Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 12, 2025

bitter-sweet.ai is a non-commercial research portal operated by Eva Bedanova as part of PhD research on the psychosocial impact of artificial intelligence. We take privacy seriously and collect as little data as technically possible.

1. Website — What We Collect

1.1 Nothing by default

Browsing the website does not require registration, login, or any form of identification. We do not use analytics services (no Google Analytics, no tracking pixels, no fingerprinting). We do not serve ads.

1.2 Contact form

If you submit the contact form, we store your name, email address and message in our database. This data is used solely to respond to your inquiry. We do not share it with third parties. You can request deletion of your contact submission at any time by emailing bedanova.e@gmail.com.

1.3 AI Impact Calculator

When you use the Me & AI calculator, your input (selected tools and hours) and the calculated results are stored anonymously — no IP address, no user identifier, no browser fingerprint. This anonymous aggregate data helps us understand general AI usage patterns for research purposes.

1.4 Share buttons

Article share buttons (LinkedIn, X, Facebook) are plain links — they do not load third-party scripts or tracking pixels until you click them. We count the number of share clicks per article (a simple counter, no personal data).

2. Cookies

bitter-sweet.ai uses only essential technical cookies:

  • csrftoken — protects forms against cross-site request forgery (required by Django framework)
  • django_language — remembers your language preference (English/Czech)
  • sessionid — admin session only, not set for regular visitors

We do not use advertising, analytics, or preference cookies. No cookie consent banner is required because all cookies are strictly necessary for the website to function (Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive).

3. Third-Party Services

3.1 Google Fonts

This website loads the fonts DM Sans and DM Serif Display from Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com). When your browser requests these fonts, Google receives your IP address. Google's privacy policy applies: policies.google.com/privacy. No other Google services are used on this website.

3.2 Hosting

The website is hosted on Vercel (Vercel Inc., San Francisco, USA). Vercel may process server access logs (IP address, timestamp, requested URL) for security and operational purposes. See Vercel's privacy policy.

3.3 Database

Data is stored in a PostgreSQL database hosted by Neon (Neon Inc., USA). The database contains article content, anonymous calculator submissions, and contact form messages. See Neon's privacy policy.

4. AI Impact Tracker — Chrome Extension

The AI Impact Tracker Chrome extension operates with complete privacy:

  • No data collection: The extension does not collect, transmit, or share any data with us or anyone else.
  • No network requests: The extension makes zero HTTP requests. It works entirely offline.
  • Local storage only: All usage data is stored exclusively in your browser using chrome.storage.local. We have no access to this data.
  • No analytics or telemetry: No tracking scripts, no usage statistics, no crash reports.
  • No account required: The extension works without registration or login.
  • Automatic cleanup: Data older than 90 days is automatically deleted.
  • URL matching only: The extension checks tab URLs against a list of known AI tool domains. It never reads page content, form inputs, or conversations.

Extension Permissions Explained

  • storage — saves your usage data locally in the browser
  • tabs — reads the URL of the active tab to detect AI tool websites (URL only, not page content)
  • alarms — runs a periodic timer to flush tracking data and clean up old records

5. Your Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, you have the following rights regarding any personal data we hold (currently limited to contact form submissions):

  • Access: Request a copy of data we hold about you
  • Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
  • Erasure: Request deletion of your data
  • Restriction: Request that we limit processing of your data
  • Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
  • Objection: Object to processing of your data

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at bedanova.e@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.

6. Data Retention

  • Contact messages: Stored until you request deletion or for a maximum of 2 years
  • Calculator submissions: Stored indefinitely as anonymous aggregate research data (no personal data to delete)
  • Server logs (Vercel): Retained per Vercel's policy, typically 30 days
  • Extension data: Stored in your browser only, auto-deleted after 90 days

7. Children

This website is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has submitted personal data through the contact form, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

8. Changes

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the website after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or requests: