Privacy Policy

What we collect

• Account details: your email address and display name. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email from Google. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider and stored only as a secure hash.
• Onboarding answers: your goal, experience level, weekly hours and chosen career path, which we use to size your goals and suggest where to start.
• Learning activity: lessons you complete, the answers you submit to be graded, your XP, level, streak, achievements and review schedule, and certificates you earn.
• AI mentor conversations: the questions you ask and the lesson context sent with them, which can include the code in your editor and the error you're seeing. We keep the conversation so you can come back to it, and count messages to apply your plan's monthly allowance.
• Things you publish: community posts and replies, likes, and project submissions.
• Payment records: your plan, its renewal or trial dates, and a customer reference from our payment processor. We never see or store your full card number.
• Notification settings: whether you've opted in to reminder emails, and the push subscription your browser gives us if you turn on notifications.
• Usage events: which pages and features are used (for example, that a lesson was started), linked to your account when you're signed in, or to a random ID stored in your browser when you're not. We use these to understand what helps people learn. They're stored in our own database, not sent to an analytics company.
• Technical data: like any website, our servers and providers receive your IP address and browser details when you connect, and keep them in logs for security and troubleshooting.

Code you run in a lesson runs in your own browser. Unfinished answers and code drafts are saved in your browser's local storage, not on our servers, until you submit them.

How we use it

• To run your account and the courses: grading answers, awarding XP, keeping your streak and scheduling reviews.
• To answer your questions through the AI mentor.
• To issue certificates and let others check that one is genuine.
• To send reminder emails or push notifications, only if you've opted in. Every email has an unsubscribe link.
• To take payments and manage your plan.
• To keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and moderate the community.
• To improve Ascent, using usage events and aggregate statistics.

What other people can see

Some of what you do on Ascent is visible to others by design:

• Your display name, bio, career path, XP, level and streak appear on the leaderboard and on your public profile page.
• Community posts and replies, under your display name.
• Portfolio projects you choose to make public.
• The name on a certificate you've earned, to anyone who has its link or ID, on our public verification page.

Use a display name you're comfortable being public. Your email address is never shown to other learners.

Who processes data for us

We use these providers to run Ascent. Each receives only what it needs for its job, under its own privacy and security terms:

• Supabase: our database and sign-in system. Your account, progress and everything listed above is stored there.
• Google (Gemini): generates the AI mentor's replies. Your question and the lesson context, including any code you're asking about, are sent to it. Please don't paste passwords, API keys or other people's personal information into the mentor.
• Google (Sign-in): only if you choose to sign in with Google.
• Stripe: processes payments and stores your card details.
• Resend: delivers our emails, including reminders and password resets.
• Your browser's push service (for example Google, Mozilla or Apple): delivers notifications if you turn them on. The message content is encrypted.
• jsDelivr: serves the Python runtime that lessons download into your browser, so it receives your IP address when that happens.
• Our hosting provider: serves the website and handles requests.

These providers may process data outside Canada, including in the United States, where it is subject to the laws of that country. We share data with others only if the law requires us to, or to protect people's safety or our legal rights.

Cookies and browser storage

We don't use advertising cookies or third-party trackers. We store a few things in your browser because the site needs them: your sign-in session, the random usage ID described above, and your unsaved lesson drafts. Clearing your browser's site data removes them and signs you out.

How long we keep it

We keep your account data for as long as you have an account. You can delete your account yourself from your profile page; that removes your profile, progress, certificates, mentor conversations and other personal data straight away, including your community posts and replies. If you'd rather, email us and we'll do it within 30 days. Payment and tax records are kept for as long as the law requires, by us or our payment processor. Copies in backups are overwritten on their normal cycle.

Your choices and rights

You can:

• Change your display name and bio in your profile, and retake onboarding from your dashboard.
• Turn reminder emails and notifications off at any time, from your profile or the unsubscribe link in any email.
• Ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct anything that's wrong.
• Delete your account and data, from your profile page or by asking us.
• Withdraw consent you've given, without affecting what we did before.

To make a request, email hello@equawire.com from the address on your account. We'll reply within 30 days. Depending on where you live, you may have further rights under local law, and we'll honour them. If you're not satisfied with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or your local data protection authority.

Security

Data travels over encrypted connections. Access to each learner's data is restricted at the database level, so one account can't read another's. Grading and XP are calculated on our servers. Certificates carry a signature so forgeries can be detected. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your data, we'll tell you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

Age

Ascent is for people aged 16 and over. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone younger. If you believe someone under 16 has an account, contact us and we'll delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For significant changes, we'll also tell you by email or in the app before they take effect. See also our Terms of Service.

Contact

Equawire Inc., Ontario, Canada. Questions about privacy, or anything else: hello@equawire.com.