1. Introduction
First String Mentors ("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 our platform.
Our platform connects high school student-athletes (Mentors) with parents seeking tutoring, coaching, and mentoring services for their children. Given that our platform involves minors, we take privacy and data protection extremely seriously.
2. Information We Collect
From Mentors (High School Students):
- Identity Information: Full name, date of birth, grade level, school
- Contact Information: Email address, phone number
- Parent/Guardian Information: Parent's name, phone number (for safety notifications)
- Profile Information: Profile photo, intro video, tagline, bio
- Skills & Experience: Sports, academic subjects, GPA, team level (JV/Varsity)
- Availability: Days and times available for sessions
- Financial Information: Bank account details for payouts (processed by Stripe)
From Parents/Clients:
- Identity Information: Full name
- Contact Information: Email address, phone number, home address
- Children's Information: First name, grade level, sports interests, academic focus areas
- Payment Information: Credit card details (processed by Stripe)
- Location Data: Address coordinates for matching with nearby mentors
Automatically Collected Information:
- Device information (browser type, operating system)
- IP address
- Usage data (pages visited, features used)
- Cookies and similar tracking technologies
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information to:
- Provide Services: Match mentors with families, facilitate bookings, process payments
- Safety & Verification: Verify user identities, perform sex offender registry checks, send session check-in/out alerts to parents
- Communications: Send booking confirmations, session reminders, message notifications via SMS and email
- Platform Improvement: Analyze usage patterns, improve features, fix bugs
- Legal Compliance: Comply with applicable laws and regulations
- Customer Support: Respond to inquiries and resolve disputes
4. SMS Communications (TCPA Compliance)
By providing your phone number and verifying it on our platform, you consent to receive automated SMS messages from First String Mentors, including:
- Session check-in and check-out alerts (for mentor parents)
- Booking confirmations and reminders
- New message notifications
- Account verification codes
Message Frequency: Message frequency varies based on your activity and booked sessions.
Costs: Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile carrier.
Opt-Out: You can opt out of SMS messages at any time by replying STOP to any message. Reply HELP for assistance.
Carriers: Supported carriers include AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and most other major US carriers.
5. Information Sharing
We share your information only in the following circumstances:
Between Users:
- Mentor profiles (name, photo, school, skills) are visible to Parents searching for mentors
- Parent contact information is shared with Mentors only for confirmed bookings
- Children's first names and focus areas are shared with Mentors for session planning
With Service Providers:
- Stripe: Payment processing
- Telnyx: SMS delivery
- Twilio: Phone verification
- Resend: Email delivery
- Supabase: Database hosting
- Vercel: Application hosting
For Legal Reasons:
We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or to protect the safety of our users and the public.
6. Children's Privacy (COPPA)
Our platform is designed for use by parents/guardians to book services for their children. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13.
Information collected about children (through parent accounts):
- First name only (no last name)
- Grade level
- Sports and academic interests
This minimal information is necessary to match children with appropriate mentors and plan effective sessions. Parents have full control over this information and can update or delete it at any time.
If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent, please contact us immediately.
7. Data Retention
We retain your information for as long as:
- Your account is active
- Necessary to provide services and fulfill legal obligations
- Required for tax, accounting, or legal purposes
Session records and payment history are retained for 7 years for tax and legal compliance. You may request deletion of your account and personal data at any time, subject to legal retention requirements.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the right to:
- Access: Request a copy of your personal data
- Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data
- Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data
- Portability: Request your data in a portable format
- Opt-Out: Opt out of marketing communications and SMS messages
To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@befirststring.com.
California Residents (CCPA):
California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, including the right to know what personal information is collected and the right to request deletion.
9. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:
- Encryption of data in transit (HTTPS/TLS)
- Encryption of sensitive data at rest
- Row-level security in our database
- Regular security audits
- Access controls and authentication
While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Third-Party Links
Our platform may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via email and update the "Effective Date" at the top of this page. Continued use of our platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
- Email: privacy@befirststring.com
- General Support: support@befirststring.com