Privacy Policy
Last updated: April 2, 2026
The short version: We read your teacher emails to extract school info, then we discard them. We never store, sell, or share your email content. Your data stays in your Google account.
Who We Are
BackpackBuddy is a product of Cultivate Data Solutions, LLC ("we," "us," "our"), a Maryland limited liability company. BackpackBuddy helps parents stay organized by automatically extracting homework assignments, school events, and deadlines from teacher emails and adding them to Google Calendar.
What Information We Collect
We collect the minimum information needed to provide our service:
- Account information: Your name, email address, and number of children (provided during signup).
- Google account access: When you connect your Google account via OAuth, we receive permission to read your Gmail, manage your Google Calendar, and save files to your Google Drive. We only access emails from teacher email addresses you specify.
- Payment information: Processed securely by Stripe. We never see or store your credit card numbers.
- Usage data: Number of emails processed, calendar events created, and scan history (for troubleshooting and improving the service).
How We Use Your Information
- Email scanning: We read emails ONLY from teacher email addresses you specify. We extract homework assignments, events, deadlines, and attachments. We do not read any other emails in your inbox.
- Calendar events: We create events on Google Calendars you designate for each child.
- Attachments: We download newsletter PDFs and worksheets from teacher emails and upload them to your Google Drive, then attach them to calendar events.
- Email archiving: After processing, we archive teacher emails from your inbox (they remain in your Gmail archive and are never deleted).
- Daily digest: We send you a summary of what we found and created.
We do NOT store the content of your emails. We process them in real-time, extract the relevant school information, and discard the email content. All data remains in your Google account.
What We Do NOT Do
- We do NOT store or copy your email content on our servers
- We do NOT read emails from anyone other than the teacher addresses you specify
- We do NOT sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties
- We do NOT use your data for advertising or marketing purposes
- We do NOT delete any emails — archiving only moves them out of your inbox
- We do NOT access your email account for any purpose other than scanning teacher emails
Google API Services
BackpackBuddy's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Data Storage & Security
- Your email content: Never stored. Processed in real-time and discarded.
- OAuth tokens: Encrypted and stored securely on our servers. Used only to access your Google account on your behalf.
- Account information: Stored securely and used only to provide the service.
- Payment data: Handled entirely by Stripe. We never see your card details.
Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services:
- Google (Gmail, Calendar, Drive): To read teacher emails, create calendar events, and save attachments.
- Stripe: To process subscription payments securely.
- Cloudflare: To host our website and handle form submissions.
Your Rights & Choices
- Revoke access: You can disconnect BackpackBuddy from your Google account at any time by visiting Google Account Permissions.
- Cancel subscription: Cancel anytime from your Stripe billing portal or by emailing us.
- Delete your data: Email us and we will delete all account information and OAuth tokens within 48 hours.
- Export your data: All calendar events and Drive files are already in your Google account.
Children's Privacy
BackpackBuddy is a tool for parents, not children. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. The only child-related data we process is the child's first name and their teacher's email address, as provided by the parent.
Data Retention
- Active accounts: We retain account information and OAuth tokens for the duration of your subscription.
- Cancelled accounts: We delete OAuth tokens immediately upon cancellation. Account information is deleted within 30 days.
- Email content: Never retained. Processed and discarded in real-time.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by email or through the service. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at:
Cultivate Data Solutions, LLC
Email: privacy@backpackbuddy.app