Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible for your information?

For personal data processed to operate Lynks Research Hub, Lynks determines why and how that information is used and acts as the data controller for those processing activities. Privacy and account-data enquiries can be sent to msoset15@gmail.com.

2. Information we may handle

Depending on how you use Lynks, the platform may handle:

• Account information: such as your name, email address and authentication details needed to create and secure your account.
• Research project information: project titles, disciplines, referencing styles, research topics, objectives, questions, hypotheses, prompts and generated outputs that you choose to save.
• AI-tool inputs: information you enter when requesting a generation, such as an area of interest, population, location, topic or additional research instructions.
• Service-enquiry information: details you enter into a Research Writing or Data Analysis brief, such as your project stage, institution, deadline, requested support and contact details.
• Technical and usage information: session and authentication information needed to operate and protect the website, together with privacy-focused usage statistics such as pages/routes viewed, referrer, approximate country or region, browser, operating system and device type.

3. Why we use information and our lawful bases

Different processing activities may rely on different lawful bases under applicable Nigerian data-protection law:

• Providing your account and project workspace: processing is necessary to provide the service you request and manage the relationship with you.
• Running AI generations: the relevant prompt is processed at your request so that the selected AI feature can return a result.
• Research Writing and Data Analysis enquiries: information is prepared and shared at your direction so Lynks can take steps requested by you before a possible service engagement.
• Security, service improvement and platform analytics: limited technical and aggregated usage information may be processed where necessary for legitimate interests in protecting accounts, understanding how the service is used and improving reliability, provided those interests do not override your rights.
• Legal or regulatory requirements: information may be processed or retained where necessary to comply with an applicable legal obligation.

4. How information is used

Information is used to provide and secure your account, operate the AI research tools, organise your projects and saved outputs, respond to professional service enquiries, understand aggregate website usage, troubleshoot problems, prevent misuse and improve the reliability of the Lynks platform.

5. AI research tools

When you use an AI generation tool, the relevant research input is processed by the Lynks server and sent to the configured AI service so that a response can be generated. Lynks currently configures those generation requests with provider-side response storage disabled. Your input and successful output may still be stored in your Lynks project history so that you can return to it later.

6. Research Writing and Data Analysis briefs

The service brief is prepared in your browser. Completing the form by itself does not automatically submit the brief to Lynks. The information leaves the page only when you choose to open WhatsApp or your email application and then send the prepared message.

Once you send the brief using WhatsApp or email, that communication is also subject to the privacy practices and settings of the communication service you use.

7. Service providers and international processing

Lynks relies on third-party technology providers to operate parts of the platform. These may include hosting and privacy-focused web analytics infrastructure, authentication/database services, AI-generation services and communication or payment services where those features are enabled. Information is shared only to the extent reasonably required to provide the selected feature.

Some cloud, analytics, AI or communication providers may process information outside Nigeria. Where personal data is transferred internationally, Lynks will seek to use providers and arrangements that offer protection and safeguards appropriate to applicable Nigerian data-protection requirements.

8. Website analytics, cookies and sessions

Lynks uses Vercel Web Analytics to understand aggregate website traffic and which parts of the Hub are being used. Vercel Web Analytics is designed to provide aggregated statistics without tying page views to a personally identifiable visitor or IP address and does not use third-party advertising cookies to follow visitors across websites.

Depending on the analytics features available for the Lynks hosting plan, Lynks may also record limited non-identifying product events such as successful account creation, the type of AI tool successfully used, whether a Research Writing or Data Analysis enquiry was opened for WhatsApp or email, and clicks to the Topic Approval Scorecard. Lynks does not send names, email addresses, phone numbers, research topics, prompts, service-brief text or generated research content as custom analytics-event properties.

The platform also uses information necessary for authentication, account sessions, security and basic operation. Lynks does not currently deploy advertising trackers. If materially different non-essential tracking technologies are introduced later, this notice and any consent controls required by applicable law will be updated before those technologies are used.

9. Data retention and deletion

Account, project and generation information may be retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period needed for security, troubleshooting or legitimate operational purposes. You may request deletion of your Lynks account information by contacting us. Some records may need to be retained where required for security, dispute resolution or applicable legal obligations.

10. Data security

Reasonable technical and organisational safeguards are used to protect platform data. No online service can guarantee absolute security, so users should also protect their passwords, devices and account access.

11. Selling personal information

Lynks Research Hub does not sell users' personal information to advertisers.

12. Your data-protection rights

Subject to applicable law and any valid limitations or exemptions, you may have rights to:

• be informed about the collection and use of your personal data;
• request access to personal data Lynks holds about you;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• object to or request restriction of certain processing;
• request portability of qualifying personal data;
• request erasure of personal data where the legal conditions for deletion are met;
• raise concerns about automated decision-making where applicable; and
• make a complaint to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission if you believe your data-protection rights have been infringed.

To exercise a right relating to your Lynks account or platform data, contact msoset15@gmail.com. Requests will be reviewed and handled within the timeframes required by applicable law, subject to reasonable identity verification where necessary.

13. Your choices

You may choose not to use AI tools, may submit a professional service enquiry by either WhatsApp or email, and may request access, correction or deletion of account information by contacting Lynks. Deleting an account may also remove access to saved projects and generation history.

14. Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated as Lynks adds new services, providers or data-processing activities. Material updates will be reflected on this page with a revised effective date.