Privacy Policy

01 Who We Are

ISRI Press is an academic publishing organisation registered in Delhi, India. Our registered address is 14 Chambers Street, Delhi, EH1 1JF. We are the data controller for personal data collected through our websites, submission portals, reviewer platforms, and membership systems.

For the purposes of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA) and the Data Protection Act 2018, ISRI Press Ltd is responsible for your personal data. Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dpo@isripress.org.

02 Data We Collect

We collect personal data only where it is necessary for a specific, legitimate purpose. The categories of data we may collect include:

Identity data: full name, academic title, ORCID identifier, institutional affiliation
Contact data: email address, postal address, telephone number
Manuscript data: submitted files, revision histories, peer review correspondence, editorial decisions
Account data: username, password (hashed), login timestamps, dashboard activity
Payment data: billing name and address, transaction records (card details processed by our payment provider only)
Communication data: emails and messages sent to our editorial or support teams
Usage data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, referral source, time on site
Reviewer data: review assignments, completed reports, response times, and conflict-of-interest declarations

We do not collect special category data (as defined under Section 2(f) of DPDPA and we do not knowingly collect data from individuals under the age of 16.

03 How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To process and manage manuscript submissions through the peer review workflow
To communicate editorial decisions, revision requests, and publication status
To administer author, reviewer, editor, and institutional memberships
To issue DOIs, generate author certificates, and update indexing databases
To process payments for article processing charges (APCs) and memberships
To respond to enquiries submitted via our contact forms or email
To send service-related communications such as submission confirmations and review invitations
To improve our platforms through anonymised analytics and user research
To comply with legal and regulatory obligations

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

04 Legal Basis for Processing

Under DPDPA, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following bases:

Contract performance: processing necessary to fulfil our obligations to authors, reviewers, editors, and members
Legitimate interests: analytics, platform improvement, and fraud prevention — balanced against your rights
Legal obligation: where we are required to retain or disclose data by law
Consent: for non-essential cookies and optional marketing communications, which you may withdraw at any time

06 Cookies & Tracking

Our websites use cookies to support core functionality and improve your experience. We use the following categories:

Strictly necessary cookies: required for login sessions, form security, and submission portal function. These cannot be disabled.
Analytics cookies: used to understand how visitors interact with our site using anonymised data only.
Preference cookies: used to remember your settings such as language and display preferences.
Marketing cookies: we do not use advertising or marketing tracking cookies on any ISRI Press platform.

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or our cookie consent banner. Withdrawing consent for non-essential cookies will not affect your ability to use core services.

07 Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law:

Published article records: indefinitely, as part of the permanent scholarly record
Rejected or withdrawn manuscript data: 5 years from the date of final decision
Account and membership data: for the duration of your account plus 3 years
Payment and billing records: 7 years, in accordance with UK financial regulations
Peer review correspondence: 7 years from the date of publication
Contact form and support enquiries: 2 years from the date of resolution

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised. You may request early deletion of your account data subject to the exceptions outlined in Section 08.

08 Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at dpo@isripress.org.

Right of access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right to rectification: request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to erasure: request deletion of your data where no overriding legal obligation applies
Right to restriction: request that we limit how we process your data in certain circumstances
Right to data portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
Right to object: object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without penalty

We will respond to all rights requests within 30 days. We will never charge a fee for exercising your rights unless requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive.

09 International Transfers

Where we transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:

Transfers to countries with UK adequacy regulations in place
Standard contractual clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Binding corporate rules where applicable

A list of countries to which we may transfer data and the safeguards in place is available on request from dpo@isripress.org.

10 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the services we offer. When we make material changes, we will notify registered users by email and update the 'Last Updated' date at the top of this page.

Continued use of ISRI Press services after notification of changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11 Contact & Complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer:

Email: dpo@isripress.org
Post: Data Protection Officer, ISRI Press Ltd, 14 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF, UK

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.