Effective Date July 1, 2020 (See our previous version here)
Teacher Synergy LLC d/b/a Teachers Pay Teachers (referred to in this policy as “Teachers Pay Teachers”, “TpT”, “us”, “we”, or “our”) has adopted the following Privacy Policy to explain how we collect, use, and share information from and about you in connection with certain of our products, services, and properties.
Your privacy and security are very important to us at Teachers Pay Teachers. We’re committed to transparency when it comes to our privacy practices and how we safeguard your information. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) outlines what kinds of information we may ask you for and gather from you as you visit or use TpT, how that information may be used, and under what circumstances certain information might be shared with others.
This Policy applies to the data you share when you use our “Services” which includes our website at TeachersPayTeachers.com and any affiliated web pages or forms we may create or host (“Site”), our mobile applications (“Apps”), or when you communicate with us. By using or accessing the Services in any manner, you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in this Policy, and you hereby consent that we will collect, use, and share your information in the following ways.
This Policy is part of our Terms of Service which you can find here. Any terms we use in this Policy without defining them have the definitions given to them in the Terms of Service.
You may print a copy of this Policy by clicking here. If you require an alternative format to access this policy due to a disability, please contact us at Support@TeachersPayTeachers.com for assistance.
To the extent that you use the TpT Digital Tool or other tools intended for use with students ("Student Tools"), please visit our dedicated Student Privacy Policy to learn more about how we treat the information we collect in connection with Student Tools, which may include information about children who are under the age of 13.
The following subsections detail the categories of Personal Information that we collect and have collected over the past twelve (12) months. For each category of Personal Information, these sections also set out our commercial or business purpose for collecting that Personal Information and the categories of third parties with whom we share that Personal Information. Throughout this Policy, we will refer back to the categories of Personal Information listed below (for example, “Category A. Personal Identifiers”).
Some information collected when you access or use our Services is considered “Personal Information” (or PI). This is information that relates to or can be used to identify you personally and includes things like your full name, your street address, your phone number, and your email address, and also includes information referred to as “personally identifiable information” or “personal information” under applicable data privacy laws, rules, or regulations. Other than as provided for in this Policy, we won’t share or disclose this kind of information unless we get your permission. Other information that we collect may not identify you personally. This kind of information may be shared or disclosed in an aggregate form, used to personalize your experience, and so on.
Visitors. When you use our Services as a Visitor, we may ask for information about your preferences and interests to personalize your experience and help you find what you need.
All Members. To use many aspects of our Services, you’re required to create a TpT account and become a Member. To become a Member, we require that you pick a unique username, and provide us with your email address so we can contact you. We may also ask you to tell us your name so we know who you are.
Finally, we may ask you to share some information about what kind of user you are (your role), your geographic location, what and where you teach, and information about your interests to help us personalize your experience using our Services.
Sellers. Members who register for one of our Seller Memberships (“Sellers”), will be required to provide additional contact information and payment information to receive Earnings. Sellers can choose to use a name other than their given name as a “Store Name.” A Seller’s Store Name, profile image or logo, and any additional information they choose to provide about themselves in their Store profile will be publicly viewable.
To comply with applicable laws, we may collect federal tax identification information from Sellers, including your social security number or employer identification number, to verify your identity and issue tax documents.
When you use our Services as a Member or a Visitor, we receive and collect certain information from your browser and your device such as your Internet Protocol address (IP address), device information, operating system, browser type and version, and browser country location. This information helps us defend against fraudulent activity or attacks, maintain the security of our Services, and improve and personalize your experience.
We also log data related to how Members and Visitors use our Services, including Cookies (as defined below) that may uniquely identify your visit or account. This log data includes details such as what pages of our Site or App you visit and when, how users navigate through the Site, and visit referral URLs. This information allows us to better understand how our Services are being used, helps us make improvements, and enables us to personalize your experience with our Services. (Please refer to the Cookies section below for more information about how we use Cookies.)
