Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

Last updated: 21 March 2026

Academic SEO provides pre-publication manuscript optimisation services for researchers in the biological sciences and medicine. These terms govern your use of our service and explain how we handle your data.

1. Manuscript Confidentiality

When you share a manuscript with us, we treat it as strictly confidential material. Specifically:

• Access: Only team members directly assigned to your project will access your manuscript. We do not use subcontractors or outsource any part of the work without your written consent.
• Transfer: Manuscripts must be shared via encrypted file transfer (e.g. password-protected cloud storage link). We do not accept manuscripts via unencrypted email and will redirect you to a secure channel if you attempt to do so.
• Storage: During the project, your manuscript is stored in access-controlled, encrypted cloud storage. Access is restricted to assigned team members only.
• Deletion: All copies of your manuscript — including any working drafts, notes, and derivative files — are permanently deleted within 30 days of delivering the final optimisation report. You may request earlier deletion at any time.
• No secondary use: Your manuscript will never be used for marketing, case studies, benchmarking, internal training, or any purpose other than delivering the agreed service — unless you give explicit written consent.

2. AI Tools & Third-Party Services

Our analysis may involve the use of AI-assisted tools for readability scoring, keyword analysis, and search pattern research. Where we use such tools:

• We disclose which tools are used in your project upon request.
• We only use tools with verified data handling policies that do not retain, store, or use input data for model training.
• We never upload your full manuscript to any third-party AI platform. Where AI tools are used, only de-identified excerpts (e.g. individual sentences for readability analysis) are processed.
• If our tooling changes, we will update this policy accordingly.

3. Non-Disclosure Agreement

We provide a mutual NDA on request, at no additional cost, before you share any material. If your institution requires the use of their own NDA template, we are happy to review and sign it. NDAs are standard practice for our service — not a special accommodation.

4. What We Deliver

Our service produces an optimisation report containing recommendations for your manuscript. This includes, but is not limited to: title and abstract rewrite suggestions, keyword analysis, readability assessment, figure caption recommendations, metadata guidance, lay summary drafts, and AI search visibility assessment.

All recommendations are advisory. You retain full control over your manuscript and decide which suggestions to incorporate. We do not submit, publish, or modify your manuscript directly.

5. Intellectual Property

You retain all intellectual property rights to your manuscript at all times. The optimisation report we deliver becomes your property upon payment. We claim no ownership, licence, or rights over your manuscript or its contents.

6. Payment & Refunds

Payment is due upon confirmation of your order, before work begins. If we are unable to deliver the agreed service, you will receive a full refund. If you are unsatisfied with the quality of the report, contact us within 14 days of delivery and we will either revise the report or issue a partial refund at our discretion.

7. Privacy & Personal Data

We collect only the personal data necessary to deliver our service: your name, email address, institutional affiliation, and any details you provide in the submission form. We use this data solely to communicate with you about your project.

• We do not sell, share, or transfer your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.
• We store your contact details in encrypted systems and retain them only as long as necessary for our business relationship.
• You may request deletion of your personal data at any time by emailing hello@academicseo.co.uk.
• If you are based in the UK or EU, you have rights under UK GDPR / EU GDPR including the right to access, rectify, and erase your personal data. Contact us to exercise these rights.

8. Cookies & Analytics

Our website does not currently use cookies or third-party analytics. If this changes, we will update this policy and provide appropriate notice.

9. Limitation of Liability

Our service provides advisory recommendations for manuscript discoverability. We do not guarantee specific search engine rankings, citation counts, or publication outcomes. Search engine algorithms and AI platform behaviours are outside our control and change over time.

Our total liability for any claim arising from the service is limited to the fee paid for that specific engagement.

10. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to active clients by email. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact

For questions about these terms, your data, or our confidentiality practices:

Email: hello@academicseo.co.uk