Privacy Policy
Updated September 25, 2024
BY REGISTERING FOR OR USING OR ACCESSING THE SERVICES, CUSTOMER AGREES TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS (“AGREEMENT”).  THIS CONSTITUTES A BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN PENCIL LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (“PENCIL” OR “COMPANY”) AND THE USER THAT HAS REGISTERED TO USE OR IS ACCESSING AND USING THE SERVICE (“CUSTOMER”).   IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT REGISTER FOR, ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE.
Purposes of Processing
We collect information about you in a range of forms, including personal data. As used in this Policy, “personal data” means any information which, either alone or in combination with other information we process about you, identifies you as an individual, including, for example, your name, postal address, email address and telephone number.
Why Do We Need Your Personal Data?
We will only process your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws. We need certain personal data in order to provide you with access to the Services. If you registered with us, you consented to this Policy and agreed to provide this information as a prerequisite to accessing our Services and viewing our content. This consent provides us with the legal basis we require under applicable law to process your data. You maintain the right to withdraw such consent at any time. If you do not agree to our use of your personal data in line with this Policy, please do not use our Services.
Collecting Your Personal Data
We collect information about you in the following ways:
Information You Give Us
This includes:
(a) the personal data you provide when you make a purchase/subscribe for Services; and
(b) the personal data you provide when you register to use our Services, including your‎ name, postal address, email address, telephone number, username, password and demographic information (such as your gender);
(c) the personal data that may be contained in any content you upload or post to the Services;
(d) the personal data you provide when you report a problem with our Services or when we provide you with customer support;
(e) the personal data you provide when you correspond with us by chat, phone, email or otherwise.
Information from Social Networking Sites
Our Services include interfaces that allow you to connect with social networking sites such as Sign in with Google (each a “SNS”). If you connect to a SNS through our Services, you authorize us to access, use and store the information that you agreed the SNS could provide to us based on your settings on that SNS. We will access, use and store that information in accordance with this Policy. You can revoke our access to the information you provide in this way at any time by amending the appropriate settings from within your account settings on the applicable SNS.
Automated Decision Making and Profiling
We do not use your personal data for the purposes of automated decision-making. However, we may do so in order to fulfil obligations imposed by law, in which case we will inform you of any such processing and provide you with an opportunity to object.
Data Collection Tools
When you use the Services we may also collect information through our automatic data collection tools, which may include log files, web beacons, cookies, embedded web links, and other commonly used information-gathering tools. These tools collect certain standard information that your browser sends to the Services such as your browser type and language, access times, and the address of the website from which you arrived at our website. They may also collect information about your Internet Protocol (IP) address, clickstream behavior (i.e. the pages you view, the links you click, and other actions you take in connection with the Services) and product information. We may also use some of these data tools in emails we send and therefore may collect information using these tools when you open the email or click on a link contained in the email.
Disabling Cookies
You can typically remove or reject cookies via your browser settings. In order to do this, follow the instructions provided by your browser (usually located within the “settings,” “help” “tools” or “edit” facility). Many browsers are set to accept cookies until you change your settings.
If you do not accept our cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of our Services. For example, we may not be able to recognize your computer or mobile device and you may need to log in every time you visit our Services.
Using Your Personal Data
This includes:
(a) to operate, maintain, and improve our Services;
(b) to provide the Services to you;
(c) to respond to your comments and questions and to provide customer service;
(d) to send information including technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages;
(e) with your consent, to send you marketing emails about upcoming promotions, and other news, including information about products and services offered by us and our affiliates.
You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time. Please note, even if you opt out of receiving marketing emails, we may still send you emails about your account with us (if you have one) and our business dealings with you, and as we believe necessary or appropriate: (a) to comply with applicable laws; (b) to comply with lawful requests and legal process, including to respond to requests from public and government authorities; (c) to enforce our Policy; and (d) to protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of you or others.
If you provide feedback to us, we may use and disclose such feedback on our Services, provided we do not associate such feedback with your personal data. If you have provided your consent to do so, we may post your first and last name along with your feedback on our Services. We will collect any information contained in such feedback and will treat the personal data in it in accordance with this Policy.