From time to time, we may host and provide Members and Visitors the opportunity to participate in contests, sweepstakes, and surveys. If you choose to participate, you may be asked to provide Personal Information which may be used for purposes necessary to administer the contest, sweepstakes, or survey, or for other marketing purposes.
We may collect information about you from third parties as permitted by law or through your interaction with third parties we may integrate with from time to time to offer new features and/or services to you (“Third Party Integrations”). We may also receive information about you in connection with our provision of certain services, including for example TpT School Access or gift cards, as well as from some of our service providers who assist us with marketing or promotional services related to how you interact with our websites, applications, products, services, advertisements or communications.
Through an integration with Google Drive, you may have the option to list files directly from your Google Drive in your TpT store (“Resources for Google Apps”), or access Resources for Google Apps directly through your Google Drive account (e.g. resources that you have purchased or added to your TpT account for free). To enable your use of this integration, you’ll need to give TpT permission to access your Google Drive for the purposes described in this section. If you’re a Seller listing Resources from your Google Drive, we’ll use this access to list in your TpT store files that you choose from your Google Drive account, set file permissions, make copies for each Member who purchases or accesses your Resources for Google Apps for free, and monitor listed files from your Google Drive for deletions, updates, or changes in permissions so we may be able to alert you or impacted Members. For Members who choose to purchase (or access for free) Resources for Google Apps, we’ll use this access to deliver the Resource to your Google Drive. Use of the integration is subject to Google’s privacy policies — you can find more information about how Google uses your information and what information Google shares with us here.
When you make a purchase through our Services, you’ll need to provide billing and payment information to complete your order. We’ve carefully chosen Service Providers who use Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant practices to process payments (“Payment Processors”). Whether you check out using a credit or debit card, PayPal account, or any other payment method we may support, your payment will be processed directly by our Payment Processor and we’ll never have access to or store your full payment details.
When you use a credit or debit card to pay for your purchases, you’ll be asked to add a credit or debit card payment source (“Payment Card”). When you submit your order, this information will be sent directly to and stored by our Payment Processor. After your payment is processed, the Payment Processor will send TpT some details about the transaction so that we can record your order in our database and provide access to the materials that you purchased.
The Payment Card you added will be available for future use on your Account. You can edit or remove this information at any time by navigating to the checkout page or by contacting us for assistance.
If you choose to pay using PayPal, you’ll log in to your PayPal account to complete your order. When PayPal processes your payment, they’ll send us a confirmation with transaction details so we can record your order and provide access to the Resources or services you’ve purchased. We do not collect information about or have access to the specific payment or funding sources or any other financial account details associated with your PayPal account.
We disclose your Personal Information to the following categories of service providers and other parties:
If you choose to become a Seller on TpT, there are some additional contact details we collect to ensure that we can reach you and deliver your earnings payments in the method you choose. You’ll also have a store page and profile, where you can choose to provide additional details about yourself to your customers. The information you add to your store profile is information that visitors can see.
The following information is visible to others:
Other than as described in this Policy, we won’t publicly display or disclose Personal Information about you, such as the email address associated with your account, your street address or phone number, or your earnings and payout information, without your consent.
When you place an order, your full name, city, state, and zip code will be visible to the Seller whose materials you purchased. Additionally, if you purchase hard goods, the Seller will see the shipping information you entered during checkout to enable them to ship your order.
There may be features of our Services which allow you to:
By using any of these features, you’re choosing to share information about yourself and your TpT account activity with TpT, the public or with other Members. If you connect with another Member, for example by joining a group or Organization, or by accessing a Resource shared with you by another Member, the Members you interact with may be able to view certain information and activity associated with your account and that interaction.
TpT engages the services of third party companies (“Service Providers”) to support and help provide certain features of our Services such as payment processing, customer support, data storage and analysis, visitor tracking and user testing, email messaging, advertising, surveys, Site security and fraud prevention, staff augmentation, hosting and other technology and communications, and other services. TpT shares data with these Service Providers so that they can perform their services which help deliver our Services more securely, efficiently, and effectively. Service Providers may have access to certain Personal Information in the course of providing their service. Service Providers’ access to your Personal Information is limited to the purpose of providing the services contracted for. Service Providers are not permitted to disclose information we share to other parties (other than their own service providers as necessary) or use your Personal Information for any other purpose.
