Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 20, 2022

Welcome to Empatico. Empatico enables educators to connect with classrooms and youth programs around the globe in order to empower children to form meaningful connections that foster a more empathetic world. Empatico is a service for teachers, principals, other educators or school personnel, and individuals working with children in educational, community, or youth-centered programs and settings (referred to as “Educators” or “you” and such children are referred to as “Child Users”). This Privacy Policy, together with any documents expressly incorporated by reference, including the Acceptance of Terms of Use, is entered into by and between you and Empatico, an initiative of the KIND Foundation (“Empatico”, “our,” “we” or “us”) and is a legally-binding document.

About Our Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to your access to and use of the following: (i) the Empatico Website found at https://empatico.org/ (the “Website”) and (ii) our products, services, online platforms, and other offerings that either ask for your acceptance to this Privacy Policy or which include this Privacy Policy. All of these are referred to in this Privacy Policy as the “Empatico Services.”

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using the Empatico Services. By accessing the Empatico Services or by clicking to accept or agree to this Privacy Policy when the option is made available to you, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by this Privacy Policy and our Acceptance of Terms of Use. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy and the Acceptance of Terms of Use, please do not access or use the Empatico Services. Capitalized terms used, but not defined, in this Privacy Policy have the definitions given to them in the Acceptance of Terms of Use.

This Privacy Policy will help you understand how Empatico (“we” or “our”) collects and/or uses personal information that you provide when you access or use the Empatico Services or that is automatically collected by us about you or individuals you have participate in your use of the Empatico Services. This Privacy Policy describes the choices available regarding personal information and how you can access and update this information. The Platform is not to be used by unsupervised children or by children directly and children may not register to use Empatico Services. To the extent required by applicable laws and privacy policies of your organization, Educators are responsible for obtaining any parental consent necessary for use of the Empatico Services (including the Video Feature) by Child Users.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to any data in insofar as it is held, processed, disclosed or used in a form in which your identity has been removed and which cannot be linked or reasonably linkable to you (such as de-identified, anonymized or aggregated data which cannot directly or indirectly be used to identify you or to obtain information about you) (“Non-Personal Information”). Empatico may generate or extract Non-Personal Information out of any databases containing your personal data and we may make use of any such Non-Personal Information for our purposes as we see fit. We may also share such Non-Personal Information with our partners and service providers to report the success or status of Programs or other services or initiatives. You acknowledge that such third party may be able to identify you by associating the Non-Personal Information we provide with the information that they may collect from you or from third parties. By accepting this Privacy Policy you accept our disclosure of Non-Personal Information to such third parties, and you understand that such third parties are not bound by this Privacy Policy and that Empatico is not bound by such third parties’ privacy policies and is not liable for such third parties’ privacy practices or use, re-identification or sharing of Non-Personal Information.

What Information Do We Collect?

We strive to collect only the minimum information necessary about you in order to effectively and efficiently provide and operate the Empatico Services. We collect the personal information of Educators only – we do not collect any personal information of Child Users.

Information Educators Provide Us Voluntarily: We ask you to register to create an account on the Website. At that time, we request that you provide the following:

  • Your name;
  • Your email address;
  • A password;
  • Your date of birth;
  • Your time zone;
  • The preferred language(s) for your classroom or youth program;
  • The age range of Child Users in your classroom or youth program;
  • Your class or youth program size;
  • Your classroom’s or youth program’s interests;
  • Your school or youth program name and its location (city, state/region, and country); and
  • Your daily and hourly availability for a virtual exchange.

You have the option to fill out an Educator profile in which you can provide additional information including a class or youth group bio and your profile picture.

To receive email communications from us, you need not register but we do ask that you provide us with your email address..

Educators may also be asked to provide their telephone number or a secondary email address when submitting support tickets to our customer support team; such information may allow our customer support team to better resolve service issues.

Information Collected Automatically: We may also collect certain technical information automatically when you use the Empatico Services.

  • Log Information: We may collect server log information when you use the Empatico Services , which may include (but may not be not limited to) the date and time of your visits and/or logins (if registered), the pages viewed, and time spent on the Empatico Service.
  • Device Information: We may collect information about the computer or mobile device you use to access the Empatico Services, including the hardware model, operating system and version, and the web browser you use. Note that if you have others use the Empatico Services, then we may collect information about the devices such other individuals use to access and use the Empatico Services.
  • Usage Information: We may use various technologies, including third-party cookies, to collect additional information about your use of the Empatico Services, including the websites you visit before and after visiting the Empatico Services, which pages you view, which features you use and how often, how much time you spend on pages or functionalities, and which links on the Empatico Services you have clicked on. Cookies are small data files placed on your web browser which enable us to collect this information. You can disable cookies to prevent the collection of the above usage information by changing a setting in your web browser. Please note, however, that without cookies aspects of the Empatico Services may not function properly.
  • Chat Conversations and Video Communications: Please note that any information you disclose or share through chat conversations and video communications with others can be made available to them and, accordingly, you should have no expectation of privacy with respect to any such information.

How Do We Use the Information We Collect?

This section describes how we may use the information you provide to us or which we automatically collect. Please note that we use all personal information we collect only for matters relating to the provision and offering of the Empatico Services – we do not sell any of your personal information.

You are solely responsible for obtaining any consents, providing any notices, or meeting other applicable legal requirements before disclosing any personal information to us or allowing other individuals to use or access the Empatico Services (including the Video Feature).

