Introduction

Welcome to Criteria Guru. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our AI-powered essay evaluation service.

Key Promise: We do NOT use your submitted essays or data to train our AI models. Your work remains yours, private and secure.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

Account Information: Email address, name, and password (encrypted) when you register
Essay Submissions: Text documents, file metadata, subject selection, and criteria choices
Profile Information: Optional information such as school year, subjects studied
Communication: Messages sent through our contact forms or support channels

1.2 Automatically Collected Information

Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, time spent on platform
Device Information: Browser type, operating system, IP address
Cookies: Session cookies for authentication and preference storage

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes:

Service Delivery: Process essay evaluations and provide criterion-based feedback
Account Management: Create and maintain your account, authenticate access
Improvement: Analyze aggregate usage patterns (NOT individual essays) to improve service quality
Communication: Send service updates, feedback results, and respond to inquiries
Security: Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and technical issues
Legal Compliance: Comply with applicable laws and regulations

3. How We Protect Your Essays

Our Commitment to Student Privacy

No AI Training: Your essays are NEVER used to train or improve our AI models
No Sharing: We do not sell, rent, or share your essays with third parties
No Plagiarism Database: Your work is not added to any plagiarism detection database
Temporary Processing: Essays are processed for feedback and stored only for your access
Your Control: You can delete your submissions at any time

4. Data Storage and Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

Encryption: Data encrypted in transit (TLS/SSL) and at rest (AES-256)
Access Control: Strict access controls and authentication for our systems
Regular Audits: Security audits and vulnerability assessments
Data Centers: Hosted in secure, SOC 2 compliant data centers
Backups: Regular encrypted backups with secure retention policies

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate our platform:

AI Providers: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google (for essay evaluation only, under strict data processing agreements)
Infrastructure: Cloudflare (CDN, security), AWS/cloud storage (encrypted data storage)
Analytics: Privacy-focused analytics (no personal data tracking)

All third-party providers are contractually bound to protect your data and not use it for their own purposes.

6. Data Retention

Essay Submissions: Retained for 12 months or until you delete them
Account Information: Retained while your account is active
Feedback Results: Stored in your account history for reference
Deleted Data: Permanently removed from active systems within 30 days, backups within 90 days

7. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR Compliance)

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Access: Request a copy of all data we hold about you
Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
Deletion: Request deletion of your account and all associated data
Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format
Objection: Object to certain data processing activities
Restriction: Request limitation of data processing
Withdrawal: Withdraw consent for data processing at any time

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@criteriaguru.com

8. Children's Privacy

Our service is designed for IB MYP students (typically ages 11-16). We comply with applicable children's privacy laws including COPPA and GDPR:

Users under 13 require parental consent
We collect only necessary information for service delivery
Parents can review, delete, or request removal of their child's data
We do not use children's data for marketing or advertising

9. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies for:

Essential Cookies: Authentication, security, session management (required)
Preference Cookies: Remember your settings and preferences
Analytics Cookies: Understand how users interact with our service (with consent)

You can manage cookie preferences through our cookie consent banner or browser settings.

10. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your residence. We ensure adequate protection through:

Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission
Equivalent data protection safeguards in destination countries
Compliance with applicable cross-border data transfer regulations

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify you of material changes via:

Email notification to your registered address
Prominent notice on our website
Update to the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy

Continued use of our service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your data:

Email: privacy@criteriaguru.com

General Contact: support@criteriaguru.com

Data Protection Officer: dpo@criteriaguru.com

Website: Contact Form

13. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

Contract Performance: Processing necessary to provide our essay evaluation service
Consent: Where you have given explicit consent for specific processing activities
Legitimate Interest: Improving our service, security, fraud prevention
Legal Obligation: Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

Your Trust Matters: At Criteria Guru, student privacy is paramount. We exist to help students learn and improve—not to exploit their data. If you have any concerns about how we handle your information, please don't hesitate to reach out.