TpT may from time to time share aggregate user data with business partners, Service Providers, or other third parties to identify or share trends, usage statistics, and so on. Sharing data in an aggregate form means that no Personal Information, which would allow the recipient of the data to identify you personally, will be shared.
As part of a merger acquisition, bankruptcy or other transaction in which a third party assumes control of our business (in whole or in part), we may transfer the data we have collected, including Personal Information, to the third party. In such an event, we’ll notify you of that change. In addition, any purchasing company would have to adhere by the terms of this Policy including notifying you before making material changes and giving you the opportunity to opt out.
To the extent you make purchases through the Services using an institution, school, or other third-party entity’s credit or debit card, PayPal account, or any other payment method, and that institution, school, or third party requests such information or information related thereto and TpT, in its sole discretion, determines such request is reasonable, we may choose to provide such information or information related thereto to that institution, school, or third party.
Finally, we respect and comply with legal obligations and may release information (including Personal Information and information about your account activities) in cooperation with a law enforcement investigation, in response to a valid legal request such as a court order, legal subpoena, or government inquiry or audit, as part of the process outlined by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), or to defend, protect, or exercise our legal rights.
We use cookies and similar technologies such as pixel tags and web beacons (collectively, “Cookies”) to enable our servers to recognize your web browser and tell us how and when you visit and use our Services, to analyze trends, learn about our user base and operate and improve our Services. Cookies are small pieces of data — usually text files — that are placed on your computer, tablet, phone, or similar device when you use that device to visit our Services. When you visit websites like ours, some information about your visit is stored in Cookies which are used to tailor your experience, surface relevant information, products, and advertisements, and to allow you to pick up where you left off the next time you visit. We may also supplement the information we collect from you with information received from third parties, including third parties that have placed their own Cookies on your device(s).
By using our Services as a Visitor or Member, you agree to our use of Cookies in the following ways, as well as other similar purposes:
You have the right to decide whether a website can store Cookies on your computer. Depending on the internet browser you use, you may be able to view, manage, delete, and disable Cookies through your browser preferences. If you choose to delete Cookies or to not allow us to use Cookies, some features may not work properly and you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site. To learn more about how to do this, check out instructions from these browsers:
The following types of Cookies are used in connection with our Services:
In some cases, you may see advertisements about our Services on other websites or services which may be targeted to users who have visited our Site or used our Services who fit certain general profile categories or display certain preferences or behaviors (“Interest-Based Ads”). With respect to these Interest-Based Ads, we comply with the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising. Through the DAA and Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”), several media and marketing associations have developed an industry self-regulatory program to give consumers a better understanding of, and greater control over, ads that are customized based on a consumer’s online behavior across different websites and properties. To make choices about Interest-Based Ads from participating third parties, including to opt-out of receiving behaviorally targeted advertisements from participating organizations, please visit the DAA’s or NAI’s consumer opt-out pages, which are located at http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/ or www.aboutads.info/choices.
Your privacy is very important to us. Other than as provided for in this Policy, we don’t share your Personal Information with third parties without your consent.
We disclose your Personal Information to Service Providers and other parties for the following business purposes:
Over the past twelve months, we have disclosed the following categories of your Personal Information (which related to the corresponding information in the tables in section I.3 (A-F) above) to Service Providers or other parties for the business purposes listed above:
We will not sell your Personal Information and have not done so over the past twelve months. To our knowledge we do not sell the Personal Information of minors under 16 years of age.
Access to your TpT account is secured by the password you choose. For your security, we store only a hashed version of your password. This means that we don’t know your password and your password isn’t visible to us when members of our team view your account.
To prevent unauthorized access to your account, choose a password that can’t be easily guessed and don’t share your password with anyone else. Whenever you use a shared computer or other shared device to access your TpT account (for example, a school computer), be sure to log out of your account completely before you leave your workstation, uncheck the “remember me” option at login, and select “no” if the web browser prompts you to save your login credentials. You’re responsible for keeping your password confidential, and for all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not authorized by you.
