Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 7, 2026

Last updated: September 7, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Ashley Williams, a Minnesota sole proprietor doing business as Clear Step Math ("Clear Step Math," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, discloses, retains, and protects personal information through the Clear Step Math website, booking system, and tutoring services (collectively, the "Service").

The Service is designed for adult account holders, including parents and legal guardians who arrange tutoring for minor students. It is not designed for children to create or operate accounts themselves.

1. Information We Collect

1.1. Account and contact information

When an adult creates or updates an account, we collect the account holder's name, email address, phone number, and password. We store a one-way password hash, not the plaintext password.

1.2. Student and booking information

We collect information needed to schedule and prepare for tutoring, including:

  • the student's name, grade level, subject, and description of the requested help;
  • appointment date, time, duration, format, location category, and status;
  • an in-home address or access instructions when an In-Home Session is requested;
  • notes the adult account holder chooses to provide; and
  • group-session enrollment and attendance-related information.

Please provide only information reasonably necessary for tutoring. Do not submit medical records, government identification numbers, financial account numbers, or another student's personal information.

1.3. Uploaded reference images

An adult account holder may optionally upload images of homework, assignments, tests, or similar materials. We store the image, original filename, upload time, and the appointment with which it is associated. Uploaded images may incidentally contain a student's handwriting, name, school, teacher, grade, or other information visible in the source document. Remove unnecessary personal information before uploading when practical.

1.4. Pricing, package, credit, coupon, and payment records

We maintain records needed to administer rates and bookings, including quoted amounts, discounts, coupon use, package balances, session credits, expiration dates, and whether a payment is pending, paid, failed, refunded, disputed, or otherwise resolved.

Payments are made through our online checkout and processed by Stripe, which collects your payment details directly. The Clear Step Math website does not collect or store payment-card numbers. We receive limited transaction information such as an identifier, status, amount, payment method category, and fraud or failure information—not the full card number or security code. If we agree in advance to another payment arrangement, we record only what we need to credit your account, such as the amount, date, and a short note.

1.5. Communications

We collect messages and related metadata when you contact us, request password recovery, respond to a booking notice, or otherwise communicate about the Service.

1.6. Technical information and cookies

Our hosting provider may automatically record standard request and security information such as IP address, request time, requested page, referring page, browser or device type, and error information. We use this information to deliver, secure, diagnose, and maintain the Service.

The website uses a signed session cookie to keep an account logged in and security tokens to protect form submissions against cross-site request forgery. These technologies are necessary to provide the Service. We currently do not use advertising pixels, cross-site tracking, or third-party analytics.

2. Where Information Comes From

We receive information:

  • directly from the adult account holder;
  • from the Tutor when she records a payment, package, credit, schedule change, or service note;
  • automatically from the website and hosting infrastructure; and
  • from a service provider, such as delivery status from Google Workspace or payment status from Stripe.

3. How We Use Information

We use personal information to:

  • create, authenticate, secure, and support accounts;
  • schedule, prepare for, provide, reschedule, and cancel tutoring sessions;
  • administer prices, coupons, packages, credits, and payments;
  • send confirmations, reminders, password resets, service notices, and owner notifications;
  • respond to questions, privacy requests, disputes, and safety concerns;
  • prevent fraud, abuse, unauthorized access, and technical failures;
  • maintain, troubleshoot, back up, and improve the Service;
  • keep tax, accounting, transaction, and legal records; and
  • comply with applicable law and enforce our agreements.

We do not use student information or uploaded schoolwork for advertising, behavioral profiling, or training an artificial-intelligence model.

4. When We Disclose Information

We disclose information only as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy:

  • Tutor and business administration. Ashley Williams can access Client, student, appointment, payment-status, package, credit, coupon, and uploaded image information to operate Clear Step Math.
  • Render. Render hosts the website and persistent data storage and may process website data, request logs, and backups as part of providing hosting and security.
  • Google Workspace and Google Meet. Google processes email addresses, message content, delivery metadata, and online-session information when those services are used.
  • Stripe. Stripe processes payment and fraud-prevention information for every purchase. Stripe handles payment credentials under its own privacy policy.
  • Professional support. We may provide limited information to an accountant, attorney, insurer, security specialist, or other professional adviser subject to an appropriate duty of confidentiality.
  • Legal, safety, and security needs. We may disclose information when we reasonably believe it is necessary to comply with law or valid legal process, protect a student or another person, investigate fraud or abuse, establish or defend legal claims, or protect the Service and its users.
  • Business transfer. Information may be reviewed or transferred as part of a proposed or completed sale, reorganization, insurance claim, or transfer of Clear Step Math, subject to appropriate safeguards and applicable law.

