Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Story Writing Lab is a creative writing game for classrooms, operated by Wise Owl Solutions LLC (“Story Writing Lab,” “we,” “us”). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices teachers, schools, and parents have.

Teachers are the only people who create accounts. Students join a teacher's game with a game code and do not have accounts. For teacher account information, we decide how the information is used. For student information, we act on behalf of, and under the direction of, the teacher and their school.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Teachers

• Account information: name, email address, and profile picture, received when you sign in through our login provider (for example, with Google or email and password).
• Profile information: role, grade, subject, school, district, and answers to onboarding questions (such as how you heard about us).
• Billing information: plan, subscription status, and a payment processor customer ID. Card details are handled by Stripe and never stored by us.
• Content you create: classes, games, writing prompts, rubrics (including files you upload), challenges, and comments on student feedback.
• Communications: messages you send to support and details submitted in quote requests (such as name, job title, email, phone, and institution, including those of a decision maker you list).

2.2 Students

Students do not create accounts, and we do not ask students for an email address, phone number, password, or birth date. When a student joins a game, we collect only:

• Name: the name the student types when joining. We ask teachers to have students use a first name or nickname.
• Writing and gameplay: stories submitted in each round and votes cast during the game.
• Feedback: rubric scores and written feedback that are created by the teacher or generated with AI and reviewed and approved by the teacher.
• Device identifier: a random identifier created in the browser so a student can rejoin the same game. It is not linked to the student's identity outside the game.

Student information is always linked to the teacher's game and class. Other players in the same game can see student names, and some stories are shown to the class during the voting round. Teachers can see their students' writing and feedback and can export feedback reports that include the student's name.

2.3 Technical and Usage Information

When anyone uses our website or app, including students during a game, we automatically collect technical information such as IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, and error logs. We use Google Analytics for usage statistics and Sentry for error monitoring. Sentry may record a replay of a session to help us fix errors; replays mask the text on screen. This information is used only to operate, secure, and improve the Services, not for advertising or profiling.

2.4 Website Visitors

When you contact us or request a demo through our website, we collect what you enter in the form, such as name, work email, school or district, role, number of students, and your message. Our contact form uses hCaptcha to block spam.

3. How We Use Information

• To run games and deliver the features of the Services.
• To generate writing feedback, rubrics, and challenges with AI (see Section 4).
• To manage accounts, subscriptions, and payments.
• To respond to support requests and quote requests.
• To send teachers service emails (account, billing, security) and product updates and newsletters. Teachers can unsubscribe from newsletters and product emails at any time using the link in the email or by contacting us.
• To keep the Services secure, fix errors, and understand how the Services are used so we can improve them.
• To comply with the law.

Student information is used only to provide the educational Services to the teacher and school. We never use it for advertising, marketing, or building profiles of students.

4. Artificial Intelligence

Story Writing Lab uses Google's Gemini models to generate draft writing feedback for students, help teachers build rubrics, and create writing challenges and images.

• What we send: to generate student feedback, we send the student's story text together with the round prompts, game topic, grade level, and the teacher's rubric. We do not send student names or account identifiers, and we instruct the model not to include personal information in its response. For teacher tools, we send the teacher's prompt and rubric content.
• No training on your data: we do not use teacher or student information to train AI models. We use Google's paid Gemini API, and under Google's Gemini API Additional Terms of Service (Paid Services), Google does not use our prompts or responses to improve its products.
• Teachers stay in control: AI feedback is a draft. Teachers review, edit, and approve feedback before it is shared with students.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own advertising. We share information only:

• With service providers that help us run the Services (listed below), who may use it only to provide their services to us.
• With the teacher and school that a student's information belongs to.
• When required by law, or to protect the safety and rights of our users, the public, or Story Writing Lab.
• In a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case this Privacy Policy will continue to apply to the information transferred.

5.1 Service Providers

These are the service providers that process personal information for us. Select a vendor's name to read its privacy policy.

6. Cookies and Local Storage

• Sign-in cookies keep teachers logged in. They are required for the Services to work.
• Game storage: during a game, the student's browser stores a temporary game token so they can reconnect. It is removed when the game ends.
• Analytics cookies from Google Analytics help us understand how the Services are used. You can opt out with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

7. Data Retention and Deletion

• We keep teacher account information for as long as the account is active.
• We keep student information for as long as the teacher's account is active, or until the teacher or school asks us to delete it.
• Account deletion: teachers can have their account deleted at any time by emailing support@storywritinglab.com. Deleting an account deletes the teacher's information and all of their classes, games, and student information (names, stories, votes, and feedback).
• We complete verified deletion requests within 30 days. Copies in backups are removed as those backups expire. Stripe may keep billing records that it is legally required to keep.

8. Data Security

We protect information with safeguards that include:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest.
• Access controls that limit access to personal information to the people who need it to run the Services.
• Regular security updates to our systems.
• Reviewing the privacy and security practices of our vendors.
• Collecting only the information we need.

If we confirm a security breach affecting personal information, we will notify affected teachers and schools within 72 hours of confirmation, including what happened, what information was involved, and the steps we are taking.

9. FERPA

Student information in Story Writing Lab may be part of a student's education record under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). When a school uses the Services, we act as a “school official” with a legitimate educational interest, under the school's direct control over how student information is used. We use student information only to provide the Services and help schools respond to parents' requests to review or correct their child's records.

10. COPPA and Children Under 13

Story Writing Lab is designed for use in schools. As allowed under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we rely on the teacher or school to authorize the collection of information from students under 13 for educational purposes. Information collected this way is used only to provide the Services to the school, never for commercial purposes. We collect only what is needed for students to take part in a game.

11. Parents and Guardians

Parents and guardians can review their child's information, ask us to delete it, or ask us to stop collecting it. Because students take part through their teacher, the fastest way is to contact your child's teacher or school. You can also contact us at support@storywritinglab.com; we will verify your request and work with the school to respond.

12. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information, to object to or limit how we use it, and to withdraw consent. These rights include those under the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation and U.S. state privacy laws such as those in California and Texas. To make a request, contact support@storywritinglab.com. We will not treat you differently for exercising your rights. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.

13. International Users

Story Writing Lab is based in the United States, and information is stored and processed in the United States. If you use the Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to the United States.

14. Our Commitments

• We never sell personal information.
• We never show ads to students.
• We do not build profiles of students or teachers for advertising.
• We do not use teacher or student information to train AI models.
• Student information is used only for education.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify teachers by email or in the Services before the changes take effect. The “Last Updated” date at the top shows when this policy was last changed.

16. Contact Us

Questions or requests about this Privacy Policy can be sent to support@storywritinglab.com.