Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 13, 2026

CSA Compass ("we," "us") is a free study tool for AP Computer Science A. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. We keep it short on purpose — there isn't much to tell, because we collect very little.

Information we collect

Account information

• Email & password accounts: your name, email address, and a hashed version of your password (we never store the password itself). These are stored in our database.
• Google sign-in: your name, email address, and profile picture, as shared by Google when you sign in. We never see your Google password.

Usage data

• Course progress — completed lessons, practice answers, exam scores, and per-topic stats — is stored in your browser's local storage, on your device only. We do not upload it to our servers, and it does not follow you across devices.
• Preferences such as your theme and sidebar state are also stored locally in your browser.
• We do not run ads, and we do not use third-party analytics or tracking scripts.

AI tutor conversations

When you use the AI tutor, the messages you type (plus the lesson or question you're working on) are sent to an AI provider to generate a response. Please don't include personal information in tutor chats — it isn't needed, and the conversation is processed by the providers listed below.

Third-party services

CSA Compass relies on a small number of outside services:

• Google OAuth — optional sign-in with your Google account.
• Supabase — hosts our account database (names, emails, hashed passwords).
• Google Gemini API — powers AI tutor responses.
• OpenRouter — backup AI provider used when Gemini is unavailable.
• Google Fonts — loads the fonts on this site.
• YouTube — lesson videos are embedded using YouTube's privacy-enhanced (youtube-nocookie) player.

Each of these services has its own privacy policy governing how it handles data. We never sell your information to anyone.

About our AI

• The AI tutor is powered by Google Gemini, with OpenRouter as a backup provider if Gemini is unavailable.
• Every response is generated by an AI model — not a human tutor. It can be incomplete or simply wrong, the way any AI assistant can be.
• Verify anything that matters against your class materials, textbook, or teacher before relying on it — especially for anything graded.
• The tutor is used solely for educational purposes: guiding you through AP CSA lessons and practice questions. It isn't intended for, and shouldn't be used for, anything else.

Cookies

We use two cookies, both strictly for signing you in — nothing for tracking or advertising:

• csa_session — keeps you signed in for up to 30 days. It is signed so it can't be tampered with, and it is not readable by page scripts.
• oauth_state — a short-lived (10 minute) security cookie used only during Google sign-in to prevent forged login attempts.

As described above, we also use your browser's local storage to save progress and preferences on your device.

Your rights & choices

• Delete your account: email us at csacompass@gmail.com from the address on your account and we will delete your account and the information we hold about you.
• See your data: you can request a copy of the account information we store — it's just your name, email, and sign-in method.
• Clear local data: your progress lives in your browser. You can wipe it anytime via Settings → Reset progress inside the app, or by clearing this site's data in your browser.
• Log out: logging out removes your session cookie.

Children's privacy (COPPA)

CSA Compass is intended for students 13 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Creating an account requires confirming you are 13 or older. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, contact us at csacompass@gmail.com and we will delete it promptly.

Security

Passwords are hashed with bcrypt before storage, sessions are cryptographically signed, and sign-in traffic to third-party providers travels over HTTPS. No system is perfectly secure, but we follow standard, well-tested practices rather than inventing our own.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Meaningful changes (like collecting new kinds of data) will be called out on the site.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email csacompass@gmail.com.