Privacy Policy

01Who we are and what this policy covers

This Privacy Policy explains how Apprenso, a brand of The Nelson M Group LLC ("Apprenso," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects personal details when you visit apprenso.com (the "Site"), send in a form, sign up for email or text-message updates, or reach out to us (together, the "Services"). The Nelson M Group LLC is the business responsible for your personal information.

Apprenso is an information service that publishes plain-language educational content about how education grants and student financial aid generally work, how the main forms and deadlines fit together, and which inquiries to ask a financial aid office, and lets visitors opt in to related updates by email or text. Apprenso does not award, administer, or decide grants, take applications, offer or arrange loans, or match or refer people to schools or programs. Apprenso is not a school, college, lender, scholarship service, or government agency and does not provide financial, legal, or tax advice. Choosing a school and how to pay for it is always your own decision.

By using the Services, you acknowledge this Policy. If you do not agree with it, please do not use the Services.

02Information we collect

Topic information. The topic you select (for example, "FAFSA basics" or "state grant deadlines") may suggest an interest in a financial area. We treat this as sensitive and never share it. Please do not deliver us Social Security numbers, FSA ID passwords, tax returns, bank details, student ID numbers, or other detailed personal or financial information through our forms or by text. We do not need it.

Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and government ID numbers are not something we knowingly collect.

03How we use your information

• To supply the Services you request, such as sending you education grant information on the topics you select.
• To send the email and text messages you opted in to, such as confirmations, reminders, and (if you separately agreed) promotional messages.
• To follow your options, including opt-outs, unsubscribes, and privacy requests.
• To keep records of your consent, as needed or recommended under laws and carrier rules for text messaging.
• To answer your inquiries and give support.
• To keep the Site working, safe, and improving, and to stop fraud, spam, and abuse.
• To abide by legal obligations and enforce our Terms & Conditions.

We do not use your data to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you, and we do not make eligibility, aid, or admissions determinations about you.

04How we share information

Selling personal details is not something we do. We do not "share" it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

No sharing of mobile information for marketing. We do not share your mobile phone number, text-message opt-in data, or consent records with third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text-messaging originator opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third parties except as described in this section.

No partner sharing. We will not sell, rent, or share your personal details, including your name, contact details, ZIP code, or interests, with schools, lenders, scholarship or matching services, recruiters, lead-generation companies, or any any other business partners, and we are not paid by anyone for your information. We share information only in these limited situations:

• Service providers. Vendors that act on our behalf and under contract, for example website hosting, email delivery, customer-relationship software, form processing, and SMS platforms and the carriers or aggregators that deliver text messages. They may use your information only to offer services to us, and not for their own marketing.
• Legal and safety. When required by law, subpoena, or legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, and property of you, us, or others.
• Business transfers. If The Nelson M Group LLC is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Policy. Mobile opt-in data will not be transferred to a buyer for its own marketing without your consent.
• De-identified or aggregate data. We may use data that cannot reasonably identify you for analysis and reporting.

05Text messaging (SMS)

If you opt in, we send text messages for the program Apprenso Trade Primers. We use your mobile number only to send those messages and to administer the program. See our SMS Terms for message types, frequency, costs, and how to opt out.

• Text consent is optional and is not a condition of purchase or of using the Services.
• Informational and promotional consents are collected separately via two unchecked boxes.
• Reply STOP at any time to opt out. Reply HELP for help.
• Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply.

06Text messages: rates, frequency, STOP and HELP

Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency may vary (up to about 8 messages a month, depending on the topics you choose). Text START to join, or opt in with the form on our Get Started or text updates page. Consent is not a condition of purchase or of using the Services.

• STOP: Reply STOP to any message to opt out (STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END and QUIT also work). You will get one confirmation text and then no more messages.
• HELP: Reply HELP to any message for help, or contact us by email at [email protected] or by phone at 888-372-0162.

Mobile information and text-message opt-in data are not sold or shared. We do not sell, rent, or share mobile phone numbers, text-message opt-in data, or consent records with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Service providers (such as our messaging platform and carriers) may handle this information only to deliver messages and operate the program for us.

