Effective Date: July 5, 2025
TechSwap is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we collect, how we store and use it, and your rights related to that information. This Privacy Policy pertains to our website, which you can access through www.tech-swap.org, and all other offline means through which we might collect your information, including, but not limited to, in-person TechSwap events (collectively, the “Platform”). For the purposes of this Privacy Policy when we use “we”, “us” or “our” in this Policy, we are talking about TechSwap. Should you have any questions in relation to this Policy, please contact us. Certain capitalized terms not defined in this Privacy Policy shall have the meanings assigned to them in our Terms of Use.
By accessing or using our Platform, you agree to this Policy. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE PLATFORM.
KEY TERMS
“Account”
A registered, password-protected, user profile on TechSwap containing identifying information (such as name, email, educator verification, and location), used to access and interact with the Platform.
“Artificial Intelligence Purposes”
The development, training, testing, or operation of artificial intelligence or machine learning models. Use of TechSwap data, content, or user information for such purposes is expressly prohibited under our Terms of Use.
“Content” or “User Content”
Any information, data, text, images, listings, or other material that you post, submit, upload, transmit, or otherwise provide on or through the Platform, including donations, requests, messages, or profile content.
“Cookies”
Small text files placed on your browser or device by websites to recognize your browser, store preferences, and improve your experience. TechSwap only uses essential cookies for login and basic analytics.
“Data Controller”
The entity that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data. For the purposes of this Policy, TechSwap is the data controller of your personal information.
“Educator Status”
Proof that you are an active K–12 educator or education staff member in the United States. This may include a school-affiliated email address, a school ID, or a link to a public school staff directory.
“IP Address”
An Internet Protocol address is a unique number assigned to a device connected to the internet, used to identify and communicate with that device.
“Personal Data” or “Personal Information”
Any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual. This may include your name, email address, job title, IP address, or any other data that can be linked to you.
“Platform”
The TechSwap website located at https://tech-swap.org and any offline services (such as in-person TechSwap events) through which TechSwap collects or processes personal information.
“Service Providers”
Third parties contracted by TechSwap to perform services such as website hosting, email communications, or self-hosted analytics.
“TechSwap,” “we,” “us,” or “our”
Refers to the TechSwap platform, including its operators, administrators, and legal entity/entities responsible for managing and maintaining the Platform.
“Terms” or “Terms of Use”
The legally binding agreement governing your use of the TechSwap Platform, which includes limitations of liability, acceptable use, and dispute resolution procedures. Capitalized terms in this Privacy Policy not defined herein shall have the meanings assigned in the Terms of Use.
“Third Party” or “Third-Party”
Any individual, entity, or organization not owned or controlled by TechSwap. This includes service providers, legal authorities, or others external to TechSwap. When used as an adjective (e.g., “third-party services”), it refers to services or tools provided by these external entities. TechSwap does not share, sell, or rent personal data to third parties for advertising or marketing purposes.
“You,” “your,” or “User”
Any individual who accesses or uses the TechSwap Platform, including educators who create accounts, browse listings, communicate with others, or post Content.
“Delete Account”
A user-initiated action through their profile settings to permanently deactivate their Account and remove associated Personal Data, subject to retention exceptions outlined in this Policy.
“Listing”
Any post created by a User offering or requesting technology-related classroom materials on the Platform, which may include images, descriptions, location, and associated metadata.
“Matomo”
An open-source web analytics platform that TechSwap self-hosts to collect non-identifying usage data solely for internal Platform improvement purposes.
“Newsletter”
Optional email communications sent by TechSwap to Users who have opted in, containing Platform updates, new listings, or educator-relevant content. Users may unsubscribe at any time.
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
You may exercise the following rights:
- Access Your Personal Data. You may request access to the data we hold about you. In many cases, this information is already available to you through your profile page.
- Update Your Personal Data. You can update your data on your profile page or send a request for us to correct incorrect or incomplete data about you, with the restrictions that follow from legislation.
- Opt-Out of the Sale or Sharing of Your Data. TechSwap does not sell or rent your data to third-parties. See the section on DATA SHARING herein for more details.
