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How we protect students under 18.
Futureful is free and open to everyone, and young people are welcome here, so keeping them safe comes first. In plain words, here’s exactly what we collect, how parents stay in control, and how we protect it. No surprises, no fine print.
Who it's for, and who we don't sign up
Futureful is free and open to everyone looking for a real job, from high schoolers and college students to people changing careers, veterans, and working adults, in every field. Because young people are welcome, we take extra care with anyone under 18. We do not make accounts for kids under 13. If someone tells us they’re under 13, we stop and ask a parent to step in, and we don’t collect their information.
What we collect, and what we don't
For a student under 18 we keep it simple: first name, the kinds of work they like, their general area (county), and a parent or guardian’s email so we can ask permission. We never ask a minor for a Social Security number in the app. We don’t track exactly where they are. We don’t put ad trackers on a student’s session. And we never sell or rent anyone’s information, ever.
Why we collect it
For one reason only: to match a student with real, paid jobs, and to let a real person help them. We don’t build ad profiles, and we never charge a student a cent.
Extra protections for anyone under 18
A student’s profile is private by default. We keep it calm on purpose. No points, streaks, leaderboards, or pressure. Adults stay in the loop: a parent or guardian says yes before anything is shared, and SMI staff look at and guide every match by hand. An employer can never message a minor through the site. And we tell students, in plain words, any time their information is shared with staff or a guardian.
Parents and guardians: your rights and control
You decide. You can say yes or no, see what we have, fix it, delete it, or take back your permission at any time. Just email us from the address on file, and we’ll make sure it’s really you before we change anything. Until you say yes, nothing about your student goes to any employer.
For parents and guardians
What you actually see.
When your kid joins through a program, you get your own family portal. It is a real screen, not a promise. Here is what is on it.
The Fridge Note
A weekly note where every line is a real event from your kid's week: a first-day simulation they tried, interview practice they did, applications they moved forward. Never job details or setbacks, and your kid can see everything shared with you. Quiet weeks say so, honestly.
Your kid's journey
Their real progress in plain words: what they are great at, where they are focused, what they have earned so far, and the consent approvals only you can give. Nothing goes to any employer until you say yes, and you can pause that anytime.
The safety posture
No precise location, ever: we keep a county, never a live GPS dot. No ad trackers, and nothing is sold or shared. And no employer can ever message your kid through the site.
Schools and work permits
If your school shares records with us, we use them only for the agreed reason and never pass them on. That follows FERPA. Work-permit rules differ by state, and many states ask 16 and 17 year olds to get a permit, with limits on hours, before starting real work. In California, for example, that means a school work permit (Form B1-1). Wherever a student lives, we walk them and their guardian through the rules that apply to them.
How we keep it safe
Information is encrypted, both when it’s sent and when it’s stored. Very few people can see it. Only the SMI staff working with a student can open their details, and every time someone looks, we log who looked and why. Our demo uses made-up people, kept fully apart from real students. We keep information only as long as we need it, and delete it when you ask.
The laws we follow
We follow COPPA (the federal law on kids’ online privacy), FERPA (for any school records), California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code, and California’s CCPA/CPRA (we treat data from anyone under 16 as sensitive and never sell or share it).
Questions, or want to take back permission?
A real person answers. Reach out to your Futureful program lead. You can take back your permission or ask us to delete information at any time.
See it for yourself.
The fastest way to understand these protections is to look at the parent view itself. The demo uses made-up people, kept fully apart from real students.
Parent accounts are created by your program when your kid joins, so no stranger can ever claim to be a parent.