Want to use Sway with your students?

Start now!

student privacy and research consent

Students who use Sway can volunteer to participate in our research. The first time a student logs in, they are presented with the consent document below. If a student does not consent, we cannot use their de-identified data in our research; however, they can still access Sway for use in their classes. For a comprehensive overview of how we collect, uses, and protect data from all users, see our Privacy Policy.

This page contains important information about your use of SwayBeta (hereafter, 'Sway'). Please read it closely.

Summary of key points

  • This research aims to improve the quality of student discussions
  • Your participation is voluntary, and you may discontinue at any time
  • Your school email is used for verification and login purposes only
  • Your chats are encrypted and private by default
  • Your data is not used for training commercial artificial intelligence (AI) models
  • Your anonymized message contents are only used for educational research if you opt in.
  • You control what information is shared with your instructor
  • You can delete your account at any time

Detailed Information

Use of your email address

We use your school email to:

  • Verify your enrollment at a participating school
  • Allow you to login to Sway
  • Allow you to reset your password

Information shared with your instructor

By default, your email and preferred first name are NOT visible to your instructor.

If you allow your instructor to verify that you have used Sway, then they can:

  • Verify that you completed an assignment
  • View your scores from Sway quizzes
  • View metadata about your platform use (e.g., message counts, chat durations)
  • View non-identifying results of natural language processing on your chats (e.g., whether you and your partner remained on topic)

However, under no circumstances will Sway present your opinions or messages to your instructor.

Chat privacy and research use

Sway encrypts all student data in transit using TLS 1.2+ and at rest using AES-256. Messages you send are only decrypted (readable) when:

  • You use the app or
  • You allow the use of your de-identified message contents for education research

When your messages are de-identified, no information about you is stored with the message contents. Your data is never used to train commercial AI models. If you opt in, your de-identified message contents may be used for educational research, including the development or training of non-commercial models. If you allow research use, you can later revoke permission by updating your choice under settings.

Sharing chats with your instructor

  • Because only you and your discussion partners can access your chats, to share a chat transcript with your instructor, you must copy-paste the chat contents from Sway into a document that you can share with your instructor

Account deletion

  • You can delete your account at any time (this cannot be reversed)
  • We recommend checking with your instructor before deleting your account

Third party message processors

  • Your message contents are processed using application programming interfaces (APIs) from OpenAI and Anthropic
    1. Data sent to OpenAI and Anthropic might include your preferred first name; it will not include your email address
    2. OpenAI and Anthropic delete data transmitted over their API within 30 days
    3. OpenAI and Anthropic do not use your message contents to train their models or improve their service

SMS notifications

Currently, this platform does not support push notifications. However, you can choose to receive notifications through SMS messages. Getting notifications on your phone can make it easier to coordinate with your chat partners on assignments. If you do not enable SMS notifications, you can still get notifications through email.

If you opt in to SMS notifications, your phone number will be shared with our U.S. messaging provider Twilio. It will not be shared with any other parties. If you decide to disable SMS notifications, you can either send STOP from your phone or adjust your Settings on the Sway website.

Data we can access

When we view your information, you are identified by a random ID that is not connected to your email address or preferred name. We can view your:

  • Survey and quiz responses
  • Metadata about your platform use (e.g., message counts, chat durations)
  • Feedback you provide to us by clicking thumbs up or down on content that we generate for you or by using other feedback functionality
  • Non-identifying results of natural language processing on your chats (e.g., whether you and your partner remained on topic)

Platform analytics

We use Google Analytics and Sentry to help us understand platform usage, improve performance, and detect bugs. This data includes information such as the time spent on different pages, navigation patterns, and interactions with platform features. These services are configured not to intentionally collect personally identifying information or message contents.

For Users at U.S. Educational Institutions

Sway is designed to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g.

