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Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 18, 2026 · Last Updated: October 14, 2026

Updated October 2026: how we handle diagnostic recordings, which AI providers we use, how sign-in works, and what your public profile shows. See Sections 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10.

Waffoo AI ("Waffoo," "we," "us," or "our") operates waffooai.com and search.waffooai.com, including Waffoo Search, the Library, the Journal Finder and member profiles (the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our Service. By using the Service, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information when you register for or use the Service:

Account Information:

  • Full name (or display name)
  • Email address
  • Institution or organization name (optional)
  • Professional role (e.g., student, researcher, healthcare professional) (optional)

Usage Data:

  • Search queries entered into Waffoo Search
  • Research items you click on, save, or interact with
  • Pages visited and features used within the platform
  • Session duration and frequency of visits
  • Device type, browser type, and operating system
  • IP address and approximate location (country or region)
  • Technical diagnostic information when something goes wrong, which may include a recording of the visit so we can see what happened (see Section 9)

A note on error diagnostics

When something goes wrong in the Service, we automatically collect a technical report, and may keep a recording of the visit, so we can reproduce the problem and fix it. The report is linked to your account so we can find it when you tell us something broke and reply to you.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • To provide, operate, and improve the Service
  • To personalize your experience and research recommendations
  • To analyze usage patterns and improve search result quality
  • To communicate with you about your account, updates, and new features
  • To respond to your support requests and feedback
  • To ensure the security and integrity of the platform
  • To comply with applicable legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

3. Third-Party APIs and Data Sources

Waffoo Search retrieves scientific research content by transmitting your search queries to third-party APIs and databases. By using the Service, you acknowledge that your search queries may be sent to these external services to retrieve results. The sources we draw on include, but are not limited to:

Scientific literature & citation databases

PubMed / NCBI and Europe PMC (U.S. National Library of Medicine / EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex (OurResearch), Semantic Scholar (Allen Institute for AI), Crossref, arXiv, bioRxiv and medRxiv, Springer Nature, and the Cochrane Library.

Clinical & public-health authorities

ClinicalTrials.gov and NIH RePORTER/iCite (U.S. National Institutes of Health), the EU Clinical Trials Register (CTIS), the ISRCTN registry, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Government, policy & open-data sources

Congress.gov, the U.S. Federal Register, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Library of Congress, Data.gov, and the OECD.

Books, archives & multimedia

Google Books and YouTube (Google LLC), Open Library and the Internet Archive, OAPEN, Vimeo, and Dailymotion.

We only transmit the minimum information necessary to retrieve relevant research results. We do not share your account information (name, email, institution) with these sources unless explicitly required to do so. Each provider operates under its own terms and privacy policy, which we encourage you to review; Waffoo AI is not responsible for the data practices of these external services. We reserve the right to add, remove, or replace data-source integrations at any time and will keep this policy current.

Attribution and endorsement. We credit the databases and providers we rely on, and we display source attributions within the Service. These organizations — including the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the NIH, the CDC, the WHO, and the other sources listed above — do not sponsor, endorse, or are affiliated with Waffoo AI, and their inclusion does not imply any such relationship. Content retrieved from these sources remains subject to each source's own terms, licenses, and use restrictions (which may include limits on redistribution or commercial reuse).

Representative third-party privacy policies:

4. AI Processing Services

To interpret and rank your searches, Waffoo Search may send your query text to one or more AI and machine-learning providers, which currently include Groq, Cloudflare, Google, Hugging Face and Jina AI. We send only the query text, never your account information (name, email, institution). Each provider operates under its own terms and privacy policy.

Some of these services may be used on free service tiers, where the provider's own terms govern how submitted content is handled. Please keep personal, confidential or unpublished information out of your search queries.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

Beyond the third-party transmissions described in Sections 3 and 4, we do not sell or share your personal information except in the following limited circumstances:

  • Service providers: Trusted vendors who help us operate the platform (hosting, sign-in, email delivery, product analytics (PostHog), and error monitoring (Sentry)) are contractually obligated to protect your data.
  • Legal compliance: We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government authority.
  • Business transfers: If Waffoo AI is acquired or merged with another company, your data may transfer as part of that transaction. We will notify you beforehand.
  • With your consent: We may share information for any other purpose with your explicit consent.

Product analytics

We use PostHog (PostHog, Inc.) for product analytics and bug diagnosis, including the recordings described in Section 9. PostHog processes this data on our behalf and under its own terms. Privacy policy: https://posthog.com/privacy

Error monitoring

We use Sentry (Functional Software, Inc.) for error monitoring, so that we can diagnose faults in the Service. Sentry processes this data on our behalf and under its own terms. Privacy policy: https://sentry.io/privacy/

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. If you request deletion, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where required by law. Diagnostic recordings (Section 9) are deleted automatically after no more than 90 days.

7. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data
  • Opt-out of communications: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@waffooai.com.

8. Data Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information. Waffoo uses passwordless sign-in — a one-time code sent to your email address, or Google sign-in — so there is no Waffoo password for you to manage or for us to store. Please keep access to your email account secure, as it controls access to your Waffoo account. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

9. Cookies, Tracking and Diagnostic Recordings

Waffoo AI's websites, including waffooai.com and Waffoo Search, use cookies and similar technologies to maintain your session, remember preferences, and collect usage analytics. You may disable cookies in your browser settings; however, some features may not function properly without them.

To find and fix crashes and bugs, we may record how the Service behaved during a visit, including what was on screen. Sensitive fields such as sign-in codes are never recorded. Recordings are used only to diagnose and fix problems and are deleted after no more than 90 days.

10. Your Public Profile

When you claim a handle, your profile page at waffooai.com/u/your-handle is public. It shows what you choose to fill in — display name, photo, role, institution, research areas and bio — and the badges you have earned. Your display name and handle are always shown. Being listed in the member directory is your choice.

If you add a work or school email address, your profile shows a verified mark; the address itself is never shown. We email you whenever a sign-in address is added to or removed from your account.

11. Age Restriction

The Service is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a minor, contact us at privacy@waffooai.com and we will promptly delete it.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by posting a prominent notice on the platform. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

Waffoo AI

Email: privacy@waffooai.com

Website: waffooai.com

Washington, DC, United States