Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 2026

1. Introduction

Aeross Journal is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals who use our platform, including authors, readers, and reviewers. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and store it, under what circumstances it may be shared, and what rights you have in relation to your data. By creating an account or using any part of the Aeross Journal platform, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy. If you do not agree with any part of it, you should discontinue use of the platform.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly when registering for an account, submitting a paper, or interacting with platform features. This may include:

  • Name: Your full name as provided during registration, which may be displayed publicly on author profiles and published papers.
  • Email address: Used for account authentication, submission notifications, editorial correspondence, and platform updates. Your email address is not publicly displayed.
  • Institution information: The name of your university, college, or research institution, which may appear alongside your name on published work and your author profile.
  • ORCID information: If you choose to link your ORCID iD, we store this identifier to help verify your academic identity and associate your publications with your ORCID record where applicable.
  • Submitted papers and uploaded files: All documents, PDFs, and associated metadata submitted through the platform are stored on our servers for the purpose of review and publication.
  • Account-related information: This includes your registration date, submission history, account activity logs, and any preferences or settings you configure within your account dashboard.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information such as government-issued identification numbers, financial data, or health-related information. We also do not collect information from third-party social media platforms unless you explicitly provide it.

3. How We Use Information

The information we collect is used solely to operate, maintain, and improve the Aeross Journal platform. Specifically, information may be used to:

  • Manage user accounts: Create and maintain your account, authenticate your identity when you log in, and allow you to manage your profile and submission history.
  • Review and publish papers: Process your submissions through our editorial and review workflow, communicate decisions and revision requests, and publish accepted work on the platform.
  • Display author profiles and publications: Present your name, institution, and published papers on your public author profile to enable readers and researchers to discover your work.
  • Improve platform functionality: Analyze how users interact with the platform in aggregate to identify areas for improvement, fix bugs, and develop new features.
  • Maintain platform security: Monitor for unauthorized access, abuse, or violations of our terms of use, and take action to protect the integrity of user accounts and submitted content.

We do not use your personal information to serve advertisements, build marketing profiles, or sell data to third parties. Your data is used only in ways directly related to the operation of the journal.

4. Public Information

When a paper is accepted and published on Aeross Journal, certain information associated with that paper becomes publicly visible. This includes the full text of the paper, the names and institutional affiliations of all listed authors, the submission field or category, the publication date, and any abstract or metadata provided at the time of submission. Author profile pages, which display a user's name, institution, and list of published papers, are also publicly accessible to anyone visiting the website without an account.

If you do not wish for your name or institutional affiliation to appear publicly, you should not submit papers for publication. Once a paper is published, the associated public information cannot typically be removed without retracting the publication. Please contact our team if you have concerns about specific public-facing information.

5. Data Storage

All user data collected by Aeross Journal is stored on secure backend infrastructure. We apply industry-standard security practices including encrypted data transmission via HTTPS, restricted access controls, and regular security reviews. Submitted files and account data are stored on servers maintained by our hosting provider and are not accessible to unauthorized parties.

We retain your account information and submitted content for as long as your account remains active, or as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy. If you request deletion of your account, we will make reasonable efforts to remove your personal data from our systems within a reasonable timeframe, subject to any legal or operational obligations that may require us to retain certain records.

Despite our efforts, no online platform can guarantee absolute security against all possible threats. We encourage users to choose strong, unique passwords and to notify us immediately if they suspect any unauthorized access to their account.

6. Cookies and Analytics

The Aeross Journal platform may use cookies — small text files stored in your browser — to maintain your login session, remember your preferences, and ensure the platform functions correctly across pages. These are strictly functional cookies and are not used to track your activity across other websites or build advertising profiles.

We may also use basic, privacy-respecting analytics tools to monitor aggregate platform usage, such as page view counts and submission volumes. Any analytics data collected is used solely to understand how the platform is being used and to guide improvements. Where possible, analytics are collected in an anonymized or aggregated form that cannot be linked back to individual users. You may be able to disable cookies through your browser settings, though doing so may affect some platform functionality such as staying logged in.

7. Third-Party Services

In order to operate the platform, Aeross Journal relies on a limited number of third-party service providers. These may include cloud hosting providers for server infrastructure, database platforms for storing user and submission data, and analytics tools for monitoring platform performance. These providers are selected for their reliability and their commitment to data security, and are only given access to the information necessary to perform their specific function.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for commercial purposes. We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or any external party that is not directly involved in operating the Aeross platform. In the unlikely event that we are required to disclose information by law or in response to a valid legal request, we will comply with applicable legal obligations and, where permitted, notify affected users.

8. User Rights

You have the right to access, correct, and request deletion of the personal information we hold about you. Specifically:

  • Access: You may request a summary of the personal data we hold associated with your account at any time by contacting our team.
  • Correction: If any information in your account is inaccurate or out of date, you may request a correction from our team.
  • Deletion: You may request the deletion of your account and associated personal data. Note that this will not automatically remove your name from papers that have already been published, as those are part of the academic record. Please discuss specific cases with our editorial team.
  • Objection: If you believe your data is being processed in a way that is inconsistent with this policy or applicable law, you have the right to raise an objection with us directly.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through the support section of your account dashboard. We will respond to all data-related requests within a reasonable timeframe.

9. Children's Privacy

Aeross Journal is an academic platform open to researchers and writers of all ages and backgrounds. While our primary audience includes high school students and undergraduates, we warmly welcome submissions from anyone with original academic work to share, regardless of age, institution, or level of study. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the age of 13. Users who are 13 or older but under 18 should ensure they have obtained appropriate parental or guardian consent before creating an account, in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable in their jurisdiction or as required by their school or institution. If we become aware that a user under the minimum age has created an account without appropriate consent, we reserve the right to suspend or remove that account.

10. Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in our practices, the features of the platform, or applicable legal requirements. When we make material changes to this policy, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We may also notify registered users of significant changes via email or a notice on the platform. Your continued use of Aeross Journal following any updates constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we handle your information.

11. Contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the way your personal data is handled, please contact the Aeross Journal team through the support section of your account dashboard. We take privacy concerns seriously and will make every reasonable effort to address your inquiry promptly and transparently.