Analysis of Your Personal Data
When students and teachers use our Services, we collect and analyze information about how they interact with the Services, their answers to questions, chat, comments, audio and video. We will use this information to personalize content to each user, generate user performance metrics, and to improve the Services as a whole. Examples of how we analyze user data include:
(a) Personalizing recommendations for content (free or paid) for an individual user
(b) Personalizing recommendations for tutors/teachers (free or paid) for an individual user
(c) Using aggregated interactions to create lookalike groups, statistical user models, etc.
(d) Using aggregated interactions to make inferences about content, teaching techniques, etc.
(e) Assigning users the permissions including access to the right institutions, classes, and materials
(f) Creating reports/portfolios for individual students including information such as: grades and performance, attendance, time spent on materials, time spend in class, teacher notes, pictures of projects/classwork/homework, submission punctuality, and student generated content
(g) Creating reports for individual teachers and their performance
(h) Using aggregated interaction and user generated metadata to improve automatic organization and classification materials
(i) Storage of user generated content for later retrieval
(j) Sale of user generated content in a marketplace
(k) Analysis of chats and comments for automatic association with topics, subjects, etc.
(l) Analysis of chats and comments for suggestion to users as high quality explanations or question
(m) Analysis of chats and comments for frequent questions, errors, explanations, etc. on specific materials
(n) Analysis of of audio feeds to determine the most common speakers and participants at an individual level
(o) Analysis of video feed to determine participant attention, emotional state or likelihood of cheating at an individual level
(p) Analysis of video feed and/or video data to generate statistical motion and facial cue models
       (i) (biometric data will NOT be stored)
(q) Analysis of environmental factors to correlate them with productivity/performance for individual users
(r) Analysis of user generated content for correct/incorrect answers or to group similar answers
Sharing Your Personal Data
When students and tutors/teachers use the Services we will share personal data between them in order to provide the Services, and will share that data with the school/institution that manages the account in which students and tutors/teachers interact.
We may share personal data with: (a) our subsidiaries and affiliated companies; (b) subcontractors and other third party service providers; (c) auditors or advisers of our business processes; and (d) potential purchasers or investors in the company.
We reserve the right to use or disclose personal data if we have a good faith belief that disclosure is necessary to: (a) comply with the law or with legal process served on or to cooperate with any legal investigation; (b) protect and defend our rights or property of those of our users; (c) act in an emergency to protect someone’s safety; or (d) investigate any violation or potential violation of the law, this Policy, applicable Services use restrictions, any other agreements between you and use or other activity that is illegal or may expose us to legal liability.
We may share personal data with any company that acquires our company or assets. That company will possess the personal data we collected and will assume the rights and obligations regarding personal data as described in this Policy.
We may share personal data if you provide prior consent to do so.
Who Has Access to Your Data Within Our Organization
Within our organization, access to your data is limited to those persons who require access in order to provide you with the Products and Services, which you purchase from us, to contact you, and to respond to your inquiries, including requests for refund. Those staff members may be on teams such as: marketing, events, development, executive, customer support. Employees only have access to data that is relevant to their team, on a ‘need to know’ basis.
Third Party Sites
Our Services may contain links to third party websites and features. This Policy does not cover the privacy practices of such third parties. These third parties have their own privacy policies and we do not accept any responsibility or liability for their websites, features or policies. Please read their privacy policies before you submit any data to them.
Upload to YouTube: Pencil integrates with the YouTube API Services to allow uploading screen recordings from to your personal channel on YouTube. To learn more about how Google manages and protects your information, please see Google’s Privacy Policy. To manage Pencil’s access to your YouTube account, please visit Google's security settings page for the linked Google account.
Import from Google Drive: Pencil's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
International Data Transfer
Our Service runs on servers based in the United States. Your information, including personal data that we collect from you, may be transferred to, stored at and processed by us outside the country in which you reside. By accepting this Policy, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Policy.
Security
We use reasonable organizational, technical and administrative measures to protect personal data stored in the Services and by our organization. Unfortunately, no transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of any account you might have with us has been compromised), please immediately notify us of the problem by contacting us.
