Privacy Policy

How PrepPanel Works

Local-Only Storage

All classroom data you enter into PrepPanel is saved to chrome.storage.local in your browser profile. This data:

• Never leaves your device (except as described below for optional real-time sync)
• Is not transmitted to PrepPanel or any third party
• Remains under your complete control
• Is deleted if you clear your browser profile, clear extension data, or uninstall

Optional WebRTC Features

PrepPanel offers two optional features that use WebRTC peer-to-peer technology. Both share the same privacy architecture:

Share to Display — Optionally project a pacing tracker to a separate classroom screen (such as a projector or smartboard) using a peer-to-peer connection. The teacher generates a room code in the extension, which is entered on a dedicated display page. This allows you to keep your private dashboard (with student names and notes) on your device while showing only the progress visuals to the class. The display page is a static site that does not require an account.

Remote Clicker — Optionally use any device as a wireless remote control for the participation lineup. The teacher opens a lightweight web page, enters a room code shown on their private dashboard, and gains the ability to advance through students, log participation quality, skip, and undo—without being tethered to their computer. The remote clicker page does not require login, does not use cookies, and does not store any data on the device.

How both features work:

• Uses WebRTC peer-to-peer technology to connect devices directly
• Data flows directly between your devices — it never passes through our servers
• Our signaling server only facilitates the initial connection by exchanging technical handshake data (WebRTC offers/answers and ICE candidates)
• No student names, progress data, or any educational content ever touches our servers
• Room codes are temporary (expire after 10 minutes) and are SHA-256 hashed before storage
• Uses Cloudflare TURN relay servers for NAT traversal, with Google STUN servers (stun.l.google.com:19302) as a lightweight fallback. TURN credentials are short-lived (generated on demand via the signaling server) and carry no user data — they only facilitate the encrypted peer-to-peer connection.
• Connection is temporary and ends when you close the session

What the signaling server sees:

• Random room codes (like "calm-brook-swift-247")
• WebRTC connection metadata (cryptographic handshake data)
• IP addresses of connecting devices (standard for any network connection)
• This metadata is not logged or stored beyond the active session

Information We Process

Teacher-Provided Classroom Data (stored locally only)

All data is entered by teachers—PrepPanel does not collect data directly from students. This includes:

What We Do NOT Collect

PrepPanel does not collect:

• Browsing history or web activity
• Page content or URLs outside the extension
• Search queries or keystrokes
• Device location or GPS data
• Device identifiers or advertising IDs
• Personal usage analytics, behavioral tracking, or user profiling
• Student email addresses, phone numbers, or home addresses
• Student demographic data
• Any data directly from students

How We Use Information

We use information solely to:

• Operate Features: Provide roster management, participation tracking, seating charts, grouping, mastery tracking, pacing boards, timers, and other classroom tools
• Facilitate Real-Time Sync: Enable the optional WebRTC peer-to-peer connections for classroom display sync and remote clicker
• Understand Version Adoption: Track which extension versions are actively in use via an anonymous daily version check (see below)

We do NOT:

• Store your classroom data on our servers
• Sell your data or student data to anyone, ever
• Use data for advertising or marketing
• Build behavioral profiles or predictive models
• Share data with third parties for their own purposes

Anonymous Version Check

To understand which extension versions are actively in use, PrepPanel sends a single anonymous check once per day when you open the extension. This check contains only the extension version number (e.g., "3.5.7") — nothing else.

• No user identifier — we cannot tell who sent the check or link checks across days
• No student data — no names, no classroom data, nothing from your local storage
• No device fingerprint — no IP address is logged, no browser or device info is collected
• Once per day maximum — sent at most once per calendar day, then cached locally to prevent repeats
• Silent failure — if the check fails, the extension is completely unaffected

This is less information than a normal website visit, which typically logs IP addresses, browser versions, and more. We use this data solely to confirm that updates are reaching users. The aggregate counts are stored on Cloudflare Workers infrastructure and automatically deleted after 90 days.

Where Data Is Stored

Data Retention and Deletion

• Local data: Kept until you delete it in Settings, clear your Chrome profile, or uninstall
• Backups: JSON files you export remain wherever you saved them until you delete them
• WebRTC session data: Automatically deleted from signaling server after 10 minutes

Deleting Your Data

You can delete your data at any time:

• Delete specific data: Settings → Delete options for rosters, participation, mastery, pacing
• Delete all data: Settings → "Reset All Data" or uninstall the extension
• Questions: Email PrepPanel@gmail.com with subject "Data Deletion Request"

Data Security

FERPA, Student Privacy, and Schools

Because PrepPanel stores all classroom data locally on your device and never transmits student data to our servers:

• No third-party data processing: We don't hold or process student data on your behalf
• No Data Processing Agreement needed: Your student data never leaves your device
• Teacher responsibility: You maintain the same level of control and responsibility as any local file on your computer

The WebRTC features (display sync and remote clicker) transmit data directly between your own devices. Our signaling server only facilitates the connection and never sees student information. The remote clicker page is a static web page that stores nothing and collects nothing — it simply relays your button presses over the encrypted peer-to-peer channel.

For schools/districts: PrepPanel operates like a local spreadsheet or gradebook file—the data stays on the teacher's device. No FERPA designation or institutional agreement is required because we don't receive or store student data.

Third-Party Services

Future Features

We may introduce optional cloud sync features in the future. If we do:

• It will be strictly opt-in
• We will update this policy before enabling
• You will always be able to continue using PrepPanel in local-only mode

Changes to This Policy

We will post updates in this file and on the Chrome Web Store listing and update the effective date. Material changes will be highlighted.

Contact

Questions or requests: PrepPanel@gmail.com

Subject lines for faster routing:

• "Privacy Question"
• "Data Deletion Request"
• "Feature Request"