Privacy

Who we are

Ask Shorty is made by Kaizumi ("we"). This policy covers six places you can use Ask Shorty: the Ask Shorty app in ChatGPT, the iPhone app, the ask box on askshorty.app, the lesson downloads on askshorty.app, the simulation updates sign-up on askshorty.app, and the lesson builder. Each one has its own section below.

For any privacy question or request, email matt@kaizumi.com.

The short version

You don't need an account. We don't store the text of the questions you ask. We don't sell your data, use it for advertising, or train AI models on it. To answer a question, we send it to two AI providers, Anthropic and Google. Most records we keep use random or scrambled IDs instead of your name, and most are deleted after 30 days.

Ask Shorty in ChatGPT: what each tool receives

ChatGPT decides when to call one of Ask Shorty's tools. Each call sends us that tool's inputs, listed below, plus two IDs from OpenAI: an anonymous ID for your ChatGPT account and an ID for the conversation. We don't receive your name, email, or the rest of your conversation. ChatGPT may also send hints, such as your language or rough location. Ask Shorty doesn't use or keep them.

• ask. Receives your code question and any details you add, such as the type of building or the voltage, as ChatGPT words them. ChatGPT can fold details from earlier in your chat into the question. Returns a plain-English answer with the NEC section numbers and headings behind it. It returns no code text.
• Calculator tools (names start with calc_). Receive the numbers and choices you enter, such as voltage, length, or wire size. Return the result and the steps. The math runs on our server. No AI provider sees these inputs, and we don't store them.
• exam_questions and exam_check. Receive the chapter, practice or test mode, the IDs of questions you've already seen, and your answer. Return practice questions, or whether your answer is right. No AI provider sees these inputs, and we don't store them.
• settings_read and settings_update. Receive your default building type and your units, metric or US customary. Return your saved settings.
• open_shorty and citations_panel. Receive which part of the app to open. Return the app, or the list of sections cited in the conversation.

Ask Shorty in ChatGPT: what we keep, why, and for how long

We don't store your question. We store only the records below, with our database provider, Supabase.

• Cited sections. For each answer, we save the section number, its heading, whether our checker matched it to the code, the time, and the sentence of Shorty's answer that it backs. That sentence can repeat details from your question. We save these under a scrambled form of your account and conversation IDs so the side panel can list the sections cited in that conversation. We delete them after 30 days.
• Daily question count. We count your questions each day under your anonymous ChatGPT account ID, and we count all questions for the day. We use these counts to enforce the free limit of 40 questions a day and an overall daily cap. We delete them after 30 days.
• Settings. If you set a default building type or units, we save those two choices and the time you saved them under a scrambled form of your account ID, so they carry over to your next conversation. Nothing else is saved with them. They have no set deletion date and stay until you change them.

Ask Shorty in ChatGPT: who receives your data

• Anthropic. Receives your question, with any details and your saved settings, to pick the relevant NEC articles.
• Google. Receives the same question, plus the text of those NEC articles, and writes the answer with its Gemini model.
• OpenAI. Receives each tool's result, which ChatGPT shows to you. OpenAI handles it under its own privacy policy.
• Supabase. Stores the records listed in the section above.
• Vercel. Hosts our server and keeps short-term request and error logs. Our server logs errors, not your questions.

Ask Shorty in ChatGPT: your choices

To stop sending us data, remove or disconnect Ask Shorty in ChatGPT's app settings. To clear your saved settings, set them back to "Ask each time" and "US customary".

Our records hold only anonymous or scrambled IDs, so we can't find them from your name or email. Cited sections and daily counts delete themselves after 30 days. For any privacy question about your ChatGPT use, email matt@kaizumi.com.

The iPhone app

The app doesn't need an account and has no ads and no analytics of its own.

• On your device. Your chat threads and your Learn progress stay on your device, and the calculators run there too. None of this is uploaded or synced. Deleting the app removes it.
• When you ask a question. The app sends your question and the earlier messages in the same thread to our server. Anthropic and Google receive them to pick the code articles and write the answer. We don't store the text.
• Install ID and daily counts. The app sends a random install ID with each question. It isn't linked to your name, email, or Apple account, and it resets if you delete the app. To enforce the free daily limit, we count questions each day per install ID and per scrambled form of your network address, with Supabase. We delete these counts after 30 days.
• Crash reports from Apple. If you chose to share analytics with app developers in your iPhone settings, Apple may send us crash reports. They don't include your questions.

The ask box on askshorty.app

• When you ask a question. Your browser sends your question to our server. Anthropic and Google receive it to pick the code articles and write the answer. We don't store the text.
• Browser ID and daily counts. Your browser saves a random ID so we can enforce the free daily limit. Clearing this site's data resets it. We count questions each day per browser ID and per scrambled form of your network address, with Supabase, and delete these counts after 30 days.

