Who we are
IELTS Buddy · a service for preparing for the IELTS and CEFR (Multilevel) exams: the Telegram bot @spk_tutor_bot, the app inside it and the mybuddy.uz website. Founded by Javohir Islomov, Uzbekistan.
For questions or requests, write to islomovjavohir939@gmail.com or to the bot.
What we collect
- If you sign in with Telegram: your Telegram ID, name, username, language setting and a link to your profile photo. We never see your phone number or your chats.
- If you sign in with Google: your Google account ID, name and email address. We never see your password.
- Practice data: your answers in tests, your essays, the text of your Speaking answers, your scores and your progress. Your voice is turned into text; the recording itself is not kept.
- Payment data: what you bought and when. Telegram Stars payments are handled by Telegram. For card payments, the receipt photo you send to the bot is checked. We never ask for your card number.
- Technical data: your sign-in (session) is kept in your browser, and short-lived cookies are used for your language and for signing in with Google. Server logs (IP address, time) are kept briefly by our hosting provider. No advertising trackers are used.
Why we use it
- To recognise you and open your account.
- To grade your answers, explain your mistakes and show your progress.
- To issue certificates. Anyone holding a certificate's QR code or link can check the name and scores on it.
- The leaderboard: your name and result are visible to other learners there.
- To send reminders, lessons and news through the bot. If you stop (block) the bot, the messages stop.
- To improve the service: we look, in aggregate, at which sections are used most.
Google user data
The data we receive from Google (ID, name, email) is used only to sign you in and to show your name on your results and certificate. It is not used for advertising, not sold, not shared with others and not used to train AI models.
IELTS Buddy's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Who processes it
We do not sell your data. For the service to work, it passes through:
- AI services: to turn your answers into text and grade them, and for nothing else.
- Hosting and database: servers in the European Union (Frankfurt), the database in the United States.
- Telegram: for the bot's messages and Stars payments.
- Google: when you sign in with Google.
Data may be disclosed to the authorities where the law requires it.
How long we keep it, and deleting it
Your data is kept for as long as your account exists.
To have your account and data deleted, write to islomovjavohir939@gmail.com or to the bot: we delete it within 30 days. Payment records that the law requires us to keep are the exception.
Security
All connections are encrypted (HTTPS). Signing in is checked against Telegram's and Google's signed confirmation, and your session is protected by our server's signature.
Changes
If this policy changes, we update this page and its date, and announce important changes in the bot.