Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

proofreadingservice.ch is operated by proofreadingservice GmbH, registered in Switzerland. Our registered office is at Bahnhofstrasse 10, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland. We are a professional academic proofreading and editing service for students at Swiss universities.

Data controller for the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (nDSG): proofreadingservice GmbH, Bahnhofstrasse 10, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland.

Contact for privacy matters: privacy@proofreadingservice.ch

2. Data we collect

2.1 Data you provide directly

• Order data: name, email address, university, document type, word count, special instructions
• Payment data: processed entirely by Stripe — we never see or store your full card details
• Communication data: messages sent via our contact form, email, or WhatsApp
• Documents submitted for editing: see Section 4 for specific document data handling

2.2 Data collected automatically

• Website analytics: pages visited, time on page, browser type, general geographic location (country/city level, not precise). Collected via privacy-respecting analytics only — no advertising tracking
• Cookies: see Section 7

2.3 Data we do not collect

We do not collect or process: payment card numbers (handled by Stripe), government ID numbers, sensitive personal data (health, political views, religious beliefs) except where contained in documents you submit for editing — in which case this data is subject to the document handling protections in Section 4.

3. How we use your data

We use personal data for the following purposes and legal bases:

• Service delivery (contract): processing your order, assigning an editor, delivering your edited document
• Communication (legitimate interest / contract): responding to enquiries, sending order confirmations, revision follow-ups
• Payment processing (contract): authorising payment via Stripe (Stripe's own privacy policy applies)
• Service improvement (legitimate interest): anonymised analytics to understand how our website is used
• Legal compliance (legal obligation): retaining records for the period required by Swiss commercial law

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making or profiling. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party. We do not use your data for advertising purposes.

4. Your documents — specific data handling

Documents submitted for editing receive the highest level of protection we apply to any data.

• Individual NDA: every editor assigned to your document signs an individual Non-Disclosure Agreement before receiving it. This NDA prohibits sharing, referencing, quoting, or using your document for any purpose other than the specific editing service you ordered.
• Access restriction: only the specifically assigned editor and the team member managing your order access your document. No other staff have access.
• No AI training: your documents are never used to train AI models, test AI tools, or improve any automated system. They are used only for the human editing service you ordered.
• No publication or reference: your document is never shared publicly, cited, quoted, or used as a sample in any marketing material — including with your prior permission. We do not use anonymised extracts for any purpose.
• Permanent deletion: your document (original submission and edited version) is permanently and irreversibly deleted from all our systems 30 days after delivery. This applies to all working files and notes created during the editing process.

5. Data retention

• Documents: deleted permanently 30 days after delivery (see Section 4)
• Order records (name, email, service type, date, price): retained for 10 years as required by Swiss commercial law (Obligationenrecht Art. 958f)
• Payment records: retained by Stripe per their terms; we retain only order amount and date
• Communications: retained for 3 years, then deleted
• Analytics data: retained for 24 months, then deleted

6. Your rights

Under GDPR and Swiss nDSG, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification: request correction of inaccurate personal data
• Right to erasure: request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention obligations)
• Right to restrict processing: request that we limit how we process your data
• Right to data portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to object: object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time

To exercise any right, email privacy@proofreadingservice.ch. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) or your local supervisory authority.

7. Cookies

We use the following cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies: session management, security, form state. Cannot be disabled as they are required for the website to function.
• Analytics cookies: anonymous visitor data to understand how our website is used. No advertising, no cross-site tracking. You can opt out via our cookie banner.

We do not use advertising cookies, third-party tracking cookies, or social media tracking pixels.

8. Data transfers

Your data is processed primarily in Switzerland and the European Economic Area (EEA). Where data is processed outside the EEA (for example, by Stripe for payment processing), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place — including Standard Contractual Clauses — in compliance with GDPR and Swiss nDSG requirements.

Stripe, Inc. is our payment processor. Stripe's privacy practices are governed by their own privacy policy, available at stripe.com/privacy.

9. Contact for privacy matters

For any privacy-related question, request, or complaint:

• Email: privacy@proofreadingservice.ch
• Post: proofreadingservice GmbH, Bahnhofstrasse 10, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

We aim to respond to all privacy enquiries within 5 working days.