Most reference management tools (e.g. Mendeley, Zotero) store your data on non-Canadian servers, which means your account information may be subject to US laws, specifically the US Patriot Act. This act allows US authorities to have access to your personal information. If you are concerned that your personal information is stored outside Canada, do not use these services. The SFU Library has been unable to identify any citation management products that store data exclusively on Canadian servers.
To protect your privacy and avoid exposure to the US Patriot Act, you may consider using a citation management tool that works offline. For example, the following tools can be downloaded to your computer and used offline exclusively:
- BibDesk for Mac - free
- EndNote - purchase required
- Qiqqa - free
- Zotero Standalone - free
We are not able to guarantee the privacy of these tools, and your use of them is at your own risk. Please note that most of these tools also have online functionality, and using any online features - even briefly - will affect the privacy of your data. Also, note that using citation management software offline may reduce its functionality (e.g. you can't use the web importer tool).
For information about citation management tools supported by SFU Library, go to Referencing and Citation Management Software.