Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 27, 2026

naru-ai.com ("we," "our," or "us") values your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and delete information when you use STEMBuddy and related services (the "Service"). For children under 13, please also review our COPPA Policy.

Information We Collect

We collect information necessary to operate the Service, including:

Account and authentication data, such as a Google or email-link sign-in identifier and email address.
Learner profile data, such as nickname, grade level, interest topics, buddy choices, and avatar selection.
Project and progress data, such as hypotheses, procedures, data, conclusions, completed steps, badges, and related history.
AI interactions, such as prompts, tutoring requests, and generated responses used inside the Service.
Uploaded content, such as measurement photos or files you choose to add.
Community sharing data, when you choose to publish a question to Explore, such as the buddy avatar/name snapshot shown with that question and limited aggregate author stats.
Usage, analytics, and security data needed to understand product health and keep the Service secure. Our analytics are designed to avoid advertising identifiers and similar cross-service tracking data.

How We Use Your Information

We use information to provide the Service, maintain accounts and projects, personalize the experience using learner profile data and recent progress, operate AI-powered coaching, secure the Service, support users, and improve core educational features.

AI Processing

We use third-party AI service providers to power tutoring and generation features. Before free-text child inputs are sent for AI processing, we apply automated redaction for likely email addresses, phone numbers, street addresses, social handles, school names, and self-identified names.

We use AI inputs and outputs to provide the requested feature, maintain continuity across sessions, and improve the safety and reliability of the Service. We do not use child content for targeted advertising, and we do not use child content to trainSTEMBuddy’s own models or to improve unrelated consumer AI products.

How We Share Information

We do not sell personal information. We may share information with service providers that help us operate the Service, including hosting, authentication, analytics, storage, and AI processing providers, as well as when required by law, needed for safety, or part of a business transfer.

If you choose to share a question to the community Explore area, we may display that question publicly with a pseudonymous buddy avatar/name and limited aggregate author stats, such as published question count, total stars, XP, level, and global rank when available. This is not a searchable profile system and does not include direct messaging, public contact details, location, or real child photos.

Data Retention and Auto-Deletion

We keep account, project, chat, buddy/avatar, and progress data for as long as needed to provide the Service. We delete that data when the account is deleted or after 12 months of inactivity, whichever happens first.

When a parent or guardian taps "Delete account" in the app, we hold the account in a deactivated state for seven days before permanent deletion. During those seven days we send the parent a single-use restore link by email; tapping the link cancels the deletion. Inactivity-based deletion (12 months) does not include this grace window.

To manage storage and keep the Service running efficiently, certain generated and cached files are removed on shorter schedules:

AI-generated audio and most generated illustrations: about 7 days.
AI-generated question illustrations: up to 30 days if still referenced.
User-uploaded measurement photos on the free plan: 30 days.

Deleted records are removed from active production systems at finalize and purged from routine encrypted backups within thirty days as backups roll over. We retain a small, non-personal audit record (deletion timestamp, requester method, row counts) for a limited period as required to demonstrate our compliance with applicable laws; this record does not contain child content.

Parents can export their account data as a JSON file from Parent Hub → Account → Security → Export account data, or by contacting us at legal@stembuddy.app.

Your Rights

You may access, correct, export, or delete your information. You can delete your account and associated data in the app or by contacting us at legal@stembuddy.app. Account deletion is restricted to the parent / Field Director on the household. We may verify identity before acting on a request.

AI processing is performed by third-party providers under business-use integrations that do not use child content for advertising or to train consumer models. Some providers retain prompts and responses for a short period for safety review (typically up to thirty days). That retention is operational only; we do not direct or use it for any other purpose.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy here and change the "Last Updated" date. If required by law, we will provide additional notice.

Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or our practices? Contact us at legal@stembuddy.app.