Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 2026
Who we are
PaperFinder is a research discovery tool that searches public scholarly sources and links to legitimate full-text copies. You can use it without creating an account.
What we collect
- Searches: your search terms are sent to third-party research APIs (e.g. OpenAlex, arXiv, PubMed, Semantic Scholar, Crossref, GitHub, PatentsView, Unpaywall) to return results. We cache popular results briefly to improve speed.
- In your browser only: preferences, saved library, and any AI or source API keys you choose to add are stored in your browser (localStorage). They are not sent to or stored on our servers, except an AI key is forwarded once, per request, to the AI provider you selected in order to generate your summary.
- Usage analytics: aggregate, privacy-respecting usage data (page views, feature use) if analytics is enabled.
- Ads & cookies: if advertising is enabled, our ad partner may set cookies to serve and measure ads, subject to your consent.
What we don't do
- We don't require accounts or sell your data.
- We don't host copyrighted papers or bypass paywalls.
- We don't store your AI/source API keys on our servers.
Third parties
Results and links come from public research APIs, each with its own terms. AI summaries are generated by the provider you choose (e.g. Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, or a local model). Ads and analytics, when enabled, are provided by their respective vendors.
Your choices
You can clear your preferences, library and keys at any time by clearing this site's browser storage. Where applicable (e.g. GDPR/CCPA), you can decline non-essential cookies via the consent banner.
Contact
Questions? Contact us at hello@praneethlabs.com.