Privacy Notice

Learning Center AI (learningcenterai.org) is a resource site for college learning center leaders. This notice explains what information the site collects, why, who handles it, and the choices you have. When we say "we" or "us," we mean the people who run Learning Center AI.

• We don't run ads, and we don't sell or rent anyone's information.
• Our own analytics tool, Beacon, counts visits without cookies and never stores your IP address. A small counter on each article also tallies how many times it's read, the same way.
• We only have your name and email if you subscribe or send us a contribution. Our emails track opens and clicks, and every email has an unsubscribe link.
• If you take our survey, your answers stay on our own server and we only publish combined numbers.
• If you send us a prompt or article idea, it stays on our own server, and we only publish it with the credit you choose.
• A few services that help run the site (hosting, security, a chart and email) handle limited data for us. They're all listed below.

We use Beacon, a small analytics tool we built and run on our own web server, to see which articles people read and how they find the site. It doesn't use cookies, and it doesn't send data to any outside analytics company.

What Beacon records

• The page you viewed, with ad and social click IDs (like fbclid and gclid) stripped out
• The site that sent you here, if your browser shares it (the referrer)
• Campaign tags in a link you followed, if it has them (utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign)
• If we label a button or form for tracking, a count that it was clicked or submitted. Beacon never records what you type into a form.
• Addresses of missing pages, so we can fix broken links
• General browser, operating system and device type (for example, Chrome on a Mac, or a phone), worked out from the details your browser sends with every request

How visitors are counted

Beacon never stores your IP address. To count unique visitors, it combines your IP address and browser details with the date and a secret key, turns them into a one-way scrambled code (a hash), and keeps only that code. The code changes every day, so Beacon can't follow you from one day to the next or across other websites, and we don't use it to identify anyone. Beacon also filters out common bots and crawlers.

Where it's kept

Beacon data is stored in a database on our web server, and only site admins can see the dashboard. We look at it as totals and trends, like page views per article or top referring sites. If you'd rather not be counted, a content blocker that blocks /Beacon/tracker.js will stop it, and the site works exactly the same.

Article read counts

Each article page also has a small read counter of its own. Once an article has been open and on your screen for 20 seconds, your browser tells our server that the article was read. We keep only a total for each article per day. We use those totals to see which articles are most useful and to pick the most-read articles for our weekly email. Nobody else sees them.

So one person isn't counted twice in a day, the counter turns your IP address and browser details, plus a random value that changes daily, into a one-way scrambled code. Those codes are deleted at the end of each day, and your IP address is never stored. The counter skips common bots and doesn't use cookies. Blocking /api/read.php with a content blocker stops it, and the site works exactly the same.

When you sign up with the Subscribe form, we collect:

• Your first name and email address (required)
• Your last name and institution (optional)

We use these to send you a welcome email and occasional emails about new posts. We don't use them for anything else, and we don't share them with other subscribers, sponsors or partners.

Your details are stored with Resend, the email service we use to manage our list and send messages. Resend also keeps delivery records, such as whether an email was delivered or bounced.

Open and click tracking

Our emails use Resend's open and click tracking. Each email includes a tiny invisible image that lets Resend record when it's opened, and links in our emails pass through Resend first so it can record which ones get clicked. Resend keeps these records for each subscriber. We use them to see which posts readers find useful, not to profile anyone or for advertising.

If you'd rather not have opens tracked, set your email app to not load images automatically. Clicks are still recorded when you click a link in one of our emails.

Spam protection and unsubscribing

To stop spam, the form includes a hidden field that bots tend to fill in, and our server briefly keeps a scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address to limit repeated sign-up attempts. That scrambled record is only used to count attempts over a 10-minute window.

Every email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom. Once you unsubscribe, we stop emailing you. If you also want your details deleted from our list, email us and we'll take care of it.

Every subscriber gets a personal share link for our Refer a colleague program.

• If you share your link, we keep your share code along with your name, email and institution (if you gave one), who subscribed through your link, and which rewards you've earned. We use this only to count referrals and deliver rewards.
• Your link in our emails: your share link is also saved with your subscriber details at Resend, so the emails we send can show you your own link.
• If you subscribe through someone's link, we note who referred you. When you click Confirm my email, we let that person know your first name so they know the referral counted. We don't share your email or anything else about you.
• Rewards: when you reach a reward level, we email you to let you know. Some rewards, like the prompt pack, come attached to that email.
• Where it's kept: in a file on our own web server, plus your share link with your subscriber details at Resend. Only site admins can see them. Email us if you'd like your referral details deleted.

Our learning center AI survey asks about your center (its type, size and services), how it uses AI, and your views on AI. It doesn't ask for your name or email.

