Privacy Policy

Last Updated: September 2025

Ivy Peers (“we” or “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect from our mentors and mentees (“users” or “you”), how we use and share that information, and your rights regarding your data. By using the Ivy Peers platform and services, you agree to the data practices described in this Policy.

Information We Collect

We collect personal data that you voluntarily provide to us, as well as some data automatically when you use the platform:

Profile and Contact Information: When you sign up as a mentor or mentee, we collect information such as your name, email address, phone number, and other registration details. Mentees may provide academic or personal background info (e.g. school, GPA, test scores, application essays) to help mentors understand their profile. Mentors provide information like educational qualifications, bio, and mentoring expertise.

Payment Information: If you are a mentee making payments, you might provide payment details (e.g. PayPal account email or other billing info). Payment processing is handled by third-party processors (like PayPal), so Ivy Peers does not store full credit card numbers. We may retain records of transactions (amounts, dates) for financial record-keeping.

Session Content: When mentors and mentees communicate through Ivy Peers, we collect the content of those communications. This includes chat messages on the platform and any materials exchanged (like documents or drafts). Mentorship sessions may be recorded or transcribed for quality assurance and to assist in future mentorship matching. For example, if you have a video or audio call through the platform, Ivy Peers may generate a transcript of the session or retain a recording. Transcripts of mentoring sessions (and associated chat logs) are collected and stored by Ivy Peers. These transcripts may include your conversations, advice given, and feedback. (See “How We Use Information” below for how we handle these transcripts.)

Usage Data: Like many websites, we automatically collect certain technical information when you use our site. This may include your IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed, and the dates/times of access. We may use cookies or similar technologies to remember your preferences and track site usage patterns. This usage data helps us improve our website and troubleshoot issues. For example, we might log when you log in, which mentor profiles you view, or if you experience an error on the site.

Meeting Schedules and Activity: We keep track of the sessions you schedule on the platform (dates, times, duration, mentor/mentee names) and any feedback or ratings provided after sessions.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information such as social security numbers, government ID numbers, or financial account passwords. Please do not provide such sensitive data on the platform. Ivy Peers is intended for users aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If we learn that a user under 13 has provided personal info, we will delete it. Parents or guardians who believe their child under 13 may have provided personal data should contact us.

How We Use Your Information

Ivy Peers uses the collected information for the following purposes:

Providing the Service: We use your personal data to operate the platform and provide mentorship services. For example, we use your registration info to create your account and profile. If you are a mentee, we share your provided profile information and submitted documents (like essays or resumes) with mentors you engage with, so they can effectively mentor you. Session transcripts and recordings are used to enable us to review sessions for quality and to help if you switch to a new mentor (so the new mentor can understand your past discussions, with our facilitation). We may also use transcripts to generate summary notes for mentees or to ensure our mentors are meeting our standards.

Facilitating Payments: We use payment and transaction data to process fees and commissions, and to pay mentors their share. For instance, we record that you paid for a 1-hour session with X mentor so that we can distribute the payment to the mentor and handle any billing inquiries. Payment information might be processed by third-party providers on our behalf, but we use it to keep your account in good standing and provide receipts.

Communication: We use your contact information (email, possibly phone) to communicate with you. This includes sending booking confirmations, session reminders, payment receipts, and responding to your support inquiries. We may send service-related announcements or important notices about your account or about changes to our policies. We may also send you newsletters or promotional emails about new mentors or features, but you can opt out of marketing emails.

Improving and Personalizing the Service: We might analyze usage data and feedback to improve Ivy Peers. For example, tracking which pages are most used helps us refine the user experience. We could use session transcripts in aggregate to identify common topics or training needs for mentors (we will not publicly disclose your personal transcript content, this is just internal analysis). Personal data might also be used to personalize your experience, such as suggesting mentors who match your profile or interests.

Safety and Trust: Information is also used to keep our community safe. For instance, we may review messages for any violations of our Terms (like sharing contact info or harassment). We use data to detect and prevent fraud or unauthorized use. If a dispute arises between a mentor and mentee, we may use communications records (chat logs, transcripts) to investigate and help resolve the issue.

Legal Compliance: In some cases, we may need to use your information to comply with legal obligations. For example, keeping transaction records for accounting and tax purposes, or using personal data to respond to lawful requests by authorities.

How We Share Information

We understand your personal information is important, and we share it only in limited circumstances:

With Mentors/Mentees: If you are a mentee, the relevant details you provide (your profile, goals, documents, etc.) will be shared with the mentors you choose or are matched with, so they can mentor you effectively. Similarly, if you are a mentor, your profile (bio, qualifications) is visible to mentees. Session transcripts or notes may be shared with the mentee and the mentor involved, and if you change mentors, Ivy Peers may share past session transcripts or notes with your new mentor to ensure continuity of service. All users of the platform are bound by confidentiality via our Terms, meaning mentors and mentees should not disclose each other’s information outside the platform.

Service Providers: We use trusted third-party companies to help us run Ivy Peers (e.g.,Paypal, Airtable, and others). These providers only receive the data reasonably necessary to perform services for us and are obligated to use it solely on our behalf.

Internal Team: Authorized Ivy Peers staff and contractors may access personal data as needed to perform their duties (such as customer support, tech development, or mentor oversight). For example, a support agent may view your account info to help with an issue, or a program coordinator might review a session transcript if a quality concern is raised. All such personnel are bound by confidentiality obligations.

