LEGAL
Privacy Policy
Last updated September 17, 2026
1. Introduction
Vescent LLC (“Vescent,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information of our users, including teen girls (ages 13-17) and near-peer mentors (ages 18-24). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your information when you use our application and services.
Vescent’s Services are intended for users age 13 and older. We do not knowingly permit anyone under 13 to create an account, and no account can be created without confirming a birthdate of 13 or older. Because we do not have users under 13, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) does not currently govern our data practices as a matter of law, but we voluntarily follow data-minimization, retention, and disclosure practices consistent with COPPA’s principles given our teenage user base. Where applicable, we also aim to align with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and comparable state privacy laws.
If you have questions about this policy, please contact us at hello@vescent.co.
2. Types of Data Collected
We collect the following types of personal data:
- Personal Information: Email address, cell phone number, name, username, birthdate, grade, state of residence.
- Technical & Usage Data: Cookies, device information, IP address, pages visited, time spent on the app.
- Profile & Interaction Data: Community posts, comments, likes, group memberships, profile and post photos/videos, mentor-mentee interactions, feedback, survey responses, and in-app notifications.
- Matching Assessment Data: Self-reported answers to a personality and interest assessment, used to match teens with compatible mentors. Vescent does not collect clinical health data; this assessment is about personality style and interests, not a mental health diagnosis.
- Video & Voice Call Data: See Section 3 below for how live video and voice calls are handled, including automated transcription and safety screening.
Eligibility and Age Verification. Users confirm their age via a self-reported birthdate at signup; anyone under 13 cannot create an account. On iPhone and iPad we also ask Apple for an age range for the account holder, which indicates whether the person is above or below 13 and 18 without revealing a date of birth. This is an additional signal that supports the birthdate we collect. It is not available on every device or platform, and it does not replace the birthdate. If we later learn that a user misrepresented their age at signup, we will suspend or terminate the account and take appropriate steps to remove the associated personal information.
3. How We Use Your Data
We use collected data to:
- Provide and improve our services, including mentorship matching and personalized content.
- Facilitate safe peer-to-peer communication and engagement.
- Monitor and analyze usage trends to improve the app experience.
- Send newsletters or updates (with opt-out options available).
- Ensure compliance with legal and safety obligations.
Automated Safety Monitoring on Video and Voice Calls. To help keep our community safe, conversations that take place over video or voice calls within the app are automatically transcribed and screened, using both keyword-based rules and AI-based analysis, for signs of risk such as self-harm, abuse, or unsafe contact. By using Vescent’s video or voice calling features, you and the other participant on the call each consent to this transcription and screening. If a conversation is flagged as higher-risk, a short portion of the transcript (currently up to 60 seconds around the flagged moment) is securely stored, encrypted, for review by trained staff, and is deleted after a limited retention period (currently 14 days). Access to any stored transcript excerpt is logged, including who reviewed it and why. This automated system is one layer of our safety approach and is continually being tested and improved. It does not replace human judgment, and it may not catch every risk.
Crisis Intervention & Safety Monitoring. If we believe a user is at risk of self-harm or harm to others, whether through the automated screening described above or through a human report, we may share information with licensed mental health professionals, a parent/guardian, or crisis intervention services where legally permitted or required.
4. Data Security & Retention
How We Protect Your Data. We implement industry-standard security measures, including:
- Encryption: Data is encrypted in transit (SSL/TLS) and at rest.
- Access Controls: Restricted access to personal data only for authorized personnel.
- Regular Security Audits: Periodic reviews of our data protection practices.
How Long We Keep Your Data. Personal data is retained only as long as necessary for its intended purpose:
- User account and profile data: Retained while the account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion, whether you delete in the app or request it by email.
- Video/voice call safety-flagged transcript excerpts: Retained for up to 14 days from the date of the flag, then deleted.
- Analytics data: Retained for up to 12 months.
- System and security logs (server activity logs used for troubleshooting and security monitoring, which may include identifiers such as user ID or IP address): Retained for 30 days.
- Crisis intervention records (if applicable): Retained for legally required durations.
Deleting Your Account and Data. You can delete your account and your personal data at any time in the app, under Settings. You can also email hello@vescent.co. When you delete your account we permanently delete your profile, community posts and comments, likes, group memberships, assessment responses, messages, notifications, video call records, usage data, and your login credentials. Your account record is stripped of the details that identify you, including your name, email address, phone number, and birthdate. We keep a record that a deletion took place. We complete deletion within 30 days. We may keep a limited record where the law requires it, or where it is necessary for safety or fraud prevention.
5. Data Sharing & Third-Party Disclosure
We do not sell personal data. However, we may share limited user data with:
- Service Providers who help us operate the app, including cloud hosting and storage (Amazon Web Services), messaging and video calling (Twilio, Agora), AI-based safety analysis of call transcripts (Amazon Bedrock), and email communication.
- Legal Authorities (if required by law or in emergencies related to user safety).
- Crisis Support Services (only if a user is at imminent risk of harm, in compliance with legal and ethical guidelines).
For a full list of third-party service providers, contact hello@vescent.co.
6. User Rights & Controls
Users have the right to:
- Withdraw Consent: Opt out of marketing communications or data collection (where applicable).
- Access & Update Data: Request a copy or correction of their personal data.
- Delete Data: Delete your account and personal data in the app, or request deletion as described in Section 4.
- Restrict Processing: Limit how their data is processed.
- Lodge a Complaint: File concerns with a data protection authority if rights are violated.
Users can exercise these rights by contacting hello@vescent.co.
7. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
Vescent uses cookies to:
- Improve user experience and app functionality.
- Analyze user interactions to enhance services.
Users can manage cookie settings in their browser. We do not support “Do Not Track” (DNT) requests but comply with applicable privacy laws.
8. How We Design Our Product
We build Vescent to support wellbeing, not to maximize time spent in the app. We do not use manipulative design patterns such as streaks that punish a break, guilt-based notifications, or infinite engagement loops.
9. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this policy periodically. Users will be notified via the app or email of major changes. The last updated date will always be posted at the top of this page.
10. Contact Information
If you have questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, contact us at:
- Email: hello@vescent.co
- Address: Atlanta, GA
- Website: vescent.co