MyResearchPortalMyResearchPortal
Privacy notice
This notice explains what personal data MyResearchPortal holds, why, who else handles it, and the rights you have under the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) of Ghana. BG Internet Services, Kumasi, Ghana, is responsible for this data.
What we hold
- Your account: name, email address, institution and role. Your password is stored only in a scrambled form that cannot be read back.
- Your work: project sections and every saved version, assignments, references, reading notes, comments, reviews and similarity reports.
- Uploaded files: for most files we keep only the text. Slides uploaded to Study slides are not kept as files; their text is. Pictures you add to the writing page are kept with your work.
- The writing record: for each save, how long you spent writing and how much text was typed, pasted, dictated or arranged. For a large paste we keep its size and its first few words, never the pasted text itself.
- Payments: the amount, the tokens bought and the Paystack reference. Card and mobile money details stay with Paystack.
- Security records: failed sign-in attempts and a record of which tools were used, and when.
Why we use it
- To run your account and the tools you choose to use.
- To let the supervisors you invite read and comment on your work.
- To check work for similarity, which includes comparing it with other work held on the site.
- To send emails you need, such as invitations, password resets and comment notices.
- To keep the site secure, apply daily limits and fix problems.
We do not sell your data, show you advertising, or use your work to train AI models.
Who else handles it
- People you share with: your supervisors, and staff of your institution where your institution uses the site.
- AI services: when you use a tool, the text it needs is sent to the AI service the administrator has chosen for that tool (for example OpenAI or Anthropic), only to produce your result.
- Speech service: recordings made with Dictate are sent to a speech-to-text service and are not stored by us.
- Spelling and grammar: the text you check is sent to LanguageTool.
- Web similarity checks: short phrases from your text are sent to the Brave Search service to find matching pages.
- Payments and hosting: Paystack handles payments; our web host stores the site, the database and its backups; an email provider delivers messages.
Some of these services process data outside Ghana. We use them only to provide the site.
How long we keep it
We keep your account and work while your account is open. You can delete your account yourself at any time under Account: your projects, assignments, slides, pictures, writing records and the text of your tool requests are deleted straight away, and your name, email and phone number are removed. Backup copies are replaced on a rolling cycle of about two weeks.
A few records stay because other people or the law depend on them: comments you left on a student's work as a supervisor, shown as from a former supervisor; payment records, kept for accounting without your name or email; and similarity results already in other people's past reports, which never showed your name.
Cookies and browser storage
We use one cookie to keep you signed in, and the browser's own storage to remember small settings such as the editor tab, zoom and reading speed. We use no advertising or tracking cookies.
Your rights
You can ask to see the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected, to have it deleted, or to object to how it is used. Much of it you can see and change yourself under Account. For anything else, contact support@bgvinternetservices.com. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Data Protection Commission of Ghana.
Keeping it safe
The site is served over an encrypted connection, passwords are stored scrambled, and each person can see only the work they own or were invited to. No system is completely secure, so tell us at once if you think your account has been misused.
Who the site is for
MyResearchPortal is for students and staff in tertiary education. It is not designed for young children.
Changes to this notice
We may update this notice. The date at the top shows when it last changed, and significant changes will be announced on the site.