For Schools & Departments
A teacher in your school is using PaperTrail™ to document concerns about student writing. This page answers the questions an administrator, department head, or IT coordinator would reasonably ask before approving it.
Privacy Architecture
PaperTrail has four tools with meaningfully different data architectures. The short version: two transmit nothing at all; one transmits transiently and purges; one stores transiently until download.
Reads Google Docs revision metadata — the same data visible in Google's native "Version history" panel. This is accessed locally by the Chrome extension while the teacher has the document open.
No document text is read or processed. No data is stored anywhere. When the teacher closes the sidebar, everything is cleared from memory.
✓ Nothing transmitted or storedThe teacher pastes two writing samples directly into the sidebar. All eight stylometric calculations run locally in the browser using JavaScript. The text never leaves the teacher's device.
No text is transmitted to PaperTrail Academic, Anthropic, or any other server. This is a design choice, not just a policy — there is no server-side component to StyleMatch.
✓ Fully client-side — zero transmissionVerify is the only tool in the Chrome extension that transmits text. When a teacher runs a Verify report, the submitted text is sent to PaperTrail's secure backend (Supabase / AWS), forwarded to the Anthropic API for analysis, and returned as a report.
The text is not retained by PaperTrail after the report is generated. Only report metadata is stored (scores, timestamps, the label the teacher assigned). Anthropic retains API inputs for 7 days under their commercial API terms, which prohibit using API inputs for model training. Teachers should anonymize student names before submitting if their institution requires it.
→ Transmitted, not retained by PaperTrailWrite is a web app — not a Chrome extension — so it operates differently from the other tools. When a student joins a session and submits, PaperTrail stores two things transiently: the submitted essay text, and a behavioral log (paste events, focus-loss events, timestamps). Nothing else.
Data is held only until the teacher downloads the session report, then purged automatically. If the teacher never downloads: timed sessions are scrubbed after 7 days; untimed sessions after 30 days. Ended sessions are purged within 24 hours as a backstop. Teachers receive an email warning before automatic purge.
Student names are entered by the student themselves at session join — they are not linked to any external account, email address, or institution record. No student creates an account. No student data is retained by PaperTrail after purge.
⏱ Stored transiently — purged on download or after set periodWhat PaperTrail Does Not Do
These are the data practices that tend to concern administrators. Each one is straightforward.
Privacy Regulations
This is a self-assessment based on how the product actually works. It is not legal advice — your institution's counsel should make final determinations for your context.
FERPA protects personally identifiable information in education records. PaperTrail does not collect, store, or transmit student PII. Inspect reads only Google Docs revision metadata — timestamps and anonymized edit markers — which are not education records under FERPA. StyleMatch runs entirely locally with no transmission of any kind.
Verify transmits essay text to generate a report. The teacher controls what is submitted; no student name or ID is required or collected by PaperTrail. The text is not retained by PaperTrail after the report is generated. Anthropic retains API inputs for 7 days under their commercial API terms, which prohibit using this data for model training. We recommend anonymizing student names from essay text before submitting.
Write captures behavioral metadata (paste events, focus changes, timestamps) and submitted essay text, stored transiently in PaperTrail's Supabase backend. Data is purged immediately when the teacher downloads the session report. If not downloaded: timed sessions are auto-purged after 7 days, untimed sessions after 30 days, and ended sessions within 24 hours — teachers receive an email warning before auto-purge occurs. Student names are entered by the student at session join and are not linked to any external account or institution record. No PII beyond the name the student provides is collected. The teacher is the data custodian.
Inspect and StyleMatch collect no personal information and involve no data transmission — they raise no data protection concerns beyond those inherent in Google Docs itself, regardless of jurisdiction.
Write stores submitted essay text and behavioral metadata transiently on Supabase (AWS, US region). Data is purged on teacher download, or auto-purged after 7 days (timed sessions) or 30 days (untimed sessions) if not downloaded. Schools using Write should confirm their acceptable use policy permits this transient US-based storage.
Schools using Verify should confirm their institution's acceptable use policy permits transmitting student work to US-based AI services. This is the same question that applies to any AI writing tool used in your school. Anthropic retains API inputs for 7 days and does not use them for model training.
Inspect and StyleMatch involve no personal data transmission and require no GDPR analysis beyond what applies to Google Docs itself.
