Thank you for choosing to be part of POLYMAS INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING GROUP LIMITED ("Company" or "we"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and privacy rights.
When you visit our website https://www.polymas.org, use our mobile application, or use our services, you entrust personal information to us, and we take your privacy seriously. In this privacy statement, we seek to explain as clearly as possible what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have in relation to that information. We hope you take time to read this policy carefully.
This privacy policy applies to all information collected through our website (such as https://www.polymas.org), mobile application ("App") and/or any related services, sales, marketing or events (collectively referred to in this privacy policy as the "Website"). Please read this privacy policy carefully, as it will help you make an informed decision about whether to share personal information with us.
By using our Website, you acknowledge and agree to the collection, use and transfer of your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy. If you provide personal information to us on behalf of another person, you represent that you have obtained that person's consent to provide us with their personal information and to comply with this privacy policy.
If you have any questions or concerns about our policies or practices with regard to your personal information, please contact us at enquiry@polymas.org.
1. What Information Do We Collect
1.1 Personal information you disclose to us
We collect personal information that you provide to us, such as name, contact information, passwords and security data. This includes personal information you voluntarily provide when you register on the Website, express an interest in learning about us or our products and services, participate in activities on the Website, or otherwise contact us.
The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Website, the choices you make and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect can include the following:
1) Name and Contact Data. We may collect your first name, last name, email address, postal address, phone number, organization or institution, country or region, role or professional affiliation, and other similar contact data.
2) Credentials. Where account or login features are available, we may collect passwords, password hints, and similar security information used for authentication and account access.
3) Payment Data. Where payment, order, APC settlement or paid service features are available, all payment data is stored and processed by our payment processors. You should review their privacy policies and contact the payment processors directly if you have questions about their handling of payment information.
4) Inquiry and Consent Records. Where technically feasible and applicable, we may keep records related to your inquiry, such as the date and time of submission, the source page, the form type, the consent status, and the Privacy Policy version you accepted.
All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.
1.2 Information automatically collected
As with any website, our server automatically and temporarily collects information transmitted by your browser while you browse our Website, and this information is stored in server log files. Depending on your browser settings, we may collect the following data:
1) IP address of the device making the request
2) The source page from which you visit our Website (referrer URL)
3) Date, time and duration of the server session
4) Browser type and version
5) Device type and operating system of the device making the request
Like many businesses, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies. This information is primarily used to maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for internal analytics, reporting, troubleshooting, anti-spam protection, abuse prevention and service improvement purposes.
We may also collect technical and log information such as pages visited, access time, form submission status, error logs, anti-spam records, security logs and similar operational information.
1.3 Information collected through our App
When you use our App, where available, we may collect information regarding your geolocation, mobile device and push notifications.
2. How Do We Use Your Information
We process your information for purposes based on legitimate business interests, the performance of a contract with you, compliance with our legal obligations, and/or your consent. We may use the information we collect or receive for the following purposes:
1) Facilitate account creation and login process. Where account features are available, we use information provided to us to facilitate account creation and login, including creating and updating your account, verifying your identity, maintaining, updating, managing and processing your use records of our Services, and completing transactions including processing or facilitating payments.
2) Provide you with our Services. We may use your information to provide, operate, maintain and improve our website, App and related services.
3) Respond to publishing-related inquiries. We may use your information to respond to your inquiry, understand your needs, route your request to the relevant team, assess submission inquiries, journal matching inquiries, author service needs, partnership opportunities, project fit, and related publishing communication.
4) Provide manual follow-up and support. We may use your information to contact you, request clarification, arrange follow-up communication, explain possible publishing routes, discuss author service needs, or identify an appropriate cooperation or inquiry pathway.
5) Send administrative information to you. We may use your personal information to send you product, service and new feature information and/or information about changes to our terms, conditions and policies.
6) Fulfill and manage your orders. Where order, payment or paid service features are available, we may use your information to fulfill and manage your orders, payments, returns, refunds and exchanges made through the Services.
7) Protect our Services. We may use your information as part of our efforts to keep our Services safe and secure, including fraud monitoring and prevention, anti-spam protection, abuse prevention, error troubleshooting and security incident response.
8) Enable user-to-user communications. Where communication features are available, we may use your information to enable user-to-user communications, such as communications between authors, editors, reviewers, institutional contacts, service personnel or other relevant users.
9) Enforce our terms, conditions and policies. We may use your information to enforce applicable terms, conditions, policies, publication ethics requirements, research integrity standards and website rules.
10) Customer support. We may use your information to assist you when you contact us, respond to and investigate any questions or concerns you may have, and monitor and improve our customer support services.
11) Legal and administrative purposes. We may use your personal information to investigate or deal with any incidents, claims or disputes, or as required by law or at the request of any law enforcement agency, court or other governmental agency. We may also use your personal information in any legal proceedings involving you.
12) Publication ethics, research integrity and compliance. We may use your information to identify, assess, document or respond to publication ethics, research integrity, authorship, image manipulation, data availability, confidentiality, safety, security or similar concerns.
13) Mergers and acquisitions. We may use your information to enable actual or prospective assignees or transferees of our rights or business, or any part of it, to evaluate or perform a transaction intended to be the subject of an assignment or transfer. We may also use your information to enable us to evaluate or perform any actual or prospective assignment or transfer to us of a third party's rights or business, or any part of it.
14) Other business purposes. We may use your information for other business purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns, and evaluating and improving our Services, products, marketing and your experience.
3. Your Information Will Be Shared With Anyone
We may share your information within POLYMAS with publishing, author services, partnership, customer support, technical, legal, compliance or administrative personnel who need the information to handle your inquiry, provide our Services or support our operations.
We may use service providers to support hosting, forms, email, CRM, cloud storage, website security, anti-spam protection, analytics where lawfully implemented, payment processing, customer support, technical operations or similar operational needs. These service providers should process personal information only for authorized purposes and apply reasonable security measures.
We may disclose information if required by law, regulation, court order, governmental request, law enforcement request, security incident response, dispute handling, publication ethics process, or to protect the rights, safety and legitimate interests of POLYMAS, our users or others.
We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, acquisition, assignment, business transfer, restructuring or similar transaction involving all or part of our business.
We do not sell personal information. If we later share personal information with an independent third party for that party's own marketing or unrelated purposes, we will provide additional notice and obtain consent where required by applicable law.
4. Do We Use Cookies and Similar Technologies
We may use necessary cookies or similar browser technologies to operate and protect the website, maintain security, remember basic preferences, prevent abuse, and support form functionality.
Where required by applicable law, non-essential cookies should not be loaded before you have made a valid choice.
5. How Do We Handle International Data Transfers
POLYMAS works with international researchers, authors, editors, institutions, societies, conference organizers, publishing service providers and partners. Your personal information may be accessed, stored or processed in countries or regions other than your own, including where POLYMAS personnel, service providers, cloud systems, email systems or operational teams are located.
Where applicable law requires safeguards, notices, transfer agreements, assessments or separate consent for cross-border transfer, we will apply appropriate measures as required.
6. Do We Use AI or Automated Tools
We may use AI or automated tools to assist with internal classification, formatting checks, language support, metadata organization, risk alerts or workflow efficiency. These tools are intended to support our work, not to replace human responsibility.
AI tools do not replace author responsibility, human peer review, editorial judgment or final decisions.
7. How Long Do We Keep Your Information
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably needed for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including inquiry handling, service provision, follow-up communication, business records, website security, legal compliance, dispute handling and publication ethics records.
When information is no longer needed, we may delete it, anonymize it, or restrict access to it. General inquiries that do not progress may be deleted or anonymized when they are no longer needed.
Records connected with cooperation, author services, publication ethics, legal obligations, security incidents or disputes may be retained for a longer period where reasonably necessary.
8. How Do We Protect Your Information
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information, including access limitation, secure website transport where available, role-based handling, security monitoring and careful use of service providers.
No internet transmission or electronic storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure. For this reason, you should not submit sensitive, highly confidential or full unpublished materials through ordinary website inquiry forms.
9. What Are Your Privacy Rights
Depending on applicable law, you may have the right to request access to your personal information, correction of inaccurate information, deletion of personal information, restriction of processing, objection to certain processing, withdrawal of consent, a copy of your personal information, opt-out of marketing communications, or complaint to a data protection authority.
To make a privacy request, please contact us at enquiry@polymas.org and include enough information for us to identify the relevant inquiry or account. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
Some records may be retained where required or permitted for legal, security, dispute, contractual, compliance or publication ethics reasons.
10. Will We Send Marketing Communications
We may send service, inquiry, partnership, transaction, account or policy-related messages where necessary to respond to your request, provide our Services, complete a transaction or continue a communication you initiated.
Marketing, event or promotional communications should only be sent where permitted by applicable law or with appropriate consent. You may unsubscribe or request that marketing communication stops by contacting enquiry@polymas.org.
11. Will We Update This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as our website, App, services, technology, operations or applicable requirements change. The latest version should be posted with an updated effective date.
12. How Can You Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about our policies or practices with regard to your personal information, please contact us at enquiry@polymas.org.