Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Campus Communities (“Campus Communities,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, stores, and shares your information when you use the Campus Communities website, community feeds, messaging features, and related services (collectively, the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to the practices described in this Policy.

1. Information We Collect

a. Information You Provide During Onboarding & Account Creation

• Full name.
• Email address.
• Phone number (where provided during registration or for SMS communications).
• School or university name and class year (e.g., Class of 2030).
• Account credentials: the email address used to create and access your account. Accounts are accessed via email verification code — no password is collected or stored.
• Profile and post content: photos of yourself, a personal bio or introduction, your declared major, hometown, personal interests and hobbies, and connection goals (e.g., meeting friends, finding people to live with, study partners, or community groups).
• Payment information: billing details are processed securely through Stripe. Campus Communities does not store full payment card numbers or CVV codes.
• Messages and communications: content of direct messages sent to other users, group chat activity, and any support inquiries submitted to us.
• Any other information you voluntarily provide when contacting us or updating your profile.

b. Information Collected Automatically

• Usage data: pages visited, features used, time spent on the platform, posts viewed, and interactions with other users’ profiles.
• Device and technical data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, and screen resolution.
• Referral data: if you arrived at the Service through an Instagram page link, we may record which page referred you.
• Cookies and tracking technologies: used to maintain login sessions, remember preferences, and understand how users navigate the platform. See Section 6 for more detail.

c. Information from Third Parties

• Payment processors (Stripe) share transaction confirmation and subscription status data with us.
• If you access the Service through a link on an Instagram page, Instagram/Meta may share limited referral information with us, subject to their own privacy policies.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account and subscription.
• Place you in the correct school community based on your school name and class year.
• Publish your post to your school’s community feed on the website and to the associated Campus Communities-managed Instagram page.
• Operate group chats, direct messaging, and community features.
• Process payments and manage billing through Stripe.
• Send you service-related communications via email or SMS, including receipts, account notices, subscription updates, and policy changes.
• Send you promotional or marketing communications about Campus Communities, subject to your consent and opt-out rights (see Section 9).
• Improve, maintain, and develop the Service and its features.
• Enforce these Terms and our Community Guidelines and protect the safety of our users.
• Analyze platform usage trends in aggregate to understand and grow our communities.
• Comply with applicable legal obligations.

3. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information in the following ways:

• Publicly on the platform: your post (photos, bio, interests, connection goals) is visible to other users within your school’s community and discoverable by users browsing other schools on the platform.
• On Instagram: your post content is cross-posted to the Campus Communities-managed Instagram page for your school and is subject to Instagram’s own privacy settings and policies.
• Service providers: we share data with third-party vendors who help us operate the Service, including Stripe (payments) and hosting and analytics providers.
• Business partners, affiliates, and third parties: Campus Communities may share, license, or otherwise provide user data to third-party partners, affiliates, or other businesses for lawful commercial purposes, including but not limited to marketing, analytics, and research.
• Business transfers: in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• Legal compliance: we may disclose information when required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Campus Communities, our users, or others.

4. Data Retention

We retain your account information and content for as long as Campus Communities deems appropriate, including after cancellation or termination of your account.

Campus Communities owns all data collected through the Service and may retain, use, and commercialize it indefinitely in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

You may request deletion of your personal data by contacting support@campuscommunities.us. We will consider such requests but are not obligated to honor them except where required by applicable law. Note that content already cross-posted to Instagram cannot be guaranteed to be deleted from that platform.

5. Instagram & Third-Party Platforms

The Service integrates with Instagram, which is owned and operated by Meta Platforms, Inc. When your content is cross-posted to Instagram, it becomes subject to Meta’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Campus Communities has no control over how Meta handles data associated with your content once it is published on Instagram. We encourage you to review Meta’s privacy practices at meta.com/privacy.

6. Cookies & Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep you logged in to your account.
• Remember your preferences and settings.
• Understand how users navigate the platform.

You can control cookie settings through your browser. Disabling cookies may affect your ability to use certain features of the Service.

7. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. However, no system is completely secure. Use of the Service is at your own risk. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password and to log out of your account when using shared devices.

8. Children’s Privacy

The Service is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from users under 18. Upon becoming aware that a user is under 18 — whether through a user report, parental contact, or our own discovery — we will promptly delete that user’s account and associated data.

Campus Communities is not responsible for unauthorized use of the Service by minors who misrepresent their age. Parents or guardians who believe their child has created an account without authorization may contact us at support@campuscommunities.us to request deletion.

9. Your Rights & Choices

• Access & correction: you may access or update your account information by logging into your account or contacting us.
• Deletion requests: you may submit a request to delete your account and associated data by contacting support@campuscommunities.us. Campus Communities will consider such requests but is not obligated to honor them except where required by applicable law.
• Subscription management: cancel your subscription at any time via campuscommunities.us/subscription.
• Content removal: request removal of your post from the Campus Communities website by contacting support@campuscommunities.us. Removal from Instagram cannot be guaranteed.
• Communications: you may opt out of marketing communications at any time via the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us. Service-related notices cannot be opted out of while your account is active.

If you are a resident of California or another jurisdiction with applicable privacy rights (such as GDPR rights for EU residents), you may have additional rights regarding your data. Please contact us at support@campuscommunities.us to exercise those rights.

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or for legal, regulatory, or operational reasons. We will notify you of material changes via email or by posting a notice on the website. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy.

The “Last Updated” date at the top of this page reflects when the most recent changes were made.

Questions or concerns? Contact us at support@campuscommunities.us.