Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 2026

Citation Map ("we", "us"), accessible at citationmap.com, is operated by Anureka Inc. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use our website, how we use it, and the choices you have. By using Citation Map you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

  • Account Information: When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile image to create and secure your account.
  • Payment Information: Paid plans are processed by Stripe. We receive a transaction record (amount, status, card last 4 digits) but never see or store your full card number — Stripe handles card data directly.
  • Support Communications: When you contact us through the on-site form, we collect the email address and message content you submit so we can respond.
  • Public Academic Data: When you search for a researcher, we fetch publicly available bibliographic data — publication history, citations, and institutional affiliations — from public academic sources. This information is already public.
  • Analytics & Usage Data: We use Google Analytics to understand site traffic, such as pages visited and approximate country. This includes cookies and device identifiers as described in Section 3.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to provide and operate the service — generating the citation visualizations you request, maintaining your account, processing payments, responding to support requests, monitoring and improving site performance, and complying with legal obligations. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

3. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies for three purposes: (a) essential cookies and local storage that keep you signed in and remember UI preferences such as Dark Mode; (b) analytics cookies set by Google Analytics; and (c) affiliate tracking cookies set when you click an affiliate link (see Section 4). You can control or block cookies through your browser settings, though some features may not function without essential cookies.

4. Affiliate Links & Disclosure

Citation Map participates in affiliate marketing programs, including the Impact (impact.com) affiliate network. This means some links on our site — for example in articles, guides, or recommendations — are affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase or sign up, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. When you click an affiliate link, the affiliate network and the merchant may place cookies on your device to attribute the referral. Earning a commission does not influence our editorial recommendations, and we only link to products and services we consider relevant to our audience. This disclosure is provided in accordance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's guidelines on endorsements and testimonials.

5. Third-Party Services

We rely on trusted third-party providers that may process limited data on our behalf: Google (sign-in and analytics), Stripe (payment processing), affiliate networks such as Impact (referral tracking), and public academic data sources such as Semantic Scholar. Each provider processes data under its own privacy policy, and we encourage you to review them.

6. Data Retention

We retain account and payment records for as long as your account is active and as required to meet legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Support communications are kept only as long as needed to resolve your request. Cached public academic data is refreshed and expires automatically. You may request deletion of your account data at any time using the contact details below.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete the personal information we hold about you, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent. This includes rights under the EU/UK GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below; we will respond within the time required by applicable law. We do not sell personal information.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, contact us at wangcheng.an@anureka.com.