Terms of Service

2.1 Level 8 Degree Requirement

SDF Prep is designed exclusively for applicants who hold or are pursuing Level 8 degree programmes as defined by the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) in Ireland. Only Level 8 qualifications are eligible for Subject Declaration Form preparation through this Service. Users with qualifications below Level 8 are not eligible to use this Service.

2.2 ECTS Credit Requirement

Your degree programme must be an ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credited programme. SDF Prep processes modules and qualifications based exclusively on ECTS credit values. Non-ECTS programmes are not supported by this Service.

2.3 Account Requirements

To use the Service, you must create an account using Google OAuth authentication. You must be at least 18 years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into binding agreements. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.

5.1 Submission Fees

Each submission processed through the Service requires a one-time payment of €20.00 (EUR). Payment is processed securely through Stripe. Payment must be completed before you can access the generated guidance documents for your submission.

5.2 Membership

We may offer membership options that provide unlimited access to the Service for a specified period. Membership terms, pricing, and benefits are subject to change at our discretion. Membership fees are non-refundable except as required by applicable law.

5.3 Refunds

Due to the automated nature of the Service and immediate processing of documents, payments are generally non-refundable. Refunds may be considered on a case-by-case basis for technical failures or service unavailability, at our sole discretion.

5.4 Payment Processing

All payments are processed by Stripe, a third-party payment processor. By making a payment, you agree to Stripe's terms of service and privacy policy. We do not store your full payment card information.

6.1 Data We Collect

By using the Service, you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data as described in this section:

• Account Information: Name, email address, and profile image from your Google OAuth account
• Uploaded Documents: Transcripts and module descriptors you upload to the Service
• Analysis Results: Extracted data from your documents, including qualifications, modules, credit information, student names, student IDs, GPA, honors, and all personal information present in your transcripts
• Usage Data: IP address, submission history, file hashes for duplicate detection, and service usage patterns

6.2 Personal Data Preservation

We preserve all personal data exactly as it appears in your documents.When analyzing your transcripts using AI, we do not strip, redact, or remove any personal information including:

• Student names
• Student identification numbers
• Degree information
• Institution names
• Grades and GPA
• Honors classifications
• All other personal information present in your transcripts

This data is stored securely in your account and is only accessible to you. We use this information solely to generate your SDF Prep guidance documents and do not share it with third parties except as necessary to provide the Service (e.g., sending documents to OpenAI for AI analysis).

6.3 AI Processing and Data Handling

The Service uses OpenAI GPT models to analyze your documents and extract structured information. When you upload documents:

• Your document content is securely transmitted to OpenAI's API for analysis
• All personal data is preserved in the analysis results - nothing is stripped or removed
• The AI extracts information but never modifies your personal data
• Analysis results are stored securely in your account
• OpenAI processes your data according to their privacy policy and data processing terms

By using the Service, you consent to this processing of your data by OpenAI for the purpose of document analysis and form generation.

6.4 Security Measures

We implement comprehensive security measures to protect your data:

• Secure Authentication: Google OAuth authentication - no passwords stored on our servers
• Encrypted Transmission: All data transmitted over HTTPS with secure headers
• Secure Storage: Files stored with sanitized, non-guessable names and isolated by user account
• Access Controls: Strict user ownership verification - you can only access your own submissions
• File Validation: All uploaded files are validated for type, size, and content to prevent malicious uploads
• Rate Limiting: Protection against abuse and DoS attacks
• CSRF Protection: Cross-site request forgery protection on all API endpoints
• Session Security: Secure session management with database-backed sessions

6.5 Data Access and Control

Your data is stored securely and is accessible only to you and authorized service administrators. We use industry-standard security practices to protect your information. You have full control over your data:

• You can view all your submissions and analysis results in your dashboard
• You can delete individual submissions at any time
• You may request deletion of your entire account and all associated data by contacting us
• After account deletion, we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes (such as transaction records for accounting)

6.6 Third-Party Services

The Service uses the following third-party services that may process your data:

• Google OAuth: For authentication - processes your Google account information according to Google's privacy policy
• OpenAI: For AI document analysis - processes your document content according to OpenAI's privacy policy and data processing terms
• Stripe: For payment processing - processes payment information according to Stripe's privacy policy (we do not store full payment card information)

6.7 Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide the Service and fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy. You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time by contacting us. After account deletion, we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes, such as maintaining records of completed transactions for accounting purposes.

11.1 Account Suspension and Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, for:

• Violation of these Terms
• Fraudulent or illegal activity
• Abuse of the Service
• Non-payment of fees

You may terminate your account at any time by contacting us. Upon termination, your access to the Service will cease, but we may retain your data as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

11.2 Account Freezing Policy

To prevent abuse and account sharing, we monitor the number of unique transcripts uploaded per account. Each account is permitted to upload a reasonable number of unique transcripts (typically up to 4 unique transcripts) for legitimate personal use.

If an account uploads an excessive number of unique transcripts, which may indicate account sharing or abuse of the membership system, we reserve the right to automatically freeze the account. A frozen account will be unable to make new submissions until the matter is reviewed and resolved by our administrators.

Important: Uploading the same transcript multiple times (e.g., uploading individual pages of a multi-page transcript) is considered a single unique transcript and will not count toward the limit. The system uses file hashing to identify unique transcripts and distinguish them from duplicate uploads of the same document.

If your account is frozen, you may contact support to request a review. We will investigate the circumstances and may unfreeze your account if we determine the activity was legitimate. However, we reserve the right to maintain the freeze if we determine the account was being used inappropriately or shared with others.