Privacy Policy

Overview

Desk is a study environment built on a simple principle: your learning belongs to you. This policy explains what information we hold, why we hold it, and the control you have over it. Desk is provided by Viaduct Learn Ltd, the data controller for the personal data described here. It applies to students, educators and visitors who use Desk, operated by Viaduct Learn Ltd.

01Information we collect

We only collect what the Service needs to work well for you.

Information you give us

• Account details — your name, email address, and the university, course and modules you add.
• Billing details — if you subscribe to Desk Premium, payment is handled by our payment provider; we retain your plan, billing history (joining, upgrades, downgrades) and token usage, but not your full card number.
• Your study content — the notes, annotations, comments and materials you create or upload.
• Messages — anything you send us through support, feedback or surveys.

Information collected automatically

• Usage signals — how and when you study, such as session times, streaks and which features you use, so Desk can map your understanding and rhythm.
• Device & technical data — browser type, operating system and approximate region, used to keep the Service secure and reliable.
• Cookies — small files described in our Cookie Policy.

02How we use your information

We use the information above to:

• Provide the Service.
• Personalise your experience, including surfacing what's fading and when you study best.
• Keep your account secure and prevent misuse.
• Respond to your questions and support requests.
• Understand, in aggregate, how Desk is used so we can improve it.

We do not use your information to sell advertising, and we never sell your personal data to third parties.

03AI and your work

Desk uses AI to explain material, surface gaps and help you revise. We take a deliberately conservative approach to your content:

• We do not train foundation models on your notes or study content.
• Your content is processed only to deliver features you've asked for, in the moment you ask for them.
• Where we use third-party AI providers, they act as processors under contract and are not permitted to use your content to train their own models.

Desk is designed to support understanding and show its working — not to generate finished answers on your behalf.

04Legal bases for processing

Under the UK GDPR and EU GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract — to provide the Service you've signed up for.
• Legitimate interests — to secure, maintain and improve Desk, balanced against your rights.
• Consent — for optional cookies and marketing emails, which you can withdraw at any time.
• Legal obligation — where the law requires us to retain or disclose information.

05Sharing

We share personal data only where necessary, and never for sale. This may include:

• Service providers — trusted vendors (hosting, analytics, AI processing) bound by data-protection agreements.
• Legal & safety — where required by law, or to protect the rights and safety of users.

06Advertising & sponsorship

Parts of Desk are supported by advertising and sponsorship. Here is what that means for your data:

• Advertisements on Desk Basic are contextual — matched to broad, non-identifying signals such as course area or device type, never to the content of your notes, messages or AI chats.
• We don’t sell personal data to advertisers, and advertisers never see your work.
• Premium accounts aren’t shown interruptive advertisements. Sponsored surfaces (such as a sponsored study space) may still appear; they involve no additional sharing of your data.
• If we introduce new advertising formats, we’ll update this policy before any new use of personal data begins.

07Beta trial & questionnaires

If you join the Desk Beta trial, we collect a small amount of extra information and ask for your views on the Service. This section explains what happens to it.

What we collect

• Sign-up details: your name, university and email address, used to create your beta access and contact you about the trial.
• Questionnaire responses: your answers to the short questionnaire we ask beta users to complete, and any other feedback you choose to send us.

How we use your responses

• To understand how Desk is working for students and decide what to improve, fix or build next.
• To follow up with you about your answers, but only if you tell us you're happy to be contacted.
• In aggregated or anonymised form, for example "most beta users found the planner useful", in internal reports or public updates about Desk. We never publish anything that identifies you without your permission.

What we don't do

• We don't sell questionnaire responses or share them with advertisers or sponsors.
• We don't use your responses to train foundation AI models.
• Your answers don't affect your access to Desk. Every question is optional, and you can skip any you'd rather not answer.

Legal basis, providers & retention

We process beta sign-up details and questionnaire responses on the basis of our legitimate interest in developing and improving the Service. Responses may be collected through a trusted survey or form provider acting on our behalf under a data-processing agreement. We keep identifiable responses for up to 12 months after the trial ends, then delete them or anonymise them. Anonymised results may be kept for longer.

You can ask us to see, correct or delete your responses at any time by contacting legal@desk.study.

08Retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active, and for a limited period afterwards to meet legal and operational needs. When you delete content or close your account, we remove or anonymise your personal data within 90 days, except where the law requires us to keep it longer.

09Your rights

You have the right to:

• Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Delete your data.
• Export your content in a portable format.
• Object to or restrict certain processing.
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing relies on it.

To exercise any of these, contact us at legal@desk.study. You also have the right to complain to your local data-protection authority (in the UK, the ICO).

10Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Desk evolves or the law changes. When we make material changes, we'll let you know in the Service or by email, and update the date at the top. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.