legal

Privacy Policy

Effective: September 30, 2026

Overview

Nearfield Listening Lab ("Nearfield") is a youth listening lab focused on young people's experiences with technology, incubated at In Tandem, which is in turn incubated at Array Education, a non-profit organization. We use the information we collect to fulfill our mission: to listen closely to young people and translate what we hear into understanding that the people shaping their lives can use. In this Policy, “Nearfield,” “we,” and “us” mean Array Education, Inc., acting through In Tandem and Nearfield Listening Lab.

Nearfield is committed to protecting our users' privacy. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) provides information about how we collect, store, use, and disclose information when you use or access our website located at thenearfield.org and any of our other websites, their respective subdomains, and software applications operated by or on behalf of Nearfield (collectively, our “Sites”) and the services available on the Sites (“Services”). When personally identifiable information is collected, used, or disclosed in relation to young people who take part in our research activities, whose words may appear in our Listening Library and memos, it is subject to additional protections as detailed below in the Youth Participation and Listening Library Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about our privacy practices, please contact us directly at hello@thenearfield.org.

What information is collected through the Sites and Services?

Nearfield collects any information that you provide when you use the Sites and Services, including when you subscribe to our newsletter, request a memo, or contact us. This information may include your name, email address, phone number, your role or affiliation, what you are reaching out about, and anything you write in your message.

In addition, we may collect certain technical information about your use of the Sites, such as:

browser type, language, plug-ins, Internet domain and operating system;
Internet Protocol (IP) address;
unique identifiers, including mobile device identification numbers, that may identify the physical location of such devices;
information collected through cookies, which are small text files stored on users' computers to save information about the use of websites, such as our web applications; and
information related to your interactions with the Sites, such as the type of content viewed on the Sites.

Does Nearfield collect personally identifiable information from children under 13 years old?

Through the Sites, no. The Sites are intended for general audiences and are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through them. Children under 13 may take part in our research only with verifiable permission from a parent or guardian, as described in the Youth Participation and Listening Library section below.

We allow minors ages 13 and up to use our Sites and Services.

How does Nearfield use and disclose information collected through the Sites and Services?

We may use this information to provide you with the products, services, or information you request; deliver communications that you request or which may be of interest to you; maintain, develop, support, improve, analyze, and troubleshoot the Sites and the Services; customize the content you see when you use the Sites; and when we believe in good faith it is necessary to protect the safety of users or others, or to detect, prevent, or respond to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violations of our Terms of Use, violations of law, or other misuse of the Sites or Services.

Nearfield will not disclose your information to any third party except as otherwise stated in this Policy and in the following circumstances:

when directed or consented to by you;
to service providers who work on our behalf and will use the information in furtherance of our operations, and in accordance with our privacy commitments;
to In Tandem and Array Education, the organizations that incubate Nearfield, whose staff may access and process information collected through the Sites to support Nearfield's operations, subject to this Policy;
in response to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or to comply with government reporting obligations pursuant to law;
when we believe in good faith it is necessary to protect the safety of users or others, or to detect, prevent, or respond to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violations of our Terms of Use, violations of law, or other misuse of the Sites or Services; or
to service providers, advisors, potential transaction partners, or other third parties in connection with the consideration, negotiation, or completion of a corporate transaction in which we are acquired by or merged with another company or we sell, liquidate, or transfer all or a portion of our assets in bankruptcy or otherwise. If some or all of our assets are acquired or otherwise transferred, including in bankruptcy, the acquirer will be permitted to maintain the information transferred, subject to confidentiality agreements, the terms of this Policy, and applicable law.

Nearfield may post testimonials from users, in the form of written materials or videos, reflecting a user's individual experience in using the Sites. If a user testimonial includes information identifying you, Nearfield will obtain your consent prior to posting such testimonial on the Sites.

The Sites or Services may contain links to websites or apps, or contain integrated content (like embedded videos) provided by third parties. For example, video content on the Sites may be provided by services such as Vimeo or YouTube. The information practices of those third parties may differ from ours. You should consult the privacy policies of any such third party that links from the Sites or provides content that you access through the Sites or Services, as we do not control and are not responsible for the information that they collect, use, or share. Because your web browser may obtain integrated content directly from third-party servers, the third parties may be able to collect information as if you had visited their websites directly.

How does Nearfield secure information collected through the Sites and Services?

We maintain safeguards designed to protect the security, privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of personally identifiable information collected through the Sites against risks – such as unauthorized access or use, or unintended or inappropriate disclosure – through the use of administrative, technological, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.

Nearfield may use one or more third-party service providers (“Vendors”) to help host the services.

Will Nearfield make changes to this Policy?

We will not make changes to this Policy that would give Nearfield the ability to use information collected from users through the Sites in a way materially inconsistent with this Policy, without first providing prominent notice to users to allow them to choose whether to continue to use the Sites in accordance with the new Policy. Similarly, we will not make changes that would give Nearfield the ability to use PII, as defined below, in a way materially inconsistent with the privacy provisions below or any contractual requirements, without first providing notice to parents or youths as applicable, to allow them to choose whether to continue to participate in our research activities in accordance with these changes.

