Current privacy notice

Privacy, clearly explained.

This notice explains what personal data cIAo uses, why it is needed, who may receive it, how long it is kept, and the choices and rights available to you.

Version 2026-08-22-concise-v3Published 22 August 2026Language: English

The essentials

A short overview

cIAo is a human-editing marketplace. We use data to operate accounts, deliver editing, handle payments and support, protect the service, and meet legal duties. Optional analytics and marketing require their own choice.

Only what is needed

We use the information needed to provide human editing, protect the service, process payments, and meet legal duties.

Your work stays purpose-limited

Documents are used to deliver the service you request. We do not quietly reuse identifiable document content to train general models.

Limited access

Only assigned people and service-provider categories that need the data for a stated purpose may access it.

Choices and rights

Optional analytics and marketing remain optional. You can change cookie choices and exercise your data-protection rights.

1. Who is responsible

This notice applies to personal data handled through the cIAo early-access website and planned human-editing service. For privacy questions or rights requests, use the monitored email address in section 15 or the Privacy requests page.

If an organization decides why and how its documents are processed, that organization may be the controller and cIAo may process the document on its instructions. The applicable agreement explains those roles.

2. Data we use

We limit collection to data connected to the purposes described below.

Category
Account and contact
Examples
Name, email address, country, language, account role, and preferences.
Source
You, your organization, or the account service.
Category
Orders and documents
Examples
Instructions, document files and versions, service level, deadline, status, and delivery details.
Source
Customers, assigned editors, and reviewers.
Category
Communications and quality
Examples
Order messages, support requests, feedback, revisions, and human quality-review records.
Source
People taking part in the order or contacting support.
Category
Payments and payouts
Examples
Transaction references, amount, currency, status, refunds, and payout information. We do not store full payment-card credentials.
Source
You, the payment service, and our transaction records.
Category
Editors and applicants
Examples
Experience, languages, specialties, availability, application material, assignments, and quality history.
Source
Applicants, editors, reviewers, and work records.
Category
Security and service use
Examples
Sign-in and access events, IP address, browser or device information, security alerts, and limited service-performance data.
Source
Your device, network requests, and the service.
Category
Privacy and legal records
Examples
Consent choices, legal-document versions, privacy requests, and evidence required for compliance or legal claims.
Source
You, our records, and authorized advisers or authorities where necessary.

3. Required and optional data

Required data makes the requested service possible. Optional processing remains a real choice.

Activity
Use an account
What is needed
Basic contact, sign-in, and security information.
Choice and consequence
Required; without it we cannot create or protect an account.
Activity
Order human editing
What is needed
Instructions, a document, delivery details, and payment status.
Choice and consequence
Required for that order; omit information that is not needed for the edit.
Activity
Pay or receive money
What is needed
Transaction and verification information required by the payment service or law.
Choice and consequence
Required for the relevant payment, refund, or payout.
Activity
Optional analytics or marketing
What is needed
A consent choice and limited usage or contact information.
Choice and consequence
Optional; the core editing service continues if you decline or withdraw.

4. Purposes and legal bases

Each use of personal data must have a defined purpose and legal basis.

Purpose
Provide accounts and human editing
Data involved
Account, order, document, communication, assignment, and quality data.
Legal basis
Contract or steps requested before a contract (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)).
Purpose
Process payments, refunds, and payouts
Data involved
Account, order, transaction, and payout data.
Legal basis
Contract and legal obligations (Arts. 6(1)(b) and 6(1)(c)).
Purpose
Support users and resolve disputes
Data involved
Contact, order, communication, and relevant evidence.
Legal basis
Contract and legitimate interests in resolving requests and defending claims (Arts. 6(1)(b) and 6(1)(f)).
Purpose
Protect the service and prevent abuse
Data involved
Sign-in, access, transaction, audit, and security data.
Legal basis
Legitimate interests in operating a secure service, and legal duties where applicable (Arts. 6(1)(f) and 6(1)(c)).
Purpose
Meet tax, accounting, and other legal duties
Data involved
Minimum account, transaction, and compliance records.
Legal basis
Legal obligation and legitimate interests in legal claims (Arts. 6(1)(c) and 6(1)(f)).
Purpose
Improve reliability and service quality
Data involved
Minimized performance information, feedback, errors, and aggregate operational outcomes.
Legal basis
Legitimate interests, or consent where the collection method requires it (Arts. 6(1)(f) and 6(1)(a)).
Purpose
Optional analytics and marketing
Data involved
Consent choice, limited usage events, contact address, and unsubscribe record.
Legal basis
Consent, which may be withdrawn for the future (Art. 6(1)(a) and applicable device-access rules).
Purpose
Handle privacy requests
Data involved
Identity checks, the request, our response, and completion evidence.
Legal basis
Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)).

5. Documents containing information about other people

Documents may contain personal or confidential information about people other than the uploader. The uploader must be entitled to provide the material and should remove details that are not needed for the edit.

