Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 24, 2026
Scout Civics ("we") is an independent study app that helps you prepare for the U.S. citizenship civics test and interview. This policy explains what we collect, why, who helps us run the service, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to the Scout Civics website and app.
What we collect
Account: your name, e-mail address and password (stored only as a secure hash), or your sign-in provider if you use Google or Apple. Study profile: interface and explanation languages, test edition, study goal, daily goal, time zone, special-consideration category (for example "65/20") and, if you choose, your state (only to show the answers that depend on your state). Learning activity: lessons, practice results, the answers you type in exams and writing practice, saved questions, streaks and badges. Scout AI: the messages you send and Scout's replies, saved only if chat saving is on. Payments: your plan and subscription status; card details go directly to Stripe. Technical data: IP address and browser/device type (for sign-in security and to prevent abuse) and basic usage events such as "lesson completed" — never the text you type.
Information about your immigration journey
Using a citizenship-test app can suggest that you are preparing to naturalize, and the special-consideration category reflects your age range and years as a permanent resident. Some U.S. state laws treat citizenship or immigration status as sensitive information. We use this information only to give you the right study plan, we never sell it, never use it for advertising, and never share it with any government agency unless a valid legal order requires it (see "Requests from authorities").
What we don't collect
We never ask for your birth date, green-card date, A-number, Social Security number or immigration documents. Voice recordings from English practice stay on your device and are never uploaded. In the mock interview, what you say about yourself (N-400 rehearsal) is never recorded or stored — only how well you understood each question. We don't store card numbers.
How we use your information
To run the app and your account; to personalize your study plan and show your progress; to send account e-mails (verification, password reset, and important service notices); to process subscriptions; to keep the service secure and prevent abuse; and to understand, in aggregate, which features help people study. We don't sell your personal information, we don't share it for cross-context advertising, and we don't use advertising or third-party tracking tools.
Scout AI
When you ask Scout AI a question, your message — and, if you open Scout from a question, that question and your answer — is sent to our AI provider, Anthropic, only to generate the reply. Under its commercial terms, Anthropic does not use this data to train its models. The official USCIS answers shown in the chat come from our database, not from the AI. You can turn chat saving off in Scout AI settings; saved chats are deleted 30 days after the last message. Please don't share sensitive personal details in the chat.
Service providers
We use trusted companies that process data on our behalf and only to provide their service to us: Vercel (hosting), Neon (database), Resend (e-mail delivery), Stripe (payments) and Anthropic (Scout AI). If you use Google or Apple sign-in, they confirm your identity. If you turn on automatic reading checks, your browser's speech service (for example Google in Chrome or Apple in Safari) processes your voice under that company's own policy.
Requests from authorities
We do not share information with immigration or other government agencies voluntarily. We disclose information only when a valid subpoena, court order or similar legal process requires it, we disclose only what is strictly required, and, where the law allows, we tell you before we do.
Cookies
We use only cookies that the app needs to work: one to keep you signed in and one to remember your language. We don't use advertising or analytics cookies, and our usage statistics are measured on our own servers. Because we don't sell or share personal information, we treat browser privacy signals such as Global Privacy Control as already honored.
How long we keep it
Your account and learning data are kept while your account exists. Saved Scout AI chats are deleted 30 days after the last message. Sign-in sessions expire after 30 days. When you delete your account, your personal data is deleted right away from the live database and from backups as they rotate out. Payment records are kept by Stripe as the law requires. Usage statistics are stored under a random-looking code instead of your name or e-mail and may be kept to understand trends.
Your rights and choices
In Profile you can change your information and language, download a copy of your data (including your answers, saved chats and practice history) and delete your account, which also cancels an active subscription. You can turn Scout AI chat saving off at any time. Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to know, correct or delete your information, to opt out of sale or targeted advertising (we do neither) and to appeal our decision. Contact us to use these rights; we may need to confirm your identity, and we will not treat you differently for using them.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and stored with our hosting providers, which encrypt it at rest. Passwords are stored as secure hashes, sign-in attempts are rate-limited, and administrator accounts require two-step verification. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your information, we will notify you as the law requires.
Children
Scout Civics is meant for adults preparing for naturalization and is not directed to children under 13. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13; if you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
Where data is stored
Scout Civics is operated from the United States and your information is stored and processed in the United States.
Changes to this policy
If we make important changes, we'll tell you in the app or by e-mail before they take effect. The date at the top shows the latest version.
Contact
Questions or privacy requests? Write to the contact address shown on this page once the service launches.