You can change or update your password anytime by visiting your My Account page. If you forget your password, you can request a reset password link.
TpT for Schools enables increased collaboration and communication between and among teachers and administrators.
If you’ve linked your TpT account to an Organization using TpT for Schools, your interactions with and activity related to TpT for Schools may be shared with and be visible to other Organization Members and Managers (Organization Users). Your personal purchases, purchase history, billing information, and personal account details such as your street address and phone number will not be shared.
Linking your Account. When you link your TpT account to an Organization, your name and role will be shared with your Organization, and you’ll be added to your Organization’s roster which is visible to other Organization Users.
Requesting Resources. When you submit a request for Resources, your request will be visible to Organization Users as part of the Organization’s list of pending requests. TpT may enable your Organization Manager to communicate directly with you about your requests, and send notifications via the email address associated with your TpT account. When you reply via your personal email account, your email address will be visible to the Organization Manager you’re communicating with.
Receiving Resources. When a Resource License is shared with you, Organization Users can see that a Resource License has been shared with you, whether you’ve claimed or downloaded that Resource License, and may be able to see other activity related to your use of that Resource.
Purchases. When your Organization makes a purchase, those Resources will be added to the Organization’s shared library which is visible to all other Organization Users.
Communicating. TpT will use the email address associated with your TpT account to send you notifications about your TpT for Schools activity, including communications from your Organization. By communicating with your Organization by email, you’re sharing your email address with your Organization.
At TpT, we take children’s privacy very seriously. TpT’s Services are directed at and intended for use by adults only. Except as otherwise set forth in this section, we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 13. If you are under 13, you should not use or attempt to use our Services or send any information about yourself to TpT. If we discover that we have collected information from a child under the age of 13, we will take the appropriate measures to promptly remove that information from our Services.
To the extent that you use the TpT Digital Tool or other tools intended for use with students (Student Tools), please visit our dedicated Student Privacy Policy to learn more about how we treat the information we collect in connection with the Student Tools, which may include information about children who are under the age of 13.
If you believe that TpT may have collected Personal Information about a child under 13 outside of our Student Tools, please contact us at support@teacherspayteachers.com to let us know. We’ll work with you to make sure that information is removed from our Site.
At TpT, it’s important to us that you have the ability to make choices about your personal information, so we provide you with options for managing your account and the information you give us.
You can view, update, and correct the information you’ve provided about yourself by visiting your My Account page. You can also remove any of the optional information you’ve provided. Information that is required will be indicated as such and can be updated but cannot be removed.
If you don’t want to have an account with us anymore, you can close your account at any time. You can find instructions on how to close your account here, or you can contact us for assistance.
Your saved Payment Card record can be edited or deleted from the checkout page. If you need assistance, you can contact us and we’ll be happy to remove any saved Payment Card records for you.
TpT uses your contact information to communicate with you about our services and to provide notifications related to your account or activity. Certain communications related to your account or your activity are required and you can’t opt out of receiving them. These include, but aren’t limited to, purchase-related notifications, notifications related to changes that have been made to your login credentials or account details, and legal notifications. Other communications may not be required such as announcements about our Services, newsletters and messages with information you might be interested in, and other marketing and promotional messages (“Optional Communications”). You can manage your preferences related to Optional Communications in the Email Preferences section of your account, or by using the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any Optional Communication you receive.
If you choose to create a public profile, or post Communications, any information you post will be visible by other Users and the public. You can edit and update Communications you’ve posted and information provided in your public profile. You can delete your public profile at any time.
If you are a California resident, you have the rights outlined in this section. Please see the “Exercising Your Rights” section below for instructions regarding how to exercise these rights. If there are any conflicts between this section and any other provision of this Policy and you are a California resident, the portion that is more protective of Personal Information shall control to the extent of such conflict. If you have any questions about this section or whether any of the following applies to you, please contact us at Privacy@TeachersPayTeachers.com.
