Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how BioCCEA ("we", "us" or "our") collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information when you use our website, mobile application and study tools. BioCCEA is operated by Eddie O Hare, who is the data controller for your personal information. By using BioCCEA, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Who we are

BioCCEA is an independent study platform for students taking CCEA AS and A2 Biology in Northern Ireland. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by CCEA. The platform is owned and operated by Eddie O Hare, trading as BioCCEA. For data protection purposes, Eddie O Hare is the controller of the personal information we process.

2. Information we collect

We collect the following information when you use BioCCEA:

• Account information: email address, password and any profile details you provide during sign-up.
• Study content: photographs of homework, handwritten answers, past papers and any other files you upload for marking or feedback.
• Activity and progress: quiz scores, topic completion, streaks, predicted grade data and other learning analytics used to personalise your revision.
• Communications: messages with the study tutor, feedback submissions, testimonials and support emails.
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device information, and cookies used for analytics and security.

3. How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Create and manage your account;
• Provide automated marking, feedback and revision recommendations;
• Track progress and generate personalised study suggestions;
• Process payments and manage subscriptions through Stripe;
• Improve the accuracy and reliability of our study tools;
• Send service updates, account notifications and marketing emails (where you have consented);
• Maintain security and prevent abuse.

4. Automated processing of your study content

When you upload a photo of homework or ask a question, the content may be processed by third-party learning models to generate feedback, marking and explanations. We instruct these providers to process data only to provide the service and not to use it for training their models unless you have explicitly opted in.

We recommend that you do not upload photographs containing faces, full names of other people or any sensitive personal data unrelated to your Biology work.

5. Legal basis for processing

Where UK and EU data protection law applies, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract: to provide your account and the study tools you have subscribed to.
• Consent: for marketing communications, optional analytics and testimonial publication.
• Legitimate interests: to improve our service, prevent fraud and keep our platform secure.
• Legal obligation: where we are required to comply with law or regulation.

6. Third-party services and data sharing

We use carefully selected third-party providers to operate BioCCEA:

• Lovable Cloud / Supabase: database, authentication and hosting.
• OpenAI / Google Models: automated feedback, marking, note generation and text completion.
• Stripe (Stripe, Inc.): payment processing, subscription billing, invoicing and tax calculation for BioCCEA subscriptions.
• Google Analytics: anonymised website usage analytics.

Each service provider is contractually bound to use your data only for the purposes of providing services to BioCCEA and to maintain appropriate security measures.

7. Data retention

We keep your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. Uploaded study content may be retained to allow you to review your progress and feedback history. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal information within a reasonable period, unless we are required by law to keep it.

8. Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• Delete your account and personal data;
• Object to or restrict certain processing;
• Withdraw consent at any time;
• Export your data in a machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@bioccea.app. We will respond within the timeframe required by law.

9. Cookies and tracking

BioCCEA uses cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences and understand how the service is used. You can manage cookie settings through your browser. Some features may not work if you disable essential cookies.

10. Security

We use industry-standard encryption, access controls and secure hosting to protect your data. However, no online service can guarantee absolute security. Please keep your password safe and contact us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access.

11. Children and parents

BioCCEA is intended for students at AS and A2 level, typically aged 16 and over. If you are under 16, please use the service with the consent of a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on the site before the changes take effect.

13. Contact us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please email hello@bioccea.app.