Privacy notice

Last updated September 11, 2026

ABDA-NL is an academic research service operated by the iDAKS Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences. This notice describes the data practices of this service.

What you can do anonymously

You can open built-in scenarios, inspect computed arguments, and make deterministic changes without registering. The application uses short-lived, pseudonymous rate-limit counters and operational request metadata to keep the service reliable. The application does not store the raw network address in its rate-limit table.

Information stored for registered users

• Your verified email address, optional display name, identity-provider issuer and subject, and login timestamps.
• Private scenario names, descriptions, contents (including glossary definitions and attached reference text), versions, and timestamps.
• Trial activation, model route, token counts, cost, latency, status, and request identifiers. Model prompts and responses are not stored in usage records.
• Digests and metadata for share links and MCP credentials. The service does not retain recoverable copies of those bearer secrets.

Private scenario content, model prompts, and model responses are used only to provide, secure, recover, and maintain the service. They are not analyzed as research data.

Reference uploads are converted to text for review before saving. The original PDF is not retained. Saved reference text and optional source URLs follow the scenario's access controls, export, sharing, retention, and deletion rules. Source URLs are not fetched by the service.

Conversation history on your device

While signed in, the browser automatically saves your conversation, unfinished question, selected context, and the scenario snapshot used for each question. Snapshots include pending changes, computed arguments, glossary definitions, and complete attached reference text. This history is stored on this device for your account; it does not synchronize to other devices. Signed-out drafts stay in the current tab.

Signing out hides your saved conversations from the interface but keeps them on this device for your next sign-in. Use Delete in Chat & Explore to remove a conversation and its snapshots, or clear this site's browser data to remove all locally saved history. Server-side account deletion cannot erase copies stored on your devices or files you downloaded. Export includes the conversation and its scenario snapshots, with no automatically added provider keys, login tokens, or share-link secrets.

Suggesting a community scenario

Submitting a scenario for inclusion creates a fixed snapshot of its public title and summary, complete scenario background, statements, glossary, rules, bundled-source references, and the full text and source URLs of attached documents. Shortening the summary does not redact the background or documents. Only you and scenario administrators can view a pending submission and your optional note to the reviewer. Administrators can see your display name for review, never your other private scenarios. If approved, the snapshot becomes a public, downloadable scenario. Your display name is public only if you explicitly opt in when submitting, and that saved attribution does not change with later profile edits. Account email, reviewer notes, private scenario description, chat history, keys, and share links are not included automatically.

Check the snapshot carefully and remove personal or confidential material before submitting. Later edits or archiving of your private scenario do not change the snapshot. You can withdraw a pending request; contact support to request removal of a published scenario. Account suspension hides your published snapshots, and permanent account deletion removes your submissions and published snapshots from this service. Copies already downloaded by others cannot be recalled.

Model-provider processing

AI requests can include relevant excerpts of the scenario's reference documents and glossary. Do not attach material you are not authorized to send to the chosen model provider.

When you use an AI feature, the current scenario and your instruction or question are sent to the selected model provider. Funded access uses CloudBank-funded Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud. During a qualifying service outage, it may use the displayed OpenRouter fallback. If you bring your own key, the request is sent to the provider and model you select.

Every OpenRouter request asks for only endpoints that OpenRouter marks as Zero Data Retention and as not collecting user data. OpenRouter may still retain operational metadata such as timestamps, model names, and token counts. Availability depends on a compatible privacy-preserving endpoint being online.

Do not submit confidential information, sensitive personal information, unpublished restricted data, or material that you are not authorized to send to the selected provider.

A bring-your-own key is held in memory for the current browser tab, sent with the model request, and not saved in browser storage, a cookie, a scenario, a share link, the application database, or an application log. Model providers process requests under their own terms and privacy notices.

Cookies and security logs

The service uses a signed, secure session cookie after login. It does not use advertising cookies. Managed hosting, identity, database, and model services may create security, billing, and availability logs. Application request logs use normalized route names and do not record query strings.

Retention and deletion

Account and private scenario records remain available while the service is operating unless you request deletion. Archiving a private scenario removes it from your active list and revokes its share links. You can restore it privately or permanently delete it from Archived after confirmation. Deleting a private scenario also removes its share links; submitted and published snapshots remain separate.

Application and managed container logs are retained for up to 30 days. Database backups are retained for 7 days, so deleted material may remain in a backup until that backup expires. Short-lived rate-limit counters stop applying when their window ends. Expired records are removed at application startup or by an hourly cleanup triggered by subsequent traffic.

Introductory credit cannot be claimed again after account deletion. To enforce this rule, the service retains keyed eligibility markers derived from your verified email and identity-provider account for the lifetime of the credit program. These markers remain after account deletion; they do not retain scenario or conversation content. You may still sign in again and use your own provider key.

To request access, correction, or permanent deletion, email privacy@abda-nl.org. Do not include an API key, share link, MCP token, or other secret. After verifying the request, the project team will complete it within 30 days. General service questions can be sent to support@abda-nl.org.

Changes to this notice

Material changes will be posted here with a revised date. This research service may also publish a release note when a change affects model routing or stored user data.