Your data and choices
Privacy notice
October 26, 2026
Return to Code uses your learning data to save your place, sync your account, and receive private feedback. The home and information pages are public. Entering a course requires Google sign-in.
For privacy questions or data requests about Return to Code, email contact@erickbenitez.com.
Information we use
- Google identity: Firebase user ID, email address, display name, and profile-photo URL. These identify your account; the interface uses your name or email. Google handles your password.
- Learning progress: completion, confidence ratings, read pages, last lesson, answers, practice notes, and saved review flags. These help you resume and review your work.
- Highlights and notes: selected quotes, nearby passage text, passage identifiers, and your notes. These help reconnect a highlight when lesson text changes.
- System Design work: page notes, written designs, drawings, and self-review state, alongside read marks and question answers.
- Sync and browser records: update times, record revisions, pending edits, competing versions, and interface preferences. These support offline work, recovery, and your chosen layout.
The course sign-in code requests Google identity information. It does not request access to Gmail, Drive, or Calendar.
Browser storage and sign-in
The app uses local storage and IndexedDB, a browser database, for account-specific copies, pending edits, and interface preferences. Earlier guest records may remain in this browser; new course entry requires sign-in.
Google sign-in is required to enter a course. Signed-in learning records sync to Cloud Firestore under your Firebase user ID. Each course keeps separate progress.
Sign-in loads account progress, including an empty account. Earlier guest work is not uploaded automatically. Existing browser records remain separate.
The browser keeps account-specific copies, pending edits, and recovery versions. A local save does not mean a cloud save succeeded. Check Account & sync for status.
The app does not encrypt these browser copies itself. Someone with access to an unlocked browser profile may see them. Sign out on shared devices.
Clearing browser data, private browsing, storage failure, or a different site address can remove or separate local work. Export before changing browsers or addresses.
Providers and access
Google Sign-In and Firebase Authentication handle sign-in. Cloud Firestore stores account learning records and submitted feedback. ChatGPT Sites hosts the website.
Course access rules restrict learners to their own account records. Learning records and feedback are not public profiles. The operator and authorized provider administrators may have operational access.
Providers may process technical data, such as network addresses, request logs, authentication records, cookies, and security events, to deliver and protect their services. Their storage, retention, and processing practices are described in their own notices:
Private feedback
Feedback requires Google sign-in. Each submission contains the selected course, module, page, feedback type, message, Firebase user ID, and server timestamp.
Your progress, answers, notes, and email are not attached automatically. Please omit sensitive information from your message.
The owner reviews submissions through Firebase Console. The app does not let learners read, edit, or delete submitted feedback. Feedback helps the owner assess course errors, bugs, and suggestions.
A separate record stores your user ID, last submission ID, and server time to enforce a one-minute gap between submissions.
Drafts stay in the current tab and clear on account changes or reload. Failed or unconfirmed sends keep the draft. There is no offline delivery queue.
Course reset and account deletion do not remove submitted feedback or its submission-limit record. Email contact@erickbenitez.com to request removal.
Retention and deletion
Saved learning records and browser copies have no automatic expiry. They remain until you use reset or deletion controls, clear browser storage, or the service removes them. Submitted feedback and submission-limit records also have no automatic expiry.
DSA practice reset preserves highlights; highlights have separate controls. System Design reset affects only System Design. A deleted account highlight leaves a content-free revision marker until whole-account cleanup.
To delete the course account, open DSA Account & sync and choose Delete course account. Google reauthentication comes first. Successful deletion removes both courses’ learning content, the Firebase sign-in identity, and course caches in the current browser. It does not delete your Google account.
Minimal deletion markers remain permanently under the deleted Firebase user ID. They contain course/version status, revision counters, and an update timestamp, with no notes, answers, or drawings. They prevent stale sessions and queued edits from restoring deleted records.
If deletion fails after it starts, the account stays locked for deletion. Follow the app’s retry message to finish cleanup.
Deletion does not reach downloaded backups, copied text, shared files, or offline browser copies on other devices. Provider backups and logs follow provider practices. No fixed removal deadline applies to those copies in this notice.
Your choices and requests
You can browse the public home, sign out, export backups, reset course work, or delete your course account. Open Profile & settings for account and backup controls.
For access, correction, or deletion requests, including feedback removal, email contact@erickbenitez.com. Describe the data and request without sending passwords or sensitive course content. We may need to verify that the data belongs to you.
This notice describes the course features above. Its date identifies the current version; changes will appear on this page.