Legal

Privacy policy

Last updated 18 September 2026

DSEC Notebook (“Notebook”, “we”, “us”) is a student-run community resource at notebook.dsec.club. It is not affiliated with Deakin University. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, and the choices you have.

Information we collect

We collect the information you give us when you use Notebook:

Account details. Your Deakin email address, display name, password (stored as a salted hash, not in plain text), and optional profile picture.
Content you post. Notes, questions, comments, votes, and units you pin.
Session data. A sign-in token stored in your browser so you stay signed in.
Verification data. Short-lived email codes when you create an account or reset a password. We also store hashed request limits so we can reduce abuse of verification emails.

How we use it

We use this information to:

create and maintain your account
verify that you have a @deakin.edu.au address
show your name, avatar, and posts to other visitors
send verification and password-reset emails
moderate the community and keep the service running

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

What is public

Your display name, profile picture, and the notes, questions, and comments you post are visible to anyone who can open Notebook. Your email address is not shown on your public profile.

Cookies and local storage

Notebook stores a few things in your browser:

Session token in local storage, so we can recognise you after you sign in.
Theme preference in local storage (light or dark).
Verification cookie (dsec_verification_client), an http-only cookie used only to rate-limit verification emails and reduce abuse. It is not used for advertising or cross-site tracking.

We also receive the IP address of verification-email requests so we can apply the same rate limits.

Email and other services

We send account emails (verification and password reset) through Resend. Those messages include your email address and the one-time code. Uploaded profile images are stored on our server and served from Notebook.

How long we keep it

We keep your account, posts, and related records for as long as your account exists, or as long as the content remains on Notebook. Verification codes expire after 10 minutes. You can update your display name and profile picture from your account page. To ask us to delete your account or personal information, contact us using the details below.

Your choices

You can edit your profile and password while signed in.
You can sign out at any time, which removes the session token from this browser.
You can ask us to correct or delete personal information we hold about you.

Children

Notebook is intended for Deakin University students. It is not directed at children under 16.

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. Continued use of Notebook after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your personal information can be sent through the DSEC Discord at discord.dsec.club.