Privacy policy
Last updated 12 October 2026
This policy explains what personal data Mainframe101 collects, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it.
Who we are
Mainframe101 ("we", "us", "our") provides a browser-based platform for learning mainframe skills. Mainframe101 is operated by Kyle Pressley, who is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. If you have any questions about this policy or your data, email legal@mainframe101.org.
What we collect
| Category | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Waitlist | Your name, email address, and the type of user you select. |
| Account | Your name, email address, country, and sign-in details, so we can give you access during the beta. |
| Learning progress | The stories and lessons you complete, the answers you give in stories and recall questions, your reputation, the certifications you earn, and how much time you spend learning. |
| Your simulated machines | What you create on your simulated mainframe, such as datasets, jobs, and the simulated users you set up. Passwords you give simulated users are stored only as one-way hashes. |
| Terminal activity | A record of the commands you type in the simulator and, in lessons, the output they return; what a program prints when you run it from the terminal, so Zed can help you with the result; and other activity such as jobs you run, tasks you complete, and the files, screens and simulated machines you open. This record notes which files you opened or saved; the files themselves are kept with your simulated machines, above. |
| Zed | The messages you send to Zed, Zed's replies, and a short note Zed keeps about your learning (such as your progress and the topics you find hard) so it can pick up where you left off. You can clear a conversation with Zed in the product. |
| Public profile | Optional and off by default. If you turn it on, anyone can see your handle, display name, headline, completed stories and lessons, and the certifications you have earned, and search engines may list the page. |
| Leaderboard | Other signed-in learners can see your first name, the initial of your last name and your reputation on the leaderboard. You can take yourself off it at any time in Settings. Staff and testing accounts are left off it. |
| Certificates | A certificate page for each certification you earn, which anyone with its link can view, showing your name. |
| Email preferences | Which emails you have chosen to receive, and a token that lets you unsubscribe in one click. |
| Enquiries and support | Anything you choose to send us: for example, a support email, feedback from inside the product (with your email, the page you were on, and your browser details), or a partner or sponsor enquiry (which includes your name, email, organisation and message). |
| Usage | Page views and page performance measured by Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights, which do not use cookies, and technical logs about how the site and product are used. |
| Security | Your IP address and similar technical details, used to keep the Service secure and prevent abuse: for example, to rate-limit sign-ups and enquiries. |
Please do not enter confidential or real personal data about yourself or others into lessons, exercises, the simulated machines, or messages to Zed, beyond what a story asks of you. The environments are for learning and are not intended to hold sensitive information.
How we use your data
- to give you access to the Service and run your account;
- to save your learning progress, your simulated machines, and the certifications you earn;
- to show the leaderboard to signed-in learners and, if you turn it on, your public profile;
- to run Zed, your mentor in the product, as described below;
- to respond to your enquiries and provide support;
- to send you account emails, and early-access updates and news from Mainframe101 where you have asked to hear from us;
- to keep the Service secure and to prevent misuse;
- to understand and improve how the product works.
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.
How Zed works
Zed's replies are generated automatically with AI assistance. When you message Zed, we send OpenAI your message, your recent conversation with Zed, a snapshot of your terminal (your recent commands and their output, the file you have open, and the screen you are on), and Zed's note about your learning, so that the reply fits what you are doing. In a story, this can include your first name and the answers you have given. To answer, Zed can also look at what is on your simulated machine, such as your datasets, jobs, and simulated users. We also use OpenAI to check some of your answers to questions, and to check whether a story task is done when the automatic check cannot tell.
When Zed speaks, or a story is read aloud, we send the text to ElevenLabs to turn it into audio, and we store the audio so it can be played again. That text can include names you have typed into a story.
When you join the waitlist, we add your email address to our mailing list so we can send you early-access and product updates. If you send us a partner or sponsor enquiry, we use your details to reply and follow up; we don't add you to a mailing list. Every marketing message includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time, either from a message or by emailing us.
Learning reminders and other emails from the app are off unless you turn them on in Settings, and you can turn them off again at any time. Emails you need to use your account, such as confirming your address or resetting your password, are always sent.
Legal bases
Under UK and EU data protection law, we rely on the following legal bases:
- Contract: to provide the Service and manage your account;
- Consent: for marketing and early-access updates, which you can withdraw at any time;
- Legitimate interests: to keep the Service secure, prevent misuse, and improve the product, in a way that is balanced against your rights;
- Legal obligation: where we need to process data to comply with the law.
Who processes your data for us
We use a small number of trusted providers who process personal data on our behalf as sub-processors:
- Supabase stores our database, accounts, and files, in London;
- Vercel hosts the site and the product and provides our cookieless analytics;
- Resend sends our emails, such as reminders when you have been away, and keeps our mailing list;
- OpenAIgenerates Zed's replies and checks recall answers;
- ElevenLabsturns Zed's replies into speech.
Our emails use the Geist typeface from Google Fonts. When you open one of our emails, your email app may fetch the font from Google, which then receives your IP address and basic browser details.
How long we keep it
- Waitlist data until you are onboarded or ask us to remove you, or until we close the waitlist;
- Account and learning data, including your simulated machines, terminal activity, and your conversations and notes with Zed, for as long as your account is open. You can delete your account yourself at any time in Settings, and this data is deleted with it straight away;
- Logs of activity on the Service, such as what you type and do in it, for up to 90 days, even if you clear it from your screen, to keep the Service secure and look into misuse. They are deleted sooner if you delete your account;
- Enquiries and support messages for as long as needed to deal with them and keep a reasonable record;
- Usage and log data for a limited period for security and analytics.
We will delete or anonymise personal data when we no longer need it. Copies in our database provider's backups are overwritten on a rolling basis after deletion.
International transfers
Our database is in the UK. Some of our providers process data outside the UK and EEA: OpenAI and ElevenLabs, for example, are based in the United States. Where data leaves the UK or EEA, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as UK and EU approved standard contractual clauses, or a provider being covered by an adequacy decision, so that your data stays protected.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have rights over your personal data. You can ask us to give you access to it, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to how we use it, or provide it in a portable format. You can also withdraw consent and unsubscribe from updates at any time. To exercise any of these, email us and we will action your request. If you are in the UK or EU and are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can also complain to your data protection regulator: in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Automated decisions
Some of your work is checked automatically. When the standard check cannot tell whether a story task is done, or when you answer a question in your own words, the check may use AI assistance. A task that passes adds to your reputation in the product, and if a check says no you can still mark the task as done yourself. We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects, and we do not build advertising or marketing profiles about you.
Keeping your data secure
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including limiting who can access it. No service can be completely secure, but if a personal data breach affects you and is likely to result in a risk to your rights, we will act promptly and, where the law requires, notify you and the ICO.
Cookies
We keep our use of cookies to a minimum. See our cookie policy for details of what we use and why.
Children
Mainframe101 is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. If you believe a child has given us their data, contact us and we will remove it.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy we will update the date above and, where appropriate, let you know.
Contact
Email legal@mainframe101.org about anything in this policy, or to exercise your rights.