Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our music lesson scheduling platform ("the App"), available as a mobile application and web application.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Name and optional display name
• Email address
• Phone number (optional)
• Password (stored in encrypted/hashed form only)
• Account role (teacher, student, or parent)

Teacher Profile Information

Teachers who create a public directory profile may additionally provide:

• Studio name and bio
• Teaching philosophy and years of experience
• Instruments taught and lesson formats
• Pricing range
• Studio location (city, state, zip code, and coordinates)
• Profile photos and studio photos
• Studio policies (payment, cancellation, etc.)

Lesson and Scheduling Data

When using the scheduling features, we collect:

• Lesson dates, times, and durations
• Make-up and swap requests, including messages
• Lesson notes added by teachers or students

Reviews

Students may submit ratings and written reviews of their teachers. These may be displayed publicly on teacher profiles.

Device Information

If you enable push notifications, we store a device push token to deliver notifications to your device. We do not collect device identifiers, IP addresses, or precise real-time location data.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide and operate the scheduling platform
• Facilitate lesson scheduling, make-up requests, and swaps between users
• Display teacher profiles in the public directory
• Send lesson reminders and notifications via email and push
• Process payments and manage subscriptions
• Verify your identity and secure your account
• Improve the App through usage analytics

3. Information Shared With Other Users

Teacher profiles: Teachers who opt into the public directory make their profile information (name, bio, location, instruments, pricing, ratings, and reviews) visible to anyone.

Within a studio: Teachers control what student information is visible to other students in their studio, including names, email addresses, and phone numbers. These visibility settings are configured by each teacher.

Lesson swaps: When students participate in lesson swaps, limited information (lesson times and instruments) is shared between the students involved.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may receive some of your data:

• Stripe — Payment processing. Stripe handles all payment card data directly and is PCI-DSS compliant. We do not store your card information.
• Cloudinary — Image hosting for profile photos and studio images.
• Google Calendar — Optional calendar sync for teachers who choose to connect their Google account.
• Google Places — Location lookup when teachers set their studio address.
• Expo Push Notifications — Delivery of push notifications to mobile devices.
• PostHog — Anonymous usage analytics to help us improve the App.

5. Data Storage

Your data is stored in a secure PostgreSQL database hosted by Neon. Passwords are hashed using industry-standard encryption (bcrypt). Authentication tokens on mobile devices are stored in encrypted device storage (iOS Keychain / Android Keystore). All data is transmitted over HTTPS.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your personal data and associated records (lessons, swaps, reviews, and student profiles) will be permanently deleted from our systems.

7. Children's Privacy

Student accounts may be created for minors by their teacher or parent. Parent accounts can manage their child's lesson schedule. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental involvement. If a parent or teacher creates a student account for a minor, the parent or teacher is responsible for providing consent on behalf of the child.

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information in your profile
• Delete your account and associated data
• Opt out of the public teacher directory at any time (teachers)
• Control what information is visible to students (teachers)

9. Cookies and Tracking

The web application uses essential cookies for authentication (session management). We use PostHog for anonymous usage analytics. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking pixels.

10. Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your data, including password hashing, encrypted token storage, HTTPS encryption for all data in transit, and role-based access controls. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the updated policy within the App. Your continued use of the App after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us at: support@musicteacherapp.com