Effective July 6, 2026 (updated July 14, 2026)
This policy explains what information Verbalgerbil ("we," "us") collects when you use myperfectcadence.com (the "Service"), how we use it, and the choices you have.
Verbalgerbil was previously called Cadence. It is the same operator, the same Service and the same policy; the site is still reached at myperfectcadence.com, and some notices and text messages may still carry the former name until that changeover is complete.
Account information: your name, email address, and password (stored as a secure hash), or your Google account identifiers if you sign in with Google. Content you add: student records coaches create (names, goals, levels, timezones), lesson schedules, notes, messages, resources, and billing configuration such as rates and policies. Call transcripts and AI drafts: when a lesson uses a video call hosted on Verbalgerbil, the call is transcribed; the transcript is stored with that lesson (visible to the coach and, in their portal, the student — for a limited period, see Retention and deletion below) and is processed by an AI model to draft the coach's recap and notes. Please avoid sharing sensitive personal information (such as health, financial, or government-ID details) during lessons. Mobile number (optional): if a student adds their mobile number and actively chooses text (SMS) notifications, we store the number and use it only to send them lesson reminders and account notices about their own lessons (a prepaid package running out, or an invoice past due); texts stop immediately on reply STOP or when the preference is switched off (see Text notifications). Technical data: basic logs, cookies needed to keep you signed in, and similar information required to operate the Service. We do not run third-party advertising or sell personal information.
We use this information to provide the Service (scheduling, notes, messaging, portals), to keep it secure, to fix problems, and to communicate with you about the Service. A coach's records about a student are visible to that coach and, where a portal invitation is accepted, to that student in their own scoped portal.
We share data only with the service providers needed to run Verbalgerbil: hosting, infrastructure and storage for the files people upload (Vercel), our database provider (Neon), authentication (Google, if you sign in with Google), video calls and speech-to-text for the calls we host ourselves (Daily.co, whose transcription uses Deepgram), AI drafting of recaps, lesson notes and vocabulary suggestions (Anthropic's Claude API — lesson transcripts and lesson chat messages are sent to draft them, and are not used to train models under our API terms), delivery of the emails Verbalgerbil sends — invitations, lesson recaps, reminders, address confirmations and account notices (Resend — the recipient's email address and the contents of that email only; mobile numbers and SMS consent records are never sent to it), text-message delivery for students who opt into SMS reminders (Twilio, acting as our subcontractor for delivery only), and payments, when payment features are used (Stripe, under the coach's own Stripe account). Each processes data under its own terms and safeguards. The messaging provider's role is described in Mobile information and text messaging below. We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights and safety of users. We do not sell or rent personal information.
One optional feature reaches outside that list. If a coach connects a student's chess.com or Lichess username so their ratings and recent games track themselves, we send that username to that site's public API in order to read what the site already publishes about that player. Neither site receives the student's name, email address, mobile number, lesson notes or anything else, and neither is contacted at all unless a coach enters a username.
No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Information sharing to subcontractors in support services, such as customer service or message delivery, is permitted. All other use case categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
A student's mobile number and their consent to receive texts are collected for one purpose only: sending that student notices about their own lessons with their own coach. There are exactly three: a reminder for a lesson they have booked, a notice that their prepaid package is running out, and a notice that an invoice from their coach is past due. That is the whole list. Text notifications are off by default and are turned on only when the student actively chooses them; consent is never a condition of buying lessons or using Verbalgerbil. Delivery is carried out by our messaging provider (Twilio) acting solely as our subcontractor. We never sell, rent, or share mobile numbers or SMS consent for marketing, and we send no marketing or promotional texts of any kind — no offers, no newsletters, and no win-back texts inviting a lapsed student to book again.
The second and third of those are service messages about the current state of a student's own account — lessons they have already bought, or an invoice they already owe. They tell a student where they stand. They are not offers, advertisements, or solicitations, and they are sent only to a student who already has an account and an existing relationship with their coach.
What we collect for messaging and how we use it. If a student chooses text notifications we collect their mobile number, their notification preference, and the record of their consent (what they agreed to and when). We use those three things solely to send the messages listed above to that student, and to honor opt-outs. We do not use mobile numbers or consent records to build audiences, profile anyone, or send anything the student did not ask for.
How a student opts in. Every student account begins with a personal invitation link from their own coach. Text notifications are off for every new account and nothing is pre-checked; adding a phone number alone does not turn texts on. The student signs in to their portal, opens Account, adds their own mobile number, and ticks a consent box that is empty until they tick it themselves. Only then do "Text (SMS)" and "Both" become selectable; until then the preference stays on Email. The consent language printed at that box reads: "Yes, text me lesson reminders and account notices about my own lessons — a prepaid package running out, or an invoice past due — from Cadence at the number above. Message frequency varies with my lesson schedule. Message & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any text to stop, HELP for help. Consent is not required to buy lessons." Unticking the box withdraws consent and turns the texts off. We record when a student gave that consent, and the exact wording they were shown when they gave it.
