Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect information necessary to provide our academic publishing services. This includes:

• Account Information: Name, email address, institutional affiliation, ORCID ID, and role (author, reviewer, editor, administrator) when you register.
• Submission Data: Manuscript content, co-author details, author responses, and related submission metadata.
• Payment Information: Where applicable, Article Processing Charge (APC) transaction details processed through secure third-party payment gateways. We do not store full card details.
• Usage Data: IP addresses, browser type, pages visited, and session duration collected via server logs and analytics tools.
• Communications: Emails and messages exchanged between you and our editorial or support team.
• Reviewer Data: Review reports, ratings, and review activity history — accessible only to the editorial team.

2. How We Use Your Data

Your data is used solely to operate, maintain, and improve the Journal Publications platform:

• Managing author accounts, submissions, and publication workflows
• Assigning and communicating with peer reviewers
• Sending automated system notifications (submission status, editorial decisions, proofs)
• Sending our newsletter and academic updates (only with your explicit consent)
• Processing payments and issuing invoices for Article Processing Charges
• Detecting, investigating, and preventing fraudulent or abusive use of the platform
• Improving platform features through aggregated, anonymised usage analytics
• Complying with legal obligations, such as retaining financial records

3. Sharing of Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We may share your data only in the following circumstances:

• Editorial Team: Editors and reviewers receive relevant manuscript and author metadata as required by the review process.
• Publication: Upon acceptance, author names, affiliations, and ORCID IDs are published as part of the article record.
• Indexing Partners: Published article metadata (title, abstract, authors, DOI) is shared with indexing databases such as SCOPUS, Web of Science, and DOAJ.
• Service Providers: We use trusted third-party services (hosting, email delivery, payment processing) under data processing agreements that restrict their use of your data.
• Legal Compliance: We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of our users and the public.

4. Cookies & Tracking

We use essential and analytical cookies to operate the platform:

• Session Cookies: Required for user authentication and maintaining your logged-in state. These are deleted when you close your browser.
• Preference Cookies: Store your UI preferences (e.g., language, sort order) across sessions.
• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how users navigate the platform. Data is aggregated and anonymised. You may opt out in your account settings.

You can disable non-essential cookies in your browser settings, though this may affect certain platform features.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational security measures to protect your data:

• All data is transmitted over HTTPS with TLS 1.2 or higher encryption
• Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing — never in plain text
• Access to production systems is restricted to authorised personnel only
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments are conducted
• Automated backups are stored in encrypted, geographically distributed locations

In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you within 72 hours as required by applicable regulations.

6. Data Retention

We retain your data only as long as necessary:

• Account Data: Retained for the life of your account and 2 years after deletion, for audit purposes.
• Published Article Data: Author metadata associated with published articles is retained indefinitely as part of the permanent scholarly record.
• Rejected Manuscripts: Retained for 2 years from the rejection date, then securely deleted.
• Financial Records: Payment records are retained for 7 years to comply with tax and accounting regulations.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of Access: Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete information via your profile settings or by contacting us.
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your account and associated data, subject to our legal retention obligations.
• Right to Restrict Processing: Request we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to Data Portability: Receive your submission data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to Object: Object to processing for direct marketing or analytics.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Unsubscribe from newsletters or revoke any previously given consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@journalpublications.com.

8. Third-Party Services

The platform integrates with the following third-party services, each governed by their own privacy policies:

• ORCID: For author identification and profile linking
• Crossref: For DOI registration and citation indexing
• Payment Gateways: For secure Article Processing Charge collection
• Email Services: For transactional email delivery (e.g., submission confirmations, editorial decisions)

9. Children's Privacy

Journal Publications is an academic publishing platform intended for researchers, academics, and professionals. Our services are not directed at users under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.

10. Policy Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will notify registered users by email and display a prominent notice on the platform at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Continued use of the platform after that date constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact Us

For any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact our Privacy Officer: