created an account should contact us at the address in Section 9.
8. If this policy changes
If we ever change what we collect or how we use it, we'll update this page and note the date at the top. We won't make major changes without telling you through the app first.
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. Material changes will be communicated to users via in-app notification prior to taking effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the application following notice of changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
9. Contact us
Questions? Something feel off? Just email us. We're a small team and we actually read these.
For privacy-related inquiries, data deletion requests, or to report a concern, contact: