Privacy Policy for Gradebird

Owned by Tutorchain LLC

Effective Date: July 19, 2025

This Privacy Policy describes how Gradebird, a platform owned and operated by Tutorchain LLC ("Tutorchain," "we," "us," or "our"), collects, uses, and discloses information from instructors and students ("users") who access and use our service. Gradebird provides tools that instructors can use to augment traditional learning management systems, facilitating assignments, feedback, and assessment.

Our Commitment to Privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of the data we collect and process, especially student education records. We understand that our service handles sensitive information related to student learning. This policy aims to be transparent about our practices.

1. Scope of This Policy

This policy applies to instructors and students whose instructors require them to use Gradebird. For the purposes of this policy, Gradebird operates as a service provider to educational institutions and instructors, handling student education records on their behalf.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information necessary to provide and improve our services.

• Information Provided by Instructors:
  • Instructor Account Information: When an instructor creates an account, we collect their name, email address, and any other information they provide to set up their account.
  • Student Roster Information: Instructors provide student names, email addresses, and student IDs to populate their course rosters on Gradebird. In the future, we may integrate directly with Learning Management Systems (LMS) to gather this information.
• Information Generated Through Student Use:
  • Student Assignments: Students upload assignment files to Gradebird. These files are stored on Amazon Web Services (AWS). While we do not explicitly collect Personal Identifiable Information (PII) from these files, students may, at their discretion, include PII within the content of their uploaded assignments (e.g., writing their name on a document). We cannot control the content students choose to upload. However, any PII contained within these files that we become aware of will be treated with the same level of protection as other student data under this policy.
  • Instructor Feedback and Assessment Data: We store feedback provided by instructors on student assignments, as well as assessment scores generated within Gradebird. Please note that Gradebird does not store official course grades; the instructor determines how to use Gradebird assessment scores in their course.
  • Usage Information: We collect information about how instructors and students interact with the Gradebird platform (e.g., login times, features used, pages visited) to ensure proper functioning of the service and to improve the user experience.
• No Information from Cookies or Tracking Technologies: We do not use cookies, web beacons, or similar tracking technologies to collect personal information from users.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• To Provide and Operate the Gradebird Service: To create and manage user accounts, deliver assignments, facilitate instructor feedback and assessment, and ensure the proper functioning of the platform.
• To Support Learning and Teaching: To enable instructors to manage their courses, distribute assignments, provide feedback, and track student progress.
• For Internal Operations: To monitor system performance, troubleshoot issues, maintain security, and improve our services.
• For Research and Development (De-identified Data Only): In the future, we may use de-identified or anonymized data for internal research purposes to improve educational outcomes and enhance the Gradebird platform. This research will never use data that can identify individual students. Specifically, we commit that we will not use student-uploaded material for anonymized data unless it has been first guaranteed to not contain PII and has been thoroughly de-identified according to FERPA standards.

4. How We Share and Disclose Information

We share information only in limited circumstances as described below:

• With Instructors: We share student names, email addresses, student IDs, uploaded assignments, feedback, and assessment data with the instructor(s) of the relevant course(s) to facilitate their educational activities.
• With Educational Institutions: As Gradebird operates as a service provider to instructors and, by extension, to educational institutions, we process student education records on their behalf. Any sharing with the broader institution would be done in accordance with FERPA and our agreements.
• Third-Party Service Providers (AWS): We use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the storage of student-uploaded assignment files. While these files may contain PII if a student chooses to include it, student names, email addresses, and student IDs are not stored directly on AWS by Gradebird. AWS acts solely as a data processor for storage under our instructions. We ensure that our contracts with service providers like AWS require them to maintain the confidentiality and security of the data they process on our behalf.
• Legal Compliance and Protection: We may disclose information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to (a) comply with a legal obligation, (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Tutorchain LLC/Gradebird, (c) prevent fraud, (d) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the service or the public, or (e) protect against legal liability.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or other sale of all or a portion of our assets, user information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our website of any such change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information.
• No Sale of Data: We do not sell, rent, or lease any personal information to third parties.

5. FERPA Compliance

Gradebird is designed to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regarding the privacy of student education records.

• Role as a "School Official": By providing services to instructors who require students to use Gradebird, we act as a "school official" or service provider with a legitimate educational interest in accessing and using student education records on behalf of the educational institution.
• Education Records: The student information we collect (names, email addresses, student IDs, uploaded assignments, instructor feedback, and assessment scores) constitutes "education records" as defined by FERPA.
• Confidentiality: We maintain the confidentiality of education records and will not redisclose them except as permitted by FERPA or this policy.
• Instructor Responsibility: Since students are required by their instructors to use Gradebird and may not explicitly agree to this privacy policy directly with us, it is the responsibility of the instructor and the educational institution to ensure that students are appropriately informed about Gradebird's data collection and privacy practices, in accordance with FERPA and any applicable institutional policies.

6. Data Security

We implement access controls to protect the personal information we collect and maintain. However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide the services to you or your instructor/institution, or for other legitimate business purposes such as complying with legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. Unless a deletion request is received, we maintain data indefinitely.

8. Your Rights

You have certain rights regarding your personal information, consistent with FERPA and other applicable laws:

• Right to Access: You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Correction/Amendment: You have the right to request that we correct or amend any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Deletion: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information. We will fulfill such requests unless we have a legal obligation or legitimate educational reason to retain the data.

How to Exercise Your Rights:
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@gradebird.com. We may require verification of your identity or, for student data, we may direct your request to your instructor or educational institution to ensure compliance with FERPA.

9. Children's Privacy (Minors in College Courses)

While Gradebird primarily serves college and graduate-level students, we acknowledge that minors may be enrolled in college courses. In such cases, Gradebird's collection and processing of student information are governed by FERPA, which permits the disclosure of education records to "school officials" with legitimate educational interests without parental consent. We rely on the educational institution and the instructor to ensure appropriate authorization and notice for the collection of data from minors, in accordance with FERPA.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on our website and updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Tutorchain LLC (operating Gradebird)
Email: info@gradebird.com