Privacy & Data
Iris is designed with privacy in mind. This page explains what data Iris processes, how it is protected, and what choices you have.
Cloud AI
When you use the Cloud AI experience:
- Requests are typically processed on European Azure servers located within the EU. The exact provider may vary depending on your institution's deployment.
- A data processing agreement governs how your data is handled.
- Your data is not used to train AI models. For example, Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service does not use customer data for model training.
- Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and is not stored beyond what is needed to generate a response.
On-Premise AI
When you use the On-Premise AI experience:
- All processing happens on your institution's own infrastructure.
- No data leaves the university network at any point.
- This option provides the highest level of data locality, suitable for users or institutions with strict data sovereignty requirements.
What Data Is Sent to the AI
When you use Iris, the following data may be included in requests to the language model:
| Data | When It Is Sent |
|---|---|
| Your chat messages | Every conversation |
| Conversation history | To maintain context within a chat |
| Course structure | Every conversation — exercise and lecture titles, competencies |
| Course FAQs | Every conversation — when relevant FAQ entries exist in the course |
| Exercise problem statement | When an exercise is the active context |
| Your code / submission text | When a programming or text exercise is the active context |
| Build logs and test results | When a programming exercise is the active context |
| Lecture slides and transcripts | When relevant to your question — scoped to the active lecture, or across the course when at course level |
The active context therefore also determines the data footprint of a request. A chat at course level does not send your code, and switching away from an exercise stops sending it from the next message onwards.
What Is NOT Sent
- Your name, email, or student ID are not included in requests to the language model.
- Your grades or performance data across other exercises are not sent.
- Other students' data is never included in your requests.
The AI receives the context needed to help you with your current question — nothing more. Iris is designed to minimize the data footprint of each request.
GDPR Considerations
Iris operates under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Key points:
- You have the right to access your stored data (available in your AI experience settings).
- You have the right to deletion — you can delete your chat history at any time in your AI experience settings.
- You can withdraw consent by switching your AI experience to "No AI" at any time.
- Your institution's data protection officer can provide additional information about the specific data processing agreement in place.
Your Choices
You are always in control of your AI experience:
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Switch AI experience (Cloud / On-Premise / No AI) | Account settings in Artemis |
| Return the chat to course level | Remove the context chip in the chat |
| Start a fresh conversation | Click the pen icon in the chat |
If you are unsure about data handling at your institution, ask your instructor or check with your university's data protection office.
Next Steps
- Getting Started — choose your AI experience
- Tips for Effective Use — practical advice for working with Iris