1. Summary
The short version: GradeSend does not collect, store, or transmit student data. Student grades travel directly between Canvas and Frontline inside your own browser. Your Canvas API token is stored only on your device and never sent to our servers. The only information we store on our servers is your Google account email address (used to manage access), usage counts for your account, and any support requests you send us — never grades or student information. Some features keep student information on your own computer so they work from one day to the next; that stays on your computer and you can clear it.
We built GradeSend as a practicing teacher. Student privacy isn't a legal checkbox to us — it's a professional obligation we share with you.
2. What Information We Collect
Information you provide directly:
- Google account email address — when you sign in with Google, the extension verifies your email and we store it in our access list to manage your account (active, pending, or expired). Sign-in uses Google's standard OAuth flow with basic profile scopes only; the extension never sees your password. We do not sell or share your email.
- Support requests — if you contact support through the teacher dashboard, we store your message, your email, and anything you attach so we can respond. You can attach up to four screenshots and one GradeSend debug report. Screenshots are resized and stripped of hidden photo data (such as location and camera details) before they are stored, and they are deleted from our servers when your request is marked resolved or 30 days after you attach them, whichever comes first. Please crop or cover student names, ID numbers and grades before you attach a screenshot.
- Debug reports — a text file of GradeSend's own settings, error messages and recent activity that you can attach to a support request. It never contains student names, ID numbers, grades, your Canvas API token or your email address: the extension leaves them out, shows assignment and column names as numbers, masks anything shaped like a student ID number or an email address, and our server masks them again when the report arrives. You can read the whole report before you send it. When you click Contact in the extension, the report is uploaded ahead of time so the support form can attach it; if you don't send the request, it expires after 24 hours and is deleted.
Information the extension stores locally on your device (not sent to us):
- Your Canvas API token — stored in Chrome's local extension storage on your computer only.
- Your Frontline domain — stored locally so the extension knows where to send grades.
- Assignment-to-column mappings — stored locally to speed up repeat syncs. These never leave your device.
- DAEP Grade Manager data (if you use that feature) — stored locally on your device only.
- Send receipts — a record of your last 12 grade sends, including student ID numbers and the grades that were sent, so you can check exactly what a send wrote. Open it from Settings → Send Receipt, where it can be cleared at any time. It never leaves your computer.
- Attendance and late-work records (if you use the late policy) — absence dates read from Frontline for your own students and any turn-in dates you record, kept for up to 120 days so late work is judged correctly. These never leave your computer.
Information we store on our server:
- Your email address, account status (active/pending/expired), and plan.
- Usage counts linked to your account — how many sign-in checks, grade sends (and how many grades each send wrote) and DAEP uses your account ran, with timestamps. These are counts only: they never include grades, assignment contents, student names, or student IDs.
- Support requests you send, with any screenshots and debug report you attach (see above).
We do not use cookies, advertising trackers, or third-party analytics.
3. Student Data
We do not collect, receive, store, or process any student data.
This includes but is not limited to: student names, student ID numbers, SIS IDs, grade scores, submission content, demographic information, or any other information that could identify a student.
Student grades are read from Canvas and written to Frontline entirely within your own browser session. At no point does this data pass through or reach any GradeSend server.
Screenshots you attach to a support request: please don't include student information — crop or cover names, ID numbers and grades first. The support form reminds you. If a screenshot does show student information, we use it only to answer your request, only GradeSend's administrator can see it, and it is deleted when your request is marked resolved or 30 days after you attached it, whichever comes first.
4. Chrome Extension Permissions
GradeSend requires specific permissions to function. Here's why we request each one:
- Host permissions for Canvas and Frontline domains — needed to read grades from Canvas and write them to Frontline. These permissions allow the extension to access only the gradebook pages where you are already logged in.
chrome.storage.local — stores your Canvas API token, Frontline domain, and assignment mappings locally on your computer, inaccessible to other extensions or websites.- Background service worker — used to route messages between content scripts and coordinate data transfer between Canvas and Frontline tabs.
What we can and cannot access: The extension can only read and write data on web pages you have open and are already authenticated to. It cannot access your browser history, other extensions, websites you don't visit, or any data outside of Canvas and Frontline.
5. How the Extension Works
GradeSend is a Chrome browser extension. When you initiate a grade send, the following happens entirely on your local machine:
- The extension reads grade data from the Canvas Grades page you have open in your browser, using your existing logged-in Canvas session.
- The extension writes those grades into the Frontline gradebook tab you have open in your browser, using your existing logged-in Frontline session.
- The data passes between the two browser tabs through the extension's background service worker — all on your computer. No external network request is made as part of this transfer.
The extension makes three kinds of external requests: verifying your Google sign-in against our access list, recording a usage count for your account when a send completes, and — only when you click Contact — uploading a debug report so the support form can attach it. None of them ever contains grades or student data. Assignment-to-column mappings are stored locally on your device, not on our servers.
6. Limited Use Certification
GradeSend certifies that it complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Specifically:
- GradeSend accesses web content (Canvas and Frontline data) only to provide the core functionality of syncing grades between the two platforms.
