Privacy Policy

This policy describes how Python for Everybody (PY4E) collects, uses, and protects personal information when you use our teaching and learning sites, including py4e.com, labs.py4e.com, and ai.py4e.com. PY4E provides open course materials, autograded activities, and related tools for learners and instructors. Please read this policy to understand how we handle your information.

What personal information do we collect?

When you create an account, log in, or launch activities from a learning management system (LMS), we may collect information such as your name, email address, course or context identifiers, grades, assignment submissions, discussion posts, profile details, and similar data needed to operate the site.

When do we collect information?

We collect information when you register or log in, launch tools from an LMS, complete autograded assignments, participate in discussions, update your profile, or otherwise use features that require an account or save your progress.

How do we protect your information?

Your personal information is stored on secured systems and is accessible only to a limited number of people who need access to operate and support the service and who are required to keep the information confidential. Connections to the site use HTTPS (TLS) encryption.

Do we use cookies?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your device through your web browser (if you allow) so the site can recognize your browser and remember certain information.

We use cookies to:

• Understand and save your preferences and identity for future visits.
• Gather analytics data that is only used to monitor and improve the site.

If users disable cookies in their browser:

If you turn cookies off, you will not be able to log in to the site directly.

You can use the learning tools on this system when launched from an LMS with cookies turned off, since those learning applications neither use nor require cookies and will function fully even when cookies are disabled.

Third-party disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties for their marketing purposes.

Third-party links and services

Our pages may link to external sites (for example, video hosts, partner courses, or open source repositories) or embed optional third-party services described below. Those sites and services have their own privacy policies. We do not control them.

Advertising

We do not run third-party advertising on this site.

Google Analytics

We do not use Google Analytics on this site.

Google Maps

Some pages on this site may use Google Maps.

How does our site handle Do Not Track signals?

We honor Do Not Track signals. When DNT is indicated, we suppress the gathering of internal analytics data on this site.

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)

We do not specifically market to children under 13. Many learners use this site through schools and learning management systems; instructors and institutions are responsible for appropriate use with their students.

Data Retention

We actively expire inactive data on a schedule. When data expires or is manually removed, this service does not retain a backup copy of that data. By keeping only active data in the system, we reduce the overall amount of personally identifiable information stored at any time. If you do not log in for a long period, your personal data on this server may be deleted without further action on your part.

Data Analysis

We limit analysis of personal data to reports requested by a customer or reports needed for accounting, technical support, and overall system statistics. We may perform internal analysis to improve reliability, functionality, or performance. In particular, we will not use machine learning or artificial intelligence techniques to profile or understand the behavior of learners and instructors using our site.

General Philosophy

It is often said that if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. For this service, you are not the product, and your data and activity are not the product. We retain only as much of your data as is needed to support your teaching and learning goals and for no other purpose. Wherever possible, we give you control over retention of your data and respect your wishes about keeping it.

Our goal is to comply with the letter and spirit of privacy laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We aim for a commitment to learner privacy that goes beyond minimum legal requirements.

Much of the software used to operate this service is open source, so you can examine and audit what we are doing with respect to privacy and potentially help us improve our approaches to this important topic.

To learn more about the ideas behind our approach to privacy, you can watch this YouTube playlist from LearnerPrivacy.org.

Notifications

If a data breach occurs that affects your personal information, we will notify affected users by email when contact information is available, describe what happened in reasonable detail, and explain steps we are taking in response.

If you have questions about this privacy policy, you may contact us at:

Last edited: 30-May-2026

Copyright Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 - Charles R. Severance