Privacy Policy

What we collect

When you ask for a free guide: your first name, email, which guide you wanted, the school you picked (optional), and whether you opted in to updates.

When you buy a guide: your email and order details. Payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your card number.

When you buy a guide as a gift: the student's email address and, if you add it, their first name, so we can send them the access link.

When you ask us to cover a school: the school's name, and your email only if you choose to give it, so we can tell you when that guide is ready.

To block spam and abuse we store a scrambled (hashed) version of the IP address behind form submissions and sign-in attempts. We can't turn it back into your IP address, and we delete it after about a day.

When you report a change in a guide: what you tell us, the guide and chapter, any link you add, and your email only if you choose to give it, so we can follow up.

When you use the address option in a guide's Where to Eat section, the address you type is sent to the U.S. Census Bureau's free geocoder to find its coordinates, and Freshman101 doesn't store it.

How we use it

To deliver the guides you asked for, to provide access to guides you bought, to answer support requests, and, only if you opted in, to send Freshman101 tips and updates. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link.

Who helps us run the site

We use service providers to operate: Stripe (payments), Neon (database), Netlify (hosting and file storage), and Resend (email delivery). They process data on our behalf.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with anyone for targeted or cross-context advertising. We share it only with the service providers above so they can run the site for us, or when the law requires it.

Cookies and tracking

This site does not set advertising or analytics cookies. Some things are saved only in your own browser, on your device, and never sent to us: whether you paused animations, what you type into the free tools (so your numbers are still there next time), and how far you've read in a guide. Clearing your browser's site data removes them.

If we ever add analytics or advertising tools, we'll update this policy first and change the date at the top.

Kids

This site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information.

Your choices

Want a copy of your data, a correction, or a deletion? Email freshman101.info@protonmail.com from the address in question and we'll take care of it.

How long we keep things: free guide signups until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them; purchase records as long as needed to keep your guide working and to meet accounting, tax, and legal requirements; change reports and school requests as long as they're useful for keeping the guides current.

Depending on where you live, state law may give you rights to know, access, correct, delete, or get a copy of your personal information, and to opt out of its sale or use for targeted advertising (we don't do either). We honor these requests for everyone, wherever you live. We won't treat you differently for making one.