Privacy Policy

At ClassLecture.ai ("we," "us," or "our"), we are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data transparently. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you use our lecture transcription and AI assistant service.

By using ClassLecture.ai, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address
• Full name (optional)
• Password (encrypted and never stored in plain text)
• Account creation date

1.2 Educational Content

When you use our service, we process and store:

• Audio/Video Files: Lecture recordings you upload (videos are converted to audio and the original video is discarded)
• Transcripts: Text transcriptions generated from your audio files using AI
• Embeddings: Mathematical representations of your transcript content used for search and retrieval
• Chat History: Questions you ask and AI-generated responses
• Course Information: Class names, course codes, terms, and lecture titles you provide
• External Links: URLs to external videos (YouTube, Zoom, etc.) if you provide them

1.3 Payment Information

When you subscribe to a paid plan, payment processing is handled by Stripe. We store:

• Stripe customer ID
• Subscription status and tier
• Billing period dates
• Last four digits of payment method (via Stripe)

We do not store your full credit card information. All payment data is securely processed and stored by Stripe in compliance with PCI-DSS standards.

1.4 Usage Information

We automatically collect:

• IP address and device information
• Browser type and version
• Pages visited and features used
• Upload timestamps and file sizes
• Transcription job status and processing times
• Number of questions asked per month (for quota enforcement)
• Audio minutes processed per month (for quota enforcement)

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide the Service: Transcribe lectures, generate AI embeddings, answer questions, and organize your educational content
• Process Payments: Manage subscriptions and billing through Stripe
• Authenticate Access: Verify your identity and secure your account
• Enforce Quotas: Track usage against your subscription tier limits
• Improve Quality: Monitor transcription accuracy, response quality, and system performance
• Customer Support: Respond to your questions and troubleshoot issues
• Legal Compliance: Comply with applicable laws and respond to lawful requests
• Prevent Abuse: Detect and prevent fraud, spam, or violations of our Terms of Service

We do not:

• Sell your personal information to third parties
• Use your lecture content to train AI models (your data remains private)
• Share your educational content with your institution without your consent
• Display advertisements based on your lecture content

3. Data Storage and Security

3.1 Where We Store Data

• Database: Supabase (AWS-hosted PostgreSQL with pgvector)
• Audio Files: Cloudflare R2 and Supabase Storage
• Application: Vercel (edge network and serverless functions)
• Transcription Processing: GPU workers (self-hosted and cloud instances)

3.2 Security Measures

We implement industry-standard security practices:

• Encryption at Rest: Audio files and database contents are encrypted using AES-256
• Encryption in Transit: All data transmission uses TLS/SSL
• Row-Level Security (RLS): Database policies ensure you can only access your own data
• Signed URLs: Time-limited, secure access to audio files for transcription workers
• Authentication: Secure password hashing (bcrypt) and session management
• API Key Security: Worker access is controlled via secure API keys
• Regular Updates: We keep our infrastructure and dependencies up to date

3.3 Data Isolation

Your data is strictly isolated from other users. Database queries, vector searches, and chat responses are filtered by your user ID, ensuring you never see content from other students' lectures.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate ClassLecture.ai:

Important: When you use our service, your content may be processed by these third-party services. We select partners with strong privacy commitments and data protection practices.

5. Data Retention and Deletion

5.1 How Long We Keep Data

• Audio Files: Stored indefinitely until you delete them
• Transcripts and Embeddings: Stored indefinitely until you delete the lecture
• Chat History: Stored indefinitely until you delete the conversation or lecture
• Account Information: Stored while your account is active
• Billing Records: Retained for 7 years for tax and legal compliance
• Usage Logs: Retained for 90 days for troubleshooting and analytics

5.2 How to Delete Your Data

You have complete control over your data:

• Delete Individual Lectures: Go to the lecture page and click "Delete." This permanently removes the audio file, transcript, embeddings, and associated chat history.
• Delete Entire Classes: Delete a class to remove all lectures, transcripts, and chat history within that class.
• Delete Your Account: Contact us at privacy@classlecture.ai to request account deletion. We will permanently delete all your data within 30 days, except billing records required by law.

5.3 What Happens After Deletion

When you delete content, it is immediately removed from our active systems. Backups may retain deleted data for up to 30 days, after which it is permanently purged.

6. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information in your account settings
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and all associated data
• Export: Download your transcripts and chat history (feature coming soon)
• Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Objection: Object to certain processing activities (contact us for details)
• Withdraw Consent: Stop using the service at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@classlecture.ai. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Educational Privacy (FERPA)

ClassLecture.ai is designed with educational privacy in mind and takes the following measures to protect student data:

7.1 Student Ownership

You own your educational content. We do not claim ownership of your lecture recordings, transcripts, or questions. You retain all intellectual property rights to your content.

7.2 No Institutional Sharing

We do not share your lecture content, transcripts, or usage data with your educational institution without your explicit consent. Your professors and university cannot access your ClassLecture.ai account.

7.3 Future Institutional Plans

If we offer institutional licenses in the future, we will implement strict controls to ensure FERPA compliance:

• Institutional administrators will only see aggregated, anonymized usage statistics
• Individual student data will remain private
• Audit logs will track all data access
• Students can opt out of institutional plans

7.4 Compliance Commitment

While ClassLecture.ai is a consumer service and not currently subject to FERPA, we design our systems with educational privacy principles in mind to support future compliance if we work with schools.

8. Cookies and Tracking

8.1 Cookies We Use

ClassLecture.ai uses the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Required for authentication and session management (Supabase Auth)
• Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences (theme, language)

8.2 What We Don't Use

• Third-party advertising cookies
• Social media tracking pixels
• Cross-site tracking

8.3 Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling essential cookies may prevent you from logging in or using certain features.

9. International Users

9.1 Data Transfers

ClassLecture.ai is operated from the United States. If you access our service from outside the U.S., your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate.

9.2 GDPR (European Users)

If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have additional rights under GDPR:

• Right to data portability
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to object to automated decision-making
• Right to lodge a complaint with your data protection authority

Our legal basis for processing your data is: (1) contract performance (providing the service), (2) consent (for optional features), and (3) legitimate interests (improving the service).

9.3 CCPA (California Users)

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:

• Right to know what personal information we collect
• Right to delete personal information
• Right to opt out of sale of personal information (note: we do not sell personal information)
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights

10. Children's Privacy

ClassLecture.ai is intended for users aged 13 and older (18 and older in some jurisdictions). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, please do not use our service.

If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will delete that information promptly. If you believe a child has provided us with their information, please contact us at privacy@classlecture.ai.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors.

When we make significant changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Notify you via email if you have an active account
• Display a notification in the app for 30 days

Your continued use of ClassLecture.ai after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: