Academia, Inc.

Academia.edu is a commercial platform operated by Academia, Inc., where academics and researchers can share their scholarly papers and connect with others in their fields. The site boasts over 270 million registered users and hosts more than 55 million papers, serving a global academic community. Users create profiles that highlight their institutional affiliations, areas of interest, and publications, effectively building a public-facing academic identity. While facilitating the open sharing of research, the platform's collection of personal and professional information raises privacy concerns. The data shared on profiles, including names, affiliations, and research interests, could be aggregated to build detailed dossiers on academics, potentially exposing them to targeted phishing, scams, or professional harassment. Individuals can manage some of their privacy settings to control the visibility of their profile and activity. To further protect their information, users should be cautious about the personal details they share publicly and can request access to or deletion of their personal data.