1. Who we are
Perquira is an independent research platform for behavioral and mental health sciences, built and operated by an independent psychology researcher and software developer. The operator of Perquira is responsible for the personal information described in this policy (the “controller”). For privacy questions or requests, contact contact@perquira.com; we answer requests within one month. When paid plans open, Paddle acts as the reseller and merchant of record for purchases, and its name appears on receipts.
2. Information we process
- Research inputs: questions, topics, manuscript text, search settings and papers you choose to analyse.
- Uploaded PDFs: file content, filename and the research question supplied with the upload.
- Generated results: evidence classifications, syntheses, research opportunities and paper analyses.
- Technical information: information ordinarily produced by hosting and security systems, such as IP address, browser type, request time, error details and service logs.
- Account information: the email address you sign in with, sign-in records, your plan and how many of each feature you used this month (Evidence Maps, Research Opportunities, paper analyses, journal and open-call matches).
- Saved searches: the questions and results you choose to keep in My search history.
- Communications: your email address and message if you contact us.
3. How we use information
We use this information to provide searches and analyses, retrieve scholarly records, produce requested results, prevent abuse, maintain security, diagnose failures, control operating costs and comply with applicable law. Where relevant, the legal basis may include performing the service you request, our legitimate interests in operating and protecting the platform, consent where required, and legal obligations.
4. Uploaded papers and sensitive data
Perquira does not intentionally retain uploaded PDF files after the request is processed. For the focused paper-analysis feature, text is extracted from the PDF and searched locally for limitation, future-research, discussion and conclusion language. Only the relevant excerpts (limitations, future research, discussion, conclusions and the passages describing participants and study design) and minimal citation context are transmitted to a model provider; the complete PDF is not sent for this analysis. Structured outputs may be cached for reliability and cost control. Do not upload protected health information, identifiable clinical records, confidential participant data, embargoed manuscripts or third-party content unless you have authority to do so.
5. Service providers and research sources
Information is processed using infrastructure and specialist services that may include Netlify for hosting and operational storage, Supabase for accounts and sign-in, Resend for sending sign-in emails, OpenAI for language-model processing, Paddle for subscriptions and payments once paid plans open (Paddle acts as the merchant of record and processes payment details; Perquira does not receive full card numbers), and literature services such as OpenAlex, Europe PMC, Semantic Scholar, Crossref and JANE. Only information reasonably required for a requested feature is sent. These providers process data under their own terms and privacy commitments.
6. Storage and retention
Perquira keeps information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described above. Raw uploaded PDF files are not intentionally retained by Perquira after processing. Account information is kept while your account is active. Saved searches are kept until you delete them or ask us to close your account. Monthly usage counts are kept to apply plan limits. Search results may be kept in a temporary cache for up to 30 days so that repeating the same question is fast and does not cost again. Structured results and operational cache records may otherwise remain until they are superseded or removed; hosting and security logs follow provider retention settings. Contact us if you want us to assess a deletion request.
7. International processing
Service providers may process information in countries other than your own. Where required, Perquira will rely on appropriate legal mechanisms for international transfers.
8. Your choices and rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection or portability, and to complain to a data-protection authority. Email contact@perquira.com. We may need to verify your request. If you have an account, include the email address you sign in with so that we can find your records.
9. Cookies and analytics
Perquira does not use advertising cookies or third-party behavioral analytics. When you sign in, a session token is stored in your browser so that you stay signed in; this is strictly necessary for your account. Hosting or security providers may use strictly necessary technologies to deliver and protect the service. This policy will be updated before any optional analytics are introduced.
10. Children
Perquira is intended for researchers and students aged 16 or older. It is not directed to children, and users must not upload personal data about children unless they have a lawful research basis and appropriate safeguards.
11. Security and changes
We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards, but no online service is completely secure. We may update this policy as the service changes. Material changes will be identified by a new effective date.
12. The Perquira browser extension
Perquira also offers a free browser extension for organizing research evidence. The extension is separate from this website: it stores all data (saved highlights, citation metadata, projects and notes) locally in your browser and uploads nothing to Perquira. Its only network request is sending a DOI — a public document identifier — to the Crossref API to retrieve citation metadata. The extension has no accounts, no analytics and no payment system. Uninstalling the extension deletes all of its locally stored data.