AI-Powered Faculty Matching

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Privacy Policy

Version: 1.1 · Effective Date: July 14, 2026 · Last Updated: July 14, 2026

PhD-Match LLC (Delaware, USA) · contact@phd-match.com

1. Introduction

PhD-Match LLC ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"), a Delaware limited liability company, respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website https://www.phd-match.com (the "Site") and use our services.

This policy is designed to comply with global privacy standards, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and the Australian Privacy Act 1988.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of information:

Personal Identification Information (PII): Name, email address, and contact details provided upon account registration.

Academic & Professional Profile Data: Educational background, work experience, CV/resume, Statement of Purpose (SOP), research interests, and publication records.

Faculty & Academic Data: Publicly available academic profiles, research focus, and publication records gathered from official university directories to facilitate matching.

Usage Data: Information about your interactions with our Site, such as IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent, referring URLs, and query inputs.

Device Information: Operating system, hardware specifications, and technical metadata.

3. How We Use Your Information & AI Data Processing

We use your information for the following purposes:

AI Matchmaking & Personalization: To process your academic materials (CV, SOP, and research interests) using advanced algorithms to match applicants with potential faculty advisors.

Account Management & Billing: To manage your account and process payments via secure third-party payment processors.

Service Communication: To send service-related notices, updates, and customer support responses.

Platform Improvement: To analyze usage trends and optimize algorithm performance.

Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws and enforce our Terms of Service.

AI Privacy & Data Anonymization Guarantee: We value the confidentiality of your academic materials and personal identity. Prior to transmitting any application documents (CV, SOP, research statements) to our third-party AI processing providers (such as enterprise API engines), we automatically strip and filter out all direct Personally Identifiable Information (PII)—including your real name, email address, phone number, and physical address.

Only anonymized academic features (e.g., educational history, publication text, research interests) are transmitted for AI matching. Furthermore, under our developer API and data processing agreements, your submitted materials are NEVER used by us or our third-party AI providers to train, fine-tune, or improve public foundational AI models.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR/UK GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom (UK), our legal basis for collecting and using your personal information depends on the data concerned and the context:

Performance of a Contract: Processing is necessary to deliver the matching services you requested upon registering.

Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in operating and securing our platform, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.

Legal Obligation: Processing is required to comply with statutory legal requirements.

Consent: Where required by law, we rely on your explicit consent (e.g., for non-essential cookies or direct marketing).

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share your information under the following limited circumstances:

Third-Party Service Providers: With vetted third-party vendors who assist in hosting, payment processing, data analytics, and AI processing under strict contractual data protection obligations.

Faculty & Academic Contacts: If you explicitly choose to connect with or send materials to specific faculty members through our platform.

Legal Requirements: If required by law, court order, or governmental regulation.

Business Transfers: In connection with any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures (including encryption in transit and at rest) to safeguard your personal information. All customer data is hosted on secure servers located in the United States. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

7. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on your location (including the EEA, UK, California, Canada, and Australia), you may exercise the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right to Access & Data Portability: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you in a structured, commonly used format. Do not share, among any linked sites or subset of the platform, data of other users.

Right to Rectification: Request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): Request the deletion of your personal data, subject to lawful exceptions.

Right to Restrict or Object to Processing: Request that we limit or cease processing your data, including for direct marketing or specific automated evaluation.

Right to Opt-Out of Sale / Sharing: We do not sell your personal data.

To exercise any of these rights, please submit a request to contact@phd-match.com. We will respond within 30 days or the preceding timeframe prescribed by applicable law.

8. Data Retention

We may collect and retain these data and retain only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, maintain active user accounts, or comply with statutory retention of obligations. When no longer needed, data is securely anonymized or deleted. Data that must be retained for legal or regulatory purposes may be kept to the extent required by local interpretation.

9. International Data Transfers

PhD-Match LLC is based in the United States, and our services and your information may be processed and stored in the United States. If you access our Site from outside the US (including the EEA, UK, Canada, or Australia), your information may be transferred to and processed in the US. We rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and other lawful transfer mechanisms to ensure your data receives an adequate level of protection.

10. Children's Privacy

Our Site and services are intended exclusively for university students and adult academic applicants. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from individuals under the age of 16. If we become aware that we have collected data from a minor under 16, we will delete it immediately.

11. Processing Purposes — Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use strictly necessary cookies to operate the Site, as well as performance and analytics cookies to improve user experience. You may control cookie preferences via your browser settings or our Cookie Banner.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changed in our legal obligations or data processing practices. The revised version will be indicated by an updated "Version" number and "Last Updated" date at the top of page. Material changes will be communicated by posting a prominent notice on our Site or sending an email notification. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or privacy requests regarding this policy, please contact us at:
PhD-Match LLC
Email: contact@phd-match.com