Firsthand Voices Privacy Policy

Effective November 3, 2026. Firsthand Voices is operated by K12 Assist LLC. It helps people request a no-pressure text introduction to a volunteer who has firsthand experience with an organization, service, program or community. Firsthand Voices is independent of organizations it lists unless we expressly say otherwise; being listed does not mean the organization sponsors or endorses us.

Information we collect

When you request an introduction, we may collect your first and last name, the organization you are researching, your mobile phone number, an optional email address, an optional free-text answer about your interests, your SMS and transcript-sharing selections and their timestamps, and technical or request-status information. A participating volunteer may provide a first name, last initial, mobile number and consent records. If a conversation occurs, we process its messages, delivery and status information, and a transcript. We may also collect information you voluntarily send to our support team.

How we use information

We use this information to validate and confirm a specific introduction request, contact an organization about identifying a willing volunteer, arrange an introduction where possible, relay messages without directly disclosing participants' phone numbers, manage inactivity and closeout notices, prepare a privacy-protected conversation record, prevent abuse, respond to support requests and comply with legal obligations. A conversation is not guaranteed. We use your information only to fulfill the single introduction request you authorize and for the limited security, support, recordkeeping and legal purposes described here. We do not use your information for marketing, enroll you in promotional texts, sell your information, or give your personal contact information to other organizations. The organization you selected may receive only the limited, privacy-protected request and transcript information described below; operational providers process information only to support this service.

What an organization may receive

Firsthand Voices may notify the selected organization that an interested consumer has requested an introduction and may provide an authorized recipient with the outcome and a transcript after a conversation, as disclosed in the request form. We do not provide organizations with the consumer's complete mobile phone number or email address, even if an email was voluntarily supplied. Organization-facing records mask the phone number to show no more than its last two digits (for example, ***-***-**24). An email may be shown as a masked indicator (for example, *****@gmail.com); for identifying private domains, we may show only that an email was provided. Volunteer contact details are likewise protected as applicable. An optional interest response, limited name information, and conversation content may appear in the authorized record.

Important: If a participant voluntarily types contact information, identifying details or sensitive personal information into the text conversation, those words may be visible to the other participant and may appear in a transcript shared with the organization. Participants should avoid sharing personal contact or sensitive details in their messages. The registration-field masking promise does not mean everything typed into a chat is anonymous.

Other sharing and service providers

We disclose data as needed to vendors that provide SMS delivery, website hosting, database storage, email, security and operational services; to participating volunteers as necessary to facilitate the conversation; and where required by law or to protect the service and its users. We do not sell consumers' personal information. SMS opt-in records and mobile numbers are not shared with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes.

SMS, consent and opting out

SMS participation requires an affirmative, separate consent choice on the relevant registration form. Message frequency varies and message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for assistance. Ending SMS participation may prevent an introduction from being completed. Read our SMS Program Details.

Security, retention and your requests

We use access restrictions and other safeguards intended to protect personal data. We do not reuse your information to initiate another introduction or to contact you about a new request after your single request is completed or closed. Any future introduction request requires a new registration and new consent. We may retain records from a completed request only as reasonably needed for compliance, security, dispute resolution, support and applicable legal requirements, then delete or de-identify them when no longer needed. There is no promise that every message can be recalled after delivery to a participant or an authorized recipient. You may contact us to request access, correction or deletion of information, subject to applicable requirements and legitimate retention needs.

Website information

Hosting, security and analytics tools may process technical data such as browser details, IP address, page usage and access logs. Third-party sites and specialized paid products linked from Firsthand Voices have their own policies; this policy does not replace those of ParentLead or Ask-A-Current-Parent.

Contact and updates

Privacy questions and requests: help@firsthandvoices.com. We may revise this policy as the service develops and will update the effective date when we do.