Retention
We will retain your personal data while you use the Services. If you close your account/cancel your subscription we will retain your personal data as instructed by the business through which your account was set up. You must contact the account owner if you would like your personal data to be updated or deleted. We may also retain personal data as required or permitted by law (for example for regulatory purposes).
Our Policy on Children
We collect personal data of children under 13 that use our Services, usually as part of our contract with an educational institution / as stated in the terms of service accepted by tutors with whom we have an agreement. This section of the Policy is in accordance with the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), and outlines our practices in the United States regarding children’s personal data. For children outside the U.S., it is the responsibility of the educator or institution to obtain consent in accordance with applicable privacy laws.
We collect personal data of children in the following circumstances:
(a) the personal data they provide about them and their parent or legal guardian when they register to use the Services;
(b) the personal data that may be contained in any content children upload or post to the Services;
(c) the personal data they provide when they report a problem with our Services or when we provide the with customer support; and
(d) the personal data they provide when you correspond with us by chat, phone, email or otherwise.
We also conduct certain analysis of personal data provided by children in connection with the Services as described in the section “Analysis of Personal Data”.
About Verifiable Parental Consent:
Our Terms of Service require users of our Services to provide notice and obtain consent to allow us to collect and process the personal data of others they invite to their digital workspace session, including consent for children’s data under COPPA and other data privacy laws.
Teacher consent in lieu of a parent:
Nearly all of the users of our Services are invited  through teachers, schools and other educational institutions.  With regard to such school-based or teacher-based activities, COPPA allows teachers and school administrators to act in the stead of parents to provide consent for the collection of personal data from children. Schools should always notify parents about these activities. For more information on parental rights with respect to a child’s educational record under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), please visit the FERPA site.
When We Obtain Parental Consent
If we are required to obtain parental consent directly, we will obtain such consent in the following manner under COPPA:
Email Consent.
In the event we wish to collect personal data from a child, and such consent is not obtained by and through an instructor or educational institution, COPPA requires that we first seek a parent or guardian’s consent by email. In the email we will explain what information we are collecting, how we plan to use it, how the parent can provide consent, and how the parent can revoke consent. If we do not receive parental consent within a reasonable time, we will delete the parent contact information and any other information collected from the child in connection with that activity.
High-Level Consent.
In the event we collect personal data from a child that will be posted publicly, and such consent is not obtained by and through an instructor or educational institution,  we will seek a higher level of consent than email consent. Such “high-level” methods of consent include but are not limited to asking for a credit card or other payment method for verification (with a nominal charge involved), speaking to a trained customer service representative by telephone or video chat, or requiring a signed consent form by mail, email attachment, or fax. After providing high-level consent, a parent may have the opportunity to use a pin or password in future communications as a way to confirm the parent’s identity.
Publicly Available:
Certain activities on our Services may involve interaction with teachers and other students, and so your child may be visible through video and audio, and information they may provide may be viewable by others. Teachers and school administrators and we may employ filters and live moderation and/or encourage other users to flag inappropriate communications. We strongly encourage children who use these interactive features on our Services to limit the information they provide to what is necessary to participate in the Services and limit the personal data about themselves they disclose. They certainly never should attempt to circumvent our filters or moderation. We also recommend that parents carefully supervise their children when the children participate in online activities.
Email Contact with a Child:
In connection with certain activities or services, we may collect a child’s online contact information, such as an email address, in order to communicate with the child more than once. In such instances we will retain the child’s online contact information to honor the request and for no other purpose such as marketing.
Persistent Identifiers:
When children interact with us, certain information may automatically be collected, both to make our sites and Services more interesting and useful to children and for various purposes related to our business. Examples include the type of computer operating system, the child’s IP address or mobile device identifier, the web browser, the frequency with which the child visits various parts of our sites or applications, and information regarding the online or mobile service provider. This information is collected using technologies such as cookies, flash cookies, web beacons, and other unique identifiers. This information may be collected by us or by a third party. This data is principally used for internal purposes only, in order to:
(1) provide children with access to features and activities on our Services;
(2) customize content and improve our Services;
(3) conduct research and analysis to address the performance of our Services;
(4) generate anonymous reporting for use by us.

