what we collect

browsing this site

We collect nothing when you read these pages. There are no cookies, no analytics scripts, and no advertising pixels. The site stores one thing in your browser's session storage: a timestamp of when you last submitted the join form, used to stop accidental double submissions. It never leaves your device and clears when you close the tab.

Two outside services load content here. Google Fonts serves the typefaces, and OpenStreetMap serves the map on the outreach page. Both can see your IP address as a normal part of delivering those files. The map is sandboxed and loaded without a referrer so it is not told which page you came from.

the join form

If you apply to join the team, we receive what you enter: your name, age, city, email address, your robotics background, your areas of interest, and anything you write in the open questions.

We use it for one purpose, which is deciding whether to invite you to a meeting and contacting you about it. We do not sell it, trade it, publish it, or share it with other teams, schools, or sponsors.

who can see it

Applications land in the team's Google Workspace account. They are read by our two adult coaches and the student leads who handle recruiting. Nobody else on the team has access, and nobody outside the team does.

how long we keep it

We keep applications for the current season plus one, so we can reach out again when spots open. After that we delete them. If you ask us to delete yours sooner, we will do it and confirm by email.

students under 13

FIRST Tech Challenge is a middle and high school program, so some applicants are minors. If you are under 13, ask a parent or guardian before sending the form. A parent can email us at any time to see what their child submitted or to have it removed, and we will act on that without asking for anything beyond confirmation that they are the parent.

photos of students

This site shows photos taken at build sessions and outreach events, and some of the people in them are minors. We only publish photos where a parent or guardian has agreed, and we do not caption them with full names, schools, or anything that would identify a student beyond a first name.

If you are a parent and want a photo of your child taken down, email us and we will remove it from the site the same week, without asking why. The same applies to anyone photographed at one of our outreach events.

asking us to delete your data

Email janitorsftcteam@googlegroups.com from the address you applied with, or have a parent email on your behalf. Say what you want removed. We will delete it and reply to confirm, normally within a week.

You can also ask us for a copy of what we hold, or ask us to correct something that is wrong.

changes to this policy

If we start collecting anything new, we will update this page and change the date at the top before the change takes effect. We do not expect that to happen. The whole point of the current setup is that there is very little to keep track of.