The AI Aware Writing Environment (AAWE) is an educational platform designed to help instructors and students engage with generative artificial intelligence responsibly and transparently. Through our web application and related services (collectively, our "Services"), we provide tools that support writing instruction, including typed and uploaded submissions, handwriting digitization (scan and OCR), configurable multi-round AI feedback, revision and draft-comparison tools, PDF and email delivery to instructors, and process-based writing analytics.
At AAWE, we prioritize privacy, transparency, and safety in all interactions. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personally identifiable information ("PII" or "personal data") when you visit our website or use our Services. The types of information we collect—and how it is used—depend on your role (for example, instructor, student, or administrator) and your interactions within the platform.
What Data We Collect
AAWE collects limited categories of personal and technical data to operate and improve our Services. We take deliberate steps to minimize data collection and retain only what is necessary to support teaching, learning, and system performance.
Information We May Collect via Technological Means
When you visit our website or access your AAWE account, our secure servers (hosted by reputable third-party providers) automatically collect certain technical details about your device and browser, such as:
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- IP address (used only to determine general location, not precise geolocation)
- Domain name
- Access times and duration of visit
This information is stored in encrypted log files to help us maintain system security, monitor platform reliability, and troubleshoot technical issues. Unless you create an account or provide personal information directly, this data cannot be used to identify you.
Cookies, Web Beacons and Other Tracking Technologies
AAWE uses limited tracking technologies—such as cookies and web beacons—to ensure our Services function properly and to understand how users engage with our platform in educational contexts. We use cookies for the following purposes, specifically:
Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for the AAWE platform to function correctly. They enable actions such as:
- Logging into your account
- Remembering assignment and privacy preferences
- Maintaining secure connections during writing sessions
Because these cookies are required for core functionality, they cannot be disabled within the system. However, you may configure your browser to block them—though doing so may cause parts of the site to stop working as intended.
Performance and Analytics Cookies:
We use privacy-preserving analytics cookies to measure website performance and improve user experience. These cookies help us understand which pages are most frequently accessed and how users move through the site. All analytics information is aggregated and anonymized. We do not use these cookies to identify individual users or track activity across other websites.
Information Provided by You When Visiting Our Websites
You may visit AAWE's website without creating an account or providing personal information. However, some features—such as assignment creation, classroom analytics, or platform feedback—require us to collect limited information to provide the Services you request.
Instructor and Administrator Accounts: If you are an instructor or institutional administrator creating or managing assignments, we may collect the following personally identifiable information (PII):
- First and last name
- School or organization name
- Role or job title
- Institutional email address
- Location information (state/province and country)
- User-generated password for secure account access
This information is used solely to authenticate your account, manage institutional settings, and facilitate communication regarding your use of the platform. AAWE does not sell or share instructor data with third parties.
Student Participants: Students typically access AAWE through a course link, access code, or institutional integration. Depending on how an instructor configures each assignment, the system may collect:
- Typed or pasted draft text and uploaded documents (e.g., Word files) submitted for an assignment
- Photographs or image uploads of handwritten pages, including page images stored temporarily during the OCR workflow
- Machine-readable text produced by optical character recognition (OCR) from those images, and any edits students make to that recognized text
- AI-generated feedback (up to two rounds per assignment when enabled), revision submissions, and draft-comparison activity
- Exported results such as PDFs or ZIP archives of handwritten pages prepared for download or email delivery to an instructor
- Process-based analytics (e.g., time spent writing, typing cadence, revision history) where enabled
- Instructor-provided metadata (e.g., course, section, assignment ID, or due date)
During an active handwriting scan session, the browser may also store page thumbnails locally (for example, in sessionStorage) so students can continue digitizing without losing work; server-side drafts are synchronized when pages are saved or OCR is run. This data is linked to the student only within the instructor's course environment. It is shared exclusively with the course instructor and authorized institutional staff for educational purposes such as feedback, engagement tracking, or integrity review. AAWE does not use student writing, handwriting images, OCR output, or analytics data to train AI models, advertise, or develop commercial datasets. All student data will be deleted or anonymized in accordance with institutional agreements and applicable educational privacy laws (e.g., FERPA, GDPR).
Communication and Feedback: If you contact AAWE (for example, by email or through a support form), we collect your name, email address, and any information included in your message to respond to your inquiry.
