1. Data Sovereignty & Minimization
GhostCite is built on a "Zero-Retention" philosophy. We do not store, own, or claim any rights to the documents you upload for citation verification. Document text is processed in-memory and is purged immediately upon completion of the extraction process.
2. Localized Public Citation Cache (Performance Optimization)
To maximize verification speed and minimize latency, GhostCite maintains a localized, encrypted cache of public court record metadata extracted from the Free Law Project (CourtListener). When a standard legal citation is verified (e.g., 329 U.S. 495), its corresponding public record mapping is indexed within this local cache to accelerate future lookups for all users.
This cache is strictly limited to public domain citation strings and official court metadata. It never stores, associates, or indexes user identities, uploaded document text, search history, or the contextual substance of your legal research.
3. Information We Collect
Account Identity: We collect your first name, last name, and professional email address via Google OAuth or Magic Link.
Encrypted Tokens: If you choose to provide a personal CourtListener API token, it is stored using AES-256 encryption. We never use your personal token for other users or for system-wide queries.
Metadata: We log the timestamp and number of citations processed to manage rate limits and system health.
4. No AI Training
Rule26 AI, Inc. does not use your uploaded documents, search history, or personal data to train, tune, or improve any Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning models, or Large Language Models (LLMs).
5. Data Security & Texas Breach Notification
We employ industry-standard encryption for data at rest and in transit. In accordance with Texas Business & Commerce Code ยง 521.053, in the event of a known data breach involving your personal information, we will notify you as quickly as possible and no later than 60 days after determining a breach occurred.
6. Your Rights
You may update your profile or permanently delete your account at any time through your Account Settings. Deletion results in the immediate and permanent purging of your name, email, and encrypted API keys from our database.