Who we are
ScholarVera LLC ("ScholarVera," "we," "us") is an academic-integrity software company based in Oklahoma, United States. We make two tools: WriteSight, a Microsoft Word add-in that records how a document was written, and a web-based reference verification tool that checks whether citations resolve to real sources.
This policy covers both, along with the accounts that let you sign in to them. Where a behavior differs between tools, we say so.
Our core commitment
We design our tools to minimize the student data we touch. Wherever a feature can work without us collecting or storing your writing, that is how we build it.
This isn't only a privacy stance — it's how the tools are engineered. It's the reason WriteSight keeps its record inside your document rather than on a server, and the reason the reference checker doesn't ask for, or retain, the body of your work. The one place we do hold data is the account that signs you in, covered in its own section below.
WriteSight (Word add-in)
What it records
WriteSight observes how a document is constructed while you write — patterns of typing, pasting, and revision over time — and assembles that into a "provenance record." This record is meant to give faculty context for a conversation about the writing process. It does not capture the meaning or content of what you write as something we receive; it describes how the document came together.
Where that record lives
The provenance record is stored inside the .docx file itself, in a dedicated part of the document. It travels with the file. When you submit your document, the record goes wherever the document goes — to your learning management system, to your instructor — exactly like the rest of the file's contents.
ScholarVera does not receive this record. Because the data lives in your document and not on our servers, we do not collect it, store it, or have access to it. We could not hand it over or sell it if we wanted to — we never have it.
Tamper-evidence
The record includes integrity-protection so that later alteration can be detected. This protection operates within your document and your signed-in session; it does not involve sending your writing to us.
Who can see the record
Anyone you give the document to, using compatible software, can view the provenance record — most commonly an instructor reviewing submitted work. ScholarVera is not a party to that exchange.
Accounts and authentication
Using WriteSight requires signing in, so the tool can confirm you're an authorized user and run in the right mode (student or faculty). This is the one place we hold data about you, so we're specific about it.
What we collect for your account
- Your email address and a password, which you provide to create and access your account.
- Your entitlement — the record that your account has been granted access, and in which role. This is what tells the add-in whether to open in writing mode or review mode.
- Basic sign-in activity needed to operate the service securely, such as when a token was issued.
How sign-in works
Authentication is handled through Supabase, a third-party platform we use to manage accounts and access securely on our behalf. Your email and password are processed by Supabase to verify you. When you sign in, the add-in receives a short-lived access token that identifies your account and role; that token is what lets the tool run. We do not see your password in readable form.
What we do not tie to your account
Your account confirms who you are and what access you have. It is not a store of your writing. WriteSight's provenance record still lives inside your document, not against your account on our servers. Signing in does not send us the text of your work.
Reference verification tool (web)
What you provide
To check your citations, you paste a list of references into the tool. The tool then queries scholarly catalogs and databases to determine whether each reference corresponds to a real, locatable work.
What we do with it
Your references are processed to produce your results and are not retained after your request is served. We do not build a stored profile of your reference lists, and we do not ask you to paste the body of your document — only the reference list you want checked.
Third-party scholarly sources
Verifying a citation requires querying external scholarly services (for example, public bibliographic catalogs). The reference text necessary to perform a lookup is sent to those services for that purpose. We use these sources to confirm whether a work exists; we don't share your data with them for any other reason.
Information we collect to run the service
Operating any software involves some limited data. To be straightforward about it:
- Account data, as described in the accounts section above.
- Basic technical and service data. Like most hosted services, our infrastructure may process standard technical information (such as request logs) needed to run, secure, and troubleshoot the service.
- What you send us directly. If you email us for support, we receive what you write to us and reply to it.
We do not use this information to build advertising profiles, and we do not sell it.
What we don't do
- We don't sell personal data.
- We don't serve third-party advertising or use your data to target ads.
- We don't store the body of your documents on our servers.
- We don't render an "AI-detection" verdict or score. Our tools surface observations, not conclusions.
Student records and FERPA
ScholarVera's tools are used in educational settings, and we've designed them with that context in mind. Because WriteSight's provenance record stays inside the student's own document and the reference checker retains no student work, the tools are built to keep education records under the control of the student and the institution rather than flowing to us. The account data we do hold is limited to identity and access — not student coursework.
Where an institution adopts our tools, the institution remains responsible for its own obligations under FERPA and applicable law. We're glad to work with institutions on the data-handling specifics of a deployment.
Data security
We use reasonable technical measures appropriate to the data we handle, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) for our web services and add-in, and a managed authentication platform for account security. No system is perfectly secure, but minimizing the data we hold in the first place is itself a central part of our security posture.
Children's privacy
Our tools are intended for use in higher education and by adults. They are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Where the tools are used with students who are minors, that use is arranged through their institution.
Changes to this policy
This policy describes our tools as they exist today, including accounts and sign-in. As we add features, we will update this policy to describe them accurately and revise the version and effective date above. We won't quietly expand what we collect; new data practices will be reflected here.
When changes are material, we'll make a reasonable effort to make them noticeable rather than burying them.
Contact us
Questions about this policy or how our tools handle data? Email chris@scholarvera.com and we'll respond.