How we handle your data
Version 2026-11-03 · This page is a plain summary of what happens to the models, circuits and results you send to 4colors Quantum Compiler, 4colors Optimizer for QUBO and 4colors Optimizer for Scheduling (early access). If this page and the Terms of Service differ, the Terms win.
Your content is yours
Your content means the models, circuits, instances and parameters you send us, and the results we produce for you. You own it.
What we use your content for
- To run your jobs and show you the results.
- To fix faults on our side. If a job fails because of our fault, we may keep it until the fault is fixed, for no more than 90 days, and use it only for that.
- To make our solvers better, using de-identified copies. Explained below. A team admin can switch this off.
- To keep the service secure and to investigate abuse.
- When the law requires it, such as a court order. Where we are allowed to, we tell you first.
- For research and publication, only if you opt in.
We do not sell your content. We do not show it to other customers, and other teams cannot name or read your models. We do not use it to train general-purpose AI models.
How we use your problems to improve the solver
Our solvers get better by being tested on real problems. Unless your team switches it off, we keep a de-identified copy of the instances and circuits you send.
What we keep: the mathematical structure of the problem: for example the coefficient matrix of a QUBO, the constraints of a model, or the gate sequence of a circuit, together with the solver settings used.
What we strip out: names, labels, variable names, comments, file names and other descriptive metadata.
How it is kept: separately from your account. It carries an internal reference used only so we can delete it if you ask.
What we do with it: test, benchmark and tune our own solvers and compilers, including training our own models that pick solver settings. That's all.
What we never do with it: publish it, sell it, or show it to other customers or anyone outside 4colors (other than our hosting providers, which store it for us).
How long: up to 24 months after the job, then deleted.
Your choice:
- A team admin can switch it off at any time on the Account page, under Data settings. It then stops for all new jobs.
- To have copies we already hold deleted, email support@4colors-research.com.
- Enterprise teams are switched off by default unless their agreement says otherwise.
How long we keep things
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Finished jobs and their results | The job retention period, currently 30 days, then deleted. |
| Uploaded models | Deleted once no upload or job has named them for 30 days. Uploading a model again, or a job naming it, restarts the clock. A model stays while a job that holds it exists. |
| A job that failed because of a fault on our side | Until the fault is fixed, at most 90 days. Then deleted. |
| De-identified copies (unless switched off) | Up to 24 months, or until you ask us to delete them. |
| Backups | Deleted data leaves our backups within 35 days. |
| When your account closes | Jobs, results and models are deleted as above. De-identified copies stay for the rest of their 24 months unless you ask us to delete them. |
You can list your team's jobs with GET /v1/jobs while they are kept. We give at least 30 days' notice before shortening the job retention period.
Statistics we keep
We keep non-content statistics about jobs, and use them to run, secure and improve the service. Examples:
- input size and density;
- timings and resource use;
- job status and error types;
- product, version and settings used.
These statistics do not contain your models, circuits or results.
Research and publication: only if you opt in
We do not publish your instances, or use them in research we publish, unless a team admin explicitly opts in. The opt-in shows what would be used, how it would be anonymized and how it would be credited. You can withdraw it at any time; withdrawal applies to future use.
Account and billing data
Your name, email address, organization, team and sign-in data are personal data and are handled under our Privacy Policy. Payments are processed by Stripe; we do not store full card numbers. We record which version of the Terms you accepted and when.
Personal data in your content
The service is built for optimization and compilation problems, not for personal data. Please do not send personal data in models, circuits or schedules unless we have agreed it with you in writing.
Questions
Email support@4colors-research.com. 4colors Ltd, trading as 4colors Research. Registered in England and Wales, company number 10139486. Registered office: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom.
Questions about these documents? Contact us.