This Privacy Policy explains how Kyle James (trading as HSCScience) ("we", "us", "our"), operator of HSCScience (the "Service"), collects, uses, discloses and protects your personal information. We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
HSCScience is an independent educational resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) or the NSW Government.
The Service is designed for school students, including students who are minors. We follow a principle of data minimisation: you can use all lessons anonymously without giving us any personal information, and every account is given a system-generated nickname ("codename") so you can take part in features like leaderboards without revealing your identity.
Accounts are currently limited to people aged 15 or older. If you are under 15, you may continue to use lessons anonymously, but you cannot yet create an account. We are developing a separate process that requires verifiable parental or guardian consent before any account is created for, or any personal information is collected from, a person under 15.
If you only read lessons and do not create an account or send us your email address, we do not collect personal information about you on our servers: no name, no email, no account. Your lesson progress and points are stored only in your browser's local storage on your device.
We do record a small number of anonymous usage events on our servers, for example that a page was opened, a button was clicked, or a quiz was finished. These are stored against a randomly generated session identifier together with the page address and whether you are on a phone or a computer. They contain no name, no email address and no account, they are not linked to you as a person, and we cannot use them to work out who you are. We keep them for one reason: to tell whether the Service is actually working, for instance whether anyone can find a page we built. See section 5.
Some parts of the Service let you send us your details without creating an account, for example asking us to email you a free study resource, or making a tutoring or program enquiry. If you do this, we store what you submit on our servers so we can reply to you.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Free resource requests | Your email address, and your first name if you choose to give it. We use these to email you the resource you asked for and, where you have agreed, occasional HSC study resources and information about our programs. |
| Tutoring and program enquiries | The contact and enquiry details you submit, such as your name, email address, the subject and year you are asking about, and your message, so we can respond. |
You can ask us to stop sending you email at any time, using the unsubscribe link in any email we send you or by contacting us (section 10). We do not sell your information or pass it to third parties for their own marketing.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Account identifiers | Email address (via Google sign-in or a one-time email link); a self-declaration that you are 15 or older. |
| Profile | System-generated codename; optional chosen display handle; optional first name (first name only, we do not store surnames); year level; subjects you study. |
| Learning & activity | Lessons visited and completed; study streaks; experience points (XP), coins, and a record ("ledger") of points awarded; weekly quiz results (when available). |
| Paid tutoring and programs (if you enrol) | Which program you are enrolled in and your enrolment status; records of sessions you book and attend; work you submit for marking and the feedback given; messages exchanged with your teacher. Tutoring is arranged and paid for directly with us, and we do not store your card or bank details. |
| Consent records | What you consented to and when (e.g. this policy, analytics, appearing on leaderboards), and any withdrawal of consent. |
| Optional, opt-in (later releases) | School name and postcode (only if you choose to join school/suburb leaderboards); cosmetic items you unlock. |
We do not copy your full name from your Google account into our database. Your email and basic Google profile data are held by our authentication provider (see section 4).
Like most online services, our providers may automatically receive technical information such as your IP address, browser type and device information when you connect. We also record the anonymous usage events described in section 2.1, and, if you are signed in and have consented, we may link that in-app activity to your account (see section 5).
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.
We use trusted service providers ("processors") who handle data on our behalf under contract:
| Provider | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, account authentication, and hosting of your account data. Hosted in Australia (Sydney). |
| "Sign in with Google" authentication; web fonts. | |
| jsDelivr (CDN) | Delivery of common code libraries used by the site. |
| PeerJS | Connection brokering for multiplayer games (a later feature). |
We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety and security of users and the Service.
We use your browser's local storage to make the Service work (for example, to remember your progress and settings). This is functional, not advertising tracking.
Anonymous usage events. We record a small, fixed set of events on our own servers, such as a page being opened, a button being clicked, or a quiz being completed. They are stored against a random session identifier and are not tied to your name, your email or your account. We do not sell them, we do not share them with advertisers, and there are no third-party advertising or tracking scripts on this site. If you would rather we did not record even these anonymous events, you can turn them off in your profile settings, or use your browser's Do Not Track setting.
If you are signed in, we only link behavioural analytics to your account if you have given consent, and you can change that choice at any time in your profile settings. Lesson progress needed to run your account is not optional analytics, it is core functionality covered by your acceptance of this policy at sign-up.
Our account database and authentication are hosted in Australia (Sydney) via Supabase. Other providers (such as Google sign-in, web fonts, and content delivery) may process data in the United States. By using the Service and creating an account, you acknowledge that some information may be handled by these overseas processors. We take reasonable steps to ensure all providers protect your information to a standard consistent with the APPs.
We use technical measures to protect your information, including access controls (database row-level security so users can only access their own data) and encryption of data in transit. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access.
If you have an account, you can:
You can also contact us at kyle.a.james33@gmail.com to make an access or correction request. We will respond within a reasonable time.
Where we rely on your consent (for example, analytics, or appearing on leaderboards), you can withdraw it at any time in your profile settings. Withdrawing consent will stop the relevant collection or display going forward; it does not affect anything done before you withdrew.
We keep your account information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete your associated personal information within 30 days, except where we are required to retain certain records by law. We also delete accounts that have been inactive for 24 months, after attempting to notify you first.
If you have a concern about how we handle your personal information, please contact us at kyle.a.james33@gmail.com. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.
We may update this policy as the Service changes (for example, when we launch school/suburb leaderboards, multiplayer, or the under-15 process). We will update the "last updated" date and, where changes are significant, take reasonable steps to notify you.
Kyle James (trading as HSCScience)
Email: kyle.a.james33@gmail.com
New South Wales, Australia