Privacy notice

This notice explains how AcademiQ ("we", "us") collects and uses personal data when you visit academiq.online, send us a request, or work with us on a project. We work with students, researchers and institutions around the world, so the notice is written to apply wherever you are, with a section on the specific rights you have under the law where you live.

Who we are and how to contact us

• Who is responsible for your data: AcademiQ, the trading name under which we provide our services. We decide how and why your personal data is used, which makes us the "controller" (or equivalent term) under most privacy laws.
• Email for privacy questions and requests: academiqforall@outlook.com
• Phone: +44 7988 516464
• Postal address: available on request by email.

What we collect

Through the quote request and contact forms

When you submit a request, we collect:

• the service you are interested in (or "not sure yet");
• your academic level — for example undergraduate, master's, doctoral, faculty or institution;
• your subject or field;
• your deadline, and whether it is flexible;
• a description of the scope — what you need, approximate length, current stage and requirements;
• your name and email address;
• your confirmation that you have read this notice.

The forms don't accept file uploads. Please don't include sensitive information (for example about your health) in the free-text fields.

The form also contains two technical fields used only to reduce spam: a hidden field that should stay empty and a timestamp of when the form was displayed. The website itself does not send or store what you type. When you choose Send on WhatsApp or Send by email, your browser opens WhatsApp or your own email app with your request written out, and nothing reaches us until you press send there. Messages sent on WhatsApp are handled by WhatsApp (Meta) under its own terms and privacy policy, and emails by your email provider and ours (Microsoft Outlook). Our website hosting provider may log your IP address as part of delivering and protecting the site. We don't use it for profiling.

When you email or call us

We keep the messages you send us, your email address or phone number, and notes of what was agreed in calls.

During a project

If you become a client, we also process:

• correspondence with you;
• documents, data and other material you share for the project;
• billing records — your name, what you were invoiced, what you paid and when, and the payment method used. Payments are processed by the provider for the method you choose (a card payment processor, PayPal or your bank). We do not receive or store your full card details.

Project material may itself contain personal data about other people — for example research participants in a dataset or interview transcripts. See "Research data you share with us" below.

When you browse the site

Our website hosting provider processes standard technical data — such as IP address, browser type, the pages requested and the time of the request — in server logs, to deliver the site and keep it secure.

Why we use your data

Where you are in a country whose law relies mainly on consent or notice rather than legal bases, we use your data only for the purposes above, which you are told about here and when you contact us.

We don't send marketing emails unless you opt in separately, and every such email will let you unsubscribe. We don't sell personal data. We don't make decisions about you based solely on automated processing.

Generative AI

We don't enter your documents or data into generative-AI tools unless you ask us to in writing, and we don't use client material to train AI models. All deliverables are prepared and checked by people. Our academic integrity policy explains our wider position on AI.

Research data you share with us

If you share research data that includes information about participants, you are usually the controller of that data and we act on your instructions as a processor (or "service provider"). Please:

• share anonymized or de-identified data wherever your analysis allows;
• check that your ethics approval and participant consent permit sharing with a third party for analysis, transcription or translation;
• tell us before sending special-category or sensitive data, such as health data.

Institutions can ask us for a data processing agreement before a project starts.

Who we share data with

We share personal data only with:

• people working on your project, who are bound by confidentiality obligations;
• service providers who process data for us:
  • WhatsApp (Meta Platforms), for messages you send us on WhatsApp;
  • Microsoft, which provides our Outlook email;
  • the cloud storage provider we use for private project file links (for example, Microsoft OneDrive);
  • our website hosting provider, which serves the site and keeps server logs;
  • the payment provider for the method you choose — a card payment processor, PayPal or your bank;
• professional advisers or authorities where the law requires it or where it is needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

These providers handle data under their own terms and privacy commitments. We don't share your data with advertisers or data brokers.

International transfers

We serve clients in many countries, and our providers may store or process data outside the country where you live, including in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Where the law of your country restricts transfers — for example the EU and UK GDPR, or the laws of Brazil, South Africa, Morocco or China — we rely on a recognized safeguard where one is required, such as an adequacy decision, the European Commission's standard contractual clauses (SCCs), the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or UK Addendum, or another mechanism your law allows. You can ask us for more information about the safeguards that apply to your data.

How long we keep data

Security

We protect personal data with measures suited to its sensitivity: encrypted connections (HTTPS) for the website and form; access limited to the people working on your project; private, access-restricted links for sharing files; and removal of files at the end of the retention periods above. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If a breach affecting your data occurs, we will act as required by the law that applies, including notifying you and the relevant authority where required.

