Privacy policy

What this policy covers

This policy explains what personal information UniSphere collects, why we collect it, who can see it, and the choices you have. It applies to the UniSphere website and apps.

Information we collect

• Account information: your name, email address, username and password (stored as a secure hash, never in plain text).
• Profile information you choose to add: college, department, skills, interests, links, photos and bio.
• Content you create: posts, comments, projects, messages, event RSVPs and reports.
• Optional verification information: if you choose to verify, the student ID you enter (stored only as a one-way hash, never shown) or any supporting details and documents you upload. Documents are stored privately and visible only to authorised reviewers. College names you add to the directory are visible to other members.
• Technical information: IP address and device details used for security, abuse prevention and rate limiting.

What is visible to others

Your email address is never shown on your profile. Your profile and posts are visible according to the visibility settings you choose (all members, college, connections or private). UniSphere is open to anyone who signs up, but none of it is visible to people who are not signed in, and none of it is indexed by search engines. The college you choose is shown on your profile if your profile is visible to the viewer; choosing a college does not mean you are verified. Your current year and semester are hidden unless you turn on “show my class”.

How we use information

• To operate the service, show you relevant content and people, and keep the community safe.
• To send essential emails such as verification codes, security notices and decisions about your account, and optional notifications you have enabled.
• To power AI features you choose to use (see below).
• To investigate reports and enforce the community guidelines.

AI features

When you use an AI feature (for example idea discovery or the writing assistant), the text you submit for that request and a small amount of related content that all members can see may be sent to an AI model provider to generate a response. We do not send private posts, private messages or verification documents to AI providers. AI output is a suggestion; you review and approve anything before it is published. If AI is unavailable, the rest of UniSphere keeps working.

Service providers

We use infrastructure providers to run UniSphere: a managed PostgreSQL and authentication service for data and sign-in, Cloudflare R2 for file storage, a transactional email service for emails, a Redis service for caching and rate limiting, and an AI model provider for AI features. They process data only on our behalf.

Your choices and rights

• Edit or remove most information from Settings at any time.
• Choose who sees your profile and who can message you; block or report anyone.
• Request deletion of your account from Settings → Security. After a 14-day grace period your profile and personal data are removed; limited records may be kept where needed for safety or legal reasons.
• Contact us to ask about the information we hold about you.

Security and retention

Data is protected with access controls enforced in the database, encrypted connections, and least-privilege access for staff. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password. We keep information for as long as your account is active and for a limited period afterwards where required.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Use the contact page and choose “Privacy” as the subject.