Privacy Policy

1. Roles

How we handle your information depends on how you use the Services.

• Students. Individuals (typically college students) who create profiles, connect social media accounts, and participate in brand campaigns.
• Brands. Companies and businesses that use the Services to create and run marketing campaigns with creators.
• Organizations. University organizations, clubs, and student groups that participate as a collective.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

All users. When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, account role, authentication information (such as account identifiers and login/session data), and a profile image.

Students. For a Student account, we also collect education information (such as university, field of study, and graduation year), date of birth (where needed for eligibility, payments, tax, or legal compliance), phone number, zip code, bio and interests, profile links, education verification status, a platform-generated profile score, payout account information, and the content you submit for campaigns (such as applications, deliverables, and uploads).

Brands. For a Brand account, we collect the account holder's name and role, business contact information, company name, and any social media handles you provide. Business and campaign content that Brands submit is governed by our Terms of Service.

Organizations. For an Organization account, we collect the organization's name and affiliated university, representative contact information, and your group profile details.

Payment Information

We use a third-party payment processor to handle payments. We receive related billing, transaction, and payout records, and we do not store complete payment card numbers. Where required to process payouts, the processor collects identity, tax, and verification information directly.

Connected Social Media Accounts

If you connect an Instagram or TikTok account, we collect, with your authorization: access tokens for the connected account, profile information (such as username, follower count, and profile picture), your published posts and media, and the related performance metrics and audience insights. We periodically refresh this data while your account remains connected. You can disconnect at any time, which stops the sync and deletes the stored tokens.

Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Services, we automatically collect usage and performance data, session data, IP address, and device and browser information (such as pages viewed, actions taken, and timestamps).

Information from Other Sources

We receive information from the social media accounts you connect and from our payment processor. We also collect publicly available information from social media platforms and websites, including profile data, content, and engagement metrics related to creators and campaigns. This may include information about individuals who do not have an account with us (for example, people who comment on or appear in public content).

Information from Other Users

Brands and creators may provide ratings or feedback about one another. This information becomes part of the relevant profile and may affect visibility and opportunities on the Services.

3. How We Use Information

We use personal information to operate and provide the Services, including to create and manage accounts, run campaigns and applications, enable communication between users, process payments, and generate analytics and platform features. We also use it to secure the platform and prevent fraud, to comply with legal obligations, to send service-related and (unless you opt out) promotional communications, and to improve the Services. Where you provide a phone number, we may use it to verify your account and send account-related messages, including by text message.

Automated processing. Some features involve automated processing of personal information, for example, to rank, match, or surface profiles and to generate scores and analytics. Where the law provides it, you may request human review of, or opt out of, automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects by contacting us using the details below.

4. AI Features

Some features use third-party AI providers to process personal information, for example, to generate responses, to summarize or structure information you submit (such as parsing uploaded documents), and to produce insights and recommendations. Your inputs and the resulting outputs may be stored as part of your account and history, and are retained and deleted in line with the Data Retention section below. These providers process your information to provide the features.

5. Aggregated Information

We may aggregate information into group-level trends and benchmarks and use it for analytics, reporting, and to improve the Services. We do not attempt to identify individuals from this aggregated information except as permitted by law for security, fraud prevention, or compliance.

6. How We Share Information

With other users. Your profile and campaign information may be visible to Brands and, where relevant, other users as part of the Services. Messages are shared with their intended recipients.

With service providers. We share information with providers that help us operate the platform, for example, hosting, authentication, payment processing, communications, AI, and analytics providers. They are contractually required to protect it and may not use it for their own purposes.

With Brands. Brands may access Student and Organization information to run campaigns and review participants. Brands may export only data from their own campaigns, and are contractually restricted from reselling this information, disclosing it onward, or using it for unrelated purposes. Brands may also share certain campaign analytics externally through links they generate; these exclude contact details and payment information.

Legal and business transfers. We may disclose information to comply with law or legal process, to protect the rights, safety, or property of users or The Yard, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets.

Sale. Because Brands pay for access and can view Student and Organization information through the Services, some of these disclosures may be considered a “sale” of personal information under California or similar state privacy laws. Where the law gives you the right to opt out, you may do so as described in “Your Privacy Choices” below, and we honor recognized opt-out preference signals where required.

7. Your Privacy Rights and Choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Access, correct, or delete your personal data;
• Obtain a copy of your data;
• Disconnect your social media accounts, which stops syncing and deletes the stored tokens;
• Delete your account (see Data Retention below for records we are required to keep);
• Opt out of marketing communications;
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, where the law provides that right;
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• Not be treated differently for exercising your rights.

You may exercise these rights by contacting us using the details below. We may verify your identity before responding, and an authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf.

U.S. state residents. Depending on your state (including California), you may have additional rights regarding the personal information we collect and how it is used and shared, as described in this Policy. We provide notice of the categories of personal information we collect at or before the point of collection, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

Your Privacy Choices (Do Not Sell or Share). To opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, use our Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information page or contact us using the details below. Where required by law, we also honor recognized opt-out preference signals. You do not need an account to submit a request.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use essential session cookies that are required for the platform to function, and analytics cookies and similar technologies that help us understand usage and improve the Services. Our analytics may be linked to your account and are not necessarily anonymous. You can control non-essential cookies through your browser settings; disabling essential cookies will prevent the Services from working.

9. Data Retention

We keep personal data only as long as needed to provide the Services, meet legal, tax, and regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, and maintain necessary records. When you delete your account, we remove your profile and active account data, retaining only limited records required for legal, tax, fraud-prevention, or dispute-resolution purposes. When data is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it.

10. Where We Operate

The Yard operates in the United States and stores and processes personal information in the United States. Our Services are intended for users in the United States.

11. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including encryption of stored credentials, access controls, and secure authentication, to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please keep your account credentials safe and notify us of any suspected unauthorized access.

12. Eligibility and Age

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Services. Our Services are intended for adults and are not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18, and will delete it promptly if we learn we have. If you believe someone under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us.

13. Updates and Changes

We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date above and, where appropriate, notify you through the platform or by email. If you continue using the Services after an update takes effect, the updated Policy applies.

14. Contact Information

If you have questions or concerns about this Policy or your privacy, contact us at: privacy@thecollegeyard.com