Children and young people

Our services are for people aged 16 and over. Clients under 18 need the consent of a parent or guardian before using our paid services. We don't knowingly collect personal data from children under 16; if you believe we have, contact us and we will delete it.

Cookies and similar technologies

The site does not currently use cookies, analytics or advertising trackers, and it does not store information in your browser. If we decide to add analytics or other non-essential technologies, we will update this notice first and, where the law requires it, ask for your consent.

Your rights where you live

Everyone can ask us to see, correct or delete the personal data we hold about them, and to stop using it for a purpose they object to. Depending on the law that applies to you, you may have further rights, summarized below. These summaries are not a complete statement of each law.

How to exercise a right: email academiqforall@outlook.com, say which right you want to use, and tell us which country or state you live in. We may need to confirm your identity before acting, and we will not charge you or treat you differently for making a request. We respond within one month, and we may extend this where the law allows (for example, by up to two further months under the GDPR for complex requests), telling you why. Different time limits apply where local law sets them, as noted below. If we decline a request, we will explain why and how you can challenge the decision.

European Union and European Economic Area (GDPR)

You have the right to access your data, have it corrected or erased, restrict its use, receive it in a portable format, object to processing based on legitimate interests, and withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier processing. You can complain to the data protection supervisory authority in the country where you live or work, or where you believe an infringement occurred.

United Kingdom (UK GDPR)

You have the same rights as under the EU GDPR. You can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). We would appreciate the chance to address your concern first.

United States

California (CCPA, as amended by the CPRA). Where this law applies, California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, use and disclose; to access, correct and delete it; to opt out of its sale or sharing; to limit the use of sensitive personal information; and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. We don't sell personal information, we don't share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we don't use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about you. You may use an authorized agent to make a request. We respond within 45 days, and may extend this by a further 45 days where necessary, with notice.

Other states. Residents of states with comprehensive privacy laws (such as Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas and others) may have rights to access, correct, delete and obtain a copy of their data, and to opt out of targeted advertising, sale and certain profiling. We don't engage in those activities. If we decline your request, you can appeal by replying to our decision, and we will review it.

Canada (PIPEDA and Quebec Law 25)

You can access the personal information we hold about you, ask for corrections, and withdraw consent, subject to legal or contractual limits. You can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. If you live in Quebec, Law 25 also gives you rights including data portability and information about how your data is processed, and you can complain to the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec. We respond within 30 days.

Australia (Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles)

You can request access to, and correction of, your personal information. If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy complaint, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

India (Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023)

You can request a summary of the personal data we process and whom it is shared with, ask for it to be corrected, completed, updated or erased, withdraw consent, use our grievance process by emailing us, and nominate another person to exercise your rights if you die or become incapacitated. If your grievance is not resolved, you may be able to complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

Singapore (Personal Data Protection Act)

You can request access to your personal data and information about how it has been used or disclosed in the past year, ask for corrections, and withdraw consent. You can contact the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC).

Japan (Act on the Protection of Personal Information)

You can request disclosure of retained personal data and records of transfers to third parties, correction, and the cessation of use, deletion or cessation of transfers where the law allows. You can contact the Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC).

South Korea (Personal Information Protection Act)

You can request access to, correction or deletion of your personal information, and the suspension of its processing, and withdraw consent. You can contact the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) or its dispute mediation service.

Brazil (LGPD)

You can ask us to confirm whether we process your data; access, correct, anonymize, block or delete it; receive it in a portable format; learn whom it is shared with; and withdraw consent. You can complain to the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD).

South Africa (POPIA)

You can ask whether we hold your personal information and request access to it, ask for it to be corrected or deleted, and object to its processing on reasonable grounds. You can complain to the Information Regulator.

Morocco (Law No. 09-08)

You have the right to be informed, and rights of access, rectification and objection regarding your personal data. The Commission Nationale de contrôle de la protection des Données à caractère Personnel (CNDP) oversees the law, and you can contact it.

China (Personal Information Protection Law)

You have rights to know about and decide on the processing of your personal information, to restrict or refuse it, to access, copy, transfer, correct and delete it, and to ask us to explain our processing rules. Sending us your information involves transferring it outside mainland China; we ask you to share only what the project needs.

Everywhere else

If you live in a country not listed here, you can still ask us for access, correction or deletion of your data, or object to how we use it. We will honor these requests on the same terms, and apply any additional rights your local law gives you.

Changes to this notice

We will update this notice when our practices change — including before adding any analytics — and revise the date at the top of the page. We will tell active clients about significant changes.

Contact

Questions about this notice or your data: email academiqforall@outlook.com or call +44 7988 516464. You can also reach us through the contact page.