BibCite

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 10, 2026

1. Zero-Account & Client-Side Storage

BibCite operates on a Zero-Account Policy. We do not offer user registrations, logins, or cloud-based user profiles. All citation data, bibliography lists, and project folders are stored exclusively on your device using browser localStorage. We never transmit or store your research data on our servers.

2. Stateless PDF Processing

When using our "Auto-Cite by PDF" feature, your file is temporarily uploaded to a secure, intermediary serverless function solely for metadata extraction. This process is stateless: the file is processed in-memory, the metadata is returned to your browser, and the file is immediately purged from the server. We do not log, store, or view the contents of your uploaded PDFs.

3. Cookies, AdSense & CMP

BibCite uses Google AdSense to serve advertisements. To comply with the IAB TCF v2.0 framework and Google’s EU User Consent Policy, we utilize a Consent Management Platform (CMP).

  • Personalized Ads: Served only if you provide explicit consent via the CMP banner.
  • Non-Personalized Ads: Served if consent is declined; these use cookies for frequency capping and aggregated reporting but not for user profiling.
  • Choice Modification: You can reset your privacy choices at any time by clearing your browser cookies or clicking the "Privacy Settings" link in the footer.

4. Analytics & Log Files

We use Google Analytics to measure anonymous visitor trends. When you search for metadata via URL or DOI, our serverless APIs fetch data from public sources (CrossRef, Open Library). These requests do not contain personal identifiers.

5. Contact

For questions regarding this policy, contact us at [email protected].

6. Google Workspace Add-on Data Policy (Google User Data)

BibCite provides a Google Docs™ add-on designed solely to format and insert academic citations. We strictly comply with the Google API Services User Data Policy:

  • Data Access: The add-on only accesses the active Google Docs™ document currently open by the user (via the documents.currentonly scope) and the user interface environment (script.container.ui) to display the citation generator sidebar.
  • Data Use: Document access is strictly used in-memory to insert user-selected formatted citations directly at the cursor position.
  • Data Sharing, Transfer & Disclosure: We do not share, sell, rent, transfer, or disclose any Google user data or document content to any third parties under any circumstances.
  • Data Protection Mechanisms: All operations are completely stateless and execute in temporary runtime memory. We do not store document content on remote databases, and all network transmissions are secured using end-to-end HTTPS/TLS encryption.
  • Data Retention & Deletion: We do not store or retain any Google user data on our servers. Once the user closes the sidebar or the citation is inserted, all temporary memory references are immediately cleared.
  • AI/ML Models: BibCite does not use Google user data to train or fine-tune artificial intelligence or machine learning models.