1. Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to Academic Cat (学术猫, the “App”), an arXiv paper search, reading, and AI-assisted research tool for Chinese-speaking researchers, provided by an independent developer (“we”, “us”). It explains how we collect, use, store, and share information when you use paper search, paper details, AI interpretation, paper translation, PDF reading, daily paper briefs, favorites and reading history, push notifications, and membership subscriptions.
The App primarily serves users in mainland China, and our servers are hosted on cloud infrastructure located in mainland China. If you use the App from another country or region, please also comply with local law.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information you provide
- Account identifiers: when you sign in with Apple, WeChat, or an email one-time code, we receive the identifier returned by that platform (for example Apple’s
sub, WeChat’sopenid/unionid), a verified email address, display name, and avatar URL. For email sign-in we need your email address to deliver the one-time code. - Profile data: nickname, avatar, followed subject categories, interface language, appearance mode, and the email address you use for the paper delivery feature, all entered by you in Settings.
- Content you create: AI chat messages, AI interpretation records, favorite folders and folder names, reading history, search keywords, and PDF annotations.
- Feedback: messages you send us through the in-app feedback email, plus any screenshots you include.
2.2 Information generated when you use features
- Papers and queries you request: paper IDs, arXiv links, search keywords, and selected subject categories, used to return results and generate AI output.
- AI feature input: when you use short summaries, AI interpretation, title/abstract translation, full PDF translation, subject daily briefs, or AI chat, the relevant paper title, abstract, text excerpts, and your question are sent to our servers and forwarded to our AI model provider for processing.
- Translation tasks: the PDF translation jobs you submit, their status, and the validity period of the translated file.
- Membership and purchase status: whether your membership is active, its type (monthly, yearly, lifetime, single purchase), expiration date, and the transaction receipt used to restore purchases. We never receive your card number, WeChat Pay password, or full payment details.
- Device and diagnostic data: device model, OS version, app version, interface language, system region, an anonymous device identifier, push token (only if you enable notifications), and request paths and error codes when something fails.
- Usage analytics: page views, feature taps, sign-in method, and subscription conversion events. In the mainland China build we do not use the advertising identifier (IDFA) and do not perform cross-app ad tracking.
2.3 What we do not collect
- Precise (GPS) location. We use only system region and language to infer your country/region and choose a service node and language.
- Contacts, SMS, or call logs.
- The list of other apps installed on your device.
3. Permissions and Device Capabilities
| Permission | Purpose | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | Scan QR codes to open a paper or a debug entry | Optional |
| Photo library (read) | Pick an image from your library as your avatar | Optional |
| Photo library (write) | Save an exported paper image or PDF to your library | Optional |
| Notifications | Daily paper updates, PDF translation finished alerts, trending paper recommendations | Optional |
| iCloud Drive | Store favorites and PDF files in your own iCloud container when you enable sync | Optional |
Each permission is requested only when you first use the related feature. You can revoke any of them at any time in iOS Settings → Academic Cat; only the corresponding feature stops working.
4. How We Use Information
- Provide core features: paper search, category browsing, paper details, PDF reading and annotation, favorites, and reading history.
- Generate AI output: short summaries, AI interpretation, title/abstract translation, full PDF translation, subject daily briefs, and chat answers.
- Manage your account: sign-in, sign-out, multi-device session management, third-party identity binding and merging.
- Process memberships: verify purchases, restore purchases, and determine entitlements and daily quotas for free users.
- Send notifications, only for the categories you enable in the App.
- Protect the service: detect anomalous requests, apply rate limits, and diagnose crashes and API failures.
- Improve the product: aggregate usage statistics to prioritize improvements.