The rest of askshorty.app

This site has no advertising. It uses Vercel Web Analytics to count page views and a few events, such as a calculator being used, a result link being copied, a practice test being started or finished, with its score, the lesson form being sent, with the lesson's name, or the simulation updates form being sent, with the page it was on. Vercel Web Analytics doesn't use cookies and doesn't identify you or follow you across other sites. Our host, Vercel, also keeps standard server logs, such as IP address and browser type, to run and secure the site.

The site also uses Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity to see how visitors find and use it. Both set cookies in your browser. Google Analytics counts visits, pages viewed, where visitors come from, and when the lesson form or the simulation updates form is sent, with the lesson or page name. Clarity records how pages are used, such as clicks, scrolling, and mouse movement, and shows us replays and heatmaps. Clarity hides what you type into text fields, and it hides the whole ask box, including your question and Shorty's answer. Google and Microsoft process and keep this data under their own privacy policies. To opt out, block these cookies in your browser or use a content blocker.

Lesson downloads

The lesson pages are free to read. To download a lesson's files, you fill in a short form once.

• What we keep. Your name, email, school or company, and phone number if you add one. We also keep which lesson page you were on, the time, and the campaign tag in the link that brought you, if there was one. We store these with Supabase. Clarity hides the form.
• Why. To learn who teaches with the lessons, and to contact you about the lessons, the lesson builder, and Ask Shorty for your school. We may email you, or call if you gave a phone number. We read these records ourselves, sometimes with an AI assistant helping draft a reply. We don't sell them or use them for advertising.
• Your browser. After the form, your browser keeps a random key in a cookie for one year, so the downloads stay open for every lesson. We store only a scrambled form of the key. If your browser blocks the cookie, the key goes in the download links for that visit instead. Clearing this site's cookies locks the downloads again.
• Limits. To stop abuse, we count form submissions per scrambled form of your network address and delete those counts about 30 days later.
• Deleting your details. We keep them until you ask us to delete them. Email matt@kaizumi.com from the address you used.

Simulation updates

The simulations are free to play without signing up. If you want to hear when we add one, you can leave your email on the simulations pages or at the end of a run.

• What we keep. Your email address, the page you signed up on, such as the simulation you just finished, and the time. We store these with Supabase. Clarity hides the form.
• Why. To email you when we add a new simulation or lesson. We read the list ourselves. We don't sell it, share it with other companies for their marketing, or use it for advertising.
• Sending. When we send an update, our email provider, Resend, receives your address to deliver it. Every update has an unsubscribe link.
• Your browser. After you sign up at the end of a run, your browser keeps a note that you did, so the form doesn't show again after every run. The note stays in your browser and isn't sent to us. Clearing this site's data removes it.
• Limits. To stop abuse, we count sign-ups per scrambled form of your network address and delete those counts about 30 days later.
• Unsubscribing and deleting. We keep your address until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it. To do either, use the unsubscribe link in an update, or email matt@kaizumi.com from the address you used.

The lesson builder

• Code requests. When you request a builder code, we store your name, email, school or program, role, and any note you add, with Supabase. We use them to send your code and tell you about the builder. We read requests and reply by email, sometimes with an AI assistant helping draft the reply. We keep requests until you ask us to delete them: email matt@kaizumi.com from the address you used. Clarity hides the request form.
• Building a lesson. The topic you type and your edit requests go to Anthropic and Google to write the slides and quiz. Google's Gemini model also draws any slide images. Our server logs errors, not your topics.
• Saved lessons. The builder saves each lesson so you can come back to it: the topic line, the slide and quiz text, section numbers, slide images, and any image descriptions you write. We store them with Supabase, tied to a scrambled form of your builder code, not to your name or email. Saved lessons hold no code text and no student data, and the assistant chat isn't saved. Anyone with your code can open its lessons, so keep the code to yourself. Exports, including the Canvas quiz file, are built when you ask and aren't stored.
• Deleting lessons. To delete a lesson, use Delete under My lessons in the builder. To delete all of them, email matt@kaizumi.com. When a code stops working, we delete its lessons and images 30 days later.
• Daily limits. To enforce limits, we count decks, edits, and saved images per scrambled form of each code, and code requests per scrambled form of your network address. We delete these counts about 30 days after the day or month they cover.

The old waitlist

We no longer run a waitlist. Signing up for simulation updates doesn't add you to one. If you joined an Ask Shorty waitlist before October 2026 and want to be sure your email address is deleted, email matt@kaizumi.com from the address you signed up with.

What to leave out of your questions

Your question leaves your device and goes to the AI providers named above, which process it under their own terms and privacy policies. Leave out personal, confidential, or sensitive details.

Children

Ask Shorty is made for electricians, students, and instructors. It isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect data from them.

Changes to this policy

When we change how Ask Shorty uses data, we update this page and the date at the top.

Contact

Questions and requests about privacy go to matt@kaizumi.com.