Assignment delivery by email: When students email results to an instructor, they may enter a recipient address and optional message. Message content and attachments (such as a results PDF or ZIP of handwritten pages) are transmitted through your mail client or AAWE’s configured mail service solely to complete delivery. AAWE does not use these messages for marketing.
What Data We Do NOT Collect
AAWE is designed to minimize risk by collecting only the information necessary to support writing instruction and responsible AI use. We intentionally avoid collecting sensitive or unnecessary personal data.
AAWE does not collect, store, or request the following information:
- Personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, or government-issued IDs
- Academic records such as grades, GPA, or standardized test scores
- Financial or payment information such as credit card or bank account numbers
- Social media information or connections (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn)
- Biometric data, precise geolocation data, or demographic information unrelated to educational use
How We Use the Data We Collect
We use the personal and process data collected through AAWE solely to deliver, secure, and improve our Services in alignment with our educational mission and institutional privacy standards. AAWE does not sell personal data, use it for advertising, or share it with third-party AI models. In particular, AAWE uses your information for the following purposes, as necessary and permitted by applicable law:
- Identify and authenticate users. To recognize you as an authorized instructor, administrator, or student participant in connection with your institution's account.
- Facilitate secure account access. To create and maintain user accounts for instructors and administrators, including password verification, session management, and access control.
- Deliver and support instructional services. To operate assignment workflows (submit, digitize, revise, and deliver), handwriting OCR, multi-round AI feedback, revision tools, PDF generation, and email delivery features that comprise the AAWE platform and ensure their proper functioning within your courses.
- Generate pedagogical analytics. To provide instructors with process-based insights into student writing and engagement, such as time on task, revision patterns, or AI-related metrics, presented in aggregate or course-level form.
- Enhance the learning experience. To improve usability, accessibility, and instructional effectiveness through anonymized usage analytics and feedback from educators and students.
- Communicate with you. To send essential messages such as account verification, system updates, and support notifications. We may also send information about new or improved instructional features directly relevant to your institutional use.
AAWE supports the scholarly and pedagogical work of instructors and researchers who study writing, learning, and responsible AI use. Instructors may use anonymized classroom data to reflect on or assess their own teaching practices. Any formal research conducted with or through AAWE that is intended for publication, presentation, or peer-reviewed dissemination must follow all applicable Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent ethical guidelines for human subjects research.
AAWE may compile statistical or de-identified information derived from user activity in order to improve our Services and support educational research. Any such data is fully anonymized—it cannot be linked back to any instructor, student, or institution and contains no personally identifiable information (PII).
How Data Is Used By Third-Party AI Providers
AAWE uses select third-party application programming interfaces (APIs) to power certain AI-enabled features of our Services, such as writing feedback, stylistic guidance, and process-based AI detection. These integrations allow instructors and students to engage responsibly with generative AI while maintaining strict privacy and data-protection standards.
AAWE uses the following third-party AI providers to generate writing feedback:
- OpenAI (ChatGPT API)
- Anthropic (Claude API)
- Google (Gemini API)
AAWE does not share student data with these providers beyond what is necessary to generate the requested feedback for a specific submission. We do not sell user data, and we do not use student writing or analytics data to train AI models.
- These providers do not train their models on data submitted through AAWE via their APIs.
- Data transmitted to these APIs is encrypted in transit (via TLS).
- AAWE stores AI feedback only as needed to display results to the user and support course workflows.
We encourage users and partner institutions to review the data usage and privacy policies for OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google to better understand how each provider manages and protects information processed through its systems.
Handwriting OCR Services
When instructors enable handwriting digitization, AAWE sends page images to a configured OCR service solely to convert handwriting into editable text. Depending on institutional configuration, this may include OCR.space, Google Cloud Vision, or an on-server Tesseract engine. Only the image bytes required for a given scan are transmitted; OCR providers do not receive unrelated student account data from AAWE. Instructors should avoid including unnecessary personal information in photographs of handwritten work.
How We Protect Your Data
AAWE is committed to protecting the security and integrity of all information collected through our Services, including personally identifiable information (PII) and educational data. We maintain secure, cloud-based infrastructure and implement industry-standard security controls to prevent unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.
