Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 16, 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to My Study Buddy ("we", "us", or "our"). My Study Buddy is an AI-powered personal study tutor application designed to help students from Grade 1 through college learn more effectively. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle information in connection with your use of the My Study Buddy mobile application (the "App").

We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about the App's data practices. By using My Study Buddy, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us using the details in Section 10 before continuing to use the App.

2. Information We Do Not Collect

My Study Buddy is designed with a privacy-first philosophy. We do not collect:

  • Location data — we do not request or record your geographic location.
  • Contacts or communications data — we do not access your contact list, messages, or any other personal communications.
  • Advertising identifiers — we do not use your data for targeted advertising, and the App contains no ad SDKs.
  • Usage analytics or crash reports — see Section 6.
  • A copy of your original files — the PDF or photo you upload is processed on your device and is never uploaded to us or to any server we control.

The only personal information the App collects is the email address you provide if you choose to create an optional account (Section 5), and anything you choose to type into a chat message or upload as study material (Section 3).

3. Information Processed Locally — and What Is Sent to the AI

All study materials — including PDFs, photographs of notes, and any text you paste — are processed on your device, using on-device text recognition. Study resources (flashcards, quizzes, summaries) generated from your materials are stored in your device's local storage only. A copy of your original file is never uploaded anywhere.

However, to generate AI responses, the extracted text content of your study material — and your chat messages — is sent directly from your device to Groq's API (see Section 4). This means the substance of what you upload (e.g. the text of a textbook page or a question you ask) does leave your device, even though the original file does not, and even though we ourselves never see or store it. Please avoid uploading or typing personal information you would not want included in an AI prompt.

You may delete all locally stored study data at any time using the in-app "Delete All My Data" feature in Profile → Privacy & Data. If you also have an account, see Section 5 for how to delete that separately.

4. API Usage

My Study Buddy uses the Groq API (provided by Groq, Inc.) to power its AI tutoring, quiz generation, and adaptive learning features. When you interact with the AI tutor, request a quiz, or upload study material, the text content of that material together with your messages is sent to the Groq API to generate a response.

You are responsible for obtaining and managing your own Groq API key, entered in Profile → AI Configuration. The App transmits your API key directly to Groq's servers solely to authenticate API requests on your behalf — it is never sent to us, and it is stored only in the App's private local storage on your device.

Groq's handling of API data is governed by Groq's own Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review it at groq.com/privacy-policy before using the App.

We do not store, log, or retain any AI prompt content, study material text, or generated study resources on our own servers. The only data we store outside your device is described in Section 5.

5. Optional Account Sign-In and the Data We Store

Creating an account is entirely optional and is not required to use any of the App's core study features (uploading material, chatting with the AI tutor, generating quizzes and flashcards, and tracking your progress all work without signing in).

If you choose to create an account, the App uses Firebase Authentication to manage your sign-in, and stores the following in a Cloud Firestore database that we configure and control (provided by Google):

  • The email address you signed up with;
  • Your subscription tier (free, monthly, or annual); and
  • The date your account was created.

This data exists solely so your subscription status carries over if you reinstall the App or sign in on a new device. We do not store your study materials, chat messages, AI responses, or generated flashcards/quizzes/summaries in this database — those always remain local to your device as described in Section 3.

You can permanently delete your account at any time from Profile → Delete Account. This immediately and permanently removes your email address and subscription record from our database, in addition to deleting your sign-in credentials. This is separate from, and in addition to, the local-only "Delete All My Data" feature described in Section 3.

6. Analytics, Crash Reporting, and Permissions

We do not collect any usage analytics, telemetry, or crash reporting data. The App's network requests are limited to: (a) the Groq API for AI features, and (b) Firebase Authentication and Cloud Firestore for the optional account features described in Section 5.

The App requests the following device permissions:

  • Camera — optional, used only when you choose to photograph notes or documents to upload as study material. Photos are processed on-device and are not uploaded anywhere, except as extracted text you choose to send to the AI.
  • Microphone — optional, used only when you choose to use voice input during a study session (speech-to-text). Audio is processed by your device's speech recognition service and is not stored by the App after the session.
  • Storage / Photos — used to let you pick PDF or image files from your device to upload as study material.
  • Internet — required to contact the Groq API and the Firebase services described above.

If a future version of the App introduces optional, anonymous analytics, this will be:

  • Clearly disclosed in an updated version of this Privacy Policy;
  • Presented as an opt-in feature, not enabled by default; and
  • Strictly anonymous — no individual user will be identifiable.

7. Data Security

We take reasonable technical measures to protect any data that passes through the App:

  • Transport encryption: All communication between the App and the Groq API, and between the App and Firebase Authentication / Cloud Firestore, is conducted over HTTPS/TLS.
  • API key storage: Your Groq API key is stored locally in the App's private device storage (Android SharedPreferences) and is never transmitted to My Study Buddy's servers.
  • Limited server-side data: The only data we store outside your device is the account data described in Section 5 (email and subscription tier). Your study materials and AI conversations are never stored server-side, so they cannot be exposed by a breach on our side.

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. You should safeguard your own device, account password, and API key appropriately.

8. Children's Privacy

My Study Buddy is designed to be used by children as young as 7 years old, with appropriate parental supervision for younger age groups. We take our obligations under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar international regulations very seriously.

  • No account is required to use core study features — a child can use the App fully without providing any personal information.
  • Creating an optional account requires an email address (Section 5). We recommend that a parent or guardian create and manage this account on behalf of a child under 13, rather than the child providing their own email address.
  • We do not engage in targeted advertising or share data with advertising networks.
  • No behavioural data linked to a child's identity is retained by the App.
  • Parents and guardians are encouraged to review this policy and to supervise their child's use of AI chat features and any optional sign-in.

If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information without appropriate parental involvement, please contact us using Section 10 so we can delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the App, applicable law, or our data practices. When we make material changes, we will:

  • Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page;
  • Display an in-app notification on the next launch of the App; and
  • Where required by applicable law, seek your renewed consent.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of the App after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

For privacy questions, concerns, or requests — including requests to access or delete any data we hold about you — email us at realautomationssa@gmail.com. We aim to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within 48 hours.