Purpose-limited proposal handling
Proposal content is processed to provide the requested evaluation. Ruthless Evaluator does not reuse customer drafts for external benchmarking, publication or unrelated analytical purposes.
Security and confidentiality
Security for confidential proposals
Ruthless Evaluator is designed for unpublished research, confidential innovation and high-stakes funding applications. Proposal processing follows strict retention, access and security controls from upload to stored evaluation output.
Zero Data Retention AI processingNo model trainingAutomatic proposal draft deletionGDPR-aligned handlingEU-hosted core systems
Proposal privacy path
Processed for evaluation. Not retained by the LLM provider.
1
Upload
Proposal enters the authenticated Ruthless Evaluator workflow
2
Process
Text is extracted and sent only for the requested evaluation
3
Evaluate
The LLM processes the proposal under our ZDR agreement
After the AI request
Proposal content retained by the LLM provider
Zero Data Retention applies to the AI requests processed under our agreement.
0retained
Data flow
What happens to a proposal
The original upload is temporary. Ruthless Evaluator extracts the text needed for evaluation, sends that proposal text to the LLM under Zero Data Retention, and keeps the structured evaluation results in your authenticated account.
1
Upload
PDF, DOCX or pasted text enters the authenticated workflow.
2
Text extraction
Document text is extracted inside the Ruthless Evaluator processing environment.
3
ZDR AI processing
Proposal text is processed by the LLM provider under our Zero Data Retention agreement.
4
Evaluation output
Scores, findings and recommendations are generated for the user.
5
Controlled storage
Structured outputs remain account-isolated until the customer deletes them.
Original uploaded proposal files are automatically deleted after processing, cancellation or failure.
Why ZDR matters
What Zero Data Retention changes
ZDR answers a simple question: after the LLM has processed your proposal to generate the evaluation, does the provider keep that proposal content? Under our ZDR agreement, the answer is no.
Ruthless Evaluator has a Zero Data Retention agreement with its LLM provider.
In simple terms: the LLM provider can process proposal text to generate the evaluation, but proposal content from AI requests covered by the Zero Data Retention agreement is not retained by the provider after processing finishes.
1
Ruthless Evaluator sends proposal text
Only the text needed for the requested evaluation is sent to the LLM provider.
2
The LLM provider processes the evaluation
The provider processes the request using Ruthless Evaluator programme-specific evaluation logic and rubrics to generate structured scores, findings and recommendations.
0
The provider retains no proposal content
Under the Zero Data Retention agreement, proposal content from covered AI requests is not retained by the provider after processing.
This is separate from model training. Customer proposal content was already excluded from model training before ZDR. Zero Data Retention adds the no-retention safeguard for covered AI requests.
Authentication and access controls
Authenticated access, secure cookies, server-side session validation, refresh-token rotation, revocation controls and multi-factor authentication for privileged administrative functions protect account access.
Tenant isolation and least privilege
Evaluation outputs are logically separated by user and project. Administrative access is restricted, role based, logged and limited to legitimate operational purposes.
Automatic proposal draft deletion
Uploaded proposal files exist only for the processing window and are automatically deleted when evaluation completes, is cancelled or fails. Full proposal files are not stored in the application database.
Retention model
What is stored and what is transient
Different data has different retention rules. ZDR covers the proposal text sent to the LLM for evaluation, while the structured results you need remain available in your Ruthless Evaluator workspace.
Uploaded proposal files
TransientAutomatically deleted when processing completes, is cancelled or fails.
Proposal text sent to the LLM for evaluation
ZDRFor AI requests processed under our Zero Data Retention agreement, the LLM provider does not retain proposal content after the request.
Structured evaluation outputs
StoredAvailable through authenticated access until customer deletion.
Technical and security metadata
MinimisedRetained only as needed for operational, security and contractual purposes.
Security lifecycle
Security controls extend beyond data retention
1
Build
Controlled code changes
2
Scan
Secrets, code, dependencies and containers
3
Test
Automated quality and security gates
4
Stage
Validation before production
5
Deploy
Deliberate production promotion
6
Monitor
Security events and abnormal activity
EU-hosted core systems
The Ruthless Evaluator application and managed database are hosted in Frankfurt, Germany.
GDPR and DPA
Documented subprocessors, controller-processor terms and institutional Data Processing Agreements support procurement and data-protection review.
Incident response
Documented procedures cover detection, containment, evidence preservation, remediation and customer notification where required.
Institutional review
Security documentation for institutional review
Universities, research organisations and professional teams can review the Privacy Policy and request the documentation needed for internal procurement or data-protection review.