Privacy Policy | College Essay Grader
Effective Date: November 13, 2026
Last Updated: November 13, 2026
Website: https://collegeessaygrader.io
Operator: College Essay Grader (“we,” “us,” or “our”)
1. Introduction
Welcome to College Essay Grader, an online tool that reviews college application essays and returns structured feedback: six evaluation dimensions, inline notes on your writing, an overall assessment, prompt-fit guidance, and revision direction.
Your privacy matters to us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how long we keep it, and the choices you have when you use College Essay Grader (the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to this Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.
2. Who We Are
3. Scope
This Policy applies to:
- Our website and web app at collegeessaygrader.io (and related subdomains we operate)
- Essay review, reports, revision reviews, and related product features
- Accounts, essay history, paid plans (Single, Pro, Season), and checkout
- Support and marketing pages we control
It does not cover third-party websites or services we do not control (for example payment processors, auth providers, or AI vendors).
- Account information (when you sign in): name, email address, password or auth-provider identifiers (for example Google), and similar profile details you submit.
- Essay content: the draft text you paste or submit for review, optional application prompts, and related notes you add in the product.
- Communications: messages you send to support at [email protected], including attachments.
- Purchase details: plan selected (Single, Pro, or Season), order identifiers, and billing metadata needed to fulfill payment. Payment card numbers are processed by our payment provider(s) (for example Stripe); we do not store full card numbers on our servers when the provider supports that model.
- Review reports: scores, assessments, inline comments, revision steps, The Hard Truth (when included), and related structured feedback generated from your essay.
- Usage records: which essays and reviews you ran, draft numbers, timestamps, and plan entitlements on your account.
- Technical logs: processing status, success/failure of a review, and flags needed to run and debug the Service.
- Usage data: pages viewed, features used, approximate timestamps, referral URLs, and interaction events that help us understand product performance.
- Device and browser data: device type, OS, browser type/version, language, screen or viewport signals, and IP address (or truncated IP where we apply privacy controls).
- Cookies and similar technologies: session cookies, preference cookies, and analytics cookies where enabled. You can control cookies through your browser; some features may not work without essential cookies.
- We do not require sensitive categories such as race, religion, health diagnoses, or government ID numbers for a standard essay review.
- We do not collect college application account passwords or Common App login credentials.
- College Essay Grader does not claim to predict admission outcomes and does not sell applicant ranking data about you.
We use information to:
- Provide the core product — accept your essay, run a review, and return scores, notes, and revision guidance.
- Operate free and paid entitlements — grant free essay reviews where offered, and debit paid essay slots or revision reviews under Single, Pro, or Season.
- Save history when you are signed in — keep essays and reports so you can reopen them and compare drafts.
- Operate accounts and checkout — authenticate you, process one-time payments, prevent fraud, and send receipts.
- Improve reliability — fix bugs, measure review success, and improve quality using aggregated or de-identified data where practical.
- Communicate with you — respond to support, send transactional messages (for example purchase confirmation), and, only if allowed by law and your preferences, product updates.
- Secure the Service — detect abuse, spam, or unauthorized access.
- Comply with law — meet legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.
We process essays to deliver the review you requested. We do not sell your essays. We do not use your essays to train public AI models without your consent. We do not share your essays with colleges or admissions offices.
6. Essay and Review Processing
6.1 What happens when you request a review
- A review requires sending your essay text to our servers (and to cloud AI providers we use to generate structured feedback). This is not an on-device-only product.
- We store the essay text and the resulting report so we can show your results, support revision reviews, and let signed-in users reopen history.
- Sample essays on marketing pages are demonstration content, not your submissions.
6.2 Free use
- Free access may include a limited number of essays and revision reviews, as shown on Pricing.
- To save reports and continue revision history, we ask you to sign in.
6.3 Paid use
- Paid plans (Single, Pro, Season) are one-time purchases with 12 months of access, as shown at checkout.
- Paid account history stays available while your account is active, subject to Section 8.
6.4 What we do not do with your essays by default
- We do not sell your essays or reports.
- We do not use your essays to train public AI models without your consent.
- We do not publish your essays publicly unless you choose to share them.
- We do not submit your essay to any college on your behalf.
7. Legal Bases (where applicable)
If you are in a region that requires a legal basis for processing (for example GDPR/UK GDPR), we typically rely on:
- Contract — to provide the review, account, plans, and reports you request.
- Legitimate interests — security, product improvement with appropriate safeguards, and basic analytics.
- Consent — where required for optional cookies, marketing, or certain processing.
- Legal obligation — when we must retain or disclose data under law.
8. Retention
| Data type | Typical retention |
|---|
| Essay text and review reports | While needed to deliver the review and, if you are signed in, while your essay history remains; then deleted or anonymized within a reasonable period after you delete essays or close the account |
| Account profile and auth data | While your account is active, then deleted or anonymized within a reasonable period after closure |
| Payment / order / entitlement records | As required by tax, accounting, and fraud rules (often years) |
| Support emails | As needed to resolve your request, then archived or deleted per routine schedules |
| Logs and analytics | Short to medium term, then aggregated or deleted |
Exact periods can change as we improve the product; material changes will be reflected in updates to this Policy.
We do not sell your personal information. We may share data only with:
- Service providers under contract (hosting, database, analytics, email, authentication, payment processors such as Stripe, and cloud AI providers used to generate essay feedback).
- Professional advisors (legal, accounting) under confidentiality.
- Authorities when required by law or to protect rights, safety, and security.
- Business transfers if College Essay Grader is involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, with appropriate notice where required.
Third parties process data only on our instructions and for the purposes described here, except where they act as independent controllers (for example payment networks).
10. International Transfers
We may process data in countries other than yours (for example where our hosts or AI providers operate). Where required, we use appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent mechanisms).
11. Security
We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures appropriate to the risk, including HTTPS/TLS in transit, access controls, and least-privilege practices for production systems. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. You are responsible for safeguarding devices and account credentials you control.
12. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on your location, you may have rights to:
- Access, correct, or delete personal data we hold about you
- Export a copy of your data
- Object to or restrict certain processing
- Withdraw consent where processing is consent-based
- Opt out of non-essential cookies or marketing emails
To exercise rights, email [email protected]. We may need to verify your request.
Browser controls: clear site data / cookies; do not submit essays you do not want reviewed.
13. Children’s Privacy
College Essay Grader is intended for students preparing college applications and their helpers. If you are under 13 (or the higher age required in your jurisdiction), do not use the Service. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under that age. If you believe a child has provided data, contact [email protected] and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.
14. Third-Party Links and Embeds
Our site may link to third-party sites or load third-party scripts (analytics, payments, auth). Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies.
15. Automated Processing
Essay feedback is AI-assisted writing guidance, not an admissions decision and not a guarantee of acceptance. Scores and notes can vary between drafts and model versions. We do not use reviews to make legal or similarly significant decisions about you (credit, employment, insurance, etc.).
16. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised Policy on this page and update the Last Updated date. Material changes to how we process essays will be highlighted here. Continued use of the Service after changes means you accept the updated Policy, except where additional consent is required by law.
Questions about this Privacy Policy, your data, or College Essay Grader processing:
College Essay Grader
Website: https://collegeessaygrader.io
Email: [email protected]
By using College Essay Grader, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy.