Privacy policy

BiomedTree ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your information when you visit our website, submit manuscripts, participate in peer review, or interact with our platform in any way.

By using our website or submitting information to us, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Information we collect

1.1 Information you provide

We collect information you voluntarily submit to us, including:

For authors

• Name, email, affiliation, ORCID iD
• Manuscript files, images, datasets, supplementary material
• Submission and publishing metadata
• Copyright/license declarations

For reviewers & editors

• Name, email, affiliation, expertise areas
• Review reports and editorial comments
• Conflicts of interest declarations

For readers & visitors

• Information provided through forms (contact, subscriptions, alerts)

1.2 Automatically collected information

When you browse our website, we may collect:

• IP address
• Browser type, device type, OS
• Cookies and usage analytics
• Pages visited and time spent

1.3 Cookies

We use cookies to improve website performance, maintain sessions for authors, reviewers, and editors, and enable analytics. You may disable cookies in your browser settings, but some site functions may not work.

2. How we use your information

We use the collected information to:

For authors

• Process, review, and publish manuscripts
• Maintain publication records and DOIs
• Display names and affiliations on published articles
• Communicate regarding editorial decisions

For reviewers & editors

• Assign manuscripts based on expertise
• Maintain peer-review integrity
• Record and store review history
• Recognize editorial contributions (if applicable)

General use

• Improve website functionality
• Provide support and respond to inquiries
• Maintain security and prevent fraud
• Generate anonymized analytics for internal use

3. Legal basis for processing (GDPR-compliant)

We collect and process personal data based on:

• Consent (e.g., form submissions)
• Contractual necessity (e.g., publication workflows)
• Legitimate interest (maintaining scholarly records, improving services)
• Legal obligations (e.g., copyright documentation, ethical reporting)

4. How we share information

We do not sell personal information. We may share information only with:

• Indexing services (e.g., CrossRef, DOAJ, PubMed metadata where applicable)
• Third-party integrations (DOI registration, plagiarism detection tools)
• Hosting and cloud service providers for secure operations
• Law enforcement when required by law

Published articles display author names, affiliations, ORCID, and any information included in the manuscript. Reviewer identities are kept confidential, unless a reviewer voluntarily signs their review.

5. Data retention

We retain:

• Submission and publication records permanently, in accordance with scholarly publishing standards
• Reviewer comments, editorial decisions, and workflow history for archival and integrity purposes
• User accounts until deleted or requested otherwise
• Logs and analytics for the minimum period needed

6. Your rights

Depending on your location (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), you may have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct inaccurate data
• Request deletion (except published scholarly record data)
• Withdraw consent
• Request a copy of your data
• Object to certain processing

Published articles and their metadata cannot be deleted or altered, as they form part of the permanent scholarly record.

To exercise rights, contact: support@biomedtree.com.

7. Data security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures, including secure servers, encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls for editorial/reviewer data, and regular backups and security monitoring. No system is entirely risk-free, but we follow best practices to protect your data.

8. Third-party services

We may use third-party tools, such as Google Analytics, DOI registration services (CrossRef), email service providers, and cloud hosting platforms. These providers have their own privacy policies, and we recommend reviewing them.

9. Children's privacy

Our website and journal are intended for users 18 years and older. We do not knowingly collect information from minors.

10. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy occasionally. Changes will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date.

11. Contact us

For questions or requests regarding privacy, contact:

BiomedTree — Privacy Office
Email: editorial@biomedtree.com
Website: https://www.biomedtree.com