Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 2026 · Fosthera Editora, Goiânia/GO, Brazil · Contact: ezequiel@fosthera.com.br

By creating an account or using Fosthera Lúmen, you agree to these Terms and to the Privacy Policy below.

1. The service

Fosthera Lúmen is a tool for bibliographic research and writing support for authors. It searches the literature across open academic databases, organizes references in a personal library and, with the help of artificial intelligence, helps you draft well-grounded texts. Access is granted upon registration and, where applicable, subscription.

2. Account and access

Each account is individual and non-transferable. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential.
Your account data (references, projects, history) is isolated: other users cannot access it.
We may suspend accounts that violate these Terms.

3. Permitted and prohibited use

You may use Lúmen for research, curation and writing of your own work or that of your organization. It is prohibited to:

Redistribute, resell or publish copyright-protected content (PDFs, books, paywalled articles);
Share your access with unauthorized third parties;
Use the tool for unlawful purposes or in ways that infringe the rights of third parties;
Attempt to circumvent limits, security or the isolation between accounts.

4. Content generated by artificial intelligence

AI-generated texts and summaries are a support, produced from the literature found. They may contain inaccuracies. Final review is always a human step and is the author’s responsibility. Fosthera does not guarantee accuracy, compliance with specific standards, or the absence of errors in the generated content.

5. Third-party sources

Lúmen queries public, open databases (such as OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed, Europe PMC, Semantic Scholar, DOAJ and SciELO) to retrieve publication metadata. This data belongs to the respective sources and is displayed under their licenses. Lúmen does not host or redistribute the full protected content of these works.

6. Payment

When access is paid, the conditions (price, billing frequency and subscription terms) will be provided at the time of purchase. Failure to pay may lead to suspension of access.

Payments in Brazil are processed by Asaas; international payments (outside Brazil) are processed by Stripe. In both cases, card data is entered directly in the payment provider’s environment and is never seen or stored by Lúmen.

7. Limitation of liability

The service is provided "as is". To the maximum extent permitted by law, Fosthera is not liable for decisions made based on the generated content, for the unavailability of external or third-party databases, or for indirect damages.

8. Privacy and data protection (LGPD & GDPR)

This policy is governed by the LGPD (Brazil) and, for users in the EU/EEA and UK, the GDPR. Data controller: Fosthera Editora, Goiânia/GO, Brazil. Data protection contact: ezequiel@fosthera.com.br.

Data we collect

Registration: email, name and password (stored only as a hash, never in plain text). When you sign in with Google, we receive only your verified email address.
Use of the service: the references and projects you save in your library; your search history stays in your own browser.
Payment (paid plans): name, tax ID, phone and address are collected on the payment screen and processed by Asaas (Brazil) or Stripe (international payments). Card data is entered in the payment provider’s environment — Lúmen never sees or stores the card number.
Newsletter (optional): if you opt in to receive news, we store your email and the date of your consent.
Technical records: error logs and IP address, for security and operation.

Legal basis and purpose

We process your data to: provide and maintain the service and authenticate your access (performance of the contract); send you news when you opt in (consent, which you may withdraw at any time); and ensure security, prevent fraud and improve the product (legitimate interests). We do not sell your data and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

Who we share with (processors)

We use providers that process data on our behalf, only as necessary:

Google (Workspace/Gemini): AI text generation, sending system emails and Google sign-in;
Asaas: payment and subscription processing (Brazil);
Stripe: international card payment processing;
Brevo: sending the newsletter, if you opt in to receive it;
Hostinger: website and database hosting;
Open academic databases (OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and others): receive only your search terms in order to return results.

We do not share your library or your account data with other users or advertisers.

International data transfers

Your data may be processed in Brazil and by processors located abroad (Google, Stripe, Asaas, Brevo and Hostinger). Where an international transfer takes place, we rely on appropriate safeguards — such as standard contractual clauses and equivalent protection commitments — to maintain an adequate level of data protection.

How long we keep it

We keep your data while your account is active and for the period required by law. When you delete your account, we remove your data from our systems (database, newsletter list and provider subscription), retaining only the minimum required by legal or tax obligations. Technical logs are kept for a short period. Data is deleted on request.

Your rights and how to exercise them

Under the LGPD and the GDPR, you have the right to access, rectification, erasure ("right to be forgotten"), restriction of processing, data portability, objection to processing, and to withdraw your consent at any time. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. You can do the following yourself:

Delete your account and your data at any time under “My account” → “Delete my account” (inside the app). This erases your registration, your library and projects, your contact on the newsletter list, and cancels your subscription.
Unsubscribe from the newsletter via the unsubscribe link in each email.
For access/export or any question, write to ezequiel@fosthera.com.br (we respond within the legal time limit).

Consent

When you create your account, you accept these Terms and this Policy — we record the date of that acceptance. Consent for the newsletter is separate and optional, and can be withdrawn whenever you wish.

Security

We use HTTPS, hashed passwords, per-account data isolation, quotas and access limits, and lockout against intrusion attempts. No system is 100% infallible, but we adopt reasonable protective measures.

Cookies

We use only the essential session cookie (to keep you logged in). We do not use tracking or advertising cookies.

9. Changes

We may update these Terms. Material changes will be communicated. Continued use after an update means you agree to it.

Notice: this document is a starting point provided in good faith and may be updated. We recommend review by a legal professional before scaling commercially, to align it with your business model and applicable law.