Peer Programming

Last updated October 28, 2026.

Peer Programming ("we," "our," or "us") is deeply committed to protecting the privacy of children who use our websites, peerprogramming.org and app.peerprogramming.org (together, the "Site"). This privacy policy explains our practices concerning the collection, use, and disclosure of children's personal information.

With parental consent, we process certain information from children under the age of 13. This information includes their email address, first and last name, and timezone. Additionally, we gather student class preferences, their availability days, and other inputs they provide. Though some of this information might not be categorized as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) under COPPA, we believe in full transparency regarding data collection.

The collected information is used to facilitate student participation in classes and activities and to communicate important updates and schedules to both students and parents. Moreover, we utilize this data to continually improve our services, tailoring them to better meet our students' preferences and needs.

Parental consent is a critical part of our process. We ensure parental consent is obtained prior to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information from children. This consent is acquired through our registration process, where parents confirm their agreement.

To keep our classes safe, our moderators may join any session between instructors and students, but a session can go ahead without one. Every session takes place on Google Meet, and for each one a trusted Peer Programming moderator is sent the meeting link so they can join and check that the session meets our standards of safety. We do not currently record sessions, and we store no audio or video from them. Messages on the Site can also be reported, and reported messages are reviewed by our moderators. Instructors' volunteer hours come from Google Meet's records of the sessions they teach, as the section on group classes below explains.

Group classes and partner organizations

Added October 28, 2026.

Students can take part in group classes as well as, or instead of, a 1-on-1. Each group class is run by Peer Programming or by a partner organization we work with. A student joins a class by choosing it from the list of classes in the app, through a link or code from that class's instructors or organization, or when Peer Programming adds them. A parent can add their child from the list or with a class's link or code. Some classes are not on the list and can be joined only with their link or code, or when Peer Programming adds them.

Anyone signed in to the app as a student or a parent can see the list of classes that are open to join. For each class it shows the class's name and description, its language and level, who it is for, when it meets, the organization that runs it, its instructors' first names and, if the class has a size limit, how many places are left. It never shows who the students in a class are. Once a student joins, they see their instructors' full names. In a group class, the class's instructors can see each student's name, timezone, learning goals, whether they are online, and how long they attended. Instructors can also send a student a direct message. Instructors who teach the same class see each other's names, timezones and whether they are online, and how long each of them attended. Many instructors are high school students themselves. Students see each of their class's instructors' names and timezones, and whether they are online, but never a list of their classmates. Inside a class, a student's linked parent sees only the instructors' names. Everyone in a session sees the name each person uses in Google Meet.

Instructors can post messages to the whole class, and a student can send direct messages to the class's instructors. Students only see their own direct messages. Any message can be reported, and reports are reviewed by Peer Programming's moderators, who see each reported message along with the conversation around it. Admins of a partner organization manage their own classes, members and attendance, see volunteer hours, and see the names and email addresses of the students and instructors in them, but they cannot read class chats unless they also teach the class. A student, including a child under 13 whose parent has given consent, can join a class run by a partner organization from the list, and that organization then sees their name and email address. A class's instructor, the organization that runs it or Peer Programming can remove a student from the class. We keep a record of each removal (who removed them, which class, the reason category and when). When the reason category is "something else", the person who removed them also writes a short explanation, which we keep with the record. Peer Programming can review it, and so can the admins of the organization that runs the class, and it stops that student from rejoining the class, from the list or with a link, unless the removal is lifted. When an organization invites someone by email, we delete the address if the invitation is not accepted within 7 days.

A parent or guardian linked to a student can read everything the student sees and sends in their classes, including direct messages. A parent of an instructor can read every message their child sees or sends in a class, including messages students send to them, with the names of the people who wrote them. Parents can say whether their child plans to attend a session (an RSVP) and receive class emails for their child, but they never receive the meeting link for a group session.

Group sessions take place on Google Meet. Members can RSVP, saying whether they plan to attend, and only the class's instructors, the organization that runs it and Peer Programming's staff see the answers. Members see a session's meeting link once an instructor starts the session, until three hours after it was scheduled to start, and a Peer Programming moderator is emailed the link to every group session so they can join.

After a group session we record who attended and for how long, using the name each person showed in Google Meet and, for people signed in to Google, an account identifier Google gives us, and match them to the class's members. A name that doesn't match a member is replaced with "Participant", and its identifier is deleted, 30 days after the session. For a 1-on-1 we record only how long the meeting ran.

Instructors' volunteer hours come from Google Meet's records: for a 1-on-1, how long the meeting ran, and for a group class, how long each instructor was in it, counting at most 3 hours a session. When an account is deleted, we delete every message in their 1-on-1 classes, every message they sent in a group class (to the whole class or to one person), every direct message sent to them in a group class, any report about those messages, and their RSVPs, attendance records, class memberships, and the removal records we hold about them. Our audit log keeps its entries about them, including any removal from a class, but those entries hold no name or email address. Messages that other people posted to a whole group class stay. A deleted instructor's past group sessions stay, so other people's attendance and hours are kept.

We do not share, sell, or rent any personal information collected from children to third parties, except under specific circumstances: to comply with legal processes, protect the safety of our users and the Site, engage trusted third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, or share a student's name, email address, RSVPs and attendance in a class with the partner organization that runs that class, which may use them only to run that class. These service providers are bound by confidentiality agreements preventing further use of the information. Parents have robust rights under COPPA to review their child's personal information collected by us, request its deletion, and refuse further collection or use. Parents wishing to exercise these rights can reach out to us at [email protected] with their requests.

Parents and guardians can be invited to the Site by a student or an instructor, who gives us an email address so we can send an invitation to it. We do not create an account for that address unless the parent or guardian follows the link in the invitation and confirms it themselves. The link in an invitation works for seven days. If it is not accepted in that time, we delete the address, and we delete it sooner if the student or instructor cancels the invitation. If the invitation is accepted, we keep a record of who sent it and when. A parent or guardian can ask us to delete their account, their link to a student, or an invitation sent to their address at any time by writing to us at the address below.

We may share the email addresses of adult account holders, meaning parents and guardians, with third party advertising and analytics providers in an irreversibly hashed form, so that we can measure and improve how people find our free programs. We never share personal information collected from children in this way, and we never share the name, messages, session history, or class preferences of any user for advertising. When a parent creates an account, we send Google a scrambled (hashed) copy of that parent's email address so we can measure whether our ads work. We never do this for students or instructors. Any parent or guardian can ask us to stop this for their address by writing to us at the address below.

Peer Programming takes significant measures to safeguard the security and confidentiality of personal information collected from children. We have implemented security protocols to protect our systems and processes from unauthorized access and potential data breaches. This privacy policy may be updated to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs. In case of material changes, we will revise the effective date and provide notice of such changes on our Site.

For any questions or concerns regarding this privacy policy or our practices concerning children's personal information, please contact us at our email address below:[email protected]

We are dedicated to ensuring that children's interactions with Peer Programming are safe, educational, and enjoyable, and we are steadfast in our commitment to protecting their privacy.