Privacy policy

Who we are

DenBuddy is an independent tool for Cub Scout den leaders, operated in the United States. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Scouting America. Questions about this policy go to hello@denbuddy.com.

What we collect from adults

When you create an account we collect your name, email address and password (stored only as a hash), the pack and dens you belong to, and your role. We keep ordinary operational records: sign-in times, error logs, and basic analytics about which pages and features are used. If you pay for a plan, our payment processor handles the card and we keep the record of what was bought.

What we hold about Scouts

Leaders record information about the children in their den: name, den, rank, BSA member ID where they supply it, completed requirements and attendance. A photo or medical note is stored only if a leader adds one.

Scouts do not have accounts. They cannot sign in, cannot be messaged, and cannot be contacted through DenBuddy. Youth records are visible to that den's leaders, the pack's admins and the Scout's own parents, and to nobody else.

Children's data and COPPA

DenBuddy does not knowingly collect personal information directly from children. There is no signup for anyone under 13, and no part of the product invites a child to enter anything. Information about a Scout is entered by an adult leader or imported from Scoutbook by that leader, who is responsible for having the parent's consent.

A parent can ask what we hold about their Scout, ask for it to be corrected, or ask for it to be deleted, by writing to hello@denbuddy.com. We will act on that request even if the leader has not asked.

Scoutbook data

If you use the DenBuddy Sync extension, it reads roster and advancement data from your own signed-in Scoutbook Plus session and sends it to your DenBuddy account. We never receive your scouting.org username or password. The Scoutbook session token stays in the extension's memory in your browser and is not stored by us.

DenBuddy writes to Scoutbook only when you press Send, and only the completions you approved; it shows you the rows first and keeps the receipt. Advancement can also leave as a CSV you download and upload yourself.

How we use it

To run the product: show your den's gaps, plan meetings, take attendance, record advancement and produce the export. To support you when you write in. To keep the service secure and working. If you use Akela, the text of your request plus your den's rank, first names and open requirements are sent to the AI provider configured for your account to generate a proposal, and only when you use it.

What we never do

We do not sell personal information. We do not show advertising and do not share data with advertisers. We do not share youth data with third parties for their own purposes, and we do not publish anything about a Scout publicly. Plans shared to the community library are scrubbed of names, dens and dates first.

Service providers

DenBuddy runs on Amazon Web Services in the United States. We use standard providers for email delivery, error reporting and payment processing, and an AI provider for Akela when it is enabled. Each one gets only what it needs to do its job.

Cookies

We use cookies and similar browser storage to keep you signed in and to remember basic preferences. We use privacy-respecting analytics to count page views and understand which features are used. We do not run advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. The public check-in page needs no cookies to work.

How long we keep things

Den data stays while the den is active, because next year's leader needs this year's history. Messages and logs are kept for up to two years. If you delete an account, den or Scout, we remove the record and it drops out of backups on the normal backup cycle, within 30 days.

Your choices

You can see and edit what is in your den at any time, export your advancement as a CSV, ask for a copy of what we hold, or ask us to delete it. Write to hello@denbuddy.com and a person will handle it.

Changes to this policy

If we change something that matters, we will update the effective date here and tell account holders by email. Continuing to use DenBuddy after a change means the new version applies.