Privacy Policy
Effective date: March 1, 2026
Vysti Research ("Vysti," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use the Vysti platform, including our website, applications, and related services (collectively, the "Service").
1. Information We Collect
Information you provide
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Name and email address | Account creation and communication |
| Date of birth | Age verification and COPPA compliance |
| Password (hashed) | Authentication |
| Essays and written content | Providing marking and feedback |
| Class and student information | Teacher progress tracking |
| Payment information | Processing subscriptions (handled by Stripe) |
Information collected automatically
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| IP address and browser type | Security and abuse prevention |
| Usage data (pages visited, features used) | Improving the Service |
| Device and session information | Authentication and troubleshooting |
2. How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Provide, maintain, and improve the Service.
- Process your essay submissions and generate feedback.
- Manage your account and subscriptions.
- Communicate with you about service updates, support, and billing.
- Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security threats.
- Comply with legal obligations.
3. How We Do NOT Use Your Information
We want to be clear about what we do not do with your data:
- We do not sell your personal information to third parties.
- We do not use your essays or written content to train AI or machine learning models.
- We do not share your content with other users unless you explicitly choose to (e.g., a student submitting to a teacher's class).
- We do not serve advertising or share data with advertisers.
4. Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services to operate the platform:
| Service | Purpose | Data shared |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Authentication and database | Email, account data, usage data |
| Stripe | Payment processing | Payment information (we do not store card numbers) |
| Google OAuth | Social sign-in | Email and name (from your Google account) |
Each third-party service operates under its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review them.
5. Data Retention
We retain your account information and content for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal information and content within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., billing records).
6. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit (TLS), secure authentication, and access controls. However, no method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
7. Children's Privacy
Vysti is used in educational settings that may include children under 13. We are committed to complying with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Age verification
We collect date of birth during registration to verify age. Users under 13 are not permitted to create accounts on their own. If a user indicates they are under 13 during registration, account creation is blocked and they are directed to have a parent, guardian, or teacher create an account on their behalf.
How children's accounts are created
- Parent or guardian enrollment. A parent or legal guardian may create an account for their child. By doing so, the parent provides verifiable consent for us to collect and use their child's information as described in this Privacy Policy, solely for educational purposes.
- Teacher or school enrollment. Under COPPA's school official exception, a teacher or school administrator may enroll students in a class. By doing so, the school acts as the parent's agent and represents that it has obtained any required parental notice or consent under applicable law, and that the Service is used solely for educational purposes.
Information collected from children
We collect the same categories of information from child accounts as described in Section 1 above. We use this information only to provide the educational Service. We do not use children's information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to the educational Service.
Parental rights
Parents and guardians may at any time:
- Review the personal information we have collected from their child.
- Request that we delete their child's personal information and account.
- Refuse to permit further collection or use of their child's information.
To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@vysti.org.
Unauthorized child accounts
If we learn that a child under 13 has created an account without verifiable parental or school consent, we will suspend the account and delete the associated personal information promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account without proper consent, please contact us immediately.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Access — Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction — Request that we correct inaccurate information.
- Deletion — Request that we delete your personal information.
- Portability — Request your data in a portable format.
- Objection — Object to certain processing of your information.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@vysti.org.
9. International Data Transfers
Vysti Research is based in Oregon, United States. Your information may be processed and stored in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate. If you are accessing the Service from outside the United States, you consent to the transfer, processing, and storage of your information in the United States and other jurisdictions, which may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.
10. Cookies
The Service uses essential cookies and local storage for authentication and session management. We do not use tracking cookies or third-party advertising cookies.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on the Service and updating the effective date. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
12. Contact
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
- Email: privacy@vysti.org
- General support: support@vysti.org