TAILBOARD·ACADEMY

Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 14, 2026

Introduction

Tailboard Academy is an educational web app that helps people prepare for firefighter, EMT, and paramedic hiring — practice exams, an AI oral-board coach, scenario simulations, study lessons, flashcards, skill trainers, a hiring-pipeline tracker, and fitness plans. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We keep it in plain English on purpose. If anything is unclear, email us at support@tailboardacademy.com.

Short version: we collect your name, email, and the study activity you generate in the app. We use it to run the service and help you track your progress. We don't run third-party advertising and we don't sell your personal data.

Information we collect

Personal contact (organization access). If you receive free access through an employer or organization program (for example, by signing up with an organization email address), we ask for a personal email address and/or mobile phone number so we can reach you about your account and confirm your eligibility if a question comes up. If you tick the box for it, we may also use that contact information, in hashed form, to build advertising audiences on platforms such as Meta (a "custom audience" used to find similar people). This is not a condition of free access, we do not send marketing email or text messages to these details, and you can change the choice under Account & privacy or email support@tailboardacademy.com to be removed from any audience already created. California residents: this use may be considered "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising; the same box and email address are how you opt out.

Account information. Your name, your email address, and a password (stored in hashed form by our authentication provider — we never see or store your plain-text password). If you buy a subscription, payment is handled by our payment provider (Stripe); we receive confirmation of your plan and its status, but we never see or store your full card number.

Activity you generate in the app. This is the study data the app exists to track:

Technical basics. Standard authentication and session data needed to keep you signed in and keep the service secure.

That's the list. We don't collect location data, contacts, or anything from other apps.

Program and instructor visibility (schools and programs)

If you enroll in an organization's program or class by entering a class code (for example, an EMT/paramedic school or a fire cadet/Explorer program), you agree that the instructors and director of that program can see your individual performance in the app. Specifically, they can see: your name and email, your practice-test scores and score history, your readiness by topic area, your activity (including when you were last active), and your oral-board scores.

What program staff do not see: your AI oral-board audio recordings or transcripts. Those remain private to you regardless of program enrollment — instructors see the numeric oral-board score only.

This visibility exists so your instructor can support your preparation. It applies only while you are enrolled, and only to the staff of the program you joined — no other user can see your individual performance. If you don't want an instructor to see your performance, don't join a program with a class code, or leave the program from your Account page at any time.

How we use your information

We do not use your data for third-party advertising, and we do not sell personal data.

AI features and your inputs

Several features — the oral-board coach, scenario sims, the "Ask the Firefighter" mentor chat, the veteran experience translator, and the radio-report trainer — are powered by Claude, AI models made by Anthropic. When you use these features, the text you submit (for example, your oral-board answers, questions you ask the mentor, service details you enter into the translator, or radio reports you practice) is sent to Anthropic's API so it can generate a response.

Two things to know:

  1. AI output is educational and can be wrong. AI-generated practice questions, feedback, scores, and answers may be inaccurate or incomplete. Treat them as study material, not authoritative answers.
  2. Don't put sensitive information into AI features. Do not submit real patient information (PHI), other people's personal data, or sensitive personal, medical, or legal details of your own. These features only need practice-level input to work.

Third-party subprocessors

We use a small number of service providers to run Tailboard Academy. Each receives only what it needs to do its job:

We don't share your personal data with anyone else, except if required by law or to protect the safety and integrity of the service.

Cookies & local storage

We use only what the app needs to function: essential authentication/session storage to keep you signed in, and your browser's localStorage to remember app state (like your place in a lesson). There are no third-party advertising cookies and no third-party tracking pixels.

Data retention

We keep your data while your account is active so your progress, scores, and schedules are there when you come back. When you delete your account, your account and its associated data are removed. Some minimal operational logs may persist briefly before they are cleared through normal log rotation.

Your rights (access, export, deletion)

You can, directly from account settings in the app:

You can also change your weekly-email preference at any time. If you have trouble with any of these, or want to make a request another way, email support@tailboardacademy.com and we'll help. Depending on where you live, local law may give you additional rights; we'll honor valid requests.

Children's privacy

Tailboard Academy is built for adults pursuing careers in the fire service and EMS. It is not directed to children under 16, and you must be at least 16 years old (or the age of majority where your local law requires it) to use it. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us at support@tailboardacademy.com and we will delete it.

Security

We use encryption in transit (HTTPS) and database row-level security so your data is only accessible to your own account. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider in hashed form. That said, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security. If we learn of a breach affecting your data, we will notify you as required by law.

International note

Tailboard Academy is operated from the United States and data is stored on US-based infrastructure. If you use the service from outside the US, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your country.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the effective date at the top and, for material changes, notify you in the app or by email. Continuing to use the service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns about privacy: support@tailboardacademy.com