- Request Erasure. You have the right to delete your account and data, through the website by clicking the “Delete Account” button on your profile page, clicking the “Delete Listing” button to delete your user-generated content, or by contacting us with details regarding the information you wish to erase. Upon your request, we will remove your information as soon as reasonably possible. Please note that we may retain information from closed accounts in order to comply with the law, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations of any User, enforce our Terms of Use, and/or for any other purposes otherwise permitted by law that we deem necessary in our sole discretion.
- Withdrawal Consent. You may withdraw consent where applicable, such as opting out of newsletters by clicking the “unsubscribe” button in the emails or by updating your notification preferences on the website. Please note that it may take a few weeks for these changes to be processed.
State Specific Privacy Rights
Some U.S. states have laws that grant residents certain rights regarding their personal data.
If you are a resident of one of these states, you may have the right to:
- Know what categories of personal information we collect and how we use it
- Request access to and/or deletion of your personal data
- Correct inaccuracies in your data
- Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data (we do not sell or share data)
To make a request under your state’s privacy law, contact us at [email protected]. To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before fulfilling your privacy rights request, such as confirming your email address or other identifying information.
INTERNATIONAL USERS
TechSwap is intended for use only in the United States. If you are accessing the Platform from outside the U.S., you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with local laws. We do not knowingly target or offer services to users located outside the U.S.
INFORMATION WE COLLECT
How we collect and store your information depends on many factors, such as how you access and use the Platform. We collect information in multiple ways including information you provide directly to us and when we passively collect information from you, such as information collected from your browser or device.
Information You Provide Directly To Us
You may provide us with information about you when you use or access the Platform, such as when you create an account; participate in polls or surveys; enroll for electronic newsletters; fill out any forms; transmit User Content; or otherwise communicate with us or other Users through the Platform. This list is illustrative, not exhaustive; this Policy applies to all your uses of the Platform.
Additionally, you may communicate with us and/or other Users through various features, such as messaging within the Platform. We may monitor, record, transcribe, analyze, and retain the communications for fraud prevention, product improvement, and quality assurance purposes. Please do not use the messaging feature if you do not wish to have your communications monitored, recorded, transcribed, and retained.
When you create an account on TechSwap, we collect the following information:
- Full name
- Pronouns (eg., she/her, he/him, they/them)
- ZIP code
- Job title
- Affiliation, school or workplace name
- Proof of educator status (e.g., school ID photo, school-affiliated email, or link to a public staff page)
- User account credentials (e.g., username and password)
- Age verification (e.g., when you check a box to confirm that you are over 18 years of age)
Additionally, we may collect:
- Content you post (e.g., listings, descriptions, images, messages)
- Photos (e.g., profile pictures, photos uploaded as part of a listing)
Information That Is Passively or Automatically Collected
Technical Data:
- Internet protocol (IP) address
- Your login data
- Browser type and version
- Time zone setting and location
- Browser plug-in types and versions
- Operating system and platform
- Page views
Additionally, we collect usage data to determine which features are used most frequently, what our Users do/do not like, to assist in determining relevant newsletter content, and to improve our platform as outlined in this Policy.
HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We may use your information for any of the following reasons:
- For the purposes for which you provided it
- To verify educator status, eligibility, and manage account creation
- To support Platform functionality (e.g., listings, messaging)
- To moderate listings and maintain community safety
- To address fraud or safety concerns, or to investigate complaints or suspected fraud or wrongdoing
- To respond to User inquiries and support requests
- To improve and maintain the Platform reliability and access
- To resolve disputes, to protect ourselves and other Users of the Platform and to enforce any legal terms that govern your use of the Platform
We do not use your data for advertising, marketing, or profiling, and we do not sell or rent your information to any third parties. TechSwap prohibits the use of Platform data for Artificial Intelligence Purposes.
COOKIES
We use cookies for secure user login sessions and to internally collect and manage analytics. We do not use third-party tracking or analytics tools.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but your browser may allow you to modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you disable cookies, you may be prevented from taking full advantage of the Platform, because it may not function properly. As we adopt additional technologies, we may also gather additional information through other methods.
DATA SHARING
We do not share data with third-parties except:
- With service providers necessary to operate the platform (e.g., secure hosting, email services, and Matomo, an open-source analytics platform that we self-host to collect anonymous usage data for internal improvement purposes).
