Privacy Policy
BuddyLink Tutor Chrome Extension and Web Application
Last updated: June 2026
1. Overview
BuddyLink Tutor ("the Extension", "the Application", "we", "our") is a Chrome extension and associated web portal that helps students use AI chat platforms (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and NotebookLM) for structured, curriculum-aligned learning. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding that data.
BuddyLink Tutor is operated by schools that have a licensed account on the BuddyLink portal. Student and teacher data is processed on behalf of the school. If you have questions about how your school manages data, please contact your school administrator.
2. Data We Collect
Account and Authentication Information
When a student or teacher signs in, the Extension transmits their school email address and password to the school's BuddyLink server over an encrypted HTTPS connection. After successful authentication, a session token is stored locally in chrome.storage to maintain the session. Passwords are never stored locally or in plain text on the server.
Learning Session Data
The Extension reads text content from supported AI platform pages (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, NotebookLM) to detect when a learning session has concluded and to extract session outcomes: quiz scores, mastery status, a learning summary, and a review suggestion. The full conversation transcript from each session is also captured and transmitted to the school's BuddyLink server. Session transcripts are stored for a maximum of 14 days and are accessible only to the student's enrolled teachers.
Student Profile and Progress Data
The school's BuddyLink portal stores each student's name, year level, learning interests, cognitive stage, and cumulative mastery progress against curriculum knowledge nodes. This information is provided by the school at enrolment and updated as students complete sessions. It is used solely to personalise the AI learning prompt for that student.
Data We Do Not Collect
- Health or medical information
- Financial or payment information
- General web browsing history
- Location data (GPS, region, or IP address beyond standard HTTPS transmission)
- Personal communications (emails, SMS, or chat outside of AI learning sessions)
- Keystroke logs, mouse position, or general user activity outside supported AI platforms
3. How We Use Your Data
All data collected is used exclusively for the following purposes:
- Authenticating students and teachers with their school's BuddyLink account
- Generating a personalised AI learning prompt for the student's current knowledge node
- Recording session outcomes (quiz score, mastery status, summary) to track learning progress
- Providing teachers with session transcripts and progress data for oversight and quality assurance
- Informing subsequent sessions with prior learning history and review suggestions
We do not use any collected data for advertising, profiling, resale, or any purpose unrelated to delivering structured AI-assisted learning within the student's school curriculum.
4. Data Sharing and Third Parties
We do not sell, rent, or transfer user data to third parties, advertising platforms, data brokers, or information resellers.
Data is shared only in the following limited circumstances:
- Within the school: Session transcripts and progress records are visible to the student's enrolled teachers and designated school staff.
- Hosting infrastructure: The BuddyLink portal is hosted on servers operated by the school or its contracted hosting provider. No student data is stored on BuddyLink developer infrastructure.
- Legal obligations: We may disclose data if required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal request.
The AI platforms (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, NotebookLM) that students interact with are independent services. Their data practices are governed by their own privacy policies. BuddyLink does not control or receive data from these platforms other than by reading the session text displayed in the student's browser.
5. Permissions Used by the Extension
| Permission | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| activeTab | Detects which supported AI platform the student is on so the correct prompt and session detection logic can be applied to the active tab. |
| clipboardWrite | Copies the generated AI learning prompt to the clipboard so the student can paste it into the AI chat with one click. |
| sidePanel | Displays the BuddyLink UI (current topic, teacher instructions, resources, session status, and transcript) in Chrome's side panel alongside the AI platform. |
| storage | Stores the student's authentication token and selected learning strand locally so the session persists across page navigations without repeated sign-ins. |
| tabs | Opens the BuddyLink side panel on the correct tab and detects when the student navigates to a supported AI platform. |
6. Data Security
All data transmitted between the Extension and the school's BuddyLink server is encrypted using HTTPS (TLS). Authentication tokens stored locally via chrome.storage are isolated to the Extension and are not accessible by web pages. Passwords are hashed before storage on the server and are never transmitted or stored in plain text.
7. Data Retention
- Session transcripts are retained for a maximum of 14 days, after which they are automatically deleted.
- Session outcome records (quiz score, mastery status, summary) are retained for the duration of the student's enrolment at the school.
- Student profile data is retained for the duration of enrolment and deleted upon request or at the end of the school relationship.
- Authentication tokens stored locally are cleared when the student signs out.
8. Children's Privacy
BuddyLink Tutor is designed for use by school students, including students under the age of 13. All data collection and processing is performed on behalf of the school, which is responsible for obtaining appropriate parental or guardian consent in accordance with applicable laws (including COPPA, FERPA, and the Australian Privacy Act). BuddyLink does not knowingly collect personal data from children outside of the school relationship.
9. Your Rights
Students, parents, and teachers may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal data held by the school's BuddyLink instance by contacting their school administrator.
For questions about this Privacy Policy or data handling practices, contact us at office@buddylink.au.
10. Chrome Web Store Limited Use Disclosure
The use of information received through the BuddyLink Tutor Chrome Extension will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Data collected by the Extension is used solely to provide the core tutoring functionality described on the Extension's Chrome Web Store listing. It is not used for advertising, sold to third parties, or used to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Extension after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact
For privacy-related inquiries, please contact:
office@buddylink.au