Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Avenza AI ("Avenza", "we", "us") operates the avenzaai.com platform — a research tool that converts Word and PDF questionnaires into live surveys, collects responses, and provides analytics and AI-assisted reports.

This Privacy Policy applies when you visit our website, create an account, upload materials, publish surveys, collect responses, purchase add-ons, or contact us. If you are a survey respondent answering questions through a link shared by a researcher, see Section 6.

By using Avenza, you agree to this policy. For terms governing use of the platform, see our Terms of Service. For data protection information (GDPR & NDPA), see our Data Protection page.

2. Data we collect

We collect only what we need to run the service:

• Account information — Name, email address, password (stored hashed), institution details if provided, and authentication tokens.
• Uploaded materials — Word (.docx) and PDF questionnaires you submit for parsing, plus any edits you make in the Survey Builder.
• Survey & response data — Questions, settings, response submissions, timestamps, and optional device identifiers when "one response per device" is enabled.
• Payment information — Transaction references, plan type, currency, and payment status via Paystack. We do not store full card numbers on our servers.
• Usage & technical data — IP address, browser type, device category, pages visited (including anonymised analytics on public pages), and error logs for security and reliability.
• Communications — Messages you send through our contact form, including name, email, category, and message body.

3. How we use your data

We use collected data to:

• Provide core features: parsing, survey hosting, response collection, dashboards, exports, and analysis add-ons
• Process payments and verify entitlements (activation, Quantitative Analysis, Thematic Analysis)
• Send transactional emails: verification, password reset, and service notifications
• Maintain security: fraud prevention, rate limiting, bot protection, and incident response
• Improve the platform: diagnose errors, measure performance, and develop new features
• Respond to support and contact form requests

4. AI processing

Avenza uses AI providers (such as cloud language models via OpenRouter or equivalent) to parse questionnaires, generate survey drafts, produce analysis reports, and assist with thematic synthesis. When you use these features:

• Relevant text from your uploads, survey content, or response data may be sent to AI providers for processing
• AI outputs are labelled as AI-assisted where displayed or downloaded
• You remain responsible for reviewing AI-parsed questions before publishing and for verifying analysis outputs before academic or professional use

We configure providers and prompts to minimise unnecessary data exposure. We do not use your survey response data to train public AI models unless explicitly stated in a separate agreement.

5. Survey respondents

If you answer a survey through an Avenza link, the researcher who published the survey is typically the data controller for your responses. Avenza acts as a processor/host on their behalf.

• Respondents may be anonymous if the researcher enabled anonymous collection
• Consent and purpose information should appear in the survey introduction — provided by the researcher
• Questions about how your responses are used should be directed to the researcher; Avenza can assist them with data export or deletion on request

6. Sharing & third-party processors

We do not sell personal data. We share data only when necessary:

• Infrastructure providers — Hosting (e.g. cloud servers), database, and file storage
• Payment processing — Paystack for NGN and USD transactions
• AI providers — For parsing, generation, and analysis features
• Email delivery — For verification, reset, and contact form routing
• Security services — Bot protection (e.g. Cloudflare Turnstile) and rate limiting
• Legal requirements — When required by law, court order, or to protect rights and safety

Processors are bound by contractual obligations to protect data and use it only for the services they provide to Avenza.

7. Security

We implement administrative, technical, and organisational measures including:

• HTTPS encryption for data in transit
• Hashed passwords and secure session tokens
• Role-based access controls for staff systems
• Rate limiting and bot protection on authentication and public endpoints
• Monitoring and logging for suspicious activity

No system is perfectly secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, reset your password immediately and contact us through the contact form.

8. Data retention

We retain data for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the service. Specifically:

• Account data — Until you delete your account or request erasure (subject to legal holds)
• Survey & response data — Until you delete the survey or your account; researchers control their own survey lifecycle
• Payment records — As required for accounting, tax, and dispute resolution
• Logs — For a limited period for security and debugging, then rotated or anonymised

9. Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or port your personal data, and to object to certain processing. EU/EEA/UK and Nigerian users — see our Data Protection page for detailed guidance.

To exercise any privacy right, use our contact form. We will verify your identity before processing requests and respond within applicable legal timeframes.

10. Changes & contact

We may update this policy as our service evolves. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

Privacy questions or requests: use our contact form. For general support, choose Support as the subject.