Privacy Policy

This policy applies to personal information handled by IAI²O through this website and our programs. We follow applicable privacy requirements, including the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and other federal, state, provincial, or territorial requirements that apply to a particular activity.

Some registration and application forms are hosted by third-party services. Their privacy notices may also apply when you use those services.

• Contact and identity details, such as a participant or parent/guardian name, email address, country or region, school, grade, and age or date of birth.
• Application and competition materials, such as team details, track selection, written responses, resumes, project information, judging records, and participation history.
• Event and safety information that is reasonably needed to organize an in-person or online program, including accessibility, dietary, emergency-contact, or travel-related details when requested.
• Communications sent to us and basic technical records generated when the website is accessed, such as an IP address, browser type, request time, and security logs.

The information requested varies by program. Please do not provide sensitive information that a form does not specifically request.

• Process applications, registrations, competition entries, and Youth Council submissions.
• Administer judging, finalist selection, events, awards, certificates, and participant support.
• Communicate with participants, parents or guardians, judges, volunteers, sponsors, and applicants.
• Protect participants, prevent misuse, maintain security, meet legal obligations, and resolve concerns.
• Publish limited competition results, such as a finalist or award recipient name, team, region, track, project, or result, after appropriate notice and consent.

We do not use personal information for a new, unrelated purpose without providing notice and obtaining consent where required.

Protecting young people is central to our programs. We use privacy notices and consent processes designed to be understandable to students and their families.

• We limit collection to information reasonably needed for the stated program or activity.
• For children under 13, a parent or legal guardian must provide consent before personal information is submitted, except where law permits a limited alternative.
• For participants under the applicable age of majority, we use age-appropriate notices and involve a parent or guardian when required by law or by the sensitivity of the information.
• We do not sell student personal information or use it for behavioral advertising.
• Optional uses, including promotional photographs or recordings, are handled through a separate notice or release when appropriate and are not required unless necessary for the activity.

A parent or guardian may contact us to review, correct, or request deletion of a child's personal information, or to withdraw consent for future collection or use, subject to legal and program-record requirements.

When you select an application or inquiry link, you may be taken to a third-party form platform. Information entered there is transmitted through that provider and may be made available to IAI²O for the purpose identified on the form. The provider's own privacy terms and data practices also apply.

Before submitting a form for a minor, the student and parent or guardian should review the form notice together. Do not submit an application if the requested consent has not been provided.

We may share personal information only as reasonably necessary with:

• Service providers that support forms, communications, website hosting, file storage, event operations, or security under appropriate restrictions.
• Authorized judges, reviewers, staff, volunteers, or event partners who need the information to perform their role.
• Government, legal, safety, or emergency authorities when required by law or reasonably necessary to protect a person or the integrity of a program.
• The public, but only for limited finalist, award, project, or event information after appropriate notice and consent.

We do not sell personal information.

IAI²O operates across the United States, Canada, and other regions. Personal information may therefore be processed or stored outside a participant's province, state, or country, where it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction. We limit access to people and providers with a legitimate operational need and use reasonable contractual, administrative, and technical safeguards.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the stated program, recordkeeping, safety, dispute-resolution, or legal purpose. We then delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it where practicable.

We use reasonable safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. No online system is completely secure, so please avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information by email or through unrequested fields.

Our hosting infrastructure may automatically record basic request and security information. The public website does not currently use advertising cookies or behavioral advertising. If we add analytics or other non-essential tracking in the future, we will update this policy and provide choices where required.

Depending on where you live, you or an authorized parent or guardian may request access to personal information, ask us to correct or delete it, withdraw consent, or ask how it has been used or disclosed. Some information may need to be retained where permitted or required by law, including records necessary to preserve competition integrity.

We may take reasonable steps to verify identity and authority before completing a request. We will not discriminate against a person for making a privacy request.

We may update this policy as our programs, providers, or legal obligations change. The effective date above will be revised when material changes are posted.