Privacy Policy

Stead is a tool for student planning and productivity, currently free to use, operated by Stead Systems Inc. It is not an official university service, and is not operated by or affiliated with Queen's University.

This policy covers Stead's website, web app, desktop app and related services (the “Service”). “We,” “us” and “our” mean Stead Systems Inc., which is responsible for personal information under Stead's control and can be reached at info@steadstudent.com.

Read this policy with our Terms of Service. External websites and services you choose to visit have their own policies.

We use information to provide the features you use, maintain your account, respond to support requests and protect the Service. What we receive depends on what you enter, upload, share or ask Stead to retrieve.

Stead's sign-in form passes your Stead password to Supabase, which manages password authentication and credential storage. Adding a calendar feed does not require your Google, Apple, Microsoft or university password.

We do not sell your personal information. We may use feedback and technical records to fix problems and improve the Service; this is not permission to publish your private content or use it for unrelated purposes.

Your private workspace and Stead's social features have different audiences. Private from other students does not mean inaccessible to the infrastructure providers or operators who run the Service.

Stead Systems Inc. and its infrastructure providers can have technical access needed to operate the Service. We limit our use of that access to operating and securing Stead, responding to support requests, investigating abuse and meeting legal obligations. Stead does not provide end-to-end encryption for your workspace or messages.

Syllabus import can use Google's Gemini API to extract course details, contacts, dates and assessment information. A PDF may be sent as the original document; other supported documents may be sent as extracted text. The content is sent during import, before you review and approve the result. A non-AI reader may be used as a fallback.

The import returns a proposed result without saving the uploaded syllabus as a course file. Approving the result saves the course information you choose. Uploading a document separately to your course files does store that document. These are different actions.

Do not submit sensitive, confidential or personal information to the AI importer, including grades, student numbers, accommodation details or private correspondence. Check the whole document, including other people's details. You can enter course details manually instead; you do not have to use syllabus import to use Stead.

AI can misread or invent information. Review the proposed dates and details against your original syllabus before saving them. Deleting content from Stead does not itself erase records already processed or retained by Google under its terms.

Calendar feed links

When you add an ICS or webcal feed URL, Stead retrieves the information exposed by that link and saves imported events. It does not sign in to your calendar provider on your behalf. A private or “secret” feed URL can act like a key: anyone holding it may be able to read the calendar, so treat the link as sensitive.

Removing a connected feed stops future synchronization from it. To invalidate a secret feed URL itself, revoke or reset it with the calendar provider. Removing the feed does not recall events or copies you have already shared.

Meetings, weather and links

Room meeting links can open Google Meet or another external service. That service handles the call and applies its own account and privacy rules. Stead stores the meeting link and information needed to share it with the intended participants.

Weather requests send the coordinates for the displayed location to weather providers. News, offers, opportunities and other external links may take you to websites with their own data practices. Remote images or other externally loaded resources can expose your IP address and request information to the host serving them.

Calendar feeds and documents you supply are different from access to your university account. This policy does not represent a Brightspace or other university-system connection as an available integration.

These services support the features described here. Some process data for Stead; others, such as meeting and calendar services, are services you choose to use. Their own terms can also apply. A provider's certification does not mean Stead has the same certification.

Where processing happens

Information may be stored or processed in Canada, the United States or other countries where our providers operate. We do not promise Canada-only storage or processing. Data may be subject to the laws and lawful access requests of the country where it is processed.

Provider links explain their practices; they do not replace Stead's responsibility for the information under our control. Contact us if you need details about a particular processing arrangement.

Saved workspace content generally remains until you delete it or your account. Completing a task moves it to completed tasks; it does not automatically erase it. Changes that clear course or term information are separate actions in the app.

What account deletion does

You can use Delete account in Stead's account settings, or email us for help. The deletion process removes files owned by your account, removes or replaces identifying account details in shared conversations, and then removes the account and associated account-owned database records.

