Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 16, 2026

IDP Journey (“the Platform,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is an Individual Development Plan tool designed for graduate students, postdocs, and their mentors. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we share it, how we store it, and how you can request deletion.

By creating an account or otherwise using the Platform, you agree to this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

  • Account information — When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and a hashed password. If email verification is required, we also store whether your email address has been verified.
  • Profile and IDP data — Information you provide in your profile and Individual Development Plan, such as your name, job title, bio, goals, reflections, self-ratings, meeting notes, and mentor pairings.
  • Session and security data — Authentication tokens and session cookies used to keep you signed in and protect your account.
  • Usage analytics (optional) — If enabled, we may collect anonymized or pseudonymous usage events to improve the Platform. We do not use analytics data to sell advertising profiles.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information only to operate, secure, and improve the Platform, including to:

  • Authenticate you and maintain your account and session.
  • Display your profile, IDP, goals, and progress to you and your assigned mentors or program administrators.
  • Facilitate mentor-mentee pairing and communication.
  • Send transactional emails related to your account, such as pairing notifications or password-reset messages.
  • Enforce eligibility, acceptable use, and platform security.
  • Diagnose errors and improve product experience through aggregated analytics.

We do not use your personal information for unrelated advertising, and we do not sell your personal data to third parties.

3. How We Share Information

We may share information only as follows:

  • Between users — Your profile, IDP goals, reflections, and self-ratings may be visible to your assigned mentors and program administrators as needed to support your development.
  • Service providers — We use trusted vendors that process data on our behalf under contractual obligations, including our hosting and database infrastructure providers and email delivery services.
  • Your organization — If your program or institution sponsors your use of IDP Journey, we may share information with designated administrators for program operations, safety, or policy enforcement.
  • Legal requirements — We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of users or the Platform.

We do not sell personal information.

4. Storage and Retention

Data is stored on secure servers operated by our infrastructure providers. Session tokens are stored in our database and referenced by cookies in your browser.

We retain personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Platform, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

5. Security

We use industry-standard measures including HTTPS, access controls, Row Level Security, and server-side validation. No method of transmission or storage is fully secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Your Choices and Data Deletion

You can:

  • Update most profile fields from your account settings.
  • Request account deletion or export of your data by contacting us at the email below. We will delete or anonymize personal data within a reasonable timeframe, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate operational backups.

7. Children

The Platform is intended for users who are at least 18 years old or the age of majority in their jurisdiction. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised policy on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. Material changes may also be communicated through the Platform or by email where appropriate.