The short version
- We collect what Onsen needs to build your study plan: your account, classes, textbooks and study activity.
- We never sell your data or show ads.
- Google Classroom and Canvas access is read-only, and you can disconnect at any time.
- Onsen is for ages 13 and up.
- You can view, download or delete your data from settings.
1. Who we are
Onsen is a study app for middle school, high school and college students. Kapi, the capybara in the app, builds study plans, quizzes you and tutors you from your own classes and textbooks. This policy explains what information Onsen collects, why, and the choices you have.
It covers the Onsen apps for iPhone, iPad and the web, and this website.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Account details: your name or nickname, email address, password (stored hashed), grade level and, if you choose, your school.
- Your classes and materials: class names, textbooks you add (by title, ISBN or a photo of the contents page), test dates and the chapters you pick.
- Your study activity: quiz answers, flashcard reviews, explanations you write or record for Kapi, questions you ask the tutor, and photos of worksheets you upload.
Information from services you connect
- Google Classroom: if you connect it, we read your class names, assignments and due dates. Access is read-only. We never post, submit or change anything.
- Canvas and other school calendars: if you paste a calendar feed link or a Canvas access token you created, we read your courses and due dates. We store tokens encrypted and use them only to sync your schedule. You can disconnect at any time, and the token is deleted.
Information collected automatically
- Basic device and app data, such as device type, app version, crash reports and approximate usage (which features you open and for how long).
- This website does not use advertising cookies or cross-site trackers.
3. How we use your information
- To run Onsen: build your study plan, schedule reviews, track mastery and keep your streaks.
- To power the tutor. Kapi uses your classes, chapters and past mistakes so its hints fit what you are learning.
- To keep the service safe, fix bugs and improve features.
- To send you account and study reminders. You can turn reminders off in settings.
We do not sell your personal information, we do not show ads, and we do not use your study data to build advertising profiles.
4. AI tutor and your data
Kapi's tutoring and quiz generation are powered by a third-party AI model provider. When you use these features, the relevant content (for example your question, the chapter you are studying and recent quiz results) is sent to that provider to generate a response. We use providers that do not train their models on your data and that delete or retain it only as needed to provide the service.
The tutor keeps a learner profile with what you have mastered and the topics you find tricky. You can view and delete this profile at any time in settings.
6. Students and age requirements
Onsen is currently available to people who are 13 or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
If you are under 18, please review this policy with a parent or guardian. Parents and guardians may contact us to review or delete their teen's information.
When a school provides Onsen to its students in the future, we will handle student records in line with FERPA and applicable state student privacy laws, under a separate agreement with that school.
7. Keeping your data safe
We encrypt data in transit and at rest, limit staff access to what is needed to run the service, and store connected-account tokens encrypted. No system is perfectly secure, so we also ask you to use a strong password and keep it to yourself.
8. How long we keep it
We keep your information while your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete your personal information within 30 days, except for limited records we must keep for legal or security reasons. Backups are cleared on a rolling basis.
9. Your choices and rights
- See, download or correct your information from your account settings.
- Delete your learner profile, individual uploads or your whole account.
- Disconnect Google Classroom, Canvas or calendar feeds.
- Turn off reminders and other notifications.
Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act or the GDPR. Contact us and we will respond within the time the law requires.
10. Changes to this policy
If we make meaningful changes, we will update the date at the top and tell you in the app or by email before the changes take effect.
11. Contact us
Questions about this policy can go to the Onsen team. A dedicated contact email will be listed here before the app launches.