Privacy Statement

 

Hivereads ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of our users. This Privacy Statement explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use [ojs.hivereads.com] (the "Site") and its affiliated journals.

This statement appears during user registration, author submission, and on the publicly available Privacy page.

1. Information We Collect

When you register an account, submit a manuscript, review for us, or subscribe to notifications on this Site, we may collect the following information:

  • Account information: name, username, email address, password (stored in encrypted form), institutional affiliation, and country/region.

  • Submission and review information: manuscript content, author details, funding information, review comments, and editorial decision records.

  • Usage data: IP address, browser type, access time, pages visited, and similar data (used for statistics and site security).

  • Communication data: correspondence between you and the editorial office, including emails and internal messages.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Manage user accounts and permissions;

  • Process manuscript submissions, peer review, and publication workflows;

  • Send you journal-related notifications (such as review invitations and publication notices);

  • Improve the functionality and quality of the Site;

  • Comply with legal obligations and academic publishing ethics standards.

We do not sell, rent, or use your personal information for commercial marketing purposes.

3. Data Storage and Security

  • Your data is stored on servers located in HongKong.

  • We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures (such as access controls, encrypted transmission, and regular backups) to protect your data.

  • Data retention: Account information is retained for 12 months after account deletion; submission and publication records are retained long-term in accordance with academic publishing practices to ensure the integrity of the scholarly record.

4. How We Share Information

We may share your information in the following circumstances:

  • Peer review: In a double-blind review process, author and reviewer identities are not disclosed to each other. In non-double-blind processes, relevant information may be disclosed as appropriate.

  • Publication and indexing: After an article is published, author names, affiliations, and article metadata are made public and may be indexed by academic databases (such as Google Scholar).

  • Legal requirements: We may disclose information when required by law or by judicial authorities.

  • Service providers: We may use third-party services (such as email delivery and data analytics). These providers may process data only within the scope of providing services to us.

5. Your Rights

Depending on applicable data protection laws (such as the GDPR), you may have the following rights:

  • Right of access: to inquire about the personal information we hold about you;

  • Right to rectification: to request correction of inaccurate information;

  • Right to erasure: to request deletion of your information, subject to legal and scholarly record-keeping requirements;

  • Right to restriction of processing: to request that we limit how your information is processed;

  • Right to object: to object to processing based on specific purposes;

  • Right to data portability: to obtain your data in a structured format.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

This Site uses necessary cookies to maintain login sessions and site functionality. We may use analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) to understand how the Site is used. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect some functionality.

7. Third-Party Links

This Site may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.

8. Children's Privacy

This Site is not intended for children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

9. Updates to This Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with the date of the latest revision. Significant changes will be communicated through site announcements or email.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact:

  • Email: info@hivereads.com

 

Last updated: September 16, 2026