Privacy Policy

1. Scope and contact

This policy explains how the StudyBuddies web application ("StudyBuddies," "we," "us," or "our") handles personal information. StudyBuddies is currently an early-stage educational project. Questions, privacy requests, and deletion requests may be sent to studybuddiesai@gmail.com.

2. Information we collect

Account information

Email address, authentication records, display name or nickname, grade, timezone, subjects, and study availability.

Student-provided school information

Notes, assignment instructions, deadlines, estimated effort, study plans, flashcards, and conversations with study buddies. Students should not upload information they are not permitted to share.

Selected Google Drive files

If a student chooses Google Drive, StudyBuddies requests the non-sensitive drive.file permission and accesses only files the student explicitly selects through Google Picker. We do not scan the student’s entire Drive. Google access tokens are short-lived and kept in browser memory; StudyBuddies does not store Google refresh tokens.

Technical information

The service and its hosting providers may process basic request, security, error, and device information needed to operate and protect the application. The browser also stores limited local application state and authentication information.

3. How information is used

• Create and secure the student’s account.
• Store confirmed materials, assignments, flashcards, and plans.
• Generate learning-focused explanations, practice prompts, and schedules.
• Measure usage credits, enforce rate limits, prevent abuse, and troubleshoot errors.
• Comply with legal obligations and protect users and the service.

We do not sell personal information, use student information for targeted advertising, or permit Drive data to be used for advertising or credit decisions.

4. Artificial intelligence processing

When a student sends a buddy message, the message and saved profile, assignment, and material context may be sent through GitHub Models and an underlying model provider to generate the requested response. This may include text extracted from a Drive file the student imported. This transfer is used only to provide the visible StudyBuddies feature requested by the student. AI output can be inaccurate and should be checked. StudyBuddies personnel do not review imported Drive content except when the user gives specific permission, review is necessary to investigate security or abuse, or disclosure is legally required.

5. Service providers

StudyBuddies relies on service providers to operate:

• Supabase for authentication and private database storage.
• Vercel for application hosting and serverless functions.
• GitHub and GitHub Models for source hosting and AI inference.
• Google only when a student chooses the Drive integration.

These providers process information under their own terms and privacy practices. We may also disclose information when required by law or necessary to protect safety, rights, and service security.

6. Retention, control, and deletion

Account data remains until the student deletes it, it is no longer needed to provide the service, or retention is required for security or law. Students can delete individual materials, clear browser data, disconnect Google Drive, or permanently delete their StudyBuddies account in Settings. Permanent account deletion removes associated profile, materials, assignments, plans, chat messages, and usage records from the active StudyBuddies database. Provider security logs and backups may remain temporarily under provider retention schedules.

Revoking Google access prevents future Drive access. Previously imported text remains in StudyBuddies until the material or account is deleted.

7. Security

We use authentication, database ownership rules, encrypted network connections, scoped credentials, rate limits, and restricted Drive permissions. No online service can guarantee absolute security. Students should use a unique password and avoid including highly sensitive personal information in school materials or chats.

8. Students and age

StudyBuddies is intended for high-school students who are at least 13 years old. It is not directed to children under 13, and children under 13 may not create an account or connect Google Drive. Where local law requires guardian permission for a minor, the student must obtain it before using the service. If we learn that we collected personal information from a child under 13 without required consent, we will delete it. A parent or guardian may contact us regarding access or deletion.

9. International and regional rights

Information may be processed in countries where our providers operate. Depending on location, users may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object to, or receive a copy of personal information. Contact us to make a request; we may need to verify the requester’s identity.

10. Changes

We may update this policy as StudyBuddies develops. Material changes will be identified by a new effective date and, when appropriate, an in-product notice or renewed consent.