Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following information you provide directly: name, email address, and school/institution affiliation. We also collect platform usage metadata — such as pages visited, features used, and device information — solely to improve the platform experience.

Regarding your submissions: While sparkXchange stores the content you submit to the platform (ideas, documents, and related materials), we only collect and process metadata about those submissions (e.g., timestamps, submission status, version history). We do not read, mine, analyze, or use the substance of your submitted content for any purpose other than delivering the platform service to you.

You retain full and true ownership of all content you submit. sparkXchange acts solely as a custodian of your data, not an owner or licensee. Your intellectual property remains yours at all times.

2. How We Use Your Information

Your information is used to: provide and maintain the platform, authenticate your identity, deliver role-appropriate features, process transactions, communicate platform updates, and improve our services. We never sell your personal information to third parties.

3. Data Security

All data is encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption and in transit using TLS 1.2+. We implement row-level security policies, role-based access controls, and comprehensive audit logging. See our Security & Encryption page for full details.

4. Institutional Data & DPA Compliance

sparkXchange is designed to meet the data privacy requirements of K–12 school districts and higher education institutions. We support and are aligned with standard Data Privacy Agreement (DPA) frameworks, including compliance with FERPA, COPPA, and state-level student privacy laws.

• Student data and institutional submissions are kept strictly private within each institution's scope and are never shared across institutions.
• District administrators can only view aggregate statistics — not individual student data.
• The platform is blocked from search engine indexing to protect institutional privacy.
• No student data is used for advertising, profiling, or sold to third parties — ever.
• We do not collect more data than is necessary to provide the service.

5. Institutional Licenses

Institutions operating under a sparkXchange institutional license retain full ownership of all data generated by their students and staff on the platform. Upon termination of an institutional license, the institution may request a complete export of all associated data. sparkXchange will permanently delete all institutional data within 30 days of a verified termination request. Institutions may also execute a formal Data Privacy Agreement (DPA) with sparkXchange prior to onboarding.

6. Data Retention

We retain your data as long as your account is active. The following retention schedule applies:

• Active accounts: All data is retained and fully accessible.
• 90 days of inactivity: Submissions are automatically archived. Archived submissions can be restored by logging back in.
• 180 days of inactivity: Archived submissions are permanently purged and cannot be recovered.
• Account deletion: Upon account deletion, all personal information and submissions are removed within 30 days.
• Submission provenance records may be retained for audit and compliance purposes in anonymized form.

7. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

• Access: Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you.
• Correction: Request corrections to inaccurate personal data.
• Deletion: You have the right to completely delete all of your submissions and personal data at any time. This action is permanent and irreversible.
• Export: Export your submissions and associated data at any time in a portable format.
• Opt-out: Opt out of non-essential communications at any time.

Contact us at info@sparkxchange.ai for any data requests.

8. Contact

For privacy-related inquiries, contact Spark Exchange Inc. at info@sparkxchange.ai or visit our Contact page.

Spark Exchange Inc. is a Virginia corporation operating as sparkXchange, located in Northern Virginia, USA.