Privacy Policy

1. Controller

FindMyLab is the controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy, unless stated otherwise.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise your rights, contact decidebetterdaily@gmail.com.

If FindMyLab is operated through a registered business entity, this section should be updated to include the legal business name and registered address of that entity.

2. Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to FindMyLab’s website, lab pages, student applications, account registration, and related communications. It applies to both student users and lab users who use the platform to discover, review, or manage research opportunities.

3. Personal data we collect

We collect personal data that users provide directly, data generated when the platform is used, and limited technical data needed to operate the service.

• Account data, such as name, email address, login identifiers, and account type.
• Profile and application data, such as nationality, country of residence, university, degree, research interests, statements, uploaded documents, and other information submitted through student applications.
• Lab profile data, such as PI name, university, field, country, public profile text, website links, and publication links.
• Communication data, such as messages or emails you send to us.
• Technical and usage data, such as authentication events, timestamps, and logs needed for security, debugging, and service reliability.

4. How we use personal data

We use personal data to provide and operate FindMyLab, including creating accounts, displaying lab pages, processing student applications, helping labs review applicants, maintaining platform security, responding to support requests, and improving the service.

We may also use aggregated or de-identified information for internal analytics and service planning.

5. Legal bases

Where the GDPR or similar laws apply, we rely on one or more legal bases depending on the context. These may include performance of a contract, consent, compliance with legal obligations, and legitimate interests such as operating, securing, and improving the platform.

• Contract: when processing is necessary to create an account, host a lab profile, submit an application, or provide requested platform features.
• Consent: where you voluntarily provide certain information or where consent is otherwise required by law.
• Legitimate interests: for fraud prevention, platform security, debugging, product improvement, and managing the service responsibly.
• Legal obligations: where we must retain or disclose data to comply with applicable law.

6. When data is required

Some personal data is necessary to create an account, submit an application, or operate a lab page. If required information is not provided, we may be unable to create your account, process your application, or provide parts of the service.

7. Sharing and recipients

We do not sell your personal data. We may share personal data only where necessary to operate the platform, comply with law, protect rights, or respond to valid legal requests.

• Lab users, when a student submits an application to a lab through FindMyLab.
• Student users, where information must be shown back to the submitting user as part of their account or application history.
• Service providers and processors that help us operate FindMyLab, such as hosting, authentication, database, storage, and infrastructure providers.
• Authorities, courts, regulators, or advisers where disclosure is legally required or reasonably necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

8. Firebase and service providers

FindMyLab uses Google Firebase and related Google Cloud infrastructure to support authentication, data storage, hosting, and security-related functions.

Firebase and similar providers may process personal data on our behalf in order to deliver the service.

9. International transfers

Your personal data may be processed in countries outside your own country, including countries outside the European Economic Area. Where required, such transfers are made using appropriate safeguards, which may include standard contractual clauses or other recognized transfer mechanisms made available through service providers.

10. Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to provide the service, maintain records, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and comply with legal obligations.

• Account data is generally kept while the account remains active.
• Application and lab profile data may be retained while relevant to platform use, ongoing review, recordkeeping, or legitimate platform operations.
• Support messages, logs, and security records may be retained for a limited period as needed for troubleshooting, abuse prevention, or compliance.
• When deletion is requested, we will aim to delete or anonymize relevant data within a reasonable period, subject to backups, legal obligations, fraud prevention, or legitimate recordkeeping needs.

11. Your rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have rights including the right to be informed, access your personal data, correct inaccurate data, request deletion, restrict processing, object to certain processing, and request data portability.

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time for future processing. You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority.

12. Automated decision-making

FindMyLab does not make legally significant decisions about users based solely on automated processing, and it does not use fully automated profiling to accept or reject student applications on behalf of labs. Labs remain responsible for their own review and selection decisions unless this is clearly stated otherwise in a specific feature.

13. Cookies and similar technologies

FindMyLab uses cookies or similar technologies only to the extent needed to operate essential site functions, such as authentication, session management, security, and basic service delivery.

If non-essential cookies such as analytics, advertising, or tracking technologies are added later, this policy and any required consent mechanisms should be updated before those technologies are activated.

14. Security

We use technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal data, including access controls, authentication mechanisms, and provider security features. Data may be encrypted in transit and protected through infrastructure and security measures provided by our service providers, but no system can guarantee absolute security.

15. Children

FindMyLab is not intended for children below the minimum age permitted under applicable law to provide valid consent for online services in their jurisdiction. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children where such collection would be unlawful without appropriate consent.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, technical, or business changes. The latest version will always be posted on this page with the updated date shown at the top.

17. Contact

If you have questions, requests, or complaints relating to privacy or personal data, contact decidebetterdaily@gmail.com.