Privacy Policy

1) Overview

We strive to collect the minimum data necessary to operate AskEliza.org and provide a safe, reliable public-service AI experience. We do not run ads or sell your personal data.

2) What we collect

• Technical data: standard server logs (e.g., IP, user-agent, timestamps) used for security, abuse prevention, and reliability.
• Usage data: high-level feature metrics to improve the service.
• Chat content: text you send to the models and resulting outputs. Avoid sharing personal or sensitive data.
• Donations: if you donate, payment processors collect necessary billing info; we may receive limited metadata (e.g., amount, time) for receipts and transparency.
• Local storage & cookies: we use essential session cookies (e.g., PHPSESSID) and may store non-personal preferences/chat history in your browser’s localStorage (e.g., recent chats, UI settings). See our Cookie Policy.

3) Public donor recognition (opt-in)

With your explicit opt-in during donation, your display name and amount may be published for recognition on the site (e.g., “Supporters”, “Transparency”) via public, read-only JSON files (e.g., /assets/data/donors.json, /assets/data/donations.json). If you choose “anonymous,” we will not publish identifying info.

4) How we use data

• Operate and secure the site (fraud/abuse prevention, rate-limiting, diagnostics).
• Improve features and user experience (aggregate analytics, reliability monitoring).
• Fulfill donations (processing, receipts) and provide public transparency totals.
• Respond to messages sent via the contact form.

5) Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share limited data with service providers (e.g., hosting/CDN, payments, email) under contracts that protect your information. Public donor acknowledgments are published only with your consent.

6) Third-party services we use

• Fonts & CDN/CSS: Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com, fonts.gstatic.com), jsDelivr/Bootstrap CDN. These providers may set their own cookies or receive your IP when assets are requested.
• Email: PHPMailer via an SMTP provider (e.g., Zoho) to deliver contact messages.
• Payments: a payment processor to accept donations (processor-specific terms/policies apply).

7) Retention

We retain data only as long as necessary for the purposes above, then delete or anonymize it subject to legal requirements.

8) Your choices

• Limit what you share in chats; avoid personal/sensitive data.
• Use browser settings to manage cookies/local storage (note: blocking may affect functionality).
• Donate anonymously if you don’t want your name published.
• Privacy questions? Contact us via the contact page.

9) Children

AskEliza.org is not directed to children under 13 (or the applicable age in your jurisdiction). Do not use the service if you are under the minimum age.

10) Changes

We will update this policy as our service evolves. We’ll revise the “Last updated” date and provide additional notice for material changes.