07Cookies, analytics, and similar technologies

We use only the cookies and similar technologies needed to operate the Site and keep it secure. We serve fonts and images ourselves instead of loading them from third parties. Advertising and cross-site tracking cookies are not part of this Site.

If we enable privacy-focused analytics in the future (say, counts of page views), we will use it only to understand how the Site performs, and we will update this section. You can control cookies through your browser settings. We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as a request to opt out of sale or sharing where relevant. Because we do not sell or share personal information, there is nothing further to opt out of.

08Your choices

• Text messages: reply STOP to any text.
• Email: use the unsubscribe link in any email or write to [email protected].
• Update or correct your information: contact us at the address below.
• Delete your information: ask us, and we'll delete it unless we need to keep it for the reasons outlined under "Retention."

Opting out of one channel does not opt you out of others. Tell us if you'd like to opt out of everything.

09Retention

We retain personal details only for as long as the reasons in this Policy require, such as to honor opt-outs and to meet legal and recordkeeping requirements. As a general guide:

• Contact details and preferences: until you request deletion or you have been inactive for 24 months, whichever comes first.
• Text-message consent records and opt-out records: kept for at least 4 years after your last interaction, so we can show you consented and respect your opt-out.
• Support messages: up to 3 years.
• Server logs: up to 12 months.

When no longer needed, we remove or de-identify information.

10Security

We use appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including encryption in transit (HTTPS), access controls, and vendor due diligence. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Text messages are not encrypted, so we ask that you never reply with sensitive personal or policy data.

11Your privacy rights (California and other states)

Depending on where you live (among them California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia), you may have the right to:

• Know and access the personal information we hold about you, and the categories of sources and recipients.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete your personal details, subject to legal exceptions.
• Port your information in a usable format.
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data, targeted advertising, and profiling. We do none of these.
• Limit the use of sensitive personal information. We use it only to provide the Services you ask for.
• Not be discriminated against for exercising your rights.

How to make a request

Email [email protected] with the subject "Privacy Request," or write to us at the address below. We will verify your identity by matching data you provide against what we hold, and we respond within 45 days (we may extend once by up to 45 more days with notice). An authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf with your written permission. If we deny a request, you may appeal by replying to our decision, and you may contact your state attorney general.

California disclosures

In the past 12 months we have collected the categories of information listed in Section 2 for the purposes listed in Section 3, and disclosed them only to service providers (Section 4). We have not sold or shared personal information. California residents may also request data about disclosures of personal details to third parties for their direct marketing purposes (California "Shine the Light" law). We make no such disclosures. We will not knowingly sell or share the personal data of anyone under 16.

Nevada

Residents of Nevada can ask to opt out of the sale of covered details, although we never sell it.

12Children's privacy

The Services are intended for adults 18 and older. Nobody under 18 is knowingly asked for personal details, and the Services are not directed to children. If a child may have shared personal information with us, tell us and we will delete it.

13Consent to communications and the TCPA

We send marketing or informational text messages through automated technology only after you give prior express consent (and, for promotional messages, prior express written consent) by checking the applicable unchecked SMS consent box on our forms or by texting START to 888-372-0162. Your consent is not required to use the Services or to buy anything, and you can revoke it at any time by replying STOP, or by any other reasonable means, such as emailing [email protected]. We honor opt-out requests promptly. Your phone number will be used only for the purposes described in this Policy and the SMS Terms.

We comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, and the carrier code of conduct, and we hold consent records as described above.

14Third-party links and public resources

Our Site may link to other sites, like public and government resources such as StudentAid.gov or your state higher-education agency. We will not control them and are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please read their policies.

15U.S. operations

The Services are intended for people based in the United States, and information is processed in the United States. If you use the Services from elsewhere, you do so at your own initiative and are responsible for local law.

16Changes to this policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. We will change the "Last updated" date above, and if revisions are material we will give notice by email or on the Site. Where required by law, we will ask for your consent again.

17Contact us

Questions, requests, or complaints about privacy? You can reach us by mail, email, phone, our online contact form, or by replying HELP to any text: