Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 2026-06-17

1. Introduction & Scope

PhD Progress Tracker ("we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our web application and related services. This policy applies to all users of PhD Progress Tracker, including students, supervisors, and collaborators.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information: • Account Data: Email address, name, role (student or supervisor), and password (stored securely as a hash). • Research Data: Milestones, tasks, literature citations, manuscripts, viva submissions, chat messages, meeting requests, and progress reports that you create within the platform. • Usage Data: Browser type, device information, pages visited, and timestamps for the purpose of improving the service. • Cookies: Essential cookies for authentication sessions and functional cookies for theme and language preferences.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to: • Provide, maintain, and improve the PhD Progress Tracker service. • Authenticate your identity and manage your account. • Enable collaboration features between students and supervisors. • Generate progress reports based on your research data. • Send notifications related to your tasks, vivas, and meetings. • Respond to your support requests and inquiries.

4. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored securely using Supabase, a trusted database-as-a-service platform with built-in encryption at rest and in transit. We implement industry-standard security measures including: • Row-Level Security (RLS) policies ensuring you can only access your own data. • Encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) for all data transfers. • Secure authentication via Supabase Auth with hashed passwords. • Role-based access control separating student and supervisor permissions.

5. Data Sharing & Third Parties

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share data only in the following circumstances: • With your supervisors or collaborators as part of the platform's intended functionality (e.g., shared milestones, chat messages, viva submissions). • With service providers (Supabase for hosting, Vercel for deployment) who process data on our behalf under strict contractual obligations. • When required by law or to protect our legal rights.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to: • Access: View all personal data we hold about you through your account settings. • Correction: Update your personal information at any time. • Deletion: Request complete deletion of your account and all associated data through the Settings page. • Export: Download your research data in standard formats. • Withdraw Consent: You may stop using the service at any time.

7. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, all associated data (milestones, tasks, literature, manuscripts, chat messages, vivas, and reports) is immediately and permanently removed from our active databases. This action is irreversible, and data cannot be recovered. Residual copies may remain in our secure, encrypted backups for up to 30 days before being fully purged, but these backups cannot be used to restore individual deleted accounts.

8. Children's Privacy

PhD Progress Tracker is designed for academic researchers and is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal data, we will take steps to delete such information.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users of any material changes via in-app notification or email. The "Effective Date" at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: • Support: support@phdpt.com • General Inquiries: contact.us@phdpt.com