1. Introduction
ScholarSail ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our educational platform.
By using ScholarSail, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our service.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Account Information
When you create an account, we collect:
- Email address: Used for authentication, account recovery, and important service notifications
- Display name: Optional, used to personalize your experience
- Password: Secured using industry-standard methods
- Account creation date: Used for account management and analytics
2.2 User-Generated Content
We store content you create on our platform:
- Flashcards: Questions, answers, and spaced repetition data (review history, intervals, ease factors)
- Decks: Deck names, descriptions, settings, and organization
- Mindmaps: Node content, connections, labels, and hierarchical structure
- Study Guides: Generated content, notes, and customizations
- Memory Palaces: Custom palace layouts, locus mappings, and spatial data
2.3 Usage and Analytics Data
We automatically collect information about how you interact with our service:
- Study sessions: Review timestamps, performance data, session duration
- Feature usage: Which features you use and how frequently
- Device information: Browser type, operating system, screen resolution
- Log data: IP address, access times, pages viewed, errors encountered
- Performance data: Load times, error rates, system health metrics
2.4 Payment Information
Payment processing is handled by third-party payment processors. We do not store your full credit card information. We receive and store:
- Subscription status and plan type
- Payment history (dates and amounts)
- Last 4 digits of payment method
- Payment processor customer ID for managing subscriptions
2.5 AI Interaction Data
When you use our AI-powered features:
- Input prompts sent to AI providers
- Generated content returned by AI models
- AI credit usage and remaining balance
- Request timestamps and generation parameters
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information for:
- Service Delivery: Provide, maintain, and improve ScholarSail's features
- Personalization: Customize your learning experience and spaced repetition schedules
- Communication: Send account-related emails, service updates, and security alerts
- Analytics: Understand usage patterns to improve features and fix bugs
- Security: Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and technical issues
- Billing: Process payments and manage subscriptions
- Legal Compliance: Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service
- AI Features: Generate mindmaps, study guides, and flashcards based on your inputs
We do NOT: Sell your personal information, use your study content for training AI models without consent, or share your data with third parties for their marketing purposes.
4. Third-Party Services
ScholarSail uses trusted third-party services to provide our features. These services may collect and process your data according to their own privacy policies.
Categories of Third-Party Services:
- Cloud Hosting and Database: We use cloud infrastructure providers to store your account information and study materials securely.
- Payment Processing: We use payment processors to handle subscription billing and manage payments securely. We do not store your full credit card information.
- AI Services: When you use AI-powered features (mindmap generation, study guide creation), we send your text prompts to AI service providers to generate content. These providers may process your data according to their own policies.
- Authentication Services: We use third-party services to securely manage user login and authentication.
Your 3D memory palaces are rendered entirely in your web browser using client-side technology. This content stays on your device and is not sent to external servers.
All third-party providers we use are required to maintain appropriate security measures and comply with applicable data protection laws including GDPR.
5. Data Retention
We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services:
- Active accounts: Data retained indefinitely while account is active
- Deleted accounts: Personal data deleted within 30 days, except where required by law
- Backup retention: Backups may contain data for up to 90 days after deletion
- Legal holds: Data may be retained longer if required for legal, compliance, or fraud prevention
- Anonymized analytics: Aggregated, anonymized data may be retained indefinitely for research and improvement
6. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:
6.1 Access and Portability
You have the right to access and download your personal data. You can export your flashcards, decks, and mindmaps directly from the platform.
6.2 Correction
You can update your account information and study materials at any time through your account settings.
6.3 Deletion (Right to Be Forgotten)
You can delete your account at any time through Settings → Account → Delete Account. This will permanently delete your personal information and study data within 30 days.
6.4 Opt-Out of Communications
You can opt out of marketing emails via the unsubscribe link in any email. You cannot opt out of essential service emails (e.g., password resets, billing notifications).
6.5 GDPR Rights (EU/EEA Users)
If you are in the European Union or European Economic Area, you have additional rights:
- Right to restrict processing
- Right to object to processing
- Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
- Right to withdraw consent at any time
6.6 CCPA Rights (California Users)
If you are a California resident, you have the right to:
- Know what personal information is collected
- Know whether your personal information is sold or disclosed
- Opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell your data)
- Request deletion of your personal information
- Non-discrimination for exercising your rights
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@scholarsail.com
7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to:
- Authentication cookies: Keep you logged in (essential)
- Preference cookies: Remember your settings and preferences
- Analytics cookies: Understand how you use our service
- Security cookies: Detect and prevent security threats
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of ScholarSail.
8. Data Security
How Your Content is Protected
Private Content:
Your private flashcards, mindmaps, and study guides are automatically protected from casual viewing. Content is stored in an encoded format that prevents it from being read in database administration tools.
What this means:
- Your private study materials are not readable by support staff during routine database maintenance
- Administrative access to your content requires deliberate action and is logged
- This protection is automatic and requires no action from you
Limitations:
- This is not end-to-end encryption
- Authorized personnel with appropriate access can still view your content if required for security, legal compliance, or technical support
- Public content you choose to share is stored in readable format to enable sharing and search features
When We May Access Your Private Content:
- You request technical support and grant permission
- Required by law or legal process
- Necessary to investigate abuse or security incidents
Public Content:
Content you explicitly mark as public (shared decks) is stored in readable format to enable community features, search, and sharing.
Additional Security Measures
- Secure connections: All data transmitted using encrypted HTTPS connections
- Password protection: Your password is encrypted and never stored in plain text
- Access controls: You must be logged in to access your content
- Database security: Your data is protected and only accessible to you
- Regular backups: Your data is automatically backed up to prevent loss
- Security monitoring: We actively monitor for suspicious activity and security threats
However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
9. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)
ScholarSail is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Users must be at least 13 years old to create an account.
If we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it immediately. If you believe a child under 13 has provided information to us, please contact us at privacy@scholarsail.com.
10. International Data Transfers
Your information may be stored on servers located outside of your state, province, or country, where data protection laws may differ from your jurisdiction.
If you are located outside the United States and choose to use ScholarSail, your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States.
By using ScholarSail, you consent to this transfer. We use cloud infrastructure providers that comply with GDPR and other international privacy frameworks to protect your data.
11. Do Not Track Signals
We do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" (DNT) browser signals. We may implement DNT support in the future as industry standards develop.
12. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by:
- Updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
- Sending an email notification to your registered email address
- Displaying a prominent notice on our platform
Continued use of ScholarSail after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Privacy Inquiries: privacy@scholarsail.com
General Support: support@scholarsail.com
Response Time: We will respond to privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.
By using ScholarSail, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this Privacy Policy.