Version 1.0
This policy explains what personal data AcademiCats collects, why, who processes it, and the choices you have.
AcademiCats is an AI-assisted academic research assistant operated from the State of Utah, USA. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, who processes it, and the choices you have. For any privacy question or request, email academicatstool@gmail.com.
We collect: (a) your account email and sign-in metadata, provided by our authentication provider; (b) the queries you submit and the results returned, so we can show your history and improve search/ranking/generation quality; (c) per-feature, per-day usage counts to enforce fair-use quotas; (d) your subscription tier and billing status (we never see or store your full card number — see Section 4); (e) anonymised error traces when something breaks. We do not collect special-category data and do not ask for it.
We use it only to run and improve the service: authenticate you, return and store your search history, generate briefs and other documents you request, enforce quotas, process your subscription, and diagnose bugs. We do not sell your data and do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.
We use a small set of sub-processors, each under its own privacy and security terms: Supabase (authentication and database hosting); Stripe (subscription payments — Stripe handles your card details directly, we never receive them); large language model providers (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek) which process your query and document text to generate results; public academic databases (OpenAlex, Crossref, arXiv, PubMed/Europe PMC, Semantic Scholar) and search providers we query on your behalf; and an error-monitoring service for anonymised crash traces. We do not send your email or other identifying account information alongside the query text we pass to AI providers.
Your queries and any text or files you submit for AI features are sent to the language-model providers above to produce results. Those providers process that content under their own policies. AI output can be wrong or fabricated; how we limit and disclaim that is described in our Terms of Service.
We use only essential cookies and browser local storage needed to keep you signed in and remember your in-app preferences (theme, language, onboarding state). We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Because these are strictly necessary to provide the service you asked for, they do not require a consent banner under GDPR/ePrivacy; clearing them will sign you out.
We keep your account data for as long as your account exists. We retain only what is necessary to operate the service. Cached paper metadata is short-lived and we do not store full paper PDFs long-term. When you delete your account (Section 8), we erase the records this app owns.
From the user menu you can, at any time, export every piece of data we hold about you (GDPR Article 15, right of access) or permanently delete your account and all associated records (GDPR Article 17, right to erasure). Both actions are immediate and irreversible. Depending on where you live you may also have rights to rectification, restriction, or to lodge a complaint with your data-protection authority. To exercise any right or ask a question, email academicatstool@gmail.com.
AcademiCats is intended for researchers, students, and academics and is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country). We do not knowingly collect data from children below that age.
We may update this policy as the service evolves; the version number above changes when we do. Material changes that affect how we handle your data will be communicated in the in-app announcement banner. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Questions? Email academicatstool@gmail.com.