ACCEPTABLE_USE
EFFECTIVE: MARCH 30, 2026
This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") describes how you may and may not use BalanceBoard, including its AI features, community spaces, Google Classroom integration, and all other platform capabilities. Violations may result in suspension or permanent termination of your account.
1. Permitted Uses
You may use BalanceBoard to:
Academic Management
Track homework, assignments, projects, and test prep for your own coursework.
Google Classroom Sync
Connect your personal Google Classroom account to automatically import your own assignments.
Wellness Tracking
Log your personal mood, sleep, stress, energy, and daily health habits.
AI Assistance
Use the AI Buddy to create/manage tasks through natural language and get general wellness habit suggestions.
Peer Connection
Join Study Pods to collaborate with peers on academics using anonymous, generated usernames.
Emotional Support
Share feelings anonymously in Vent Rooms and peer forums in a respectful, supportive manner.
College Planning
Track college applications, research schools, and plan for standardized tests.
Resource Sharing
Share legitimate study resources, tips, and educational links with peers.
2. Prohibited Uses
2.1 Academic Integrity Violations
- Using AI features to complete assignments, write essays, solve exam problems, or do any work that you would submit as your own
- Sharing answers, test questions, or solutions to graded assessments in Study Pods or the Peer Support Forum
- Using BalanceBoard to coordinate academic dishonesty with other students
- Attempting to use Google Classroom API access to view or copy other students' submissions
Note: BalanceBoard may cooperate with school investigations into academic dishonesty when presented with valid requests from school administrators.
2.2 Harmful Content
- Posting, sharing, or soliciting sexually explicit content of any kind
- Any content that sexualizes, endangers, exploits, or demeans minors
- Content promoting, glorifying, or providing instructions for self-harm or suicide
- Detailed descriptions of self-harm methods or "how-to" information
- Content that promotes eating disorders or dangerous dietary practices
- Content promoting illegal drug or alcohol use among minors
- Violent, graphic, or gore content
2.3 Harassment & Abuse
- Bullying, cyberbullying, or sustained harassment of any individual
- Doxxing — sharing someone's real name, address, phone number, school, or other identifying information without consent
- Coordinating harassment campaigns (brigading) against any individual or group
- Sending unsolicited threatening or sexually explicit messages
- Impersonating another student, teacher, or staff member
- Using anonymous features specifically to hide identity while targeting someone
2.4 AI Misuse
- Attempting to "jailbreak," manipulate, or bypass AI safety guardrails through prompt engineering or adversarial inputs
- Using AI features to generate harmful, deceptive, or manipulative content
- Attempting to use AI to impersonate another person or create fake identities
- Submitting false wellness data to manipulate AI recommendations
- Using AI conversation features for purposes unrelated to academic management or wellness (e.g., as a general-purpose chatbot)
2.5 Technical Abuse
- Unauthorized scraping, crawling, or automated data extraction from BalanceBoard
- Attempting to access other users' accounts, data, or private information
- Exploiting security vulnerabilities (report them to us instead)
- Conducting denial-of-service attacks or API abuse
- Introducing malware, viruses, or malicious code through any feature
- Creating bot accounts or automated accounts
- Circumventing rate limits or other technical access controls
- Attempting to reverse-engineer, decompile, or access BalanceBoard's source code
2.6 Legal Violations
- Using BalanceBoard for any purpose that violates federal, state, or local law
- Sharing copyrighted material without authorization (e.g., textbook scans, pirated content)
- Violating FERPA by sharing other students' educational records
- Using the platform for commercial solicitation, MLM recruiting, or spam
- Violating Google's Terms of Service in connection with their APIs
3. Who Can Access What Data
| Data Type | You | Other Students | Counselors (Future) | BalanceBoard Staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your profile & name | ✅ Full | ❌ Never | ❌ Never (by default) | ✅ For support |
| Your tasks & assignments | ✅ Full | ❌ Never | ❌ Never (by default) | ✅ For support |
| Your wellness check-ins | ✅ Full | ❌ Never | 🔒 Only with your consent | ✅ For safety only |
| Your AI conversations | ✅ Full | ❌ Never | ❌ Never | ✅ Safety/abuse review |
| Your anonymous posts | ✅ Full | 👤 Anonymous username only | ❌ Never | ✅ Moderation |
| Your Vent Room messages | ✅ (24h only) | 👤 Anonymous username only | ❌ Never | ✅ Moderation |
| Your Study Pod messages | ✅ Full | 👤 Anonymous to pod members | ❌ Never | ✅ Moderation |
| Your Google Classroom data | ✅ Full | ❌ Never | ❌ Never | ❌ Not accessed |
| Your OAuth tokens | ❌ Not shown | ❌ Never | ❌ Never | ✅ Encrypted storage only |
"Counselors (Future)" refers to a planned feature not yet available. Counselor access will always require explicit, revocable student consent. BalanceBoard staff access wellness and AI data only for safety investigations or technical support, never for routine review.
4. Enforcement
Violations of this AUP are handled under the enforcement provisions in our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. Consequences range from warnings to permanent bans depending on severity.
Report violations to: support@balanceboard.app