Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 3, 2026
Write With Dr. Leslie is a Hawaiʻi-based practice providing online tutoring, writing coaching, and admissions essay coaching. This Privacy Policy explains how Leslie Akst, Ph.D. (“I,” “me,” or “the Practice”) collects, uses, stores, and shares information obtained through the Write With Dr. Leslie website and educational services.
By using the website, submitting a contact form, scheduling a consultation or session, or purchasing services, you acknowledge the practices described in this policy.
1. Information I Collect
The information I collect depends on how you use the website and services.
Information You Provide
You may provide information such as:
Your name and contact information
The student’s name, age, grade level, school level, and general educational needs
A parent’s or legal guardian’s contact information
Scheduling and availability information
Information submitted through a contact or intake form
Assignment instructions, application prompts, drafts, essays, and other writing
Academic information that you choose to share
Communications sent by email or through another agreed-upon platform
Payment and transaction information
Feedback, reviews, or testimonials that you voluntarily provide
Please do not submit highly sensitive information that is unnecessary for tutoring or coaching, such as Social Security numbers, medical records, financial account passwords, or government identification numbers.
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit the website, the website host and other technology providers may automatically receive limited technical information, including:
Internet Protocol address
Browser and device type
Operating system
Pages viewed
Date and time of access
Referring website
General location inferred from an Internet Protocol address
Cookie or similar technical identifiers
This information may be used to operate the website, maintain security, understand general site activity, and improve performance.
2. How I Use Information
I may use collected information to:
Respond to inquiries
Conduct intake consultations
Determine whether my services are an appropriate fit
Schedule and provide tutoring or coaching
Review student writing and prepare feedback
Communicate with students, parents, or guardians
Process and document payments
Maintain business and tax records
Enforce my Terms and Conditions
Protect the safety, security, and integrity of the website and services
Comply with legal obligations
Improve my services and website
I do not sell or rent personal information. I do not use student writing or personal information for targeted advertising.
3. Student Writing and Educational Information
Student drafts, essays, personal statements, assignment materials, and session discussions are used only to provide the requested educational services and administer the client relationship.
Student work will not be published, sold, posted online, or used in advertising or promotional materials without the student’s written permission and, when the student is a minor, the written permission of a parent or legal guardian.
Students retain ownership of their original writing. My ownership of instructional materials is addressed separately in the Write With Dr. Leslie Terms and Conditions.
4. Information About Minors
A parent or legal guardian must authorize services for a student under 18.
The website and services are not intended to allow children under 13 to independently provide personal information, schedule services, or make payments. Services for a child under 13 must be arranged and managed by a parent or legal guardian.
If I learn that a child under 13 has independently submitted personal information through the website, I will take reasonable steps to delete it unless a parent or legal guardian provides any authorization required by law.
A parent or legal guardian may contact me through the website to ask about personal information associated with their child or request its correction or deletion, subject to applicable legal and recordkeeping requirements.
5. Parents, Guardians, and Student Privacy
When a student is a minor, I may communicate with the parent or legal guardian responsible for arranging and paying for services. These communications may include scheduling information, attendance, general progress, areas of concern, and information reasonably necessary to support the student.
I will use reasonable judgment when balancing a student’s privacy with a parent or guardian’s responsibility for the student. I cannot promise that information shared by a minor student will be withheld from the student’s parent or legal guardian.
6. When Information May Be Shared
I may share limited information with service providers that help operate the website and deliver services, including providers of:
Website hosting
Contact forms
Scheduling
Email
Video conferencing
Shared documents and cloud storage
Payment processing
Website security or basic analytics
These providers process information under their own terms and privacy policies. I share only the information reasonably necessary to use their services.
Information may also be disclosed:
When required by law, court order, subpoena, or other valid legal process
When reasonably necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of a student, client, another person, or the Practice
When there is reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect
In response to an immediate risk of harm
In connection with a business reorganization or transfer, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections
With the client’s consent or at the client’s direction
7. Payments
Payments may be made through third-party services such as Zelle, PayPal, or Venmo. Those providers process payments under their own terms and privacy policies.
I may receive transaction details such as the payer’s name, account identifier, payment amount, date, and payment status. I do not directly collect or store complete bank-account or payment-card numbers submitted through a third-party payment service.
Clients should review the privacy settings and policies of their chosen payment provider before submitting payment.
8. Cookies and Website Analytics
The website and its service providers may use cookies or similar technologies that are necessary for site operation, security, scheduling, form submission, or user preferences.
Depending on the website’s configuration, limited analytics may also be collected to understand general site traffic and performance. I do not intentionally use cookies or tracking technologies to create advertising profiles or deliver behaviorally targeted advertising.
Most browsers allow users to block or delete cookies. Disabling certain cookies may affect the operation of website features, forms, or scheduling tools.
9. Data Retention
I retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to:
Provide and administer services
Complete agreed-upon reviews
Communicate with clients
Maintain business, tax, and transaction records
Resolve disputes
Enforce agreements
Meet legal obligations
Retention periods may vary according to the type of information and the reason it was collected.
When information is no longer reasonably needed, I may delete it, anonymize it, or allow it to be removed through the ordinary retention practices of the applicable service provider.
Clients should retain their own copies of essays, feedback, and shared documents. I do not guarantee indefinite storage of student writing or instructional records.
10. Data Security
I use reasonable administrative and technical measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or disclosure.
However, no website, email account, shared document, video platform, payment service, or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Clients should avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information and should protect their own accounts, devices, and passwords.
If I become aware of a security incident involving personal information, I will respond and provide notice as required by applicable law.
11. Your Choices and Requests
You may contact me to request that I:
Confirm whether I maintain personal information about you
Correct inaccurate contact or account information
Delete information that is no longer needed
Stop using information for optional communications
Provide information about the categories of service providers involved in delivering services
Some information may need to be retained for legal, tax, payment, safety, dispute-resolution, or legitimate business purposes. I may also need to verify the requester’s identity before responding.
Residents of certain states or jurisdictions may have additional privacy rights. I will consider requests in accordance with applicable law.
12. Email and Service Communications
I may use the contact information provided by a client to send messages related to inquiries, appointments, payments, assignments, drafts, schedule changes, policies, and ongoing services.
These are service-related communications rather than promotional marketing. If I offer an optional newsletter or promotional mailing list in the future, recipients will be given a way to unsubscribe.
13. Third-Party Links and Services
The website may include links to third-party websites or services. I am not responsible for the privacy, security, availability, or content of websites and services that I do not control.
Clients should review the privacy policies of third-party platforms before using them.
14. Changes to This Policy
I may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in my services, technology, or legal obligations. The current version and its effective date will be posted on the website.
Material changes will apply prospectively unless otherwise required by law.
15. Contact
Questions, concerns, or privacy requests may be submitted through the contact page on the Write With Dr. Leslie website.