Youth Participation and Listening Library Privacy Policy

This section explains how information about the young people whose words appear in our Listening Library and memos is collected, protected, and disclosed. Information linked to a participant in a way that allows them to be identified with reasonable certainty is "personally identifiable information" or "PII." Where a study's consent, permission, and assent documents differ from this policy, those documents govern.

How young people take part. Young people take part in Nearfield's research in two ways: through In Tandem's Youth Voice Fellowship, and through activities for which Nearfield recruits youth participants directly. For Fellowship participants, In Tandem holds participants' PII, including the record linking a participant to their study identifier, and that information is governed by the Youth Voice Fellowship Privacy Policy. In Tandem handles parental permission and youth assent using the process approved by the reviewing institutional review board for each study, and Nearfield receives de-identified transcripts and de-identified participant information. For participants Nearfield recruits directly, we obtain permission from a parent or guardian and assent from participants under 18 before they take part; participants 18 and older provide their own consent. We hold their PII and apply the privacy and de-identification standards described in this section.

Activities and recordings. Our activities include surveys, individual interviews, group discussions, and parent-child interviews. Interviews and group discussions are audio recorded and transcribed. In some interviews participants are invited to look through their own social media or AI accounts and describe what they see; screens are not recorded, and only the spoken narration is captured. Participants may choose to share screenshots, and we capture screenshots only with explicit permission. Some group activities use a collaborative whiteboard where contributions are anonymous and no account is required. Because group discussions involve other participants, we ask everyone to keep what is shared confidential, but we cannot guarantee it. Participation is voluntary, participants may skip any question, and participants may stop at any time.

What we collect. To participate in activities Nearfield runs directly, youth participants may be asked for their name, email address, phone number, signature, and their parent or guardian's email address, along with demographic information such as age, race and ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+ status, school type and grade level, and geographic region. Parents and guardians provide their name, relation to the participant, email address, and signature. We use contact information to schedule sessions, deliver compensation, and — where a participant or parent has agreed — to invite participation in future research.

Our commitments. In an effort to implement best practices to protect youth participants' privacy, we make a number of commitments related to PII. Parents and guardians who take part in interviews are covered by the same commitments:

We will not collect, use, share, or retain PII for any purpose other than as authorized.
We will not sell PII.
We will not build a personal profile of a youth participant other than to facilitate our services.
We will support access to PII and correction of contact information and stated preferences by youth participants or their parents.
We will maintain administrative, technological, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
We share PII only as authorized, only as needed for the work, and through secure channels. Service providers with access to identifiable information, such as video-conferencing, transcription, survey, and secure storage providers, are bound by confidentiality obligations. As the consent documents explain, study information may also be reviewed by In Tandem, the institutional review board, and federal and other regulatory authorities responsible for research oversight.
We publish youth participants' words without their names. Quotes carry only limited descriptors, and we remove details that could reasonably identify a participant. Some studies offer participants the option to be identified; where that option applies it is set out in that study's consent documents, and for participants under 18 it applies only where both the young person and their parent or guardian agree.
We will not attempt to re-identify participants from de-identified material.

Retention. We retain identifiable information for no longer than the period set out in each study's approved protocol, and we may retain de-identified transcripts, analysis files, and published quotes indefinitely for research purposes.

Participants under 13. We enroll participants as young as 9, with permission from a parent or guardian. Before a child under 13 takes part in an activity we run directly, we obtain verifiable parental permission, and we collect only the information described above. A parent or guardian may review their child's information, ask us to delete it, and refuse to permit further collection or use at any time.

Review, deletion, and withdrawal. Parents, guardians, and youth participants may contact us at hello@thenearfield.org, or In Tandem at hello@in-tandem.org for Fellowship participants, to review a participant's PII, request deletion, or refuse further collection or use. Not all information shared by youth participants is PII or subject to review or deletion. For participants 13 and older, where a request concerns a young person's own opinions, beliefs, and experiences, we give weight to the participant's preferences. Information that has already been analyzed, aggregated, or published may not be fully removable, and we will take all feasible steps to limit further use. Study-specific withdrawal requests should go to the address given in that study's consent documents.

Email communications

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we will send you occasional updates about Nearfield's work. If you request a memo through a form on our Sites, we will email it to you and, unless you opt out, also send you those occasional updates; the form will say so before you submit it. If you contact us, we will use your email address to reply and will not add you to the newsletter unless you subscribe. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email or by writing to hello@thenearfield.org; we may still send emails needed to respond to your requests.

Your choices

Cookies and analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how the Sites are used. When you first visit, a cookie banner lets you accept or decline analytics cookies, and you can change your choice at any time through the cookie settings link on the Sites. You can also opt out of Google Analytics on all websites with Google's browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout, and read how Google uses data from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. Most browsers also let you block or delete cookies; doing so may affect how the Sites work.
Access, correction, and deletion. You may ask us to access, correct, or delete the personal information we hold about you by writing to hello@thenearfield.org. We will respond within a reasonable time and may need to verify your identity first.
State and regional privacy rights. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under applicable privacy laws, such as the right to know what personal information we hold about you, to correct or delete it, or to opt out of certain uses. You can exercise these rights by writing to hello@thenearfield.org.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Nearfield Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Nearfield
25 Broadway, Fl 3, New York, NY 10004

hello@thenearfield.org

This Privacy Policy is effective as of September 30, 2026