You can look at the opt-in itself. The control lives inside the student portal, behind a password, so we publish it: myperfectcadence.com/sms/opt-in renders the live control, in its default state, exactly as a new student first sees it. The full flow is on our public Text notifications page.
Message frequency. Message frequency varies and depends entirely on the student's own lesson schedule: one reminder per lesson they have booked, so a student taking one lesson a week receives about four messages a month and a student taking two a week about eight. Added to that, rarely, is an account notice when their prepaid package runs out or an invoice goes past due. A student with no booked lessons receives no texts at all.
Message and data rates may apply. Message and data rates may apply according to the recipient's own carrier plan. Verbalgerbil does not charge for text notifications.
How to stop. Reply STOP to any text from us to opt out immediately, or HELP for help. A student can also switch their preference back to Email or In-app only at any time on the same Account screen where they turned texts on.
A coach can add a parent or guardian email address to a student's record and choose to have lesson recaps sent there. That address, and the record of its confirmation, are the only things we collect for this; the parent gets no login and no account.
What those emails contain. There are exactly two settings, and the coach picks one. With recap text included, each email contains the lesson's recap and practice work as the coach wrote it, the student's first name, the subject, the coach's first name, and — for language students who use them — a one-line note about flashcard practice. With it off, the email says only that a recap was posted and names the student, the subject and the coach; the notes themselves stay in the student's own portal.
Nothing is sent until the address itself agrees. When a coach saves a parent address we email that address once, asking whether it would like to receive these. That first email contains no information about the student at all — not their name, not the subject — because at that point nobody has confirmed the address is the right one. Until someone at that address confirms, no recap is ever sent to it. If they answer "this isn't me", we stop, and the coach can ask that address at most once more. Every recap that does go out carries a link that stops them permanently, with no login needed.
What confirming an address does not prove. Confirming means somebody who controls that inbox agreed to receive these emails. It does not verify that they are the student's parent or guardian, and we do not describe it as if it did. Deciding who should receive a student's lesson notes remains the coach's responsibility.
Not every lesson happens on a video call hosted on Verbalgerbil. A coach can choose to teach on a video service of their own instead, and paste that meeting link into the lesson so their student's Join button opens it. When they do, the link is the only thing we hold. We do not contact that service, we send it nothing about you, we receive nothing back from it, and we do not transcribe or keep any part of the call. What happens on it — including whether anyone records it, and what that service itself collects — is between you, your coach and that service, under its own terms and privacy policy rather than this one. If you want to know whether a lesson is being recorded, your coach is the person to ask.
Verbalgerbil is in a closed beta, and during the beta every Verbalgerbil account — coach and student — is for adults aged 18 or over. If someone accepting a student invitation tells us they are under 18, we do not set up the account. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children; if you believe we hold any, contact us and we will remove it.
A coach may still teach a student who is under 18 and keep their own lesson records here; what the beta restriction changes is that the student cannot have a Verbalgerbil login of their own. This is a restriction of the current beta and may change; if it does, this page will be updated.
We keep your data while your account is active. You can ask us to delete your account and its data at any time by emailing bmilestharp@gmail.com; coaches can also remove student records themselves. Some minimal records may be retained where required for security or legal compliance.
Lesson transcripts. When a lesson uses a video call hosted on Verbalgerbil and the call is transcribed, we keep the transcript for 90 days after the lesson and then delete it automatically. The rest of the lesson record is not affected: the coach's recap, the practice work, the coach's own notes, the focus areas and the lesson chat all stay. Both the coach and the student can see the date a transcript will be deleted on the lesson page itself, before it happens.
Uploaded files. When a student record is removed, or a student takes back a file they sent, the file stops being reachable immediately — the link no longer opens for anyone. We hold a copy in a private area for at least 30 days (and never more than about two months) purely so a deletion made by mistake can be recovered, and after that it is destroyed permanently, with no way to bring it back.
Depending on where you live (for example the EU/EEA under GDPR, or California under CCPA), you may have rights to access, correct, export, restrict, or delete your personal data, and to object to certain processing. Contact us at bmilestharp@gmail.com and we will honor applicable requests. If you are in the EU/EEA you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. Our servers are located in the United States; by using the Service you understand your data is processed there.
We use industry-standard measures: encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, scoped access so each coach and student sees only their own data, and reputable infrastructure providers. No system is perfectly secure — please use a strong, unique password.
We may update this policy as the Service evolves; material changes will be flagged in the app or by email. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated policy.
Privacy questions or requests: bmilestharp@gmail.com.
See also our Terms of Service.