Business & Legal: We may share information as required by law or valid legal process, to protect our rights, safety, or property, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or asset transfer.

Investors & Advisors (Aggregated Data): We may share aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information with investors, advisors, or partners for fundraising, analytics, or business purposes. This information does not identify you personally.

Marketing & Sales: We do not sell your identifiable personal information to unrelated third parties for their own direct marketing. If we ever wish to share identifiable information with third parties for purposes beyond this Policy, we will obtain your explicit consent.

Third-Party Links: External websites or resources (for example, links shared by mentors) are not under our control; their privacy policies apply when you visit them.

Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access or disclosure. Ivy Peers implements technical and organizational security practices such as encryption, secure servers, and access controls. For instance, our website is served over HTTPS, and sensitive data (like passwords) is stored in encrypted form. We restrict access to personal data to only those employees or contractors who need it to operate our service. We also encourage users to choose strong passwords and keep their login credentials confidential.
However, please note that no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. You use the platform and provide information at your own risk. In the unlikely event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law and do our best to remedy the situation.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes described in this Policy. For example, we will keep your account information while your account is active. We may keep certain data after you close your account, if needed for legitimate business interests such as maintaining payment records, resolving disputes, or complying with legal obligations.

Account Data: If you delete your account or request deletion, we will remove or anonymize personal information within a reasonable period, except for data we are required or permitted to keep by law (e.g., financial transaction records for tax purposes).

Session Transcripts/Recordings: Transcripts or recordings of mentorship sessions may be stored to support our services (e.g. if you return or switch mentors). We typically retain these for [X] months/years for reference and quality assurance, unless you request their deletion sooner. If you want us to delete specific session records, you can contact us (see Your Rights below) and we will do so unless we have a valid legal reason to keep them.

Logs and Analytics: General usage logs and analytics data are usually retained for a shorter period (perhaps 1-2 years) to allow us to review and improve performance, after which they may be deleted or aggregated.

International Users and Data Transfers

Ivy Peers is based in the United States and primarily processes data in the U.S. If you access the platform from outside the U.S., you consent to the transfer and processing of your information in the United States consistent with this Privacy Policy. However, as we expand to international users and mentors, your information may be transferred to and stored on servers located in other countries where the data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. By using our services, you consent to the transfer of your information internationally for the purposes described in this Policy. We will take steps to ensure your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable laws, regardless of where it is processed. If required by certain jurisdictions (such as the EU), we will implement appropriate safeguards for cross-border data transfers (for instance, standard contractual clauses).

Your Rights and Choices

Access and Update: You can access and update most of your account information by logging into your Ivy Peers account and editing your profile. It’s your responsibility to keep your personal details current (especially your contact info and payment details). If you need assistance accessing or correcting other personal data that isn’t editable in your account, you can contact us.
Data Deletion: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data. You may delete your account via the profile settings, or request complete data deletion by contacting Ivy Peers support. Upon such a request, we will delete or anonymize your personal information, except for information we are required to keep for legitimate business or legal reasons. Please note that removal from our active database may not be immediate; some residual data backups or logs may remain for a short period but will be purged according to our retention policy.
Opt-Out of Communications: You may opt out of marketing or promotional emails from us by using the “unsubscribe” link in those emails. Even if you opt out of marketing, we may still send you transactional or essential service communications (such as session reminders or account notices).
Do Not Track Signals: Our website does not currently respond to “Do Not Track” browser signals.
EU/California Rights: If you are a resident of certain regions (such as the European Union or California), you may have additional rights regarding your personal data, such as the right to request information about how your data is used, to object to or restrict processing of your data, or to port your data to another service. We will endeavor to honor such rights in accordance with applicable laws. For example, EU users have the right to lodge a complaint with their Data Protection Authority. California users have the right to know what personal info is collected and to request deletion. If these laws apply to you, you can exercise your rights by contacting us (see Contact section). We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Ivy Peers uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help our site function and remember your preferences. For example, we use cookies to keep you logged in, to remember your language or interface settings, and to collect analytics about how users navigate the site. We may use both session cookies (which expire when you close your browser) and persistent cookies (which stay for a set period or until you delete them).
We may also use third-party analytics tools (like Google Analytics or Mixpanel) that set their own cookies to collect information about user interactions (this helps us understand traffic and improve our service). These third-party cookies are governed by the providers’ own privacy policies.
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings (you can usually refuse new cookies or delete existing ones). However, please note that if you disable cookies, some features of Ivy Peers might not function properly. By using our site without disabling cookies, you consent to our use of cookies as described here. We do not use cookies to serve targeted advertising at this time, only for functional and analytical purposes.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as our services or legal requirements change. If we make material changes (for example, if we start collecting additional types of personal data or change how we use data in a significant way), we will notify users by posting the updated Policy on our website and updating the “Last Updated” date at the top. In some cases, we may also send an email notification or platform message about the change. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Continued use of Ivy Peers after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the changes, you should stop using the platform and may request removal of your data.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please submit an inquiry via our website.

By using Ivy Peers, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to these Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. We appreciate your trust in Ivy Peers and are committed to protecting your rights and providing a valuable mentorship experience.