Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 5, 2026

Introduction

Merciful AI ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our AI chat service.

Information We Collect

When you use Merciful AI, we may collect:

• Conversation Content: Messages you send to the AI and responses you receive
• Usage Data: Information about how you interact with the service, including token consumption and model usage
• Device and Network Information: Browser type, operating system, and IP address. For anonymous (unregistered) users, daily token allowances and rate limits are tracked using a temporary hash of your IP address solely for quota enforcement and service stability.
• Account Data: If you create an account, your email, username, and verification status
• Billing Data: If you subscribe to a paid plan, your payment processor identifiers (Stripe customer ID and subscription ID). We do not store your credit card number, expiration date, or CVV — all payment details are held exclusively by our payment processor, Stripe.
• Marketing Preferences: Your opt-in/opt-out status for marketing communications

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide and improve our AI chat services
• Train, refine, and evaluate our in-house AI models (as detailed below)
• Personalize your experience
• Process payments and manage subscriptions
• Enforce usage limits and token allocations
• Ensure the security and integrity of the platform
• Communicate with you about important updates, account changes, and billing notifications
• Send marketing communications (only with your consent)

AI Model Improvement and In-House Training

To enhance response quality, evaluate safety, and develop specialized in-house models, we may use conversation interactions for internal model training and evaluation. When conversation data is used for this purpose:

• Anonymization: Prompts and responses are de-identified and stripped of account identifiers, email addresses, and network metadata before being included in training datasets.
• Strictly In-House: All model development is conducted internally on our own private infrastructure. We never sell, license, or share conversation content with third-party AI labs, data brokers, or advertisers.
• Pro Accounts Excluded: Conversations initiated by active Pro subscribers are automatically excluded from model training datasets by default.
• Opt-Out for Registered Users: Registered free users may opt out of model training at any time through their account settings.

Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information or conversation content to data brokers or advertisers. We share data only with the following trusted service providers strictly to operate the service:

• AI Model Runners: Dedicated GPU runners and self-hosted instances (including cloud GPU infrastructure) to generate responses — conversation content is transmitted securely to these runners for inference processing
• Stripe, Inc.: Our payment processor, which handles all billing and payment information. Stripe's privacy policy applies to payment data they collect. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
• Brevo (Sendinblue): Our email service provider, which processes email addresses for account verification, password resets, and opted-in updates
• Formspree, Inc.: If you submit an inquiry through our contact form, your name, email, and message content are transmitted via Formspree to deliver your communication to our team
• First-Party Analytics: We use self-hosted, privacy-preserving web analytics to measure aggregate website visits and platform performance. This system operates without tracking cookies, does not collect personal identifiers, and does not track you across third-party websites
• Infrastructure Providers: Service providers who help us operate the platform (cloud hosting, DNS, CDN, monitoring)
• Legal Authorities: When required by applicable law or valid legal process

Room Privacy

Chat rooms are private by default. Only people you explicitly share a room link with can access that room. Room owners can control whether rooms are shareable or private.

Data Retention

We retain conversation data to provide continuity in your chats. Billing records are retained as required by applicable tax and financial regulations. You can request deletion of your data by contacting us.

When you cancel your Pro subscription, your billing identifiers remain in our system until your account is deleted. No payment information (card details) is stored on our servers at any time.

Marketing Communications

We only send marketing emails to users who have opted in during registration or through their account settings. You may opt out at any time by:

• Clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email
• Updating your preferences in your account settings
• Contacting us at privacy@merciful.ai

Opting out of marketing communications does not affect transactional emails (password resets, billing notifications, security alerts).

Your Rights

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

• Access your personal data
• Request deletion of your data
• Opt out of marketing communications
• Request a copy of the data we hold about you
• Object to certain data processing activities

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@merciful.ai.

Security

We implement appropriate security measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure password hashing, and access controls. However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.

Children's Privacy

Merciful AI is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. In compliance with COPPA, if we discover that a user is under 13, their account will be terminated and all associated data will be deleted. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@merciful.ai.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users of significant changes via email and by posting the new policy on this page with an updated "Last updated" date.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@merciful.ai