Privacy Policy

ResearchPod ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application and website.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

• Email address (required for account creation)
• Password (encrypted and securely stored)

Content You Provide

• PDF documents you upload for podcast generation
• Generated podcast content
• Questions you ask about a paper in the in-app chat

Usage Data

• App usage statistics and interactions (e.g., onboarding completion, uploads, playback milestones)
• Device information (device type, operating system version)
• Identifiers used for analytics (e.g., a user ID or other pseudonymous identifiers)
• Crash reports and performance data
• Masked session replay recordings that help us understand app usability and diagnose friction. We configure replay to mask text inputs and images where possible.

On the web app, optional analytics and ad measurement remain off until you explicitly enable them through the consent banner or the controls on this page.

Subscription Information

• Purchase history and subscription status
• Transaction and billing identifiers provided by Apple or Stripe

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide and improve the ResearchPod service
• Process your documents and generate podcasts
• Manage your account and subscription
• Send service-related notifications (podcast ready, account updates)
• Analyze usage patterns to improve the app
• Surface anonymized reader questions about a paper on that paper's public page and in outreach to its author (see "Anonymized Reader Questions" below)
• Respond to your inquiries and support requests
• Comply with legal obligations

3. How We Store Your Information

Document Processing

• Uploaded PDFs are temporarily stored during processing
• PDFs are deleted after podcast generation is complete
• Generated podcasts are stored securely in cloud storage

Data Security

• All data is encrypted in transit using TLS/SSL
• Passwords are hashed using industry-standard algorithms
• We use Supabase for secure database storage
• Regular security audits and updates

4. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information with:

Service Providers

• Cloud hosting providers (Vercel, Supabase, Google Cloud)
• AI service providers for podcast generation
• Apple and Stripe for subscription processing

Anonymized Reader Questions

When you ask a question about a paper in the in-app chat, that question may be reviewed by an automated process and, if it is substantive and free of identifying details, shown anonymously on that paper's public episode page and shared anonymously with the paper's author. We screen out questions that contain personal or sensitive information, and we never attach your name, email, or account to a displayed question. We only do this for papers in our public library, not for documents you upload privately.

5. Third-Party Services

You can withdraw or grant consent for these optional services at any time using the controls below. Changing your setting affects future analytics and measurement on this device and browser.

We may use masked session replay recordings to understand usability issues, such as where users get stuck during onboarding or before playing audio. Session replay is configured to mask text inputs and images where possible, and we do not use replay data for advertising.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data.

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@researchpod.app.

7. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions or requests: privacy@researchpod.app