We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising. We do not make student profiles or uploaded images visible to other Client accounts.

5. Information About Minor Students

5.1. The Service is directed to adults. An account holder must be at least 18 and must be the student's parent or legal guardian, or have authority from the parent or guardian to arrange tutoring and provide the student's information.

5.2. Student information is supplied by the adult account holder for the specific purpose of arranging and receiving tutoring. A child should not create an account, submit a booking, upload a file, or contact the Service without the involvement of a parent or guardian.

5.3. If we learn that a child created an account or directly submitted personal information without appropriate adult involvement, we may disable the account and delete the information after preserving only what is reasonably necessary for safety, legal compliance, or documentation of the request. A parent or guardian may contact us to review, correct, or request deletion of information about their child.

6. Retention and Deletion

We retain each category of information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, subject to legal, tax, accounting, safety, fraud-prevention, backup, and dispute-resolution needs.

  • Uploaded reference images are scheduled for deletion 180 days after upload through the Service's periodic cleanup process, unless deletion is requested sooner or temporary preservation is reasonably necessary for a dispute, safety matter, or legal obligation.
  • Account and profile information is kept while the account is active and for a reasonable period afterward. We may retain a minimal account record to document deletion, prevent fraud, or satisfy a legal obligation.
  • Booking, package, credit, coupon, and transaction records are kept while needed to deliver services and thereafter for tax, accounting, warranty, dispute, and legal purposes. Depending on the record, this may be up to seven years after the relevant transaction or longer if a dispute or law requires it.
  • Communications and security logs are kept for the period reasonably needed to respond, troubleshoot, prevent abuse, or document a transaction or dispute, subject to provider retention schedules.

Deletion from the live Service may not immediately remove a copy from encrypted or access-restricted backups and disaster-recovery snapshots. Backup copies are isolated from ordinary use and removed as the provider's backup cycle expires; if restored after a disaster, deletion requests will be reapplied where reasonably practicable.

7. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to a small tutoring business, including password hashing, access controls, role-restricted owner pages, form-submission protections, HTTPS in production, secret environment variables, upload type and size limits, and provider backup and security controls.

No website, transmission, or storage system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. Clients should use a unique password, protect their email account, sign out on shared devices, and promptly report suspected unauthorized access to ashley@clearstepmath.com. We will provide legally required notice if we determine that a qualifying security breach occurred.

8. Your Choices and Requests

An adult account holder may:

  • review and update profile information through My Account;
  • view upcoming and historical appointments, credits, and uploaded materials available through My Sessions;
  • request access to or a portable copy of information reasonably associated with the account;
  • request correction of inaccurate information;
  • request deletion of the account, student details, booking notes, or uploaded images; and
  • ask questions or object to a particular use or disclosure.

Submit a request to ashley@clearstepmath.com. We may ask for information needed to verify the requester's identity, account ownership, and authority regarding a minor student. We will respond within the period required by applicable law. We may deny or limit a request when permitted by law, including to protect another person, preserve transaction or tax records, prevent fraud, or establish or defend a legal claim. If we deny a request, we will explain the reason when legally permitted.

Because we do not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising, there is no sale or targeted-advertising opt-out currently necessary. If those practices change, we will update this Policy and provide any choice required by law before beginning the new practice.

9. Email and Password Recovery

Service-related email is sent using Google Workspace when SMTP delivery is configured. Email is not perfectly secure, and messages may pass through the recipient's email provider. Password-reset links expire and become invalid after use or a password change. Do not forward a reset link or booking email containing private details.

10. Third-Party Services

Render, Google, Stripe, and any other third-party service have their own terms, security practices, and privacy notices. This Policy describes Clear Step Math's handling of information and does not replace a third party's policy for information that the third party independently controls.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy as the Service, providers, or legal requirements change. We will update the date above and, for a material change, provide notice through the Service or by email when reasonably appropriate. We will request consent before a new use when applicable law requires it.

12. Contact

Privacy questions and requests may be sent to:

Clear Step Math — Ashley Williams

Email: ashley@clearstepmath.com

Phone: 507-720-5190

Service area: Cambridge-Isanti, Minnesota