Privacy Policy

Effective October 12, 2026

PublicForumAI (publicforumai.com) lets you practice public forum debate against an AI opponent. This policy explains what information we collect, why, who helps us process it, and the choices you have.

Information we collect

Account information. When you sign in with Google or with an email and password, we receive your email address and, for Google sign-in, your name and profile photo. If you turn on two-step verification, we store hashed recovery codes.
Practice content. The speeches you type or record, the topics and sides you choose, and the speeches, sources, and ballots the AI produces for your rounds and drafts.
Voice recordings. If you speak a speech instead of typing it, the audio is sent to our transcription provider to be turned into text. We keep the text, not the recording.
Plan and usage. Your plan, how many rounds and cases you have used this month, and your progress in learning modules.
Payment information. Payments are handled by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number; we store your subscription status.
Feedback. If you use the feedback form, we receive the email address and message you enter.
Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand which pages are visited and how the site performs. It uses cookies and collects information such as your browser, device, and approximate location.

How we use it

To run your account and save your rounds, drafts, and ballots.
To generate AI speeches, sources, and judge feedback in response to what you write or say.
To process subscriptions and apply plan limits.
To answer feedback and support requests.
To keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and improve it.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

Service providers

We share information only with providers that help us run PublicForumAI:

Google Firebase and Google Cloud for sign-in, data storage, and text-to-speech.
OpenAI to generate speeches, research sources, and judge rounds. The text of your speeches is sent to OpenAI for this purpose.
Deepgram to transcribe voice recordings.
Stripe for payments.
Heroku to host our servers.
EmailJS to deliver feedback form messages.
Google Analytics for site analytics.

We may also disclose information if required by law or to protect the safety of our users or the service.

How long we keep it

On the free plan, finished rounds are deleted automatically 30 days after they are completed.
On a paid plan, rounds are kept while your subscription is active. If you cancel, they follow the free plan's 30-day rule from the day your plan ends.
Account information is kept until you ask us to delete your account.

Your choices

To delete your account, specific rounds, or all of your data, or to request a copy of your data, email support@publicforumai.com from the address on your account.
You can block or delete analytics cookies in your browser settings.

Children

PublicForumAI is intended for students 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Security

Data is encrypted in transit, and access to stored data goes through our servers only. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.

Changes

If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will let signed-in users know.

Contact

Questions about privacy: support@publicforumai.com