Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

ScholarDeck ("ScholarDeck", "we", "us") operates this website and application. If you have any question about this policy or your data, contact us at tomliba1996@gmail.com. For users in the EEA and UK, ScholarDeck is the controller of the personal data described in this policy, and you can reach us using the contact above.

2. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Account. When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile picture. We do not receive or store your Google password.
• Profile.The headline, bio, specialties, links (including ORCID), and "open to collaborate" status you choose to add.
• Content. Posts, comments, replies, saved cards, follows, reposts, questions, and direct messages you create.
• Publication claims. When you claim your research, the author identifiers and papers you confirm as yours.
• Reports and support. Information you submit when you report content or contact us.

Information we get from other sources

• Public research data. We retrieve publicly available bibliographic data (titles, abstracts, authors, journals, citation counts) from sources such as PubMed / NCBI E-utilities, OpenAlex, ORCID, and Crossref to build paper cards and to help you find and claim your work. We do not control these third-party sources.

Information collected automatically

• Usage and device data. Basic log data (IP address, browser type, pages viewed, actions taken) used to run, secure, and improve the service.
• Cookies.A required cookie to keep you signed in, and a small preference cookie that remembers your dark-mode choice. We may use privacy-respecting product analytics to understand which features are used. See "Cookies" below.

3. How we use your information

• To provide the service: your feed, profile, follows, discussions, and messages.
• To personalise the research shown to you based on the specialties you choose.
• To send in-app notifications (likes, comments, follows, new papers in your fields).
• To keep the platform safe: rate-limiting, blocking, moderation, and abuse prevention.
• To measure and improve features, fix errors, and understand aggregate usage.
• To comply with the law and enforce our Terms.

4. How your information is shared

Some information is public by design: your name, profile, verified status, claimed publications, and the posts and comments you make are visible to other users and may appear in search. Your email address and direct messages are not public.

We share personal data only as follows:

• Service providers who process data on our behalf under contract, including hosting (Vercel), database (Neon), authentication (Google), error monitoring (Sentry), product analytics (PostHog), rate-limiting (Upstash), and email delivery. They may only use the data to provide their service to us.
• Legal reasons: to comply with law, respond to lawful requests, or protect the rights, safety, and property of our users or the public.
• Business transfers: if ScholarDeck is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred, subject to this policy.

We do not sell your personal information.

5. Your rights and choices

• Access, correction, and export. You can view and edit your profile at any time and request a copy of your data.
• Deletion. You can delete your content and close your account. When you do, we delete or de-identify your personal data, except where we must keep it for legal, security, or backup reasons for a limited period.
• Publication claims. Claims are always confirmed by you and never attached automatically; you can remove a claimed paper from your profile at any time.
• Notifications. You can adjust notification preferences in Settings.

Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR or CCPA/CPRA), you may have additional rights, including to object to or restrict processing and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. To exercise any right, contact tomliba1996@gmail.com.

6. Cookies

We use a strictly necessary cookie for sign-in and a functional cookie for your dark-mode preference. Any analytics we use is aimed at understanding aggregate feature usage, not tracking you across other sites. You can control cookies through your browser settings; blocking the sign-in cookie will prevent you from logging in.

7. Data retention

We keep your account and content while your account is active. After deletion, we remove or de-identify personal data within a reasonable period, retaining limited information only where necessary for legal compliance, dispute resolution, security, or backups.

8. Security

We use technical and organisational measures such as encrypted connections, access controls, and rate-limiting to protect your data. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. International transfers

We and our service providers may process your data in countries other than your own. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses) for international transfers.

10. Children

ScholarDeck is intended for verified physicians and researchers and is not directed to anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app.

12. Contact

Questions or requests: tomliba1996@gmail.com.