Privacy Policy for ElizaChat Inc.

Effective Date: December 3, 2024

At ElizaChat Inc., your privacy is our top priority. We are committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about how we use it. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your data when you use our AI mental health app for teens. It also details your rights and our compliance with legal obligations and vendor requirements.

1. Data Ownership

• Your Data, Your Control: You retain ownership of all data associated with your user account.
• Limited Sharing: We do not sell or share your data with third parties. The only exceptions are:
• When required to share information with school administrators and parents as mandated by the Federal Education Records Privacy Act (FERPA).
• When legally obligated to disclose specific information as part of mandated reporting (explained in Section 3).
• When legally obligated to report or disclose specific information to a government regulatory body.

2. Data Collection and Use

We collect data solely to provide and improve our mental health support services. Here’s what you need to know:

What We Collect

• Information you provide, such as your account details and conversations with the app.
• Communication details for designated school administrators or emergency contacts.
• Device Information.
• We may collect personal information about your device, such as your Internet protocol (IP) address, user settings, cookie identifiers, other unique identifiers, browser or device information, Internet service provider, and location information (including, as applicable, approximate location derived from IP address and precise geo-location information).
• Usage Information.
• We may collect personal information about your use of the Services, such as the pages that you visit, items that you search for, the types of content you interact with, information about the links you click, the frequency and duration of your activities, and other information about how you use the Services.

How We Use Your Data

• To provide mental health resources and support.
• To send emergency notifications to school administrators or designated contacts via text messages using Twilio’s secure services.
• To improve app functionality and user experience.

No Marketing Use

We do not use your data for advertising or marketing purposes.

3. Mandated Reporting

ElizaChat voluntarily adheres to mandated reporting laws that are required of school officials and teachers in order to protect children and youth safety. As such, ElizaChat will report such instances to relevant school officials, parents, and law enforcement, or other relevant authorities as required by law.

Reporting Harm: If you disclose:

• Abuse to yourself or others.
• Intentions for self-harm or suicide ideation.
• Intentions to harm others.

What Is Shared

Only the minimum necessary information required to ensure safety will be disclosed, including:

• Name of the user
• Date and time of incident being reported
• Relevant conversation context

4. Data Deletion

• Your Rights: You have the right to delete your account at any time.
• Permanent Deletion: Upon account deletion, all associated data will be permanently erased from our systems, with the exception of information previously disclosed under mandated reporting requirements.
• Secure Practices: We use industry-standard processes to ensure complete and secure deletion.

5. Communication and Compliance

• Emergency Text Messaging: When required, we use a third-party vendor to send text messages to school administrators or emergency contacts. By using ElizaChat, you consent to such communication. School administrators and other emergency contacts must also opt-in to receiving such messages.
• Vendor Compliance: Our vendor of choice for sending text messages is Twilio, which adheres to strict privacy and security guidelines, which you can review here.
• FERPA Compliance: All data handling is in accordance with FERPA regulations for student privacy.

6. Data Protection

We use a combination of technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect your data, including:

• Encryption for data in transit and at rest.
• Secure servers and regular security assessments.
• Limited access to data on a need-to-know basis.

While we take every precaution to protect your data, no system can be 100% secure. We encourage you to use strong passwords and safeguard your account credentials.

7. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or technology. If changes are significant, we will notify you directly through the app or via email. The "Effective Date" at the top of this policy will indicate when the changes were made.

8. Your Rights

As a user, you have the following rights:

• Access: Request access to the data we have about you.
• Correction: Request corrections to your personal information.
• Deletion: Delete your account and data at any time (subject to the exceptions described in Section 4.

To exercise these rights, you can either contact us at the email address below or perform the above functions from within the application.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or feedback about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at:

ElizaChat Inc.
contact@elizachat.com

This Privacy Policy reflects our commitment to transparency, compliance with legal standards (including FERPA and Twilio’s Messaging Policy), and safeguarding your data while providing mental health support for teens.