Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using ChatAcademia ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Service.

2. Use of the Service

You must be at least 18 years old to use ChatAcademia. You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:

• Use the Service in any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation.
• Impersonate or attempt to impersonate ChatAcademia, a ChatAcademia employee, another user, or any other person or entity.
• Engage in any conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Service.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Service, the server on which the Service is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Service.

3. No AI Training on User Data

ChatAcademia does not use your data to train, fine-tune, or improve any artificial intelligence or machine learning models. Your research data, uploaded files, conversations, queries, and any other content you provide remain yours. We process your data solely to deliver the Service to you in real time and do not retain it for model training purposes.

4. Third-Party Integrations and Read-Only Access

ChatAcademia integrates with third-party services to enhance your research workflow. When you connect your accounts, we access your data in a strictly read-only manner:

• Google (Google Drive, Google Scholar): We read files and documents you explicitly select. We do not modify, delete, or create files in your Google account.
• Zotero: We read your library data (references, collections, and metadata) to help you search, organize, and cite your papers. We do not modify or delete items in your Zotero library.
• Mendeley: We read your library data (references, folders, and metadata) to assist with paper management and citation. We do not modify or delete items in your Mendeley library.
• Uploaded Files (PDFs, documents): Files you upload are processed to extract text for analysis. They are stored securely and used only to provide the Service to you. They are never shared with other users or used for AI training.

You can revoke access to any connected third-party service at any time through your account settings. Upon disconnection, we stop accessing data from that service.

5. Your Data Ownership

You retain full ownership of all content you submit to ChatAcademia, including uploaded files, research data, conversations, and generated outputs. By using the Service, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to process your content solely for the purpose of providing and improving the Service for you. This license does not include the right to use your content for AI model training, sell your data, or share it with third parties except as needed to operate the Service.

6. Limitation of Liability

In no event will ChatAcademia, its affiliates, or their licensors, service providers, employees, agents, officers, or directors be liable for damages of any kind, under any legal theory, arising out of or in connection with your use, or inability to use, the Service, including any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages.

7. Intellectual Property

The Service and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are owned by ChatAcademia, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

8. Changes to Terms

We may revise and update these Terms of Service from time to time at our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them. For material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' notice before the new terms take effect. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of revised Terms means that you accept and agree to the changes.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us at team@chatacademia.com.