How FERPA applies to your use of Sway:

  • By agreeing to this document, you consent to our collection and use of your information as described herein. This consent satisfies FERPA's requirements under 34 CFR § 99.30.
  • When your institution has entered into a Data Processing Agreement with us, we act as a "school official" with a "legitimate educational interest" under 34 CFR § 99.31(a)(1)(i)(B). In these cases, our agreement with your institution governs the handling of your data.

Data we collect

  • Institutional email address: used for account verification and login; only shared with your instructor if you allow instructor verification below
  • Your preferred first name: used for display within the platform; shared with your instructor only if you allow instructor verification below
  • Chat threads/messages: used for educational discussion with peers; never shared with your instructor
  • Quiz and survey responses: used for partner matching and assessment; your responses to surveys (including your opinions) are never shared with your instructor; quiz scores are shared with your instructor only if you allow instructor verification below
  • Usage metadata: used for assignment completion verification; summary only shared with your instructor if you allow instructor verification

Your rights under FERPA

  • You may request access to your personal data by contacting us at privacy@swaybeta.ai.
  • If you believe any information is inaccurate, you may update your preferred name in your account settings or contact us to request corrections.
  • You may delete your account at any time through the platform. Upon deletion, your personally identifiable information is removed within 30 days.
  • If you believe your FERPA rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education: Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202

Data protection commitments:

  • Your data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256)
  • Your discussion messages are stored in encrypted form and are never accessible to instructors or school staff
  • Your data is never sold or used for advertising
  • Your data is never used to train commercial artificial intelligence models
  • In the unlikely event of a data breach affecting your personally identifiable information, your institution will be notified within 72 hours

If you have questions, contact us at privacy@swaybeta.ai

For Users in the European Economic Area (EEA)

If you are located in the EEA, the following additional information applies to you under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

  • Legal Basis for Processing. We process your personal data based on: (a) your consent, which you provide when agreeing to this document; (b) contractual necessity, to provide you access to Sway; and (c) legitimate interests, to improve and secure our platform.
  • Your Rights. You have the right to access, rectify, or erase your personal data; to restrict or object to processing; and to data portability. To exercise these rights, contact us at gdpr@swaybeta.ai. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.
  • Data Retention. We retain your personal data while your account remains active. De-identified research data may be retained indefinitely. You may delete your account at any time.
  • International Transfers. Your data is processed in the United States by us and our sub-processors (OpenAI, Anthropic, Twilio), each of which maintains data protection commitments in accordance with their published policies and applicable legal frameworks.

Risks and benefits

While the precautions described in this document should protect your privacy and put what you share in your hands, no system is perfect and there is always a risk of breach of confidentiality.

Ample evidence indicates that guided discussion can help students better understand course materials and develop their ability to engage in constructive discussions of challenging topics. We therefore expect AI-scaffolded discussions to provide you with educational benefits.

Cost and compensation

Accessing the platform requires an internet connection; however, because the platform only receives and transmits text data, any additional fees you may incur should be negligible. You will not receive any compensation for using the platform.

AI limitations and accuracy

Sway uses AI models that are generally reliable for their intended purposes.

However, like all AI systems, these models can occasionally:

  • Produce incorrect or inconsistent information
  • Misunderstand context or nuance in complex discussions

We recommend:

  • Critically evaluating AI-generated content
  • If you notice any concerning AI behavior, report it to your instructor directly or through the app's feedback feature.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Simon Cullen,
Faculty Research Fellow
Heterodox Academy
82 Nassau Street #646
New York, NY 10038
cullen@heterodoxacademy.org

Institutional Review Board

If you have questions about your rights as a research participant or if you want to report concerns about this study, you should contact:

The Office of Research Integrity and Compliance at Carnegie Mellon University.
Email: irb-review@andrew.cmu.edu
Phone: 412-268-4721

Voluntary participation

Your participation in this research is voluntary. You may refuse or discontinue participation at any time without loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY:

▢ I have read and understood the above information

▢ I am at least 18 years old

▢ I allow my instructor to verify that I have completed Sway assignments

▢ I allow educational research use of my anonymized message contents