Do not upload highly sensitive information, information about children, identity or banking numbers, or legally privileged material unless the service has expressly confirmed that the document type is supported and the required safeguards are in place.

6. Optional specialist processing

A specialist feature that would send document text to another provider is not part of ordinary human editing unless it is expressly offered and selected. Before any such use, we will show a short notice naming the recipient and explaining the text sent, purpose, legal basis, retention, location, and available choice.

A specialist or automated signal is treated as advisory. It does not by itself prove authorship or decide rejection, suspension, payment, or payout.

7. Who receives data

Access is limited to the following specific categories and only for the stated function.

Recipient category
Assigned editors and reviewers
Purpose
Perform the requested edit and human quality review.
Data involved
The document and minimum order context needed for the assignment.
Recipient category
Account, hosting, and secure-storage providers
Purpose
Operate sign-in, the website, private storage, and core service records.
Data involved
Account, document, order, security, and technical data as needed for those functions.
Recipient category
Payment and payout providers
Purpose
Collect payments, issue refunds, prevent payment fraud, and transfer editor earnings.
Data involved
Contact, order reference, transaction, verification, and payout data.
Recipient category
Email and customer-support providers
Purpose
Send account or order messages and receive support requests.
Data involved
Email address and the minimum message or service-status information needed.
Recipient category
Security, analytics, or specialist providers
Purpose
Protect files or the service, measure optional product use, or provide a feature you specifically request.
Data involved
Only the data described at the point of use and limited to that purpose.
Recipient category
Professional advisers and public authorities
Purpose
Meet legal duties, respond to valid requests, audit, insure, or establish and defend claims.
Data involved
Only the records necessary for the matter.

8. International transfers

Some provider categories may process data outside the European Economic Area. Where required, we rely on an adequacy decision, approved contractual clauses with appropriate safeguards, or another lawful transfer mechanism.

You may ask for information about the transfer mechanism and a copy of relevant safeguards, subject to necessary protection of confidential and security information.

9. Cookies and analytics

Necessary technology supports sign-in, security, service continuity, and remembering your privacy choice. Optional analytics or marketing technology is used only after the required choice.

You can reject optional technology and later change your decision through Cookie choices. The core editing service remains available without optional analytics or marketing.

10. Retention

We do not keep every type of data for the same period.

Data
Completed-order files
Retention approach
Deleted after the order-specific retention deadline shown in the account. A revision, dispute, legal duty, security issue, or valid hold may require limited longer retention.
Data
Abandoned or unpaid files
Retention approach
Deleted after the short operational period configured for an abandoned order, unless a payment, fraud, security, dispute, or legal hold requires limited retention.
Data
Account, support, and security records
Retention approach
Kept while needed for the account or request and then only as long as necessary for security, legal duties, or claims; otherwise deleted or anonymized.
Data
Payment, tax, and legal records
Retention approach
Kept for the statutory period that applies to the record. This does not extend the retention of document files.
Data
Optional analytics and marketing
Retention approach
Kept only for the stated purpose and deleted or anonymized after withdrawal or when no longer needed, subject to limited proof of the choice.
Data
Provider copies and backups
Retention approach
Provider copies follow the enabled service’s deletion or expiry process. Backups expire on a rolling schedule; if deleted data is restored, it is queued for deletion again unless a valid hold applies.

11. Security

We use organizational and technical measures designed to limit access, protect accounts and files, and detect misuse. Access is restricted by role and assignment, and people handling documents are subject to confidentiality obligations.

No online service can promise perfect security. If an incident affects personal data, we assess it and make any notifications required by law.

12. Automated processing and human review

Rules and calculations may help with prices, assignments, payment status, access control, security, and service operations. We do not make solely automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you under this notice.

A material decision about quality, integrity, access, or payout requires human review and can be challenged through support.

13. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction, or portability. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests and to direct marketing at any time. You may withdraw consent for the future without affecting earlier lawful processing.

We normally respond within one month. Rights can be limited by applicable law or the rights of others, and we may verify identity proportionately. Do not send passwords, full payment details, an identity-document image, or a confidential draft in your first message.

14. Children and sensitive data

The service is intended for adults aged 18 or older unless a separately approved organization flow provides the required authority and safeguards.

We do not ordinarily request special-category or criminal-offence data. A document may still contain it, so only include sensitive information when it is necessary and you are entitled to provide it.

15. Changes, contact, and complaints

We show the version and publication date of this notice. Material changes will be communicated when required, and a new purpose will not be applied retroactively where another legal basis or choice is needed.

Use the email address below or the Privacy requests page to contact us. You may also complain to a data-protection authority in your habitual residence, place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement.

Contact

Email customersupport@ciaowrite.com. Do not include a password, full payment data, an identity document, or a confidential draft in your first message.