Privacy Policy

Summary for busy readers

If you only read one section, read this one. Cognition collects the minimum information needed to run a short, adaptive learning conversation and give a teacher a transcript. Students do not create accounts and we never ask them for an email address, password, or date of birth. We do not sell personal information, we do not use it for advertising, and we do not use student answers or uploaded work to train AI models. Data is stored in the region your school's workspace is configured for. Teachers and schools stay in control and can delete data at any time.

Who we are

Cognition is operated by Perspective Global Pty Ltd ("Cognition", "we", "us", or "our"), an independent company in Australia. The service is available at cognitionapp.com.au and at the alternate address cognition.pixelverse.tech. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, except where we act as a processor on behalf of a school (see Schools as data controllers below).

Who this policy applies to

Cognition is used by two kinds of people, and this policy covers both:

• Teachers and school staff, who create accounts, set up tasks, and read transcripts.
• Students, who join a learning conversation using a short class code. Students never create an account and provide only a first name or nickname.

Our privacy principles

• Data minimisation. We ask for the least information that still lets a teacher use the result.
• Purpose limitation. Information is used to run the conversation and produce the teacher's summary, and for nothing unrelated.
• No training on student data. Student answers and uploaded work are never used to train or fine-tune AI models.
• No surveillance, no profiling. We do not build advertising profiles or track students across the web.
• Evidence, not accusations. Cognition never produces a verdict on cheating, and we never share data to support one.

What we collect

From teachers, when you create an account and use the service:

• Your name and email address, used to sign you in and identify your workspace.
• Tasks you create, including the topic, mode, question settings, and any assignment text you choose to add.
• Basic account preferences and settings you configure.

From students, during a conversation:

• A first name or nickname, only so the teacher can recognise the transcript. A full name is never required.
• The messages exchanged during the conversation.
• The text of any work a student chooses to upload for a Defence session.

Automatically, for security and reliability:

• Limited technical data such as IP address, browser type, and timestamps, kept for short periods to operate and secure the service and to prevent abuse.
• Strictly necessary cookies that keep a signed-in teacher's session active. See Cookies.

We deliberately do not collect student email addresses, passwords, dates of birth, phone numbers, precise location, biometric data, or any profile beyond what a teacher needs to read the transcript.

How we use information

• To run the adaptive conversation and produce a transcript and per-concept summary for the teacher.
• To keep conversations safe, age-appropriate, and on-topic for minors.
• To provide, secure, maintain, and improve the service and to diagnose technical problems.
• To communicate with teachers about their account and important service changes.
• To comply with our legal obligations and to protect the rights and safety of users.

How AI processing works

Cognition uses a large language model to generate the next question in a conversation and to write the final per-concept summary. We send the model only what it needs for that step. Our AI provider processes this content solely to return a response to us and, under our configuration, does not retain it to train or improve their models. We can change AI providers over time; in every case we require the same standard: no training on your content, and processing limited to delivering the service. Read more in our Responsible AI Policy.

What we never do

• We never use student answers or uploaded work to train AI models.
• We never sell personal information, and we never share it for advertising or marketing.
• We never build cross-site tracking or behavioural advertising profiles of students.
• We never produce a verdict on cheating. Cognition surfaces evidence of understanding, not accusations.

Uploaded work

When a student uploads a document for a Defence session, we extract the text so the AI can ask grounded questions, and we store only that text together with the file name. The original file itself is not retained after the text has been extracted.

Children and minors

Cognition is designed to be used by students under the direction of a teacher and school. Because many users are minors, we apply heightened safeguards by default: no student accounts, no student email or password collection, data minimisation, and conversation safety guardrails. We rely on the supervising teacher and school to provide the service to students within their educational programme and to obtain any parental consent their jurisdiction requires.

We aim to handle children's data consistently with applicable laws and frameworks, which may include the Australian Privacy Principles, the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) where a U.S. school uses the service, and the UK and EU GDPR rules on children's data. We do not knowingly collect more personal information from a child than is needed to deliver the lesson the teacher has set up. If you believe a child has provided us information beyond this, contact us and we will delete it.

Schools as data controllers

When a teacher or school uses Cognition to run conversations with their students, the school is generally the data controller for student information and Cognition acts as a processor following the school's instructions. In many jurisdictions a school may provide consent for the use of an educational tool on behalf of parents, within the school context. Schools that require a formal data processing agreement or supplementary terms can contact us at privacy.cognition@pixelverse.tech.

Legal bases for processing

Where the GDPR or similar laws apply, we rely on the following legal bases: performance of a contract (to provide the service to teachers), legitimate interests (to secure and improve the service in ways that do not override individuals' rights), legal obligation (to meet our compliance duties), and consent or the public-interest and school-authorisation bases that apply in an educational setting. You can withdraw consent, where consent is the basis, at any time.

Cookies and similar technologies

We use a small number of strictly necessary cookies to keep a signed-in teacher's session active and to keep the service secure. We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not use third-party trackers to follow students around the web. Any analytics we use are privacy-respecting and aggregated, and are never used to profile individual students.

Who we share information with

We share personal information only with service providers that help us operate Cognition, and only to the extent needed to provide the service. These currently include:

• Our cloud hosting and database provider, which stores workspace and conversation data.
• Our authentication provider, which manages secure teacher sign-in.
• Our AI model provider, which generates questions and summaries under the no-training terms described above.

Each provider is bound by contract to protect the information and to use it only to provide services to us. We may also disclose information where required by law, to enforce our terms, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of users and the public. If Cognition is involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, we will require any successor to honour the commitments in this policy.

Where your data lives and international transfers

Data is stored with our database provider in the region your school's workspace is configured for. For Australian schools, this means Australian data centres. Where information is processed in another country, for example during AI processing, we put appropriate safeguards in place, such as standard contractual clauses or an equivalent mechanism, so that your data continues to be protected.

How we protect information

We use technical and organisational measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the data, including encryption in transit, access controls that limit who can reach data, the principle of least privilege for our own staff, conversation safety filtering for minors, and regular review of our providers. No online service can promise perfect security, but we take this responsibility seriously and design conservatively for an audience that includes children.

How long we keep it

Teachers control task and conversation data in their workspace and can delete it at any time. When a teacher deletes a task, its associated conversations and transcripts are removed. When a teacher deletes their account, the workspace and its data are removed. We retain limited technical and security logs only for as long as needed for security and legal purposes, after which they are deleted or anonymised.

Your rights and choices

• Teachers can access, export, or delete the data in their workspace from the dashboard.
• Students or parents can ask the supervising teacher or school to remove a transcript.
• Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to processing of personal information, and to data portability. You can exercise these by contacting us.
• You can lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority; in Australia this is the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Data breach notification

In the unlikely event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected schools and, where required, the relevant regulator, in line with applicable breach-notification laws and within the required timeframes.

Third-party links

The service may contain links to third-party sites we do not control. This policy does not apply to those sites, and we encourage you to review their privacy practices.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the date above and, where appropriate, notify account holders. Continued use of the service after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or a request to access or delete information? Email privacy.cognition@pixelverse.tech and we will respond promptly. Schools requiring a data processing agreement can reach us at the same address.