Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how ArchAdemia Ltd ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards your personal data when you access or use our Service. This policy is intended for UK/EU Users; if you are in another jurisdiction additional rights may apply.

1. Data Controller

ArchAdemia Ltd, company no. 13602105, registered address Independence House, 6 Tapton Way, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, L13 1DA, is the data controller for the purposes of the UK GDPR / UK Data Protection Act 2018 and applicable EU data protection laws.

2. What Information We Collect

We collect the following types of personal information:

Account / registration data: name, email address, username, password, billing information, country of residence, payment method details (but not full card numbers)

Usage data: date/time of access, login history, service usage (which courses or tools you access), IP address, device information, browser and network data

Profile data: optional profile information you provide such as job role (architecture student, junior architect, BIM manager etc), profile photo or avatar, biography, projects posted via Drawing Board

User Content: any User Content you post via the Drawing Board (projects, comments, messages)

Communications data: correspondence with us (via email, in-app messages), support requests

Tool output / interaction data: data related to your use of the LLM Tool or other Tools (for example: inputs you give, outputs generated, usage metrics)

Marketing & preferences: your communication preferences, marketing consent, newsletter subscription

Cookies & similar technologies: we use cookies and tracking technologies to analyse usage, personalise your experience and for analytics.

Parental Consent (for 16–17-year-olds): If you are between 16 and 18, we may request verification of parental/guardian consent before full account activation. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16.

3. Purposes & Legal Bases for Processing

We process your personal data for the following purposes:

• to register and administer your account (legal basis: performance of contract)
• to provide the Service (including access to Content, the CORB Tool, Drawing Board, Tools) (legal basis: performance of contract)
• to carry out billing, payments and subscriptions (legal basis: performance of contract)
• to monitor, analyse and improve the Service (legal basis: legitimate interest)
• to send you service-related notices, updates and administrative messages (legal basis: performance of contract or legitimate interest)
• to send marketing communications (where you have consented) (legal basis: consent)
• to personalise your experience, recommend content, use profiling/analytics (legal basis: legitimate interest)
• to detect and prevent fraud, unauthorised access or misuse (legal basis: legitimate interest)
• to enable user-to-user interactions on the Drawing Board and maintain the community (legal basis: legitimate interest)
• to process your interactions with the CORB Tool and other Tools (legal basis: performance of contract, legitimate interest).
• For compliance with child-protection and age-verification obligations (legal basis: legal obligation, legitimate interest).

4. Community Content & Moderation

To protect the ArchAdemia community, we may monitor and process Drawing Board posts for moderation, safety and compliance with our Terms and Community Guidelines.

We use a mix of automated filters and human moderation. Any flagged data may be reviewed manually.

This processing is based on our legitimate interest in maintaining a safe environment and complying with legal obligations.

5. Disclosure / Sharing of Personal Data

We may disclose your personal data to:

• our service providers and subcontractors (payment processors, hosting providers, analytics providers) – only as necessary and under contractual protections
• other Users via the Drawing Board in relation to your profile or content you have chosen to share publicly
• legal or regulatory authorities where required by law or to protect our rights
• third parties in connection with a business restructuring, sale or merger, subject to appropriate safeguards
• in anonymised or aggregated form (which cannot reasonably identify you).

We do not sell your personal data to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

6. International Users & Consumer Rights

If you reside in the European Union, EEA or other jurisdictions with additional privacy rights, you may exercise these in accordance with local law.

For EU residents, ArchAdemia complies with the UK GDPR and, where applicable, the EU GDPR.

We maintain appropriate safeguards for international data transfers (Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent).

7. Data Retention

We will retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy (including account active period) and to comply with our legal obligations (for example tax/accounting records). When your account is closed we will delete or anonymise your personal data in accordance with our retention policy.

8. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data. However, no system is entirely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security; you are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials.

9. Refunds & Payment Information

Payment processing is handled by third-party providers (e.g. Stripe, PayPal, Klarna).

We do not store full payment card details.

Refunds, where applicable, are managed in accordance with our Terms & Conditions refund policy.

10. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies. You may disable certain cookies through your browser settings, but this may affect your experience of the Service. For further information see our Cookie Policy.

11. Your Rights

If you are a UK/EU resident you have certain rights under data protection law, including:

• Right of access to your personal data
• Right to rectification of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") in certain circumstances
• Right to restrict or object to processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to withdraw consent for marketing at any time
• Right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) or relevant supervisory authority.

12. Children

Users must be at least 16 years of age.

For users aged 16–17, parental or guardian consent is required.

We do not knowingly collect data from persons under 16; if such data is discovered it will be promptly deleted.

13. Changes to the Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll notify you by posting the updated policy on the Service and indicating the date of revision. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.