Write stores essay text and behavioral metadata transiently on Supabase (AWS, US region). Data is purged immediately on teacher download; auto-purged after 7 days (timed sessions) or 30 days (untimed) if not downloaded; teachers receive an email warning before auto-purge. The teacher is the data custodian. EU schools using Write should confirm they have a lawful basis for this transient processing under GDPR Article 6 and that their use of US-based infrastructure is covered by their institution's DPA.
Verify transmits text to US-based processors (Supabase/AWS and Anthropic, Inc.). EU schools using Verify should confirm they have a lawful basis for this processing under GDPR Article 6. The text is not retained by PaperTrail after the report is generated. Anthropic retains API inputs for 7 days and does not use them for model training. Anthropic's commercial API terms incorporate Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for international data transfers. We recommend anonymizing student-identifying information before submission.
Institutional Purchasing
Most teachers start on their own. Departments and schools that want to support multiple teachers or purchase in volume should reach out directly.
Teachers can subscribe to StyleMatch or purchase Verify credits immediately using a personal or school card. Payments are processed by Lemon Squeezy (Merchant of Record), who handles receipts and VAT.
A receipt is issued by Lemon Squeezy at the time of purchase and is suitable for expense reimbursement.
⬇ Start with the free extensionFor departments wanting to equip multiple teachers with StyleMatch or Write subscriptions, or schools looking to purchase a batch of Verify credits for department use, please reach out directly.
We can discuss invoicing arrangements, purchase orders, and how credits can be allocated across a department. Response time is typically within one business day.
Contact us for department inquiriesFrequently Asked Questions
For Inspect and StyleMatch: no data is transmitted or collected at all, so this question doesn't apply. For Verify: the teacher submits essay text with a label they assign (e.g., "Student A, Essay 2"). PaperTrail does not collect student names, student IDs, or any other identifying information independently. The teacher controls what identifying information, if any, is included in the text they submit. We recommend anonymizing before submission where institution policy requires it.
There is no mandatory school-level agreement required to use PaperTrail — teachers sign up individually under the standard Terms of Service. However, a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is available on request for institutions that require one as part of their procurement or data governance process. Contact [email protected].
PaperTrail accounts belong to the individual teacher, not the institution. If a teacher leaves, their account and any saved Verify reports travel with them. No student data is stored in their PaperTrail account — only report metadata (scores and timestamps). Schools do not need to take any action when a teacher departs.
PaperTrail Academic is a small sole-proprietor product. A formal third-party security audit has not been commissioned. Authentication and database infrastructure is provided by Supabase, which publishes its own security documentation at supabase.com/security. Payment processing is handled entirely by Lemon Squeezy — PaperTrail Academic does not handle or store payment card data. If your institution has specific security review requirements, contact [email protected] and we'll provide what documentation we can.
No. PaperTrail produces analytical data points — similarity scores, metric comparisons, and AI-assisted observations. Every report includes a mandatory disclaimer stating that the output is not a finding of fact and should never be the sole basis for a disciplinary action. The tool is designed to support the teacher's judgment, not replace it. Disciplinary decisions remain entirely with the educator and the institution.
No. PaperTrail uses the Anthropic API under commercial terms that prohibit using submitted content for model training. This applies automatically to all API usage — it is not a custom arrangement. Anthropic retains API inputs for 7 days before automatic deletion, after which they are permanently removed from Anthropic's systems. StyleMatch and Inspect involve no AI and no transmission whatsoever.
This depends on your Google Workspace for Education configuration. Some domains require admin approval for Chrome extensions before teachers can install them. If your domain has this restriction, the PaperTrail Chrome extension will need to be allowlisted by your Google Workspace admin. The extension ID is kgkjmhfoijiiplbmablcjbooopndjbgm. Contact [email protected] if you need supporting documentation for the approval request.
The extension requests the following permissions:
activeTab and tabs — to inject the revision analysis tool into the active Google Docs page and open the revision playback window in a new tab.
webNavigation — to detect when the teacher navigates to a Google Docs page so the extension can activate automatically.
identity — to authenticate teachers via Google Sign-In for StyleMatch and Verify features.
unlimitedStorage — to temporarily hold revision data for large documents, which can contain tens of thousands of revision entries. This data is cleared when the session ends.
Host permissions for docs.google.com and classroom.google.com — required to operate on Google Docs and Google Classroom pages.
Get in Touch
PaperTrail Academic is built by a single AP/IB English teacher. If you have questions that this page doesn't answer — about privacy, technical integration, or institutional purchasing — reach out directly. You'll hear back from the person who built it.
Contact us about your school