Privacy Policy

Last updated: 9 July 2026

Cito is a semantic search engine for academic papers, operated by FIM. This policy explains what we collect and why. Using Cito means you agree to it.

Searches we record

We log every search: the query text, the time, which results were returned, and basic timing. We keep this data to operate and improve the service and to study how research topics are searched, and we may use aggregated or de-identified search data for research and future product features. When you are signed in, searches are associated with your account; when you are not, they are recorded without an account identity (keyed only by a network address for rate limiting).

Account data

If you sign in with GitHub, we receive and store your GitHub account id, name, email, and avatar URL to create your account. API keys are stored only as a hash; we never keep the raw key. You can revoke keys at any time from your account page.

Analytics

We use a first-party, cookieless analytics script to count page views and understand aggregate traffic. It does not build advertising profiles.

Third parties

Paper metadata comes from Semantic Scholar. Sign-in is handled by GitHub under its own privacy terms. We do not sell your personal information.

Your choices

You can use search without an account. To request deletion of your account or associated data, contact us at fim.ai. Note that search logs may be retained in de-identified form for research.

Changes

We may update this policy; material changes will be reflected by the date above.