• Institution name is optional. We only use it so we don't count the same center twice, and we never publish it.
• Your answers are stored in a database on our own web server, not with an outside survey company. Only site admins can see individual responses.
• What we publish is combined numbers and percentages, and only after enough centers have responded. Published results never name an institution.
• Written answers are only quoted on the site if you check the box saying that's OK, and then without your institution.
• Spam protection works like the newsletter form: a hidden field that catches bots, plus a short-lived scrambled version of your IP address to limit repeat submissions. Your IP address isn't stored with your answers.
• Your browser keeps a small marker after you finish, so the survey page knows you already answered. It doesn't contain your answers.

Want your response removed? Email us with your institution name (or roughly when you answered) and we'll delete it.

Our Contribute page lets you send a prompt, template or code snippet for the library, or pitch an article. When you do, we collect:

• Your name and email address (required), so we can reply
• Your institution (optional)
• What you send: the title, the prompt or code, your notes, your pitch or draft, and any link you include
• How you'd like to be credited if we publish it

Your submission is stored in a file on our own web server, and only site admins can see it. We also get an email notice with a copy of it, sent through Resend, so we can review it and reply to you.

• If we publish it, it goes up with the credit you chose: your name and institution, your name only, or no name at all. We never publish your email address.
• If we don't publish it, it stays in our admin inbox until we delete it. Email us anytime and we'll delete it sooner.
• Spam protection works like our other forms: a hidden field that catches bots, plus a short-lived scrambled version of your IP address to limit repeat submissions. Your IP address isn't stored with your submission.

Please don't send student names, records or other private information. If something slips through, we'll remove it before anything is published.

Running a website means a few other companies handle limited information on our behalf. Here's who they are and what they see.

• Element Hosting (Realmac Software) hosts the site. Like most web hosts, its servers may keep short-term logs of requests (such as IP address, the page requested, the time and browser type) for security and troubleshooting.
• Cloudflare sits in front of the site to speed it up and block attacks, which means it processes your IP address and request details. Its bot protection may set short-lived security cookies (such as __cf_bm or cf_clearance) that tell people apart from bots. Cloudflare Web Analytics also measures how fast pages load, without cookies. Cloudflare's privacy policy
• Google Charts draws the chart in the sidebar of The Feed, so on that page your browser loads a script from Google's servers. Google's privacy policy
• Resend stores subscriber details, sends our emails, and records email opens and clicks, as described above. It also delivers the email notice we get when someone sends a contribution.

Our fonts are hosted on our own server, so loading them doesn't contact anyone else.

We don't sell, rent or trade personal information. We'd only share it beyond these services if the law required us to.

Our public pages don't set any cookies of their own. The only cookies you might get on a public page are the Cloudflare security cookies described above.

We do save a few small markers in your browser's local storage so the site doesn't keep asking you the same things:

• that you finished the survey, so you aren't asked to take it again
• that you closed the survey banner on The Feed
• that you subscribed, so we stop showing you the sign-up form
• the share code from a colleague's referral link, if you followed one, so they get credit if you subscribe (kept for 30 days)
• that you closed the invite bar that shows after following a colleague's link, so it doesn't come back
• your own share link, if you subscribed on this device, so the Refer page can show it to you

These markers don't include your answers, your name or your email. A referral code is only sent to us if you subscribe, and clearing your browser data removes all of them.

The site's editing, email and survey tools are only used by our authors and admins. Signing in to them sets a session cookie that keeps that person signed in, and saves a marker in that browser so our own visits aren't counted as article reads. Readers never see these.

• Unsubscribe anytime with the link at the bottom of any email.
• Limit email tracking by turning off automatic image loading in your email app, which stops opens from being recorded.
• See, fix or delete your subscriber details or a submission by emailing us. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.
• Skip analytics by blocking /Beacon/tracker.js and /api/read.php with a content blocker. Neither Beacon data nor read counts are tied to a name or email, so there's nothing in them we could look up for a specific person.
• Block requests to Google with a privacy-focused browser or extension. Everything works except the chart on The Feed.

Depending on where you live, laws like the GDPR or state privacy laws may give you extra rights, such as the right to access or delete your data. Email us and we'll help.

Our articles link to other websites, such as tools we write about and books on Amazon. Those sites have their own privacy practices, so check theirs when you visit.

Learning Center AI is written for professionals and isn't directed to children under 13. We don't knowingly collect information from children. If you think a child has subscribed, email us and we'll remove their details.

We may update this notice as the site changes. When we do, we'll change the date at the top of this page.

Email [email protected] with any questions about this notice, or to make a request about your data.