Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-05-06

SmartTuition.ai is designed to be useful without identifying you. We don't require an account, we don't ask for your name or contact info to generate a plan, and we don't sell, rent, or share data with anyone. This page describes exactly what we do and don't do with the information you provide.

What we collect by default (no identifying information)

To generate your plan, we collect and store:

• Information you enter in the intake form: student's enrollment year, school, family income, savings, 529 balance, preferences. None of these fields is your name, email, phone, or any other personal identifier.
• The plan we generate, stored under a randomly-generated anonymous plan ID (e.g. STA-AB12-CD34) — your plan's URL is the only way to retrieve it.
• Standard server logs (IP address, user agent) for security and abuse prevention. These are retained for 30 days and not joined to plan data.

We do not infer your identity from this data. Your IP address isn't linked to your plan ID in our database.

What we collect optionally (only if you choose)

On every plan page, we offer an optional “Quality control” card where you can leave an email address. This is the only personally identifying information we ever collect, and it's entirely opt-in.

What we use the email for

• One-time correction notice if our QA review finds a material error in your plan. The notice will include a link to the corrected plan and a brief description of what changed.
• That's the entire scope. Nothing else.

What we won't use the email for

• Marketing — we don't send promotional email.
• Newsletters — we don't have one.
• Sale, rental, or sharing with anyone — never. Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to colleges, not to financial-aid services, not to anyone.
• Cross-product profiling — we don't maintain user profiles.
• Re-engagement nudges (“come back and update your plan”) — none of those.

How long we keep the email

We delete it automatically 12 months after you submit it, regardless of whether we ever used it. A daily cleanup process enforces this. You can also delete it any time before that using the link from the confirmation page (or the “Manage / delete” link shown on your plan page after submission).

Plan data retention

Your plan markdown and inputs are stored indefinitely under your anonymous plan ID, so the URL you saved continues to work. If you want your plan permanently deleted, contact us using the email on this page — since we don't have your contact info linked to the plan, we'll need you to provide the plan ID for verification.

Third parties

We use the following third-party services to operate the site:

• Anthropic — for plan generation. Plan inputs are sent to Anthropic's Claude API at generation time. Anthropic's data-handling policies apply to that processing.
• Turso (LibSQL) — database hosting.
• Vercel — application hosting.
• Resend — transactional email delivery (used only for the optional QA-error outreach described above).
• College Scorecard (US Department of Education) — public school cost data. We send school names, not your personal info.

We've picked these vendors because they meet baseline privacy standards, but inclusion isn't an endorsement of their full policies. You can review each one's privacy policy on their respective sites.

Cookies

We use only essential cookies needed for the site to function (e.g., session state during plan generation). We don't use analytics cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party tracking by default.

Your rights

• Delete your contact email at any time — use the link from your confirmation page or the manage link on your plan.
• Delete your plan — contact us with your plan ID and we'll remove it from our records within 30 days.
• Get a copy of your data — your plan's URL already provides this. If you also have a contact email on file, email us and we'll confirm what's stored.

Children's privacy

The site is intended for use by parents and adult students. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe we have, contact us and we'll delete it.

Changes

When we update this policy, we'll change the “Last updated” date at the top. Material changes will be reflected with a banner on the plan page for 30 days following the change.

Contact

For privacy questions or data-deletion requests, email us at privacy@smarttuition.ai (set up before launch).

SmartTuition.ai provides educational financial planning tools, not professional financial advice.