Privacy Policy - Zhiliu OCR

Introduction

Zhiliu OCR ("we", "our", "us") is a web-based OCR service for classical Chinese documents operated by a doctoral researcher. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data when you use our service at zhiliuocr.com.

Data We Collect

Account information: email address, name (optional), and password (stored as a bcrypt hash).
Uploaded files: PDF and DJVU documents you submit for OCR processing.
Processing results: generated markdown files and OCR metadata.
Transaction records: credit purchases, usage history, and refunds (processed through Stripe).

How We Use Your Data

We use your data solely to provide the OCR processing service. Your uploaded documents are processed by AI models (Qwen-VL for OCR, DeepSeek or Kimi for text cleanup) to produce machine-readable text. We do not use your documents to train AI models.

Data Retention

We follow a minimal retention policy to protect your privacy:

Uploaded PDF/DJVU files are automatically deleted 48 hours after processing completes.
Generated markdown results are retained for 30 days, then automatically deleted.
Account information and transaction records are retained for as long as your account is active. You may delete your account at any time from the Account Settings page.

No Training on User Data

We do not use your uploaded documents, OCR results, or any personal data to train, fine-tune, or improve AI models. Your documents are processed ephemerally and deleted per the retention schedule above.

Your Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

Right to access: request a copy of all personal data we hold about you.
Right to erasure: request deletion of your account and all associated data.
Right to data portability: export your account data, job history, and results in a portable format.
Right to object: object to processing of your personal data.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services: Stripe (payment processing), Qwen-VL/DeepSeek/Kimi (AI model APIs for OCR and text processing). These services receive only the data necessary to perform their functions. We do not sell or share your personal data with other third parties.

Contact

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your data rights, contact us at support@zhiliuocr.com.