Privacy Policy

Effective summary, in plain language. The authoritative version of this policy is served from our backend; the text below is the static fallback shown when the backend is unreachable.

1. What we collect. Account details (name, email, date of birth, relationship to the autistic person, ZIP), content you choose to upload (IEPs, therapy notes, observations, intake forms), and product usage (pages viewed, features used, AI prompts) for analytics and quality. We do not collect more than we need to run the platform.

2. We do not sell your data. Ever. The Autism Universe is funded by providers who pay to be discoverable, not by selling families' information to advertisers, data brokers, insurers, employers, or researchers.

3. We do not share your personal information with providers without your explicit consent. A provider can never see your name, contact details, child's information, or uploaded documents until you affirmatively click to send an inquiry, claim a lead, or share a file. Browsing the directory is anonymous. AI companion conversations are not shared with providers.

4. We are not a HIPAA-covered entity, business associate, or BAA partner. The Autism Universe is a planning and coordination tool, not a medical record system, not a clearinghouse, and not a clinical provider. Documents you upload are stored encrypted at rest and in transit using industry-standard encryption, but you should not treat this platform as HIPAA-grade infrastructure. Do not upload information you are not comfortable storing in a non-HIPAA product.

5. You assume the risk for the content you upload. You decide what to share. You are responsible for redacting anything you do not want stored — Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, third-party medical records, custody documents, etc.

6. Your rights. You can export your data, permanently delete your account, revoke consent, and audit who within your family has accessed what. Reach support@theautismuniverse.com for any request.

7. Sub-processors. We use third-party services (hosting, database, analytics, email) that process limited data on our behalf under data-processing agreements. The current list is published in the live policy and updated as it changes.

8. Children's data. Account holders must be 18+. A parent or guardian may add information about an autistic child under 18 to their family account, but only the adult account holder controls that data. We do not knowingly collect data directly from children.

9. Crisis content. Messages that trigger our deterministic crisis detection are flagged and routed to safety resources (988, 911). We retain enough of these events to comply with applicable safety obligations.

10. Changes. We will notify you before any material change and re-prompt for consent where required.

Questions: privacy@theautismuniverse.com.