In the event we collect (or allow others to collect) such information from children on our sites and applications for other purposes, we will notify parents and obtain consent prior to such collection.
Sharing of Children’s Personal Data:
We do not share your children’s personal data for direct marketing or other purposes.  We primarily share the personal data with teachers/tutors that are using the Services with your child and with our service providers who are required to maintain the security of that personal data and only use it to assist in providing the Services, and as set forth in the Section entitled Sharing Your Personal Data.
Your rights as a parent:
You have the right to review or request the deletion of your child’s personal data and refuse to permit its further collection or use. Please contact at support@pencilspaces.com to make a request.
Please contact us at the mailing address, email, or phone number below with questions about our privacy policies and collection and use practices: support@pencilspaces.com 
Your Right to Correct or Update Your Personal Data
Residents of the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom (EEA) California and certain other jurisdictions may request details, pursuant to applicable laws, about how their information is stored and shared with third parties. Please see EEA and UK Residents section below for a more specific description of rights applicable to residents of those jurisdictions.
If you are a resident of a jurisdiction that provides you with the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and/or to correct any inaccuracies within such data, and we are required by applicable laws to respond to such requests, then you may address such requests to the contact information provided in the “Contact Information” section below. We will use reasonable efforts to supply, correct or delete information that we hold about you or to advise you if we are not required by applicable laws to comply with such requests.
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at supports@pencilspaces.com. In your request, please make clear:
(i) what personal data is concerned; and
(ii) which of the above rights you would like to enforce.
For your protection, we may only implement requests with respect to the personal data associated with the particular email address that you use to send us your request, and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event, within one month of your request. Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes and/or to complete any transactions that you began prior to requesting such change or deletion.
EEA and UK Residents 
If you are a resident of the EEA and UK, the controller of your personal data is Pencil Learning Technologies at 45 Miguel St, San Francisco, CA. We rely on the following legal bases to process your personal data:
(i) To enter and perform our contracts with you, including the Terms of Service and to provide the Services;
(ii) For our legitimate interests, such as to provide and improve the Services and for marketing, research and analysis purposes;
(iii) To comply with our legal obligations;
(iv) To protect the vital interests of users; 
(v) To protect the public interest; and
(vi) With your consent, provided that you can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at support@pencilspaces.com.
You also have the following rights with respect to your PII data:
(i) Request access to your PII data.
(ii) Request correction of the PII data we hold about you.
(iii) Object to processing of your PII data. This right exists where we are relying on legitimate interest as the legal basis for our processing and there is something about your particular situation, which makes you want to object to our processing of your personal data on this ground. You also have the right to object to where we are processing your PII data for direct marketing purposes.
(iv) Request erasure of your PII data. You have the right to ask us to delete or remove personal data when there is no good reason for us to continue processing it.
(v) Request the transfer of your PII data. We will provide to you, or to a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Please note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
(vi) Withdraw your consent. You have the right to withdraw your consent from using your PII data. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide you with access to the Services.
You may exercise your rights by contacting us at the following email address: support@pencilspaces.com. Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests. If you make a request, we will respond within the time periods required by law.
You have the right to complain to a data protection authority about our collection and use of your personal information. For more information, if you are in the EEA, please contact your local data protection authority in the EEA. If you are a resident of the UK, you can submit a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.
Complaints
We are committed to resolve any complaints about our collection or use of your personal data. If you would like to make a complaint regarding this Policy or our practices in relation to your personal data, please contact us as described below. We will reply to your complaint as soon as we can and in any event, within 30 days. We hope to resolve any complaint brought to our attention, however if you feel that your complaint has not been adequately resolved, you reserve the right to contact your local data protection supervisory authority.
Amendment of this Privacy Policy
We may change this Policy at any time by posting a new version on our website. We will also notify users of any changes through their accounts, email or by other means. The new version will become effective on the date it is posted, which will be listed at the top of the page as the new Effective Date. If a user disagrees with any changes to this Policy then their only remedy is to cease using the Services.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you may contact us at dpo@pencilspaces.com.
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