Privacy Policy

Protecting your personal data is important to us. This privacy policy transparently explains which data we collect when you use Acurio, for what purposes we process it, to whom we disclose it and what rights you have. Processing is carried out in accordance with the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (revFADP) and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Data controller

For data protection inquiries, access requests or to exercise your rights, please contact the email address above.

2. General information on processing

We process personal data solely for the purposes described below and only to the extent necessary to provide our service, fulfil contractual obligations or comply with legal requirements. All staff are bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations.

3. What data we process

3.1 Account data

When you register and sign in, we collect your email address and a unique user ID. Authentication is performed via a magic link sent to you by email. Session information is stored as a technical cookie in your browser.

3.2 Content data

To use the service you upload academic documents (DOCX) and source files (PDF, BibTeX, text). This content is held in our server’s memory only for the duration of the analysis and is discarded once the session ends. Document contents are not permanently stored.

3.3 Analytics and log data

For operation, quality assurance and error handling we log technical information about citation analyses (for example timestamps, duration, number of citations processed, error codes). These logs are retained for up to 30 days and are then automatically deleted.

3.4 Payment data

To manage paid subscriptions we store a Stripe customer ID and your subscription status. Actual payment information (card details, bank accounts) is processed directly by Stripe, not by us.

3.5 Communication

If you contact us by email, we process the information provided in order to handle your request.

4. Purposes and legal bases

We process the above data for the following purposes:

• Provision and operation of the Acurio service (contract performance)
• Authentication and account security (contract performance, legitimate interest)
• AI-based analysis of citations against source documents (contract performance)
• Processing subscriptions and payments (contract performance, legal obligation)
• Error analysis, security and abuse prevention (legitimate interest)
• Communication with you, e.g. for support (contract performance, legitimate interest)
• Compliance with statutory retention and cooperation obligations

5. Recipients and processors

To provide our service we use carefully selected service providers that support us as processors. They may only process data on our behalf and in accordance with our instructions.

Our database (PostgreSQL) is self-hosted on a Coolify instance located in the EU. Disclosure to further third parties takes place only where this is necessary for contract performance or required by law.

6. Cross-border transfers

Some of our service providers are based in countries outside Switzerland and the EEA – in particular the United States (xAI / Grok, Portkey.ai). Swiss and EU data protection law require an adequate level of protection for such transfers. We ensure this in particular by entering into Standard Contractual Clauses (EU SCC) and by additional technical and organisational measures. Content is transferred solely for processing purposes and is not used for model training.

7. Retention periods

• Uploaded documents: only during the session in memory; no persistent storage.
• Analytics and log data: up to 30 days, then automatically deleted.
• Account data: until your account is deleted; then deleted without undue delay, unless statutory retention obligations apply.
• Billing and contract data: ten years under the Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 958f CO).

8. Cookies and similar technologies

We use only strictly necessary cookies required to operate the service (in particular session cookies to maintain your login). We do not use tracking, advertising or analytics cookies. No profiling for marketing purposes takes place.

9. AI-based processing

For citation verification, text excerpts from your document and sources are sent to an xAI (Grok) language model via Portkey.ai. The transmission is encrypted. Results are generated by AI and may be incorrect or incomplete; they are intended as decision support and do not constitute a final scientific or legal assessment.

10. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of our systems. Data transfers are encrypted (TLS). Access to personal data is restricted to authorised personnel.

11. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you have in particular the following rights:

• Access to the data we process about you
• Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure of your data, where no retention obligations apply
• Restriction of processing
• Data portability in a commonly used format
• Objection to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdrawal of consent with effect for the future

To exercise these rights please contact us at info@tecminds.ch. We may request appropriate proof to verify your identity.

12. Right to lodge a complaint

In Switzerland you may lodge a complaint with the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC). Within the EU you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority of your country of residence.

13. Changes to this privacy policy

We reserve the right to adapt this privacy policy to reflect current legal and technical developments. The version published at the time of use applies. We will communicate material changes in good time by email or within the service.