Trust & Transparency
EssayHero is built with your privacy as a priority. Here's everything you need to know about how we handle your data.
For Students
Your essays are not stored by default
When you submit an essay for analysis, it's processed and immediately discarded. We don't keep copies unless you explicitly choose to save or share your work.
Your feedback is yours alone
AI-generated feedback is streamed directly to your browser. Once you close the page, it's gone — unless you save it to your dashboard or create a shareable link.
No account required
You can use EssayHero without creating an account. Sign in only if you want to track your progress over time.
Avoid personal details
We recommend not including real names, school names, or other identifying information in your essays. When you use our handwriting scanner, the AI automatically filters out printed headers, student names, and other non-essay content before your text is submitted.
For Teachers
No student data is collected
EssayHero does not require student logins, collect student emails, or build profiles. Each session is independent.
Suitable for classroom use
Teachers can recommend EssayHero as a supplementary tool. Students can use it without creating accounts or providing personal information.
No tracking across students
We don't track which students use the tool, compare students to each other, or build learning profiles.
AI limitations acknowledged
We clearly communicate that EssayHero is a learning aid, not a replacement for teacher feedback. Scores are estimates, not predictions.
For Parents
No registration for basic use
Your child can get essay feedback without creating an account. No email, no password, no personal data required.
How essays are processed
Essays are sent to Google Gemini for analysis. Google processes inputs according to their API data policy. We recommend not including personal information. See our Privacy Policy for details.
No advertising or tracking
EssayHero has no ads, no tracking pixels from advertisers, and no data sharing with third parties for marketing.
Free and volunteer-run
This is an educational project with no commercial aims. There's nothing to upsell, no premium tier, and no hidden costs.
Security & Compliance
PDPO Compliant
We follow Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance in how we handle any data that passes through our systems.
HTTPS Encryption
All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using industry-standard HTTPS.
Rate Limiting
We implement rate limiting to prevent abuse and ensure fair access for all users.
30-Day Auto-Deletion
Any shared reports are automatically and permanently deleted after 30 days.
PII Filtering at Scan
When students use the handwriting scanner, our AI automatically strips personally identifiable information — including printed names, school headers, candidate numbers, and form fields — before the essay text is processed.
AI Transparency
What AI We Use
EssayHero uses Google Gemini for essay analysis and handwriting recognition.
How It Works
Your essay is sent to the AI with a system prompt that incorporates official marking criteria. The AI analyses your work and streams back structured feedback.
Limitations
AI-generated scores are estimates based on pattern matching, not official predictions. The AI can't fully replicate human examiner judgement, especially for creative or nuanced writing.
AI Provider Data Practices
EssayHero does not store or use your essays. However, Google Gemini, our AI provider, may process inputs according to their API data policy. We recommend not including personal information in your submissions.
Scoring Accuracy
Validated Against Official Exemplars
We test our AI against 120 HKEAA-graded exemplar essays spanning Levels 1-5 (2020-2025). These are the same essays used to train and calibrate human examiners across Hong Kong.
Level Agreement: Moderate (0.53 QWK)
Quadratic Weighted Kappa measures agreement between AI and HKEAA examiner levels, corrected for chance. Human inter-rater QWK typically falls between 0.60 and 0.80. Our 0.53 represents moderate agreement — achieved with prompt engineering alone, no fine-tuning.
Within-One Accuracy: 81%
Four out of five AI-predicted levels are within one level of the official HKEAA grade. If the AI says Level 3, the real level is very likely 2, 3, or 4. Accuracy is strongest for Levels 1-3 and lower for Levels 4-5.
Full Methodology Published
Our complete validation report — including methodology, results, per-level breakdowns, limitations, and academic references — is published on our blog. We believe in radical transparency about what our AI gets right and where it falls short.
Where Your Data Lives
We believe you should know exactly where your data goes. Here's a transparent breakdown of our infrastructure.
| Service | Provider | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Website Hosting | Vercel | Hong Kong (HKG1) |
| Essay Analysis | Google Gemini API | United States (Google Cloud) |
| Handwriting OCR | Google Gemini API | United States (Google Cloud) |
| Database | Vercel Postgres | Hong Kong (HKG1) |
Essays are processed in real-time and not stored by the AI providers. The only data that persists is what you explicitly save (shared reports, dashboard history).
Data & Privacy FAQ
Questions or Concerns?
If you have any questions about how we handle your data, or if you want to report a privacy concern, please get in touch.