Privacy Policy
Last updated October 19, 2026
Expansive Mind (expansivemind.ai) is a research tool run by Meredith Staton. This policy explains what information we collect when you use it, why we collect it, who we share it with, and how long we keep it. We do not sell your information.
What we collect
- Account details: your name, email address, and password. Passwords are stored only as a secure hash, never as plain text. We use these to create your account and sign you in.
- Google sign-in: if you choose Continue with Google, Google shares your name, email address, and Google account ID with us. We do not get your Google password or access to your Gmail, Drive, or contacts.
- Your research: the searches and Discover questions you run, the papers you save, and your highlights, projects, reports, and briefs. We keep these so you can return to your work.
- Your chats about papers: the questions you ask and the answers you receive. These are stored encrypted, as described in Your chats below.
- Usage: which pages you visit, how long you stay, which features you use, and how often, so we can apply usage limits, understand what is working, and improve the product. If you are signed in, this is linked to your account. We also combine usage into totals with no names or accounts in them, such as the number of chat questions asked in a week. These totals are kept permanently.
- Technical information: your IP address and browser details are used to apply limits, prevent abuse, and keep the service secure. We store your IP address only in a scrambled (one-way hashed) form.
- Ratings: if you answer “How is Expansive Mind doing?”, your rating, any comment you add, and the question or paper it was about.
- Messages: anything you send through the Contact page, with the name and email address you give, so we can answer you.
- Email choices: whether you signed up for our newsletter and product updates, and when you turned them on or off.
Your chats
Your chats about papers and figures are encrypted before we store them. We do not read them. They are unlocked only to show them to you, to include your earlier messages when you ask a follow-up question, and to respond to a request you make about your own data.
To answer a question, we send it, with the relevant parts of the paper and your recent messages in that chat, to the AI service described under Who we share it with.
For each chat question we also record a one-word label for the kind of question (for example “summary” or “methods”) and which paper it was about, but not what you wrote. The same AI service picks the label. We use these labels to understand what kinds of help people need.
How we use it
- To run your account and sign you in.
- To find papers and answer your research questions.
- To apply usage limits.
- To understand how the product is used and to improve it.
- To send account emails, such as password reset links.
- To send our newsletter and product updates, only if you sign up for them. Every one has an unsubscribe link.
- To keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and fix problems.
Google user data
We use the information Google shares only to create your account and sign you in. We do not use it for ads, we do not sell it, and we do not share it with anyone except as needed to run the service. Our use of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.
Cookies
We use cookies to keep you signed in, to complete Google sign-in safely, and to count visits. If you are not signed in, the visit counter is a random key, not your name or email, and the cookie expires after 120 days. Your browser also remembers when it last asked you for a rating, so we don't ask too often. We do not use advertising cookies.
How long we keep it
We keep the information described in this policy, including your account, your research, your encrypted chats, and usage records, indefinitely. We do not delete it on a set schedule. Daily usage totals, which contain no names or accounts, are kept permanently. You can remove a saved paper, which also removes your chats about it, and you can ask us to delete your account as described below. When an account is deleted, we keep usage and cost records with the link to that account removed, and the usage totals remain in place permanently.
Your choices
You can ask to see, correct, export, or delete your information at any time by emailing mernstaton@gmail.com. If you ask us to delete your account, we delete your account, research, and chats, except records we must keep for billing or legal reasons. You can also remove Expansive Mind's access to your Google account from your Google account settings. To stop the newsletter and product updates, use the unsubscribe link in any of them or turn them off on your profile. Account emails, such as password resets, still reach you.
California residents
If you live in California, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, to ask us to delete or correct it, and to not be discriminated against for using these rights. We do not sell or share your personal information for advertising. To make a request, email mernstaton@gmail.com.
Security
We use encrypted connections, hashed passwords, encrypted storage for your chats, and limited access to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong password.
Children
Expansive Mind is only for people 18 or older, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone younger. If you believe someone under 18 has an account, email mernstaton@gmail.com and we will close it.
Changes and contact
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. Questions? Email mernstaton@gmail.com or use the Contact page. See also our Terms of Service.