What we keep, and what we deliberately don't.

• We store your email address and whether you're on Free or Plus. That's the core of it.
• Documents you upload to Decode My IEP are read in memory and discarded by default. You can choose, per upload, to keep one on file — and only then do we store it, privately to your account, deletable by you at any time.
• Sprout conversations live in your browser tab (session storage) and disappear when you close it. We don't store your messages on our servers.
• Stories you submit are voluntary and, once approved, meant to be public.
• We don't sell your data. There's no advertising network on this site.

• Your account: the email address you sign in with, the date you created the account, and your plan status (Free or Plus).
• Your meeting date: if you choose to add one, we store the single date so we can show a countdown. No child name, no school, no other details.
• Usage counters: a number and a date — for example, "3 Sprout messages today." This is how the free limits work. The counters contain no message content and no document content.
• Billing records: if you subscribe, Stripe holds your payment details and we store the Stripe customer and subscription identifiers plus your renewal date. We never see or store your card number.
• Documents you chose to keep: if (and only if) you pick "keep this on file" at upload time, we store the PDF in a private storage area scoped to your account, along with its filename, size, the plain-language summary, and any dates we pulled out for your tracker. Nothing is stored for uploads left on the default setting.
• Stories: the display name, headline, and text you submit, plus its moderation status.

Every upload starts with an explicit choice. On the default setting — "just analyze this now" — the PDF travels over an encrypted connection to our server, is passed straight to the AI model that reads it, and is released from memory when the response is returned. Nothing is written to disk on our side. The resulting analysis is sent to your browser and held only in that page — refresh and it's gone.

If you instead choose "keep this on file," we store the PDF in a private storage area that only your account can reach, save the summary and the key dates so your tracker can use them, and list the document in your account. It is never public, never shared, and never used to train any model. You can delete any stored document from your account page; deletion removes both the file and the saved analysis, and it is permanent. Closing your account removes them too.

The AI provider processes the document to generate the analysis. Ask us before uploading anything you would not be comfortable having processed that way.

Your messages are sent to the AI provider to generate a reply and are not persisted on our servers. The conversation is kept in your browser's session storage so you don't lose your place if you scroll away, and it's cleared when the tab closes. Clearing your browser data clears it immediately.

• Hosting and database: our hosting provider runs the site and stores your account record, meeting date, usage counters, and stories.
• AI provider: Google Gemini models, accessed through the Lovable AI Gateway, generate Sprout replies and Decode My IEP analyses. Content is sent for processing and is not used by us for training.
• Stripe: handles all payments, card data, and subscription management if you upgrade to Plus.
• Email delivery: our authentication provider sends your magic sign-in links.

We use a session cookie and browser storage to keep you signed in and to remember small things like a dismissed nudge. We don't run advertising trackers or sell behavioral data.

Firm Footing is written for parents and caregivers, not for children. We don't knowingly create accounts for anyone under 18 and we don't ask for information about your child — no name, no birthdate, no school. Please keep it that way when you write to Sprout or submit a story: describe the situation, not identifying details.

Email us and we'll delete your account, your meeting date, your usage counters, and your submitted stories within 30 days. If you had a subscription, we keep the minimum billing records our payment processor and tax rules require. There's nothing to delete for documents or chats — we never kept them.

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your data, and to object to certain processing. Write to us and we'll help — no forms, no runaround.

If we change something meaningful, we'll update the date at the top and tell you by email when it matters. Questions about any of this: reach us through the site and a person will answer.