Privacy Policy — TransferMaps

This Privacy Policy explains how TransferMaps (“TransferMaps,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use our website and services (the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. Information we collect

We collect only the information needed to operate the Service:

Account information. When you register, we collect your name, email address, and a password. Passwords are never stored in plain text — they are hashed with bcrypt before storage. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile image from Google instead of a password.
Transfer plans. The home college, target schools, intended majors, and the semester-by-semester course plans you create.
Academic records you choose to add. Course history (course codes, titles, units, grades, terms, and years) and AP exam scores that you enter manually or import from a transcript. This information is optional — the Service works without it.
Scholarship details you choose to provide.If you use scholarship matching, you may optionally add the things scholarships commonly ask about — financial need, first-generation status, intended career, community or military service, and, only if you choose to, demographic information such as ethnicity or gender that some scholarships restrict eligibility by. All of this is voluntary, you can delete it at any time, and matching works without it.
Technical information. Standard server logs and a session cookie used to keep you signed in. We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

2. How transcript uploads are handled

When you upload a transcript PDF, the file is processed in memory on our server only to extract a list of courses. The PDF file itself is not stored. After the text is parsed, only the course rows you review and choose to import are saved to your account. You can edit or delete any imported course at any time.

3. How we use your information

To create and maintain your account and keep you signed in.
To generate, save, and display your transfer plans and course recommendations.
To match your coursework against articulation requirements.
To match you with scholarships you may qualify for, and to remind you of deadlines.
To evaluate your entry if you apply for a scholarship we offer ourselves.
To operate, secure, debug, and improve the Service.
To respond to your requests and communicate with you about the Service.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your academic records for advertising.

Demographic information is used only to check your eligibility for scholarships that restrict it. It is never used to decide what you pay. Everyone is offered the same price for the same product, and nothing about who you are changes it.

4. Articulation data and ASSIST.org

Articulation and course information shown in the Service is derived from publicly available data, including ASSIST.org. This data is stored within our own systems; we do not transmit your personal information or academic records to ASSIST.org or to any college in order to display it. TransferMaps is not affiliated with ASSIST.org, the University of California, the California State University, or any institution.

5. Service providers

We rely on a small number of trusted providers to run the Service. They process data only on our behalf and only as needed:

Vercel — application hosting and server infrastructure.
Neon — managed PostgreSQL database where your account and plan data are stored.
Google — sign-in, if you choose to use it; and the AI model that generates essay feedback, described in section 6 below.
Stripe — payment processing for Pro subscriptions. Stripe collects your card details directly; we never receive or store them. We keep only a customer identifier and your subscription status.

6. Essay drafts and AI feedback

Essay drafts you write are stored with your plan so you can come back to them. They are not used to train any AI model, are not shared with other users, and are not sold.

When — and only when — you ask for AI feedback on a draft, we send the text of that draft and its essay prompt to Google’s Gemini API to generate the critique. We do not send your name, email address, transcript, or any other account information with it. If you would prefer that a draft never leave our systems, simply do not request feedback on it; nothing else in the Service sends your writing anywhere.

The feedback returned is generated by software and can be inaccurate or unhelpful — see section 3 of our Terms of Service. Deleting an essay draft removes it from our database along with any cached feedback.

7. Scholarships and scholarship matching

Scholarship matching runs on information already in your account — your college, intended major, target schools, GPA, units completed, and transfer timeline — together with anything optional you added for this purpose. The matching happens on our own systems.

We do not send your information to a scholarship provider unless you ask us to. Seeing a scholarship listed in TransferMaps tells that organization nothing about you. If we later add a way to apply through the Service, we will show you exactly what would be sent before anything leaves.

Scholarships we run ourselves.If you enter one, the people reviewing entries — our staff and any judges we appoint — will see what you submitted along with the academic information used to judge it, such as your coursework, grades, and units completed. We use it to select recipients and for nothing else. If you win, we may need tax and payment details in order to pay you, and we may announce your first name, last initial, and college unless you ask us not to. The rules for each program are in section 5 of our Terms of Service.

Optional demographic information is stored separately from your plan, is used only to check eligibility for scholarships that restrict it, and is never used for pricing, advertising, or anything else. You can delete it at any time without losing the rest of your account.

8. Data security

We take reasonable measures to protect your information, including hashing passwords with bcrypt and serving the Service over encrypted HTTPS connections. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Data retention and your choices

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. You can edit or delete your plans, imported courses, and AP scores at any time from within the Service. You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data by emailing us at rigamarollmedia@gmail.com. If you are a California resident, you may have additional rights under the CCPA/CPRA, including the right to access, delete, and know what personal information we hold; contact us to exercise these rights.

10. Children’s privacy

The Service is intended for users who are at least 13 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or your data? Email us at rigamarollmedia@gmail.com.