You have the right to request certain information about our collection and use of your Personal Information over the past twelve months. We will provide you with the following information:
If we have disclosed your Personal Information for a business purpose over the past twelve months, we will identify the categories of Personal Information shared with each category of third party recipient.
You have the right to request that we delete the Personal Information that we have collected from you. Under the CCPA, the right is subject to certain exceptions: for example, we may need to retain your Personal Information to provide you with the Services or complete a transaction or other action you have requested, or to comply with our legal obligations. If your deletion request is subject to one of these exceptions, we may deny your deletion request.
To exercise the rights described above, you must send us a request that (1) provides sufficient information to allow us to verify that you are the person about whom we have collected Personal Information, and (2) describes your request in sufficient detail to allow us to understand, evaluate and respond to it. Each request that meets both of these criteria will be considered a “Valid Request.” We may not respond to requests that do not meet these criteria. We will only use Personal Information provided in a Valid Request to verify you and complete your request. You do not need an account to submit a Valid Request.
We will work to respond to your Valid Request within 45 days of receipt. We will not charge you a fee for making a Valid Request unless your Valid Request(s) is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that your Valid Request warrants a fee, we will notify you of the fee and explain that decision before completing your request.
You may submit a Valid Request using the following methods:
You may also authorize an agent (an “Authorized Agent”) to exercise your rights on your behalf. To do this, you must provide your Authorized Agent with written permission to do so, and we may request a copy of this written permission from your Authorized Agent when they make a request to exercise your rights on your behalf.
We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights under the CCPA. We will not deny you our goods or services, charge you different prices or rates, or provide you a lower quality of goods and services if you exercise your rights under the CCPA. However, we may offer different tiers of our Services as allowed by applicable data privacy laws (including the CCPA) with varying prices, rates, or levels of quality of the goods or services you receive related to the value of Personal Information that we receive from you.
Your browser may offer you a “Do Not Track” option, which allows you to signal to operators of websites and web applications and services that you do not wish such operators to track certain of your online activities over time and across different websites. Our Services do not support Do Not Track requests at this time. To find out more about “Do Not Track,” you can visit www.allaboutdnt.com.
6. JOB APPLICANTS
As a California resident applying for employment, you have the right to notice about what information we collect and process about you as a job applicant. Please find our privacy notice detailing what information we collect and process about job applicants here.
If you are a resident of Nevada, you have the right to opt out of the sale of certain Personal Information to third parties who intend to license or sell that Personal Information. Please note that we do not currently sell your Personal Information as sales are defined in Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 603A. You can indicate your preferences with respect to this right by contacting us at Privacy@TeachersPayTeachers.com with the subject line “Nevada Do Not Sell Request” and providing us with your name and the email address associated with your account.
There are places throughout our Services, such as advertisements and other links, where you can access websites owned and operated by third parties. The terms of this Policy apply only to our Services and websites and do not apply to any third party websites that may be linked to or accessible from our Services. We can’t guarantee the privacy and security standards of other websites, so if you choose to access these third party links, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the privacy policies and other terms applicable to those sites.
The Content uploaded or posted to our Services is made available at the direction of our Members. We are not responsible for the Content, including any disclosures of Personal Information by our Members. If you believe that any Content posted on our Services violates your personal privacy rights, please notify us at support@teacherspayteachers.com or by using our Contact Us form.
From time to time, we’ll update this Policy in accordance with the process and rules in our Terms of Service. We will alert you to changes by placing a notice on the Site, by sending you an email, and/or by some other means. Please note that if you haven’t provided us with your correct email address, those legal notices will still govern your use of the Services, and you are still responsible for reading and understanding them. If you use the Services after any changes to the Policy have been posted, that means you agree to all of the changes. Use of information we collect is subject to the Policy in effect at the time such information is collected.
For any questions you have about this Policy, the ways in which we collect and use your Personal Information, or your choices and rights regarding such use, or if you need assistance with your account, you can reach us anytime using the following methods:
You may also find the answer to your question in our FAQs.
