Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026

    We take your privacy seriously. This policy explains what data we collect, why, and how you can control it. We comply with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
  

1. Who is responsible for your data

FirstClass is operated by Emilio Catopang ("we", "us"). We are the data controller for personal data collected through 1stclass-ai.com. Contact us at hello@1stclass-ai.com for any privacy-related questions.

2. What data we collect

Data	Why we collect it	Legal basis
Email address & name	Account creation and communication	Contract performance
Essays you submit	To generate AI feedback for you	Contract performance
Usage data (analyses run, scores)	To show you your grade progression	Contract performance
Payment information	Processed by Stripe — we never see your card details	Contract performance
Technical data (IP, browser, device)	Security and service improvement	Legitimate interest

3. How we use your data

We use your data only to:

Provide the FirstClass service — generating feedback, saving your history, tracking your progress
Process your subscription payments via Stripe
Send essential service communications (account confirmation, payment receipts, policy updates)
Improve the service — we may use aggregated, anonymised analytics to understand how the product is used

We do not:

Use your essays to train AI models
Sell your data to third parties
Share your essays with anyone else
Send marketing emails without your consent

4. AI processing

When you submit an essay for analysis, it is sent to Anthropic's API (the company behind Claude AI) to generate feedback. Anthropic processes this data under their own privacy policy and API usage terms. They do not use API data to train their models. You can review Anthropic's privacy policy at anthropic.com/privacy.

5. Who we share data with

Third party	Purpose	Location
Firebase / Google	User authentication and data storage	EU/US (Standard Contractual Clauses)
Anthropic	AI essay analysis	US (Standard Contractual Clauses)
Stripe	Payment processing	EU/US (Standard Contractual Clauses)
Vercel	Website hosting	EU/US (Standard Contractual Clauses)

All third-party providers are contractually bound to process your data only as instructed and to maintain appropriate security standards.

6. How long we keep your data

Essays and analysis: Retained for as long as your account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion.
Account data: Retained for as long as your account is active, plus 90 days after deletion for legal compliance.
Payment records: Retained for 7 years as required by UK tax law.

7. Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate data
Erasure: Ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten") — you can do this directly from your profile settings
Portability: Export your data in a machine-readable format — available from your profile settings
Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interest
Restriction: Ask us to restrict processing while a dispute is resolved

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@1stclass-ai.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

8. Cookies

We use only essential cookies required for the service to function (authentication session). We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking. No cookie consent banner is required for essential cookies only.

9. Security

We use industry-standard security measures including HTTPS encryption, Firebase security rules (which restrict each user to their own data), and Stripe for PCI-compliant payment processing. We never store payment card details.

10. Children

FirstClass is available to users aged 13 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. We will notify you of significant changes by email or by a notice on the platform at least 14 days before they take effect.

Data protection queries: Email hello@1stclass-ai.com. We aim to respond within 5 business days.