Privacy Policy — Idea Scout

Last updated: 2026-04-21 · Operator: Zylen Wang · Contact: zylenw97@gmail.com

What this app is

Idea Scout is a personal academic paper radar. It scans a fixed list of management and engineering journals daily, translates titles and abstracts, and emails a curated digest to a small group of pre-configured recipients (the operator and their academic collaborators). The web workbench at zylen97.github.io/idea-scout is for the operator's personal curation only.

What data the app accesses

• OAuth scope used: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.send — used solely to send the daily digest email from the operator's own Gmail account.
• The app does not read, modify, delete, or list any messages in the Gmail account.
• The app does not collect, store, or transmit any personal information about email recipients beyond the recipient address provided by the operator.

Data storage

• All paper data and user state (read flags, selected papers) are stored in the public GitHub repository zylen97/idea-scout, under data/*.json.
• OAuth tokens are stored only on the operator's local machine (and a personal Dropbox-synced backup); they are never transmitted to any third party.
• No analytics, tracking, advertising, or telemetry of any kind.

Data sharing

Data is not sold, rented, or otherwise shared with any third party. The only outbound channel is the daily digest email, sent to addresses configured by the operator.

Third-party services

• Google Gmail API — for sending email. Subject to Google's Privacy Policy.
• OpenAlex, CNKI — for fetching publicly available paper metadata.
• ChatAnywhere (LLM API proxy) — for translating titles and abstracts.

Data retention

Paper scan results in data/*.json are retained indefinitely as part of the public repository's history. User state is mutable and updated by the operator.

Children

This app is not directed at children under 13.

Changes to this policy

Any updates will be posted to this page with a revised "Last updated" date.

Contact

For questions about this policy: zylenw97@gmail.com.