Beside Math ("Beside Math," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of families who use our platform. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights. If you have questions, contact us at [email protected].
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Account Information (Parent / Account Holder)
- Full name and email address (provided at signup)
- Password (stored as a bcrypt hash — we never store the plain-text password)
- Subscription plan and billing status
- Account creation date and last active date
1.2 Student Learning Data
- Student first name (provided by parent at signup)
- Grade level and subject selections
- Problem attempts: question answered, whether correct, hints used, timestamp
- Skill mastery percentages per topic
- Daily activity streaks and star totals
- Island customization layout (in-app decorative feature)
1.3 Usage Data
- Browser type and operating system
- Pages visited and features used
- Live Sync session duration (anonymized; no audio or screen recording)
- IP address (used for rate limiting and fraud prevention; not stored long-term)
1.4 Payment Information
Payment card details are processed exclusively by Stripe, our third-party payment processor. Beside Math does not receive, store, or transmit full card numbers. We store only payment metadata (amount, plan, date, status).
2. How We Use Your Information
| Purpose | Data Used |
|---|---|
| Provide and operate the learning platform | Account info, learning data |
| Personalize learning experience and progress tracking | Student answers, mastery, streak |
| Enable Live Sync parent-student coaching | Real-time question state (in-memory, not persisted) |
| Send transactional emails (receipts, password reset) | Email address |
| Prevent fraud and enforce rate limits | IP address, login attempts |
| Improve our curriculum and platform | Aggregate, anonymized usage data |
| Comply with legal obligations | As required by applicable law |
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not use student data for advertising.
3. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)
Beside Math is a family platform. Student profiles are created by parents (account holders aged 18+). We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
- We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent
- Student data is linked to the parent's account; the parent has full visibility and control
- Parents may request deletion of all student data at any time by contacting [email protected]
- We do not display targeted advertising to students
- We do not share children's personal information with third parties for commercial purposes
If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child without parental consent, please contact us immediately. We will delete the data promptly.
4. Data Sharing & Third Parties
We share data only with the following trusted service providers, under strict data processing agreements:
- Stripe — Payment processing. Governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy.
- Anthropic (Claude AI) — Used internally by our admin team to generate curriculum questions and hints. No personal user data is sent to the AI.
- Hosting provider — Cloud infrastructure for running the application (data stored in the United States).
We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of Beside Math or its users.
5. Data Retention
- Active accounts: Data retained while the account is active
- Cancelled accounts: Data retained for 90 days after cancellation, then deleted
- Deletion requests: Processed within 30 days of a verified request
- Payment records: Retained for 7 years as required by financial regulations
6. Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:
- Passwords hashed with bcrypt (cost factor 12) — never stored in plain text
- JWT sessions stored in httpOnly cookies (not accessible to JavaScript)
- HTTPS/TLS encryption for all data in transit
- HTTP security headers via Helmet.js (X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy, etc.)
- Rate limiting on authentication endpoints to prevent brute-force attacks
- Automated daily database backups
No system is 100% secure. If you suspect a security breach, please contact [email protected] immediately.
7. Your Rights
As a parent or account holder, you have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of your personal data
- Correction — update inaccurate information via Account Settings
- Deletion — request deletion of your account and all associated data
- Portability — request your data in a machine-readable format
- Opt-out — unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time (transactional emails are required for account security)
To exercise these rights, email us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.
8. Cookies
Beside Math uses a single httpOnly session cookie to keep you logged in. This cookie:
- Is essential for platform operation (no banner needed under most frameworks)
- Expires after 7 days of inactivity
- Is never accessible to third-party scripts
We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics cookies.
9. International Users
Beside Math is operated from the United States. If you access the platform from outside the US, your data will be transferred to and processed in the US. By using Beside Math, you consent to this transfer.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as our practices evolve. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email and/or a notice in your account at least 14 days before the changes take effect. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
11. Contact Us
For any privacy-related questions or requests:
- Email: [email protected]
For security vulnerabilities: [email protected]