Privacy Policy

Introduction

Welcome to Literfy, an AI-powered academic literature search and review writing platform. At Literfy, your privacy and the security of your research data are of utmost importance to us. This privacy policy outlines how we collect, use, and protect your personal information and academic content when you use our services.

Information Collection and Use

We collect the following types of data to provide you with a better research experience:

1. Account Information

   • What We Collect: Your name, email address, institutional affiliation (if provided), and authentication credentials.
   • Purpose: To manage your account, provide customer support, and enable collaboration features.

2. Research and Academic Content

   • What We Collect: Your search queries, saved papers, literature review outlines, AI-generated drafts, citations, and exported documents.
   • Purpose: To provide search results, generate literature reviews, save your research progress, and improve our AI models.
   • Your Rights: You retain full ownership of your research content. You can export or delete your data at any time.

3. Third-Party Academic Database Access

   • What We Collect: We query Google Scholar, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar on your behalf. Your search terms are sent to these services.
   • Purpose: To retrieve relevant academic papers and metadata for your research.
   • Note: These third-party services have their own privacy policies. We recommend reviewing them.

4. Usage and Interaction Data

   • What We Collect: Features you use, papers you view or save, time spent on the platform, and interaction patterns with AI-generated content.
   • Purpose: To analyze user engagement, improve search algorithms, and enhance AI review generation quality.

5. Device and Technical Information

   • What We Collect: Device type, operating system, browser type, IP address, and cookies.
   • Purpose: To optimize platform performance, ensure compatibility, and provide security monitoring.

6. Payment and Billing Information

   • What We Collect: Payment method details (processed securely by our payment provider), billing address, and transaction history.
   • Purpose: To facilitate subscription management and payment processing.

How We Use AI and Your Data

• AI-Generated Content: Our AI models generate literature review outlines and drafts based on the papers you select. These generations are private and visible only to you.
• Model Training: We may use anonymized, aggregated usage patterns to improve our AI models. We do not use your specific research content or unpublished work to train public-facing models without explicit consent.
• No Hallucinations: Our AI is designed to generate content grounded in the papers you provide, minimizing the risk of fabricated citations or facts.

Data Storage and Security

• We store your data securely on encrypted servers with industry-standard security measures, including access controls and regular security audits.
• Your research content is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
• We retain your data as long as your account is active. You may request data deletion at any time by contacting us.
• While we implement robust security measures, no system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security against all potential threats.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your research data or personal information. We may share data only in the following limited circumstances:

• With Your Consent: If you choose to share your literature reviews or collaborate with others.
• Third-Party Service Providers: We work with trusted partners (e.g., cloud hosting, payment processors) under strict confidentiality agreements.
• Academic Database Providers: Your search queries are sent to Google Scholar, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar to retrieve results.
• Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, court orders, or protect our rights and safety.

Your Rights and Choices

• Access and Export: You can export your research content, saved papers, and generated reviews at any time.
• Data Deletion: You may request deletion of your account and associated data.
• Opt-Out: You can opt out of non-essential cookies and analytics tracking through your browser settings.
• Data Portability: You can download your data in standard formats (BibTeX, Markdown, PDF, etc.).

Third-Party Services

Literfy integrates with external academic databases and services. We are not responsible for their privacy practices:

• Google Scholar (Privacy Policy)
• PubMed (NCBI) (Privacy Policy)
• Semantic Scholar (Privacy Policy)

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated via email or a prominent notice on our platform. The "effective date" at the top reflects the most recent update. Continued use of Literfy after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or your data, please contact us at:

Copyright Owner: literfy.ai Email: [email protected]

By using Literfy, you consent to this privacy policy and agree to its terms. Thank you for trusting us with your research!