Last updated: October 7, 2026.
This policy explains what information Journai collects, how we use it, when we share it, and the choices you have. It applies to the Journai mobile app, the web app, and thejournai.com (together, the “Service”). If you take part in a research study through Journai, the study’s consent form also applies, and where the two differ for research data, the consent form controls.
1. Who we are
Journai Corporation, a Delaware corporation based in Marquette, Michigan (“Journai,” “we,” “us”), provides Sam, an AI mentor for college athletes and the coaches and staff who support them. Questions about this policy go to jeff@thejournai.com.
2. What Journai is, and what it is not
Journai is an educational and personal development tool. Sam is an AI. Sam is not a doctor, therapist, counselor, or crisis service, and Journai is not a healthcare provider. We do not diagnose or treat any condition, and we are not a “covered entity” or “business associate” under HIPAA. Information you share with Sam is not a medical record.
3. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Account details: name, email, school, team, sport, and class year.
- Your conversations with Sam, including anything you write or say to Sam, and the takeaways, goals, and notes saved from them.
- For coaches and staff: notes you record about the athletes you work with, your roster, and your team’s schedule and program information.
- Survey answers, if you choose to answer them.
- Messages you send us for support.
Information your school or program gives us. If your school or team provides Journai, they may give us your name, email, team, and campus support resources so that Sam can point you to the right people.
Information collected automatically
- How you use the Service: when you open it, which features you use, and how long sessions last.
- Device information: device type, operating system, app version, and IP address.
- Crash and error reports.
Information Sam learns over time. To be useful, Sam keeps a memory of what matters to you, such as your goals, what you have been working on, and people you have mentioned. You can ask us to delete it.
Health-related information. Conversations with Sam may include information about your mental or physical health, stress, or wellbeing. We treat this as sensitive. We collect it only because you choose to share it with Sam, and we use it only as this policy describes.
What we don’t collect. We do not ask for your location, contacts, or calendar, and we do not access them without asking you first.
4. How we use information
- To run the Service: to let Sam respond to you, remember context, and send reminders you asked for.
- To keep people safe: to check messages for signs that someone may be at risk and to respond as described in section 5.
- To make Sam better: we look at how features are used to improve Sam. We do not use your conversations to train AI models, ours or anyone else’s. If we ever want to use de-identified conversations to improve Sam, we will ask you first, and it will stay off unless you choose to turn it on.
- To support schools and programs: to give a sponsoring school or program reports about how the Service is used, grouped across many people so no individual can be identified.
- For research: only for users who join a research study, under that study’s consent form and ethics board approval.
- To communicate with you: service messages, safety outreach, and, if you agree, updates about Journai. You can turn off marketing messages at any time.
- To comply with law and protect our rights.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for targeted advertising.
5. Safety checks and human review
Every message is checked. An automated safety system reviews each message you send to Sam for signs that you or someone else may be at risk of serious harm. The system is built to flag more than it needs to. It can be wrong in both directions: it can flag something harmless, and it can miss something serious.
People may read flagged conversations. When a message is flagged, authorized Journai staff may review it. By default they see only that a message was flagged, when, and how serious it appeared. Reading what you actually wrote requires a stated reason, and every such read is recorded in a log that we do not edit or delete.
We may contact you. If we are concerned about your safety, a member of our team may contact you directly by email, phone, or in the app. We will tell you why we are reaching out and try to help you connect with support you choose.
When we may share information to protect someone. We may share limited information about you, without your permission, when we believe in good faith that it is reasonably necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to your health or safety or someone else’s. This may include:
- a counseling, health, or care team at your school, or another support service, if we have a serious concern and you decline help or we cannot reach you;
- your school’s designated crisis contact or emergency services, if we believe someone is in immediate danger.
When possible, we will tell you before we share, and let you help choose who we contact. We share only what that person needs to respond. We do not share your conversations with your coach for this purpose.
What we don’t promise. Journai is not a crisis service and is not monitored around the clock. We do not promise to detect any particular message, to respond within any particular time, or to contact anyone. Journai is not a mandatory reporter, and nothing in this policy creates a duty to report. If you or someone else is in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number, or call or text 988 in the US.
6. Who sees your information
- Coaches and school staff never see your conversations with Sam. A sponsoring school or program may receive reports about how the Service is used, grouped so that no individual can be identified.
- Coach notes are visible to the coach who wrote them and to anyone they choose to share them with. Athletes do not see notes written about them.
- Service providers that host our systems and run the AI models behind Sam process your information on our behalf, under contracts that require them to protect it and use it only to provide their service to us.
- Researchers, only for users in a research study, as the study’s consent form describes.
- Legal and safety: when required by law, to respond to legal process, or as described in section 5. When we review a safety concern, we may consult a licensed mental health professional who advises us in confidence. We share only what they need to advise us.
- Company changes: if Journai is merged or sold, your information may transfer, and this policy will continue to apply to it.
7. How long we keep information
We keep your information while your account is active. Conversations and Sam’s memory: until you delete them or close your account, then 30 days. Records sent to AI providers: 30 days. Safety flags and the access log: 7 years, with names removed if you ask us to delete your data. Research data: as the study’s consent form says.
8. Security
We encrypt information in transit and at rest, limit staff access to people who need it, and log access to sensitive content. No system is perfectly secure, and we will tell you if a breach affects your information as the law requires.
9. Your choices and rights
- See and update your account information in the app.
- Ask for a copy of your data or ask us to delete it by writing to jeff@thejournai.com. We will respond within the time the law requires. Deleting your data does not delete the safety access log, but your name is removed from it.
- Turn off marketing messages and push notifications at any time.
- Depending on where you live, you may have more rights under state or national law. Write to us and we will honor them.
10. Age
The Service is for people 18 and older, or 16 or 17 when provided by a school or program with a parent or guardian’s consent. It is not for anyone under 13. If we learn we have information from a child under 13, we will delete it.
11. Users outside the United States
Journai is based in the United States and processes information here.
12. Changes and contact
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the new Privacy Policy in the app and updating the “Last Updated” date. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you acknowledge the updated policy. Questions: jeff@thejournai.com, Journai Corporation, 727 West Magnetic Street, Marquette, MI 49855.