5. Sharing and Processors
We do not sell your personal information and do not use it for advertising. To operate the App we share only what is necessary with the following service providers:
| Provider | Purpose | Information involved |
|---|---|---|
| Apple (App Store, iCloud, Sign in with Apple) | In-app purchase payments, Apple sign-in, iCloud sync | Transaction receipts, Apple account identifier, files you choose to sync |
| Tencent (WeChat Open Platform, WeChat Pay) | WeChat sign-in and in-WeChat payment | WeChat account identifier, name, avatar, transaction number |
| RevenueCat | Membership state management and purchase restoration | Transaction receipts, anonymous app user ID, device and version info |
| Volcano Engine (Doubao LLM) | Generate summaries, interpretations, translations, and chat answers | Paper text excerpts and your prompts (no account credentials) |
| Umeng+ | Crash and performance diagnostics, push delivery, mainland China analytics | Device model, OS version, app version, push token |
| PostHog | Product usage analytics (event statistics, not ad tracking) | Anonymous user identifier, feature usage events, device and version info |
| Object storage / CDN | Store avatars you upload, cache paper PDFs | Images you upload, publicly accessible paper files |
| Cloud infrastructure | Run API services and databases (in mainland China) | The business data described in Section 2 |
Each provider is limited to processing data on our behalf for the purposes listed. See also the Apple Privacy Policy, the Tencent Privacy Policy, and the RevenueCat Privacy Policy.
We disclose information to other third parties only with your explicit consent, when required by law or a lawful order from a competent authority, or when necessary to protect the vital interests of you or others.
6. Important Notes on AI Features
Do not enter sensitive personal information into AI conversations. AI interpretation, PDF translation, and AI chat transmit the text you submit to our servers and to our AI model provider. Do not submit government ID numbers, bank card numbers, home addresses, health information, other people’s private data, or anything else you do not want processed.
AI-generated output (short summaries, AI interpretation, translations, daily briefs, answers) is produced automatically and may contain factual errors, omissions, or misinterpretations. It is not an academic conclusion, legal advice, medical advice, or investment advice. Verify against the original paper before citing.
To control cost and prevent abuse, some AI features for non-members are subject to a daily quota, as shown in the App.
7. Retention and Storage Location
- Data on your device: interface settings, search history, reading history, favorites, downloaded PDFs, translation records, AI chat records, and offline caches. This lives on your device by default; uninstalling the App usually removes it, but iCloud-synced copies must be deleted by you in Settings → Apple ID → iCloud.
- Data on our servers: basic account information, identity bindings, synced copies of favorites and reading history, membership status, translation task records, and AI chat history. We retain this while your account exists. After you delete your account or the relevant content, production data is removed within a reasonable period (typically 30 days).
- Logs: API access and error logs are generally retained for no more than 90 days for security and troubleshooting.
8. Your Rights and How to Exercise Them
- Access and correction: view and edit your nickname, avatar, subject preferences, and paper delivery email in Settings → Account.
- Withdraw consent: revoke camera, photo, and notification permissions in iOS Settings, or turn off notification categories in the App.
- Unlink a sign-in method: in Settings → Account Management you can unlink Apple, WeChat, or email. If no sign-in method remains, the account can no longer be accessed — bind a new method first.
- Sign out other devices: view and end sessions on other devices in Settings → Account Management → Signed-in devices.
- Delete data: delete favorites, delete chat history, clear cache, and clear iCloud data all work in-app. To delete your account, use Settings → Account Management or email us.
- Export and complaints: to request a copy of your data or file a privacy complaint, contact us below; we respond within 30 days.
9. Children
The App is intended for researchers and academic readers and is not designed to collect children’s personal information. If you are under 14, please use the App only with the consent and guidance of a parent or guardian. If we learn that we collected a child’s information without guardian consent, we will delete it promptly.
10. Security
We protect information with: HTTPS for all traffic; separate storage and revocation support for access and refresh tokens; per-device sessions that can be terminated individually; database and provider credentials managed through environment variables and encrypted configuration; and rate limiting and anomaly detection on our APIs.
No internet transmission or storage is perfectly secure. If a security incident affects your rights, we will notify you as required by law.
11. Third-Party Links
The App shows links to arXiv, publisher pages, code repositories, and the Academic Cat Chrome browser extension. Once you leave the App for one of those sites, its own privacy policy governs, and this Policy does not apply.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy when our features, providers, or legal obligations change. The updated version is published on this page with a new “Last updated” date. If a change materially affects your rights, we will highlight it in the App.
13. Contact Us
For any question, request, or complaint about this Policy or our handling of personal information:
Email: arxivchat@gmail.com
We usually reply within 3 business days and within 30 days for complex requests.