Our safeguards include administrative, technical, and physical measures designed to meet or exceed higher education data-protection expectations and applicable privacy regulations. These measures include encryption of data in transit and at rest using Secure Socket Layer (SSL/TLS) and AES-256 encryption, role-based access controls, secure authentication protocols, and continuous monitoring for potential vulnerabilities.
While AAWE takes comprehensive precautions to safeguard your information, no system can be completely free of risk. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a potential breach, AAWE will act promptly and transparently in accordance with institutional agreements and legal requirements.
If you create an instructor or administrator account, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for ensuring that others do not access your account. We require all users to use strong passwords and to log out after each session.
How We Manage Student Data
When students, instructors or educational institutions use AAWE's student-facing tools, the platform may collect and process limited information related to identifiable students ("Student Data"). Student Data is processed to deliver the core educational functions of the platform, including:
- Supporting assignment workflows (typed text, file upload, handwriting OCR, revision, and delivery);
- Generating AI-supported writing feedback (including up to two feedback rounds when configured) and revision analytics;
- Storing OCR workflow drafts (page images, OCR text, and student edits) until the assignment is complete or data is cleared;
- Enabling students to download or email PDF results—and, when applicable, ZIP archives of handwritten pages—to their instructor;
- Enabling instructors to review student engagement, progress, and writing authenticity;
- Producing anonymized, aggregate reports that help improve teaching and learning outcomes.
AAWE does not use Student Data to train AI models, advertise, or create commercial datasets. All Student Data is stored securely on cloud servers with encryption in transit and at rest.
Whether AAWE is used by an individual instructor or through a larger institutional account, the instructor retains control over student data within their course environment.
- Only the instructor (and, if applicable, designated administrators) can view student writing or analytics.
- Students' names are linked to their own writing and process data only within that instructor's workspace.
- Students may choose to share their work with peers for class activities if their instructor enables that option, but AAWE provides no mechanism for public posting or social sharing.
- The Services do not include messaging or direct communication features between students.
Data Retention and Deletion
AAWE retains personal and educational data only for as long as necessary to provide our Services, fulfill the educational purpose for which the data was collected, and comply with applicable legal, institutional, and security requirements. We follow strict retention schedules and deletion procedures to minimize long-term data storage.
1. Instructor and Administrator Data
- Account information (e.g., name, email address, school affiliation) is retained while your account remains active.
- If you delete your account or request removal, all associated personal data will be deleted or anonymized within 60 days, unless a longer period is required by law or for institutional reporting purposes.
- Aggregated, non-identifiable analytics may be retained to improve platform performance and educational insights.
2. Student Data
- Writing data, handwriting page images, OCR output, AI feedback, exported PDFs prepared for delivery, and process-based analytics (such as typing patterns, revision events, and time-on-task metrics) are retained only for the duration of the course or instructional period in which they were collected.
- OCR workflow session drafts may be cleared when a student resets a scan, completes delivery, or when the instructor or institution requests deletion.
- After the course or pilot ends, identifiable Student Data is either deleted or automatically anonymized within 90 days.
- Instructors and students may request early deletion of specific records by contacting AAWE support.
3. System and Technical Logs
Technical logs used for security, troubleshooting, and service monitoring are retained for up to 30 days before being automatically purged or anonymized.
4. Backups and Encrypted Archives
- Backup data stored on AWS systems is encrypted at rest and retained only as part of secure disaster recovery protocols.
- Backups are rotated and permanently deleted after a maximum of 90 days unless required for legitimate legal or compliance purposes.
5. Anonymized and Aggregate Data
De-identified, aggregate information used for educational research, analytics, or platform improvement may be retained indefinitely. This data contains no personally identifiable information (PII) and cannot be traced back to any individual user.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
AAWE may update or modify this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our Services, technology, or legal requirements. Any updates will be posted on this page with the date of the most recent revision clearly indicated. The May 2026 revision adds coverage for handwriting digitization and the OCR workflow, OCR services, multi-round AI feedback, assignment workflow delivery (PDF and email), and related student data retention practices.
Contact Us
AAWE welcomes your questions, comments, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data-handling practices. We are committed to maintaining transparency and addressing privacy inquiries promptly and thoughtfully.
Email: [email protected]
Last Updated: May 20, 2026
Effective Date: May 20, 2026