  • When you use the Website (other than the Video Feature), we may use the information we collect in the following ways:
    • To provide, maintain, and improve the Website, the Platform, the Programs and/or the Video Feature, including providing you with a list of recommended classroom or youth program matches (as part of this matching process, we may share your full name, location, time zone, languages, and other information you provide, with other Educators using the Empatico Services to facilitate matching);
    • To analyze and track data in order to better understand the activity of our users;
    • To develop new features and services;
    • To respond to your requests for information or customer support;
    • To communicate with you about news, products, services, promotions, events and other information we think will be of interest to you;
    • To request registered users’ participation in surveys and polls;
    • To protect our community by investigating possible violations of and enforce our contracts, including this Privacy Policy, our Acceptance of Terms of Use and any terms and conditions associated with the Empatico Services;
    • To facilitate the administration of fellowships and grants; and
    • To comply with our legal and/or regulatory obligations.
  • When you use the Video Feature, we may use the information we collect in the following ways:
    • To protect our community by investigating possible violations of and enforce our contracts, including our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
    • To comply with our legal and/or regulatory obligations.

Do We Share the Information We Collect?

Empatico does not sell any of your information to any third party for any purpose, including for advertising or marketing by third parties. We also do not sell any user profiles (individual or aggregate) of our users. We share your information with third parties in the following limited circumstances, all relating to the provision, development, and offering of the Empatico Services:

  • With our current or future parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries and with other companies under common control or ownership with us;
  • With service providers who perform certain functions or services on our behalf (e.g., to host our website, manage databases, and perform internal analytics). We authorize service providers only to use your information as necessary to perform services on our behalf;
  • To comply with our other legal obligations;
  • To protect our services and users (e.g., as appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss; or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity, or violation of our Privacy Policy or Acceptance of Terms of Use or other contracts);
  • With any partner organization (such as First Book), including any partner organization administering or managing a fellowship or grant, in connection with a Program with which Empatico is associated;
  • In connection with corporate transactions now or in the future (e.g., a sale, assignment, merger, bankruptcy, consolidation, reorganization, liquidation, or other transfer of Empatico or its assets);
  • With other users of the Empatico Services to facilitate matching; and
  • When you request that we share your data, such as in the case of file-sharing or chat functions.

Please note that certain functions of the Empatico Services may require the use of third-party applications, including Zoom. When you use those third-party applications, such as Zoom, you are subject to such third party’s terms and privacy policy.

How Can I Access and Manage My Personal Information?

If you have a user account with Empatico, you may be able to access, correct, or request deletion of the information that we maintain about you through your account settings or by contacting us atsupport@empatico.org. We will try our best to respond to your request within 30 days. Please note that you cannot delete information required to identify you in our systems (such as your name and email address), which is necessary to keep your account open. We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. For quality control purposes, we may retain certain records of your online activities, including screenshots, for a limited period of time.

How Do I Delete My Account?

If you wish to permanently delete your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services, please contact us at support@empatico.org. or visit the Settings section of your Educator profile, click “Personal Info,” and click “Delete Account.” We will retain and use your information after deletion only as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Empatico cannot guarantee that any information that remains in backup or archived media retained by our third-party web hosting service provider will be deleted in its entirety. Further, deletion requests will be honored only to the extent required by law.

Can I Opt-Out of Providing My Information?

You cannot opt out of providing the information required to register for, and use, the Empatico Services if you wish to use the features and functionality of the Empatico Services. You also cannot opt-out of certain information we automatically collect (such as device information). You can disable further information collection by cookies by changing a setting in your web browser.

What Choices are Available to Me Regarding Email from Empatico?

You can subscribe to receive marketing offers or solicitations from us through email by opting in during registration. If you prefer not to receive marketing email from us or to change your subscription settings, contact us at support@empatico.org. Please note that these requests may take up to 10 days to be effective. Please note that your request not to receive marketing emails from us will not apply to transactional emails that are sent to you when you sign up for a user account and interact with the Empatico Services in certain ways.

Third-Party Websites

Empatico may provide links to websites operated by third parties for your convenience and information. All of these websites and applications operate independently from us, and we do not control their privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites and applications that you use to better understand their privacy practices.

Information Security

Empatico takes care to protect the integrity and security of our systems and the information we collect. We work hard to maintain a range of security safeguards designed to protect against unauthorized access to our user information. We are unable, however, to guarantee the security of your information.

As your account is protected by a password, we ask that you keep your password secure and do not share it with anyone else in order to provide maximum protection for your account and information you provide to us.

You must advise Child Users to keep the meeting links and passwords secure and not share them with anyone else.

In the event of any data breach, we will work to notify you if and as required by law.

Information Collected from Visitors Outside the United States

If you are using the Empatico Services from outside the United States and provide us with personal information or we collect personal information from or about you, please note that your personal information will be transferred, stored and processed in the United States. The laws of the United States applicable to the storage and use of personal information may be less protective than the law of your jurisdiction.

By using the Empatico Services, you are voluntarily transferring your personal information to facilities located in the United States and other Empatico facility locations.

Updates to Our Privacy Policy

Empatico may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last updated. If we do make significant changes to this Privacy Policy, we will give you notice, if you have registered, by sending you an email (to the e-mail address you registered with) as well as posting a prominent notice on the Website.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically and to review any revisions to the policy. Upon our posting of such a notice on the Website or your receipt of notice by email, you will be bound to the revised version of the Privacy Policy.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, or if you would like us to update information we have about you or your preferences, please contact us by:

Email:support@empatico.org

Mail: The KIND Foundation
PO Box 705, Midtown Station
New York, NY 10018

If any student, or his/her parent or guardian, has any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, we request the student, or his/her parent or guardian, to contact his/her Teacher who may direct such questions or comments to us without disclosing the personal information of the student, or his/her parent or guardian.