These steps do not happen in one all-or-nothing operation. If a step fails, the app reports an error and the account deletion may not finish, even though earlier files or details have already been removed. Retry or contact us if deletion does not complete.

We retain information as needed for the purposes described here, including resolving support requests, protecting the Service and complying with legal obligations. There is no single published deletion deadline covering every log, backup, email and provider. We do not promise immediate erasure from those systems.

If retained shared content or a support message contains personal information you want removed, contact us with enough detail to identify it. We will review the request, including any legal obligations and the rights of other people involved.

Stead uses browser or app storage to keep you signed in, remember preferences and keep local copies of some content so pages can load quickly. Share links may also use cookies to remember verified access. The website remembers choices such as your selected appearance.

Signing out is not a guarantee that every cached copy or downloaded file has been erased. On a shared device, sign out and clear Stead's site or app data. Clearing local data does not delete the account or its server-stored content, and can discard unsynchronized work.

You can use your browser or device controls to remove or block storage; doing so may prevent sign-in or other features from working. If we add non-essential tracking that requires consent, we will explain it and provide the required choices before using it.

Stead uses authentication, database access rules and server permission checks to restrict access to personal and shared information. Private file storage uses access checks and time-limited links; the public file exceptions are explained under visibility.

Signed-in features use session checks, and selected operations apply request limits. Calendar feed fetching restricts network destinations and response size. These measures reduce risk; they do not make every account, request or stored file immune to misuse or software errors.

Privileged server operations and administrative access can reach data outside ordinary user permissions. They depend on appropriate authorization and handling. We do not describe your data as accessible only to you in every circumstance.

No service can guarantee complete security. This policy is a description of our practices, not an independent audit, certification or guarantee that there are no vulnerabilities. Protect your password, device, private feed URLs and share links.

If we become aware of a breach involving personal information, we will investigate and take appropriate action, including notifying affected people and regulators where required by law. Report suspected exposure to info@steadstudent.com; do not include passwords or other people's private data in your report.

We may use or disclose information where permitted or required by law to respond to legal process, investigate fraud or abuse, protect people and systems, enforce our Terms, or establish and defend legal claims. We limit those disclosures to what is reasonably necessary for the situation.

If Stead Systems Inc. is reorganized, transferred or involved in a financing, acquisition or similar transaction, information may be disclosed or transferred as permitted by law. Any required notice or additional consent still applies; this is not permission to use your information for an unrelated purpose without the required consent.

We use your contact information for account verification, access requests, support and relevant service notifications. Any optional promotional communications will have the consent and unsubscribe options required by law.

• Edit: update your account, profile and workspace content using the available controls.
• Limit sharing: review page audiences and link settings, and disable links you no longer need.
• Skip imports: enter course details manually or use Stead without a calendar feed.
• Leave: stop using Stead or delete your account, subject to the retention exceptions above.
• Ask us: request access, a copy, correction or deletion of personal information, or an explanation of its use and disclosure.

Send privacy requests to info@steadstudent.com. We may ask for information needed to verify your identity. Do not send your password. We will respond within the time required by applicable law and explain any exception that prevents us from fulfilling a request.

You may withdraw consent where permitted by law. A feature may stop working if it needs the information concerned. Withdrawing consent does not undo processing that has already happened or remove lawful retention requirements. Using the Service does not waive your statutory privacy rights.

If you have a concern, contact Stead Systems Inc. You can also raise it with the privacy regulator responsible for your situation, including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Younger users

Stead is intended for university and post-secondary students. Review these documents with a parent or guardian if you are below the age of majority where you live. Where parental or guardian consent is legally required, it must be obtained. Contact us if you believe information has been collected from a child without the necessary consent.

We update the date on this page when we change the policy. For material changes we will provide additional notice as appropriate or required by law, and obtain additional consent where required before using information for a new purpose.

This revision explains syllabus AI processing, service providers, public file links, shared-content retention and local device storage in more detail. It also clarifies that Stead is free to use.