Papers

PRIVACY POLICY

Effective Date: May 15, 2025

The Papers Company LLC ("Papers," "we," "us," or "our"), operator of the Services described in our Terms of Service, is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website, applications (including "Immigration Papers," "My Papers," and "Papers Checkpoint"), and other related services (collectively, the "Services"). Our slogan is "Moving freely, moving forward."

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By accessing or using our Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access or use the Services.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on our website, sending you an email to the address associated with your account, or through in-app notifications. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household ("Personal Information"). The types of Personal Information we collect depend on how you interact with our Services:

  • A. Information You Provide Directly to Us:

    • Account Registration Information: When you create an account, we collect your name and email address. Email verification is required.
    • "Immigration Papers" Information: To use the "Immigration Papers" service, you may provide detailed Personal Information and upload documents necessary for evaluating your background for immigration eligibility and assembling applications. This may include, but is not limited to:
      • Contact details (address, phone number).
      • Demographic information (date of birth, nationality).
      • Educational history (diplomas, transcripts).
      • Employment history (CVs/resumes, employment letters, job descriptions).
      • Research and publications (research papers, citation records).
      • Financial information (if relevant to the application type).
      • Other supporting documents and evidence containing Personal Information relevant to your immigration application.
    • "My Papers" Information: When you use the "My Papers" service, you may upload and store digital copies of your travel documents, which contain Personal Information such as:
      • Passport details (number, issue/expiry dates, photo, biographical data).
      • Visa details (type, validity, issuing authority).
      • Residence permit details.
      • Information for family members' documents, if you have their explicit consent and legal authority.
    • Payment Information: If you purchase paid Services or features, our third-party payment processor (e.g., Stripe) will collect payment information necessary to process your transaction. We do not directly store your full payment card details. We receive transaction confirmations and related details.
    • Communications with Us: When you contact us for support or other inquiries (e.g., via email to [email protected]), we collect the information you provide in your communications.

  • B. Information We Collect Automatically When You Use Our Services:

    • Log and Usage Data: We automatically collect certain information when you access and use our Services. This may include your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, operating system, device information, the pages or features of our Services you browsed and the time spent on those pages or features, the links on our Services that you clicked on, referring/exit URLs, and other statistics. This information is used for service operation, security, and analytics.
    • Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies: We may use cookies (small text files placed on your device) and similar tracking technologies (e.g., web beacons, pixels) to operate and administer our Services, gather usage data, and improve your experience. You can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level, but if you choose to disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our Services. Our Services do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" signals.
    • "My Papers" Browser Extension Data: If you use the "My Papers" browser extension, it requires permission to access the content of web pages you visit solely to identify relevant forms for auto-filling your stored document information. The extension is designed to be inactive unless you are actively interacting with a recognizable form or manually activate it. The extension does not process, track, or record the web pages you visit or your general browsing activity for any other purpose. The only data it accesses for auto-fill is the document information you have stored in your My Papers account and choose to use.

  • C. Information We Collect from Third Parties:

    • Social Login Services: If you choose to register or log in to our Services using a third-party social media service (e.g., Google Sign-In), we may collect Personal Information from that service, such as your name and email address, as permitted by your privacy settings with that service and their terms.
    • Google Scholar (for "Immigration Papers"): If you use the feature to import your publications from Google Scholar, we will collect the publication data you authorize us to access from your Google Scholar profile.
    • Payment Processors: As mentioned, our payment processors collect payment information and provide us with transaction-related details.

2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use your Personal Information for the following purposes:

  • To Provide, Operate, and Maintain Our Services:
    • To create and manage your account.
    • To enable you to use the specific features of "Immigration Papers" (e.g., evaluate eligibility, assemble applications, draft letters).
    • To enable you to use the specific features of "My Papers" (e.g., store and manage documents, use the browser extension for auto-fill).
    • To enable you to use "Papers Checkpoint" to search visa requirements.
    • To process your transactions for paid Services.
  • To Communicate with You:
    • To send you transactional communications, including account verification, confirmations, technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages.
    • To respond to your comments, questions, and requests, and provide customer service.
  • To Improve Our Services:
    • We use general usage metrics (e.g., user count, amount of data processed, feature usage patterns, system performance statistics) to understand how our Services are being used, to monitor and analyze trends, and for the purpose of improving the functionality and user-friendliness of our Services. This data is aggregated and/or de-identified and does not contain personally identifiable information attributable to you for this purpose. Your direct Personal Information or uploaded documents are not used to train general AI models that would be shared with or benefit other users, nor are they used for any purposes other than providing the direct service to you.
  • For Security and Fraud Prevention:
    • To monitor and protect the security of our Services, detect and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities, and enforce our Terms of Service.
  • To Comply with Legal Obligations:
    • To comply with applicable laws, lawful requests, and legal processes, such as responding to subpoenas or requests from government authorities.
  • With Your Consent:
    • For any other purpose for which you provide consent.

3. HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

We are committed to keeping your Personal Information confidential. We do not sell your Personal Information. We will never share your Personal Information externally or use it for third-party marketing purposes. We may share your Personal Information in the following limited circumstances:

  • Service Providers: We may share your Personal Information with third-party companies and individuals that perform services on our behalf or help us operate our Services (e.g., cloud hosting providers (like AWS or Google Cloud), cloud storage providers, payment processors, AI infrastructure providers (if applicable, for processing your data to provide your service output), customer support tools, and analytics providers for aggregated/de-identified data). These third-party service providers are contractually obligated to protect your Personal Information and are restricted from using your Personal Information for any purpose other than to provide the services they are performing for us.
  • Legal Professionals (At Your Direction via "Immigration Papers"): If you use the "Assist by Attorney" feature within "Immigration Papers," we will share the information and documents you designate with the independent immigration attorney(s) you select, based on your explicit instruction and consent. Papers is not responsible for how these independent attorneys handle your information.
  • Third-Party Services You Authorize:
    • Social Login: If you log in via a third-party service, information may be shared with that service as per your settings with them.
    • Google Scholar Import: When you authorize the import, data is exchanged with Google Scholar as necessary.
  • Legal Requirements and Law Enforcement: We may disclose your Personal Information if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to: (a) comply with relevant laws or to respond to subpoenas, warrants, or other legal process served on Papers; (b) protect or defend the rights, property, or safety of Papers, our users, or others; or (c) in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity.
  • Business Transfers: We may share or transfer your Personal Information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company. We will notify you (e.g., via email and/or a prominent notice on our Services) of any change in ownership or uses of your Personal Information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your Personal Information.
  • With Your Explicit Consent: We may share your Personal Information with other third parties when we have your explicit consent to do so for a specific purpose not covered by this policy.

4. DATA SECURITY

We implement and maintain reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of your Personal Information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. We guarantee user data is encrypted both in transit (e.g., using TLS/SSL) and at rest (e.g., using AES-256 or similar standards) and securely stored.

However, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse. While we strive to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. You are also responsible for helping to protect the security of your Personal Information, such as by safeguarding your account password and not sharing it with others.

5. DATA RETENTION

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Services. We will also retain and use your Personal Information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

For specific services:

  • General Account Data: Retained as long as your account is active.
  • "Immigration Papers" and "My Papers" Uploaded Documents/Data: These documents and data will be stored as long as Papers continues to provide the respective Service to you, or until you actively delete them through your account settings or request deletion.
  • Backup Copies: We maintain backup copies of our data for disaster recovery purposes. When you delete your Personal Information from our active systems, it will be removed from active databases immediately. Deletion from backup systems will occur in accordance with our standard backup rotation and deletion schedules.

6. YOUR DATA RIGHTS AND CHOICES

You have certain rights and choices regarding your Personal Information:

  • Accessing and Updating Your Information: You can review and update your account information (name, email) through your account settings. For other Personal Information, you may be able to access and modify it through the specific Service features (e.g., editing information within "Immigration Papers" or "My Papers").
  • Deleting Your Information: You maintain full control of your information and can delete your Personal Information and uploaded documents at any time through your account settings or by submitting a request to us at [email protected]. Upon receiving your request or action, the data will be immediately and permanently deleted from our active systems.
  • Cookies: Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove or reject browser cookies. Please note that if you choose to remove or reject cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of our Services.
  • Social Login Information: You can manage the information we receive from social login services by adjusting your privacy settings on the respective third-party platform.
  • Communications:
    • Service-Related Communications: You may not opt out of service-related emails (e.g., account verification, transactional communications, changes/updates to features of the Services, security and legal notices) as they are critical to your use of the Services.
    • Promotional Communications: We currently do not send promotional emails. If we do in the future, you will have the option to opt out by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in those emails.

Depending on your location, you may have additional statutory rights, such as the right to data portability or to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Please contact us if you wish to exercise such rights.

7. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Our Services are hosted and operated in the United States. If you are accessing the Services from outside the United States, please be aware that your information, including Personal Information, will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where our servers are located and our central database is operated. The data protection and other laws of the United States might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using our Services, you consent to your information being transferred to our facilities and to the facilities of those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy.

8. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Our Services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 13 (or any higher age threshold established by applicable law). If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from a child under the relevant age without parental consent, we will take steps to delete such information from our files as soon as possible. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under the relevant age, please contact us at [email protected].

9. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND SERVICES

Our Services may contain links to other websites and services operated by third parties. This Privacy Policy does not apply to such third-party websites or services. Any information you provide to those third parties is subject to their respective privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy and security practices of those sites or services.

10. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Effective Date" at the top of this policy. For material changes, we will notify you by email to the address associated with your account, by posting a notice on our website, or through in-app notification prior to the change becoming effective. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about our collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information. Your continued use of the Services after any changes or revisions to this Privacy Policy shall indicate your agreement with the terms of such revised Privacy Policy.

11. CONTACT US

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

The Papers Company LLC
10711 8th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98125
Email: [email protected]