Privacy Policy

Recess Forum is a discussion forum for parents navigating their kids' education. This page explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.

Account information. When you sign up with email and password, we store your email address and the nickname you choose. Your nickname — not your real name or email — is what other users see.

Google or Apple Sign-In. If you choose to sign in with Google or Apple instead, that provider shares your name and email address with us, consistent with the permissions you approve on their consent screen (Apple lets you hide your real email behind a private relay address instead — either way works the same for signing in). We use this the same way as an email/password account: to create your profile and let you choose a nickname.

Content you post. Posts, comments, and votes are stored and attributed to your nickname. An optional state (never a precise zip code — we deliberately never store that) can be attached to a post.

Verified Expert applications. If you apply to be listed as a Verified Expert, the credential file you upload is stored in a private location accessible only to you and site administrators reviewing your application.

Our free tools (letters, transcripts, checklists, calculators) run in your browser. What you type is not stored unless you choose "Save to my documents." Saved documents are private to your account. If you turn on sharing for a document, anyone with that private link can view it until you turn sharing off. You can edit or delete your documents at any time, and they are deleted with your account.

We use your information to operate the forum: creating your account, displaying your posts and nickname, tallying votes and karma, reviewing Verified Expert applications, and sending transactional emails (like confirming your email address when you sign up).

We also use the topics you pick to decide which posts to tell you about, but only if you choose to receive those emails (see below).

Topic alerts (opt-in). When you sign up, or later in Settings, you pick the topics you care about. If you also check the box to get topic alerts, we email you when a new public post appears in one of those topics, at most 5 emails a day. We never turn this on for you, and we keep a record of when you agreed and the wording you agreed to. Posts inside private circles are never sent by email.

Weekly digest (opt-in). If you check the separate weekly digest box, we send one email a week with popular posts and unanswered questions in your topics, plus upcoming Office Hours. It has its own one-click unsubscribe link.

Verified Expert emails. When an expert application is approved, we send one welcome email. Experts can opt in to a daily email of questions in their topics still waiting for an expert answer (with its own one-click unsubscribe link). When a member uses "Ask a Verified Expert" on their own post, we email that expert a link to the post; experts can turn these off with the reply email setting. The request (which post and which expert) may be shown on the post.

Reply emails. We email you when someone replies to your post or comment. You can turn these off in Settings.

Unsubscribing. Every topic alert has an unsubscribe link that works with one click, without logging in, and takes effect right away. You can also change your topics or turn any of these emails off at any time in Settings. Unsubscribing from notifications doesn't affect emails we must send about your account, like password resets.

We don't send marketing emails, and we never share your email address or your topics with advertisers.

We use a small number of service providers to run the forum, each of which only sees the data needed to do its job: Supabase (accounts, database, file storage), Resend (delivering account and notification emails), OpenAI (an automated check for violent content on new posts and comments before they're published — it doesn't store what you write), and Google or Apple (only if you choose to sign in with one of them). None of these providers are permitted to use your data for their own advertising.

We don't sell your personal information. We don't run targeted advertising or share data for advertising purposes on sensitive categories — Special Education, Mental Health, or Bullying — and we never will, regardless of how the site grows.

We use a session cookie, managed by our authentication provider (Supabase), to keep you signed in. We don't use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

Recess Forum is intended for parents and other adults, not for children. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13.

You can change your topics and turn email notifications on or off at any time in Settings. You can edit or delete your posts and comments at any time. You can also permanently delete your account and all of your content yourself, at any time, from Settings — no need to contact us. If you'd rather we do it for you, or you want a copy of your data first, email us at the address below.

If we make material changes to this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page.

Questions about this policy? Email us at recessforum@gmail.com.