About StudyMessenger

StudyMessenger is a free, AI-powered platform, created by an 8th Grader at the Canadian International School in Singapore (GO HUSKIES!). Studying any language is hard, but when nobody at home spoke Simplified Chinese, they developed StudyMessenger as a desktop app to help practice text and voice conversations.

After their exams, they spent weekends and holidays porting the app onto the web for everyone to use. All the coding and clever functionality is done by them, with their Dad helping on bits of text for the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. The bugs that made it past testing are down to Dad.

FAQ

What is this?

StudyMessenger allows you to chat with an AI-powered character in a range of different scenarios, such as a conversation with a favorite uncle. After a fixed number of interactions, the conversation ends, and the user’s inputs are assessed, assigned a score, and suggestions for improvement are given. A dashboard and archive of your previous conversations are kept for you to review your progress.

How much does it cost?

It’s free, bankrolled by Mum and Dad. There might be a nominal subscription in the future if we pick up a lot more users than expected, but whatever happens, if you sign up before that, you’ll have free access to the platform for the rest of your time at school. This isn't a commercial project, so we won’t bombard you with ads or spam.

Is my data private?

If you have a Teacher account, you’ll use your Google login details to access the site. We won’t store your password, but we will store your name, email address, and avatar picture. The system can’t be completely anonymous because an adult needs to agree to the site’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

If you have a Student account, we’ve gone out of our way not to need nor store any of your personal information. Your account is created by your Teacher (or parent or caregiver). They’ll generate and pass you your login details and might log in as you from time to time to check your progress.

If you use voice in conversations with the AI, we don’t store the voice recordings nor share them with third parties. They only stay on our server for the few seconds it takes for the AI to respond and are then deleted.

We don’t use cookies for web analytics, so we only see anonymized data about overall visitor behaviour. You won’t encounter annoying cookie consent pop-ups either.

Is StudyMessenger safe?

Alongside strict security policies, safeguards are in place to ensure interactions with the AI are appropriate. If a Student uses profanity, the AI reminds them to stay on task. If a Student tries to steer the conversation inappropriately, they’re reminded that they’re speaking to computer code, not a real person, and advised to speak to a qualified professional.

Parents, Teachers, and caregivers are encouraged to periodically review conversation transcripts to ensure the content aligns with expectations.

I'm a Student. How do I sign up on my own?

Due to various laws safeguarding minors online, we don’t allow Students to create their own accounts. Instead, a Teacher or parent must create an account on their behalf and agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. If a minor creates a Teacher account, it will be deleted along with any associated Student accounts.

Who can I talk to about StudyMessenger?

If you have any questions, please get in touch.