- In the event of any reorganization, merger, or sale of TechSwap.
- Legal Requirements. We may disclose your information when required by law or when we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to: (a) comply with subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process we receive; (b) establish or exercise our legal rights including enforcing and administering agreements with Users; or (c) defend TechSwap against legal claims. While you may challenge the disclosure request, please be advised we may still be legally required to turn over your information.
- Protection of TechSwap and our Users. We may disclose your information when we believe it appropriate to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding possible illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of the Terms of Use or any other legal terms governing use of the Platform, and/or to protect our rights and property and the rights and property of others.
You may post Content on or through our Platform, including, but not limited to, listings of resources, donation/request descriptions, or pictures. However, please be careful and responsible whenever you are online. Some information you provide and/or that we collect may be publicly accessible. For instance, registration for an account requires that you provide us with your name. Your full name or username may be visible to other Users. Depending on the circumstances, your name may be attached to your Content, listings (donations/requests), messages, or profile information, such as your profile picture. Certain other people, including other Users with whom you have interacted via the Platform, may see information about you that is attached to your name. For example (but without limitation), listings (donations/requests), including the descriptions and photos that you post, listings posted by other Users that were claimed by you, along with your name or username, will be publicly visible. Thus, other Users may be able to personally identify you based on Content you provide. Similarly, certain information we collect, including but not limited to when you last accessed the Platform, may be disclosed to other Users with whom you are interacting or otherwise made public.
If you choose to post User Content on or through the Platform, such as through User-to-User messaging, listings, or other postings, that information: (a) may be or may become publicly available; (b) may be collected and used by third parties with or without our knowledge; and (c) may be used by third parties (including other Users) in a manner that may violate this Policy or applicable law.
DATA RETENTION
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, including to satisfy legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. User-generated content may remain publicly visible until deleted by the user or an administrator. We may retain backup copies or logs for a limited period after deletion for operational or legal purposes. If you delete your account, we will take reasonable steps to remove your data, except where retention is required by law or as otherwise stated in this Policy.
PRIVACY OF MINORS
TechSwap is intended for adult educators. As such, our services are not provided to minors (i.e., persons under the age of 18). We elect to provide services only to persons 18 years of age or older, including any use of the Platform. If we become aware, either directly or through a report, that a User is under the age of 18, we will delete the account and remove the associated personal information as required by law, including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under the age of 13.
Where permitted by law, we may retain certain information internally for the purposes described in this Policy, such as legal compliance, fraud prevention, or user safety.
SECURITY
We employ physical, procedural, and technological security measures to help protect your information from unauthorized access or disclosure. TechSwap may use encryption, passwords, and physical security measures to help protect your information against unauthorized access and disclosure. No security measures, however, are 100% failsafe. Therefore, we do not promise and cannot guarantee, and thus you should not expect, that any information provided or transmitted online is completely secure. You should take steps to protect against unauthorized access to your password, phone, and computer by, among other things, signing off after using a shared computer, choosing a robust password that nobody else knows or can easily guess, keeping your log-in and password private, and not recycling passwords from other websites or accounts. TechSwap is not responsible for the unauthorized use of your information nor for any lost, stolen, or compromised passwords, or for any activity on your account via unauthorized password activity.
THIRD-PARTY LINKS
The Platform may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
THIS POLICY IS CURRENT AS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE SET FORTH ABOVE. TECHSWAP MAY, IN ITS SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION, CHANGE THIS POLICY AT ANY TIME. TECHSWAP WILL POST ITS UPDATED POLICY ON THE PLATFORM, SEND YOU A MESSAGE, EMAIL, OR OTHERWISE NOTIFY YOU WHEN YOU ARE LOGGED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT. TECHSWAP ENCOURAGES YOU TO REVIEW THIS POLICY REGULARLY FOR ANY CHANGES. YOUR CONTINUED ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE PLATFORM WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THE THEN-CURRENT POLICY.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions or want to exercise your rights, please contact us by sending an email to [email protected] or by using the contact form on our website. Please include your name and state to which your inquiry relates.