Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Format Partners LLC ("we," "us," or "Company") operates AccountingIQ, an AI-powered accounting tutoring platform available at accountingaitutor.com (the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your rights regarding your data. By using the Service, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address
• Display name (from your Google account, if applicable)
• Profile photo URL (from your Google account, if applicable)
• Firebase authentication user ID

2.2 User-Generated Content

When you use the Service, we store:

• Chat messages and AI responses in your tutoring conversations
• Documents you upload for analysis (PDFs, images)
• Flashcard decks and individual cards you create
• Practice problems you save
• Study schedules and completion progress
• Exam prep session history and scores
• Screenshots you submit for AI analysis
• AI-generated learning observations about your study patterns (up to 15 per account, used to personalize your tutoring experience)
• Course configuration settings (textbook, professor, syllabus topics)

2.3 Subscription and Billing Information

When you subscribe to a paid plan, payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe. We do not store your credit card number, bank account details, or other payment instrument data on our servers. We do store:

• Your Stripe customer ID (to link your account to your subscription)
• Subscription status (free, active, trialing, past_due, canceled)
• Plan type (monthly, semester, annual)

2.4 Usage Data

We automatically collect:

• Feature usage counts (for rate limiting and free tier enforcement)
• Login timestamps
• A browser-derived device identifier (a one-way hash of your browser version, language, screen and display settings, and timezone) used solely to detect multi-account abuse. We use it only to detect multiple free accounts, and we do not share it.
• Anonymous analytics data through Vercel Analytics, Vercel Speed Insights, and Google Analytics (page views, feature usage, performance metrics)
• If you accept advertising cookies, advertising measurement data for Meta (page views through the Meta pixel, and trial starts and subscription purchases from our server), used to measure whether our ads work. See section 2.5.
• If you accept advertising cookies, page-visit data through the Google Ads tag, used to measure and target our ads. See section 2.5.

2.5 Cookies

We use a session cookie (__session) to maintain your authenticated session. This cookie is HttpOnly, Secure, and expires after 1 hour (automatically refreshed). This cookie is strictly necessary and is always set.

The banner shown on your first visit lets you accept or decline all other cookies. If you accept, we set:

• Google Analytics cookies for product analytics (page views, feature usage).
• Meta advertising cookies (_fbp and, if you arrived from one of our ads, _fbc). The Meta pixel uses them to record your page views, and our server uses them to tell Meta when you start a trial or buy a subscription (the Meta Conversions API), so we can measure which of our ads work. See section 4.
• Google Ads cookies, which let us measure and target our ads.

If you decline, none of these is set, and we do not send any advertising measurement data about you to Meta or Google. You can change your mind at any time by clearing your browser cookies and site data for this site, which makes the banner appear again.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service
• Authenticate your identity and manage your account
• Process your documents and queries through AI services to generate educational content
• Store your study materials (flashcards, notes, schedules, chat history) so you can access them across sessions
• Process subscription payments and manage billing through Stripe
• Enforce usage limits and rate limiting to prevent abuse
• Monitor and improve the Service's performance and reliability
• Respond to support inquiries
• Measure the effectiveness of our advertising, but only if you accept advertising cookies (see section 2.5)
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not use your User Content (your chats, documents, flashcards, notes and uploads) for advertising. Advertising measurement uses only a hashed account identifier, your IP address and browser user agent, the Meta cookie identifiers, the fact that a trial or purchase occurred and the amount of a purchase, and, for the Meta pixel and the Google Ads tag, the pages you visit. We do not send your email address.

4. Third-Party Services and Data Sharing

To provide the Service, your data is processed by the following third-party providers. We only share the minimum data necessary for each service to function:

Meta and Google may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information from this site and elsewhere on the internet, and use it to measure and target ads. You can opt out of interest-based ads from many companies at aboutads.info/choices (United States) and youronlinechoices.eu (Europe), and you can change your choice on this site at any time by clearing its cookies, which brings the cookie notice back.

You can opt out of the Meta and Google Ads sharing described above at any time by declining cookies on the consent banner, and we honor that choice for both the browser pixel and our server-side measurement. We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

5. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored on Google Firebase infrastructure in the United States. We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect your information. No method of transmitting or storing information is completely safe from misuse.

6. Data Retention

• Account data: Retained as long as your account is active. Upon account deletion, your data will be deleted within 30 days.
• User-generated content (chats, flashcards, notes, documents, lectures): Retained as long as your account is active. You can delete individual items at any time through the Service. Files in Firebase Storage are deleted when you delete the associated item.
• Subscription data: Billing records may be retained as required by tax and accounting regulations, even after account deletion.
• Rate limiting data: Daily rate limit counters reset automatically every 24 hours.
• Analytics data: Anonymous analytics data is retained according to Vercel's data retention policies.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Deletion: Delete your account directly from Settings, or by contacting hello[at]format[dot]partners. Deletion takes effect after a 30-day grace period, during which you can cancel by signing back in.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate personal data
• Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
• Objection: Object to certain processing of your personal data
• Opt out of advertising measurement: Decline cookies on the consent banner, or clear this site's cookies and site data to make the banner appear again. We honor that choice for both the browser pixel and our server-side measurement.
• Withdraw consent: You may stop using the Service at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello[at]format[dot]partners. We respond within the time the law requires.

8. Children's Privacy

The Service is designed for college-level students and professionals studying accounting. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at hello[at]format[dot]partners, and we will delete such information promptly.

9. International Data Transfers

The Service is operated in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States. Our service providers may process information in the United States and other countries. Where the law requires, we rely on safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or a provider's certification under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and its UK and Swiss extensions.

10. Your Rights Where You Live

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your personal information, to receive a copy, to object to or restrict certain uses, to opt out of targeted advertising or the sale or sharing of personal information, to withdraw consent, and to appeal our decision on your request. To make a request, email hello[at]format[dot]partners with "Privacy request" in the subject line. We may need to verify your request, and we respond within the time the law requires. You may use an authorized agent where the law allows. We will not treat you differently for using these rights.

11. Legal Bases (European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland)

Our legal basis for processing your data is: (a) your consent when you create an account; (b) performance of a contract (providing the Service); and (c) our legitimate interests in operating and improving the Service. If you live in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you may also complain to your data protection authority.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or through a prominent notice on the Service. The effective date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at:

Format Partners LLC
Email: hello[at]format[dot]partners