Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

ResearchChecker is operated by Hamza Emam (the "data controller" for the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation). Contact: Hamza24033@gmail.com.

ResearchChecker does not require an account and does not log your research queries. Your input is sent to our backend (a Cloudflare Worker) which forwards it to the Groq API for AI analysis; neither we nor Cloudflare retain the request body after the response is returned. We do not maintain a user database, do not set first-party tracking cookies, and do not have any way to recover prior queries. Standard server-side request logs (IP, user-agent, timestamp) are retained by Cloudflare for up to 30 days for security/abuse-prevention purposes; we do not access these logs except to investigate abuse.

ResearchChecker depends on the following processors to function:

• Google Fonts — font file delivery. Google may log IP addresses for abuse prevention. Privacy policy.
• NCBI / PubMed E-utilities API — medical literature search. Subject to the NIH/NCBI policy.
• ClinicalTrials.gov API — clinical trial data.
• Europe PMC API — preprint and Cochrane data.
• Semantic Scholar API and OpenAlex API — citation and publication-trend data.
• Groq, Inc. — AI inference (Llama 3.3). Subject to the Groq privacy policy.
• Cloudflare, Inc. — hosting, CDN, and our API proxy. Subject to the Cloudflare privacy policy.
• Google AdSense — advertising. See the section below for what cookies AdSense sets and how to opt out.

ResearchChecker uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. AdSense is a third-party vendor that uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites.

Cookies AdSense and Google may set on your device include:

• __gads, __gpi — AdSense ad delivery and frequency capping
• IDE, DSID — from Google's DoubleClick ad network for measurement and personalization
• NID, ANID — Google account preferences across services

Your consent (EEA, UK, and Switzerland visitors): we use Google Consent Mode v2. By default, all advertising and analytics signals are set to "denied" until you affirmatively click "Accept all" on the cookie banner. If you click "Reject all," Google AdSense will serve only non-personalized ads (which do not use your browsing history for targeting).

How Google uses data when you visit a site that uses AdSense: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Opt out of personalized advertising:

• Google Ads Settings (turn off ad personalization for your Google account)
• aboutads.info / Digital Advertising Alliance (US opt-out)
• Your Online Choices (EU)
• Re-open the cookie banner anytime by clearing your browser's local storage for this site

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") — ask us to delete your data
• Right to restrict processing — limit how we process your data
• Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to withdraw consent at any time (e.g., by clearing your browser's localStorage to re-show the consent banner)
• Right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority

Because we do not maintain a user database or store query content, we typically have no personal data to access, correct, or delete on a per-user basis. The lawful basis for the limited processing we do perform is your consent (advertising/analytics cookies) and our legitimate interest in operating and securing the service (e.g., short-term server logs for abuse prevention).

To exercise any right, email Hamza24033@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what categories of personal information are collected about you
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising
• Non-discrimination for exercising your rights

Do we sell or share your personal information? We do not sell personal information for money. When you accept advertising cookies, Google AdSense may "share" certain identifiers (IP address, AdSense cookie IDs, page URL) for cross-context behavioral advertising under the CPRA definition. To opt out of this sharing, click "Reject all" on our cookie banner, or use Google's Ads Settings. You can also send a Global Privacy Control signal — our consent banner respects browser GPC signals when present.

To exercise California rights, email Hamza24033@gmail.com with "CCPA request" in the subject line.

ResearchChecker is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. AdSense's child-directed treatment is not enabled on this site because the intended audience is adult medical students, residents, and researchers. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us so we can take appropriate action.

We do not retain user-submitted content. The Cloudflare Worker that proxies AI requests processes them in memory and does not persist them. Standard Cloudflare access logs (IP, user-agent, request path, response status) are retained for up to 30 days and are accessed only for security and abuse investigation. AdSense cookies expire per Google's schedule (typically 13 months for advertising cookies).

Our processors (Groq, Cloudflare, Google) are based in the United States. When you use ResearchChecker, your request data may be transferred to and processed in the US. Each processor maintains its own GDPR transfer safeguards (Standard Contractual Clauses and/or Data Privacy Framework certification).

We may update this policy as the service evolves. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date at the top. Continued use of ResearchChecker after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

By accessing and using ResearchChecker, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the service. We reserve the right to modify these terms at any time, and your continued use constitutes acceptance of any changes.

ResearchChecker is a research screening tool that provides AI-assisted evaluations of research ideas. It is designed as a preliminary assessment tool and does not constitute medical advice, professional research consultation, or a comprehensive literature review. Evaluations are generated using AI analysis of real-time database queries and should be used as one input among many in your research planning process.

The service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any evaluation. Database results reflect real-time API queries and may vary. AI-generated analysis represents algorithmic assessment, not expert human judgment. Users are responsible for independently verifying all information before making research decisions.

In no event shall ResearchChecker, its creators, or affiliates be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or relating to your use of the service. This includes but is not limited to damages for loss of profits, data, or other intangible losses resulting from your use of or inability to use the service.

All content, design, and code on ResearchChecker is the intellectual property of its creators. Your research ideas and queries are your own and are never claimed, stored, or used by us in any way. Database results and literature references are the property of their respective publishers and databases.

For questions about this Privacy Policy or Terms of Service, contact us at Hamza24033@gmail.com.