- GradeSend does not use, transfer, sell, or share any user data collected through the extension for any purpose other than providing the grade-syncing service.
- GradeSend does not use web content or user data for advertising, marketing, analytics, or any other purpose unrelated to the extension's stated function.
- GradeSend does not combine or link user data from the extension with data from other sources for purposes other than providing the service.
- All data collection is transparent and disclosed in this Privacy Policy.
7. FERPA Compliance
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records. GradeSend is designed to operate in a manner consistent with FERPA requirements for teachers using school-sanctioned tools.
Key FERPA-relevant facts about GradeSend:
- Student education records (grades) are never transmitted to GradeSend or any third-party server.
- The extension accesses student grade data only within the authenticated browser sessions of the classroom teacher who holds the appropriate access rights to that data.
- No student data is ever sent to or stored on GradeSend's servers. A few features keep student information in Chrome's storage on the teacher's own computer so they keep working between sessions (send receipts, attendance and late-work records, DAEP data — see Section 2); the teacher can clear them.
- Support screenshots are the one place a teacher could send student information by mistake. The support form asks you to crop or cover it, only GradeSend's administrator can see attachments, and screenshots are deleted when the request is resolved or after 30 days, whichever comes first.
If you are a school administrator with FERPA-related questions about GradeSend, please contact us at the address below.
8. Data Storage & Security
Server-side data: Account records (email, status, plan), anonymous usage counts and support requests (with their attachments) are stored in a Supabase (PostgreSQL) database with encryption at rest and in transit, protected by row-level security with no public access policies. All API communications use HTTPS encryption.
Local data: Canvas API tokens, Frontline domains, and assignment mappings stored on your device use Chrome's built-in chrome.storage.local API. This storage is sandboxed to the GradeSend extension: websites and other extensions cannot read it. Anyone who can use your Chrome profile on your computer could open it, so keep that profile to yourself, as you would your gradebook.
Data retention: Your email address and account record are retained for as long as your account is active, plus 90 days thereafter for support and account recovery purposes. You may request earlier deletion at any time. Support screenshots are deleted when the request is marked resolved or 30 days after they were attached, whichever comes first. Support messages and attached debug reports are kept until you delete the request from your teacher dashboard or ask us to delete them.
No server records of student data: GradeSend's servers never receive student grade data, so they hold no logs, backups, or records of it. The local send receipts and attendance records described in Section 2 stay on your computer, are capped (12 sends; 120 days), and can be cleared.
9. Third Parties
GradeSend uses the following third-party services:
- Google Sign-In (OAuth) — authenticates your Google account. Google's privacy policy governs the sign-in itself; the extension requests only basic profile scopes (your email address).
- Vercel — hosts our website and account API. Vercel may log IP addresses and request metadata per their standard infrastructure logging. No student data is involved in any request to our API.
- Supabase — hosts our account database (email, status, plan, usage counts, support requests and their attachments). It is not used for student data; support screenshots, which we ask you to crop, are deleted when the request is resolved or after 30 days.
- Stripe — handles payment only if you choose a paid plan. Your card details go to Stripe, never to GradeSend; we keep your subscription status and plan.
We do not share your information with any other third parties. We do not sell your data.
10. Data Deletion & Uninstall
When you uninstall the GradeSend extension:
- Chrome deletes everything GradeSend kept on your computer: your Canvas API token, Frontline domain, column mappings and settings, and the student information described in Section 2 (send receipts, attendance and late-work records, and DAEP Grade Manager data).
- Your account record (email, status, plan) remains on our server for account and support purposes, but can be deleted on request.
- Our servers never receive grades, so uninstalling has nothing to delete there. Grades you already sent stay in Frontline, and files you saved yourself, such as a debug report, stay on your computer until you delete them.
Requesting data deletion: To request deletion of your email address and account record at any time, email us with the subject line "Delete My Account."
11. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Request a copy of any personal information we hold about you (your email and account record).
- Request deletion of your personal information and account record.
- Opt out of promotional email at any time (see Communications & Email below). Account and billing notices are always sent.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at the address below with the subject line "Privacy Request."
12. Communications & Email
Service and billing email (always sent). We use your account email for messages about your own account: sign-in and approval notices, billing receipts and payment problems, support replies, security notices, and notices about changes to the Service, this policy, or the Terms. These are not marketing and cannot be opted out of while you hold an account.
Product news and promotional email (only with your consent). With your recorded consent, we may send occasional GradeSend product news, feature announcements, and promotional updates. You can give or withdraw this consent at any time from the teacher dashboard, and every such email includes a one-click unsubscribe link that takes effect immediately. We record when and where you gave or withdrew consent, together with which version of the Terms and this policy you agreed to.
13. Policy Changes
GradeSend may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by:
- Updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy.
- Sending an email notification to the address associated with your account (if applicable).
- Posting a notice on the GradeSend website home page.
Your continued use of the GradeSend extension after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.
14. Pricing
GradeSend is currently free for teachers in its invite-based beta; beta access needs no payment method. Paid plans are available to anyone who chooses to subscribe, with prices, the 14-day free trial and the all-sales-final refund policy set out in the Terms of Service. Payments are handled by Stripe; GradeSend never sees your card number.