Last updated June 2026
We collect the information you provide directly, including your name, email address, school information, grade level, and your answers to onboarding/intake questions. We also collect information generated through your use of Ascend: your selected project, mission and check-in progress, check-in text and AI-generated summaries, files and links you upload as mission proof, and your growth plan and milestones.
Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store your full card number. We retain limited payment-related records, including your plan, payment status, transaction amounts, and identifiers Stripe provides us (such as your Stripe customer and subscription IDs), so we can manage your subscription, billing history, and refunds.
To generate your roadmap, milestones, project suggestions, and coaching feedback, relevant information you provide (such as your intake answers, check-ins, and mission submissions) is sent to our AI provider (OpenAI) for processing. This information is used to generate responses for your account and is handled under OpenAI's API data usage policies, which do not permit use of this data to train their models.
We keep records of significant account activity — such as profile changes, mission and payment events, and actions taken on your account by our team (for example, warnings, suspensions, or support notes) — for account history, customer support, and to enforce our Terms of Service. If you contact support or use our in-app chat, we retain those messages to respond to you and improve support quality.
We collect basic usage data such as pages visited, device and browser type, approximate location (derived from IP address, e.g. country and region/state), and referral source. We use this to understand how Ascend is used and to improve the product. We also use Google Ads/Analytics conversion tracking on our marketing pages to measure the effectiveness of our advertising.
We use your information to provide and personalize the service (your roadmap, missions, and coaching), process payments and manage subscriptions, communicate with you (including transactional emails such as confirmations, reminders, and support replies), maintain the security and integrity of the platform, enforce our Terms of Service, and improve Ascend. We do not sell your personal information.
We use cookies and similar technologies for authentication and session management, to remember your preferences, and — on our public marketing pages — for analytics and advertising conversion tracking (Google Ads/Analytics). You can control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling them may affect parts of the site.
We share information with service providers who help us operate Ascend, including: Supabase (database, authentication, and file storage), Stripe (payments), OpenAI (AI-generated content, as described above), Resend (transactional email delivery), Sentry (error monitoring), Google (analytics and ad conversion tracking on marketing pages), and our customer support chat provider. These providers can only use your information to provide services to us. We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect the rights and safety of Ascend or our users, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
If a parent or guardian pays for a student's subscription, we collect the parent's name, email, and payment information to process that payment and send billing communications. The paying parent does not receive access to the student's account, project data, check-ins, or coaching history.
Ascend is intended for users at least 13 years old. If you are under 18, we expect a parent or guardian to be aware of and consent to your use of Ascend, consistent with our Terms of Service. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without appropriate consent, we will take steps to delete that information.
We retain your information for as long as your account is active, and as needed to provide the service, comply with legal obligations (such as tax and payment records), resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 30 days, except for records we are required or permitted to retain longer (such as payment and billing records, and records of Terms of Service violations).
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect your information, including encryption in transit and access controls on our systems. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
You can access, update, or correct most of your information directly in Settings. You can request a copy of your data, request deletion of your account and associated data, or opt out of having your name, project, or outcomes used in marketing materials, by emailing privacy@ascendapply.com. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under applicable privacy laws.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice (for example, by email or in-app notice). Continued use of Ascend after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Questions? Email privacy@ascendapply.com