Cite: Plagiarism & AI Detector
Privacy Policy
Cite is made by Scotly Apps Ltd ("Scotly", "we"). It checks writing for copied or closely reworded passages, AI-written sentences and grammar, and helps cite sources. This policy says exactly what happens to the text you check. Questions: dev@scotly.com.
- No account. Your documents stay on your device. We never see who you are.
- Text you check is sent to our server only to check it, and is not stored by us.
- We never use your writing to train AI models, and neither may our providers.
- No advertising, no tracking across apps, no selling of data.
- Usage and crash statistics are only sent if you say yes in the app.
Your documents
Everything you write or open in Cite (text, PDF, Word and other files) is kept on your device, in the app's own storage. It is not uploaded, synced or backed up by us. Deleting a document in the app deletes it from your device; deleting the app deletes all of them.
What is sent when you check
To check a document, the app sends its sentences to our server (run on Google Cloud in the United States). The server does the following and then forgets the text; it is not written to a database or a log.
- Web and academic search: short phrases from each sentence are searched with Serper (Google results) and OpenAlex (academic papers) to find matching pages. The search providers receive those phrases as search queries.
- AI-writing score: the text is sent to Sapling AI's detector, which returns a score per sentence.
- Grammar, rewriting and judging matches: sentences are sent to an AI model provider (OpenAI, or Google as a backup) to find grammar issues, rewrite a sentence in other words, or judge whether a near match is a paraphrase.
Each provider receives only what it needs for that step, uses it only to return the result, and is bound by its API terms not to train models on it. Providers may keep API data for a limited time (typically up to 30 days) to detect abuse. The pages the server fetches to compare against are public web pages.
Identifying your device, not you
The app makes a random identifier when first opened, so the server can count free, subscription and top-up words without an account. On iPhone and iPad it is kept in your iCloud Keychain, so a reinstall or a second device on the same Apple Account keeps its words. It is not linked to your name, email or Apple Account, and we cannot use it to identify you. The server keeps only counters against it (words used this period, top-up words left).
Purchases
Subscriptions and top-ups are sold by Apple through the App Store. The app sends Apple's signed receipt to our server so it can confirm your plan; we never see your card details or Apple Account email. Apple's own privacy policy covers the purchase.
Usage and crash reports (optional)
The first time you open Cite it asks whether you want to share anonymous usage and crash reports (Google Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics). If you say yes, we receive events such as "check started" with the word count, app version, device model and operating system, and crash traces. Your writing, file names and titles are never included. You can turn this off at any time in Settings. If you say no, nothing is sent.
What we do not do
No accounts, no email addresses, no contacts, no location, no advertising identifiers, no third-party advertising or tracking SDKs, no selling or renting of data, no training of AI models on your writing.
Legal bases (UK and EU GDPR)
- Providing the check you asked for: performance of a contract.
- Counting allowances and preventing abuse: legitimate interests.
- Usage and crash reports: your consent, which you can withdraw in Settings.
Scotly Apps Ltd (company number 17483864, 438 Streatham High Road, London SW16 3PX) is the controller. Some providers are in the United States; transfers rely on the UK-US Data Bridge or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, with encryption in transit.
Retention
Text you check: not retained by us; providers up to 30 days for abuse detection. Device counters: while the device uses the app, and up to 13 months after the last use. Purchase records: as long as tax law requires. Optional usage statistics: 14 months in Firebase.
Your rights
Because we hold no personal data about you beyond an anonymous device identifier, most requests can be met by deleting the app. You can still ask us to access, correct, delete or restrict any data, object to processing, or complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk) or your local authority. Email dev@scotly.com; we reply within one month.
Children
Cite is for students, teachers and writers aged 13 and over (16 where local law requires a higher age for consent). We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone younger.
Changes
We will post any change here with a new date, and tell you in the app if it matters.
Contact
Privacy: dev@scotly.com. Support: dev@scotly.com or scotly.com/cite/support.