Last updated: October 15, 2026
1. Who we are
OpenSTEM Help ("we", "us") operates openstemhelp.com and the application at app.openstemhelp.com (together, the "Service"). Questions about this policy can be sent to help@openstemhelp.com.
2. Information we collect
From parents and guardians
- Name, email address, and contact details
- Relationship to the student and confirmation of consent
From students (grades 6–8)
- First name or preferred name, and grade level
- Help request details: subject, topic, preferred availability
- Feedback submitted after sessions
From mentors (high-school volunteers)
- Name, email, grade or school year, and guardian contact (mentors may be minors)
- STEM strengths, relevant experience, availability, and application responses
- Session and volunteer-hour records
Automatically
- Basic technical data such as browser type, device type, IP address and log data, used for security and reliability
We do not ask for payment information, precise location, government ID numbers, or social-media handles of students.
3. How we use information
- To create and manage accounts and verify guardian consent
- To review mentor applications and generate and approve mentor matches
- To coordinate, supervise and improve mentoring sessions
- To verify volunteer hours
- To keep the Service safe, investigate reports, and enforce our policies
- To communicate service updates and respond to enquiries
We do not sell personal information. We do not use children's information for advertising or marketing profiles.
4. Who can see information
- Authorised Open STEM Help team members can see information needed to review mentors, make matches, and oversee sessions.
- Matched mentors see only what is needed to prepare for a session (for example, grade, subject and topic), not a child's full contact details.
- Service providers who host the Service or provide meeting tools (such as Daily.co for online sessions, if enabled) process data on our behalf under appropriate terms.
- Legal and safety disclosures: we may share information where required by law, or where necessary to protect a child or others from harm.
5. Children's privacy
We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable consent from a parent or guardian. Parents and guardians may review the information held about their child, ask us to correct or delete it, and withdraw consent at any time by emailing help@openstemhelp.com. If we learn we hold a child's information without proper consent, we will delete it.
6. Online sessions
Sessions follow the meeting process approved by our team. Unless we tell you otherwise in advance and obtain consent, sessions are not recorded. Where we use a third-party video provider such as Daily.co, that provider's technical processing applies to the session.
7. Retention
We keep information only as long as needed for the purposes above. Account and request data is deleted or anonymised within a reasonable period after an account is closed, except where we must retain records for safety, legal or volunteer-hour verification reasons. Safeguarding records may be kept longer where required.
8. Security
We use access controls, encryption in transit, and role-based permissions so that people only see what they need. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affecting personal information occurs, we will notify affected families and authorities as required by law.
9. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or port your information, and to object to certain processing. Parents and guardians can exercise these rights on behalf of their child. Contact help@openstemhelp.com; we will respond within the time required by applicable law.
10. Changes
If we make material changes we will update the date above and notify registered users. For changes affecting children's information, we will seek renewed guardian consent where required.