Your data should remain yours.

1. Introduction

Teacher OS is a platform that helps teachers with grading, hall passes, student support documentation, and related classroom workflows. We believe educational technology should support teachers without requiring them to hand over control of their classroom data.

We are committed to transparency and responsible data practices. Rather than asking schools and teachers to migrate student information into a proprietary database, Teacher OS is intentionally designed to minimize the information it collects and to keep teachers in control. This policy describes how that works today. It reflects our current architecture, and we will update it as the platform evolves.

2. Information We Collect

We collect only the information needed to operate the platform and provide its functionality. This includes:

• Google account information for authentication. When you sign in with Google, we receive the basic account details Google provides for sign-in (such as your name, email address, and account identifier) so we can authenticate you and connect to the spreadsheets you choose to use.
• Workspace configuration information. Settings that tell Teacher OS how your workspace is set up — for example, which Google Sheets serve as the source of truth for a given module and how those workspaces are organized.
• User preferences and settings. Choices you make about how the platform behaves for you.
• Operational platform data. Limited technical and usage information required to run the service reliably, such as logs needed to keep the platform working and secure.

3. Information We Do Not Intentionally Store

Teacher OS is designed around a simple principle: Google Sheets remains the source of truth. Your classroom data — student rosters, grades, notes, and the records you keep in your spreadsheets — stays in the Google Sheets you own and control.

Because of this architecture, Teacher OS intentionally minimizes the student information it stores. We do not set out to copy your student records into a large proprietary database. When the platform needs your spreadsheet data to perform an action you have requested (for example, generating feedback for an assignment), it works with that data to complete the task rather than to build a separate long-term store of student information.

This is an intentional design choice, and it is central to how Teacher OS approaches privacy.

4. How Information Is Used

We use the information we collect to:

• Authenticate you and securely connect Teacher OS to the Google Sheets you choose to use.
• Provide platform functionality, such as grading workflows, hall pass tracking, and student support documentation.
• Apply your workspace configuration so each module knows which spreadsheets and settings to use.
• Improve the product by understanding how the platform is used and where it can be made more reliable and helpful, in a way consistent with our minimal-data approach.

5. Third-Party Services

Teacher OS relies on a small number of third-party services to operate. We share information with these services only as needed to provide the functionality you request, and each service has its own privacy practices.

• Google Authentication. Used to sign you in to Teacher OS securely.
• Google Sheets. The source of truth for your classroom data. Teacher OS reads from and writes to the spreadsheets you connect, based on the actions you take.
• OpenAI.Teacher OS uses OpenAI's services to power AI-assisted features such as grading support, feedback drafting, and insights. When you use these features, the relevant content is sent to OpenAI to generate a response, which Teacher OS returns to you for your review.
• Gmail. With your permission, Teacher OS creates draft emails in, and sends messages from, your connected Gmail account when you use feedback and communication features. It does not read your existing mail.

We only describe services the platform actually uses. If we add or change third-party services in a way that affects this policy, we will update this section.

AI Processing and Student Name Minimization

When Teacher OS builds a request to OpenAI, it removes or replaces the student's name before the content is sent. In grading, each submission is identified to the AI only by a non-identifying label such as Student row-N rather than the student's name. For Student Support Log email drafts, the prompt uses a placeholder such as [STUDENT_NAME]; Teacher OS inserts the real student name afterward, when preparing the teacher-facing draft, so the name is never part of the request to OpenAI.

To provide these features, some content still needs to be sent to OpenAI — for example, the academic responses being graded, the behavior notes and actions you documented, and other context you entered. This information is used to generate the response Teacher OS returns to you.

Teacher OS minimizes the names it places into these system-generated prompts, but it does not scrub names or other personal details that appear inside free-text you or a student wrote — such as a student's answer, your notes, or a comment field. If such text contains a name or other sensitive information, that text is sent as part of the request. Please avoid including unnecessary sensitive information in free-text fields.

AI-generated output is a draft. Teachers remain responsible for reviewing and editing it before using or sending it.

6. Google User Data and API Services

Google API Services User Data Policy.Teacher OS's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We only request the Google permissions Teacher OS needs to provide the features you use, we only use Google user data to provide and improve those features, we do not use it for advertising, and we do not sell it or transfer it to third parties except as needed to operate the features you request or as required by law.

7. Google Data We Access

When you connect Google, Teacher OS requests the following permissions and uses each only as described:

• Sign-In (openid, email, profile). We receive your name, email address, and Google account identifier to sign you in and to manage your access to Teacher OS. We do not receive your Google password.
• Google Sheets (spreadsheets). Teacher OS reads from and writes to the spreadsheets you choose, to load your workspace and to write results such as grades, feedback, hall-pass entries, and support-log records. Your classroom data stays in the Google Sheets you own.
• Create Gmail drafts (gmail.compose). When you use feedback or communication features, Teacher OS creates draft emails in your Gmail account for you to review. Teacher OS never reads your existing emails.
• Send Gmail messages (gmail.compose). For Student Support Log communications, after you review and confirm, Teacher OS sends the email from your connected Gmail account. The same Google permission covers both drafting and sending; Teacher OS requests no additional Gmail access.

Teacher OS does not read, list, search, or download your existing Gmail messages. Its Gmail access is limited to creating drafts and sending messages you initiate.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect the information Teacher OS handles, including relying on Google authentication, transmitting data over encrypted connections, and limiting the information we store to what is needed to operate the platform.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. We work to follow sound security practices and to improve them over time.

9. Data Retention

Because Google Sheets remains the source of truth, the bulk of your classroom data is retained in the spreadsheets you own — and you control how long it is kept there.

Teacher OS retains the account metadata and workspace configuration described above for as long as your account is active and we need it to provide the service. When this information is no longer needed for the purposes described in this policy, we work to remove or de-identify it.

Google user data. Teacher OS does not retain a copy of your Google emails or Google Sheet contents in its own database. The records you create — including email history for the Student Support Log — are written to the Google Sheets you own, where you control retention. Your Google sign-in tokens are held in a signed, http-only session cookie in your browser, transmitted only over encrypted connections, and expire automatically; they are not stored in a Teacher OS database.

10. Data Deletion Requests

You can remove the classroom data Teacher OS works with directly, since it lives in the Google Sheets you own.

Revoking Teacher OS's access.You can revoke Teacher OS's access to your Google account at any time from your Google Account's security settings under Third-party apps & services (myaccount.google.com/permissions). Signing out of Teacher OS also clears your session. Because your classroom data and email history live in the Google Sheets you own, you can delete that content directly in Google.

For the account metadata and workspace configuration that Teacher OS stores, you may request deletion by contacting us using the details in the Contact Information section below. We are still formalizing a dedicated self-service deletion process; until that is in place, we will handle deletion requests manually and confirm when they are complete.

11. Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy as Teacher OS evolves or as our practices change. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

12. Contact Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how Teacher OS handles information, you can reach us at:

privacy@theteacheros.com

We aim to respond to privacy questions and requests promptly.