Our apps and our websites are different
Kestrel Exams is both a set of practice-test apps and a pair of websites. One policy covers both, but they behave very differently, so it is worth separating them up front.
- The practice-test apps — Security+, NCLEX-RN, Pre-Calculus, and future exam apps — keep question answers, flags, progress, and settings on-device. Their public app pages use Google Analytics 4 for aggregate page and device measurement. Where a shared practice engine is active, it may also send four limited events: app ready, session started, session completed, and question-feedback opened. Those events carry only the exam product and, for a session, the broad practice mode. They never receive question responses, scores, domains, timing, or study history.
- The websites — kestrelexams.com and kestrelexams.org, including the Kestrel Newsletter — use Google Analytics 4 to measure aggregate traffic: how many people visit, which pages, guides, and articles they read, and roughly which country or region they are in. Kestrel Newsletter analytics stay off until you choose Allow analytics. This helps us decide what to build and publish next.
Information we collect
No account or direct profile information. Kestrel Exams does not require an account, name, email, or login to work, and we never ask for personal information in the apps or on the sites. Google Analytics may use browser or device identifiers as described below to produce aggregate measurement.
On-device data only (apps). To make the app useful, Kestrel Exams saves your study data locally on your device using your browser/app storage. This includes:
- which questions you have answered, your answers, and correct/incorrect results;
- flags/bookmarks and spaced-repetition scheduling;
- session history and settings (theme, timer preference, and similar).
This study data never leaves your device. We cannot see it, it is not transmitted to us or anyone else, and it is not shared with Google Analytics or any other service. There is no account to sync it to.
Analytics on Kestrel pages
Every public Kestrel website and app page uses Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-68QMBJ90NK), a service provided by Google LLC. On Kestrel Newsletter pages, Google Analytics loads only after you choose Allow analytics; on other public pages, it loads with the page. Google Analytics does not receive question responses, flags, progress, or study history. When analytics is enabled on a page, it may collect:
- the page you viewed, when, and how long you stayed;
- the site or search engine that referred you;
- approximate location (country, region, and sometimes city) derived from your IP address;
- device and browser type, screen size, and language;
- a randomly generated identifier stored in a cookie so that repeat visits within a session are not double-counted.
App-event scope. The shared practice engine sends only four named aggregate events: kestrel_app_ready, kestrel_practice_session_started, kestrel_practice_session_completed, and kestrel_question_feedback_opened. Each carries the exam product; session events may also carry the broad mode (Study, Exam, or Review). It does not send question IDs or text, answer choices or responses, correctness, scores, domains, elapsed time, flags, progress, attempts, or settings.
Google Analytics 4 does not make raw IP addresses available in reports. Google uses an IP address briefly for coarse location and service/security functions before discarding it; GA4 applies its IP-anonymization controls automatically. We do not use Google Analytics for advertising, we have not enabled Google Signals or ad personalization, and we do not link analytics data to any advertising profile. We see only aggregate reports and never attempt to identify individual visitors from them.
Google processes this data on our behalf as described in Google's Privacy Policy. You can read how Google uses data from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
How to opt out of analytics
On Kestrel Newsletter pages, select Decline in the analytics prompt, or use Privacy choices to change a prior choice. On any Kestrel page, you may also use these controls:
- install Google's official Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on;
- block analytics or trackers using your browser's built-in protection or a content blocker;
- use a private/incognito window and clear cookies when you close it;
- use the apps offline after they are installed; a blocked or unavailable network connection does not prevent study functionality.
Nothing on our sites is gated behind analytics. Every page works identically whether or not you allow it.
Cookies
Where Google Analytics is enabled, Kestrel website and app pages use the Google Analytics identifiers needed to distinguish visitors and sessions (typically _ga and _ga_<id> in a browser). Kestrel Newsletter stores your Allow/Decline choice locally in your browser so the prompt can respect it; it does not load Google Analytics before an Allow choice. We set no advertising cookies and no cross-site tracking cookies.
Network connections in the apps
The apps are designed to remain usable offline. Once installed, an app may make limited network requests to:
- Check for app or content updates. Like any web request, our hosting provider (Cloudflare) can receive standard technical data such as your IP address and user-agent as part of delivering the files. No study data is sent.
- Measure aggregate app use. The Google Analytics tag may send the page/device information described above and the limited app events described above, but not question responses, scores, domains, timing, flags, progress, or study history.
The apps do not use advertising networks, crash-reporting services, or social-media trackers. Google Analytics is the disclosed analytics service on the public app pages.
How your data is stored and deleted
Your study data is stored only in your device's local app storage. You can delete it at any time by:
- using Settings → Reset all progress (or Reset “seen” history) inside the app; or
- uninstalling the app, or clearing the site data in your browser.
Because we never receive your data, there is nothing for us to delete on our side.
Children's privacy
Kestrel Exams is intended for a general audience preparing for professional certification and licensure exams and is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. As described above, the app is built not to collect personal information from anyone.
Your rights (GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and similar)
Apps: study responses, flags, progress, and settings remain on-device. The app pages use the Google Analytics processing described above, so the same browser and Google opt-out controls apply. We do not hold an account profile that would let us retrieve or edit your study data.
Websites: website analytics data is aggregated and IP-anonymized, and we do not hold any identifier that would let us link a report back to you, so we generally cannot locate "your" data on request. Kestrel Newsletter uses your Allow choice before analytics loads; you can withdraw it at any time through Privacy choices. For other website analytics, where consent is required in your jurisdiction, we will use the applicable consent mechanism before enabling analytics storage. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA, and we do not process it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
If you have questions about your rights or a privacy concern, contact us and we will respond.
Data security
Study data remains on your device under your device's own security controls. Keeping your device updated and secured protects that information.
About our content
Practice questions, answers, and explanations in Kestrel Exams are original study material that is AI-generated and checked against the current published exam objectives. They are not real exam questions. This note is provided for transparency and does not affect the privacy practices described above.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app evolves (for example, if a future version adds accounts or sync). We will change the “Effective date” above and, for material changes, provide notice in the app or on this page. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Email support@kestrelexams.com.
Kestrel Exams is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with, authorized, endorsed by, or sponsored by CompTIA, Inc., the NCSBN, or any certification or licensing body. “CompTIA” and “Security+” are trademarks of CompTIA, Inc. “NCLEX” and “NCLEX-RN” are registered trademarks of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. All practice questions are original works created by Kestrel Exams (Kestrel Ventures LLC).