Legal
Last updated: April 28, 2026
ThinkingEngine is designed for classroom teachers and their students. We take student data seriously. This Privacy Policy explains exactly what information ThinkingEngine collects, why we collect it, and what we do not do with it.
ThinkingEngine is operated by ThinkingEngine. If you have questions about this policy, contact privacy@thinkingengine.org.
From teachers and administrators:
From students:
Students are not required to provide an email address, phone number, date of birth, or any other identifying information. Students do not create individual accounts.
ThinkingEngine does not:
Teacher information is used to operate your account, provide access to your dashboard, topics, sessions, and scores, and to communicate with you about your account and the service.
Student information is used only to run the dialogue session, generate reasoning scores and fallacy feedback, and display results to the teacher who created the session topic. We do not use student data for any purpose beyond operating the service for the teacher who initiated the session.
ThinkingEngine does not sell, rent, or share student personal information with third parties for their own purposes. We share student data only in the following limited circumstances:
ThinkingEngine uses industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect data, including:
No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. If you have concerns about data security, contact security@thinkingengine.org.
ThinkingEngine is designed to support compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Because students do not provide personally identifiable information beyond a name — and because teachers control access to session codes — the system is designed to minimize data exposure.
ThinkingEngine is considered a "school official" with a legitimate educational interest when teachers use the service in their classrooms. We do not use student data for purposes beyond the specific educational service we provide.
For school-wide deployments requiring a formal FERPA determination, data sharing agreement, or review by district counsel, contact privacy@thinkingengine.org. We can work with districts to execute Data Privacy Agreements (DPAs) where required.
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) applies to operators of websites and online services directed at children under 13, or operators with actual knowledge that they are collecting information from children under 13.
ThinkingEngine is designed for use in K-12 educational settings under the direction of teachers and schools. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without verified parental consent. Schools and teachers using ThinkingEngine with students under 13 are responsible for obtaining any necessary parental consents required by their district or state law.
If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13 without appropriate consent, contact privacy@thinkingengine.org immediately.
ThinkingEngine retains data only as long as necessary to operate the service and comply with legal obligations. The following table describes our current retention periods:
| Data type | Default retention period | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Student roster data (first name, session associations) | 12 months after last session | Confirmed |
| Dialogue transcripts | 12 months after session date | Confirmed |
| AI scores and heatmaps | 12 months after session date | Confirmed |
| Usage logs (access patterns, session events) | 90 days | Confirmed |
| Security logs (authentication events, access attempts) | 180 days | Confirmed |
| Database backups | 30 days | Confirmed |
| Billing records | Legal and tax retention period (adult accounts only) | Adults only |
Teachers may request deletion of their account data at any time by emailing privacy@thinkingengine.org. Deletion requests are processed within 30 days, subject to legal retention requirements for billing records.
Students and their parents or guardians have rights to their educational records under FERPA. Teachers and schools can access, export, and request deletion of student data through the ThinkingEngine teacher dashboard or by emailing privacy@thinkingengine.org.
Students who are the subject of records may have rights to access, correct, or request deletion of their information. These requests should be directed through the student's teacher or school, who can then contact ThinkingEngine on the student's behalf.
ThinkingEngine is operated from the United States. Data collected through the service is stored on servers located in the United States. If you are accessing the service from outside the United States, you acknowledge that data will be transferred to and processed in the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your jurisdiction.
ThinkingEngine uses browser localStorage to remember teacher sign-in state across sessions. We do not use HTTP cookies for tracking or advertising purposes.
We may use anonymous, aggregate usage statistics (which do not include student personal information) to understand usage patterns and improve the service. These statistics are collected in a manner that does not identify individual users.
ThinkingEngine uses the following third-party services:
We do not embed third-party tracking pixels, advertising networks, or analytics tools that collect student personal information.
ThinkingEngine may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If a change is material — including changes to data collection, retention, or sharing practices — we will notify teachers by email at least 30 days before the change takes effect.
The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent version. Your continued use of ThinkingEngine after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.
For questions about this Privacy Policy or to submit data access, correction, or deletion requests:
For security concerns: security@thinkingengine.org
For general support: support@thinkingengine.org