1. Introduction

Index Academic respects user privacy and the protection of personal data.

This Privacy Policy explains how personal data are collected, used, stored, and, where applicable, disclosed in connection with:

  • the Index Academic website;
  • the Index Academic journal and its OJS editorial platform;
  • Index Academic Repository;
  • deposit, contact, and application forms;
  • editorial and administrative communications;
  • other services associated with the platform.

The platform is managed by MultiMedia Publishing, Bucharest, Romania.

Personal data are processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including, where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Data Controller

The controller of personal data processed through the Index Academic platform is:

MultiMedia Publishing
Bucharest, Romania
Email: contact@indexacademic.ro

Requests concerning data protection may also be submitted through the official Index Academic contact page.

3. Data We May Collect

Depending on the services used, we may process the following categories of data:

Identification and Contact Data

  • first and last name;
  • email address;
  • institutional affiliation;
  • country;
  • academic position or role;
  • ORCID;
  • other academic identifiers voluntarily provided.

Account Data

Where an account is created on the platform, the following may be processed:

  • username;
  • email address;
  • assigned roles;
  • language preferences;
  • relevant history of editorial activities;
  • technical information relating to authentication and security.

Passwords are technically managed by the system and are not available to administrators in readable form.

4. Data Processed in Connection with the Index Academic Journal

For authors and contributors, the following may be processed:

  • name;
  • affiliation;
  • email address;
  • ORCID;
  • academic biography, where provided;
  • manuscripts;
  • supplementary files;
  • bibliographic metadata;
  • conflict-of-interest declarations;
  • funding information;
  • information concerning ethical approvals;
  • editorial correspondence;
  • revision history and editorial decisions.

For reviewers, the following may be processed:

  • name;
  • email address;
  • affiliation;
  • ORCID;
  • areas of expertise;
  • reviewing interests;
  • invitations and responses;
  • review reports;
  • editorial recommendations;
  • information relating to competing interests.

Within the double-anonymous peer review system, Index Academic seeks to protect the identities of authors and reviewers in accordance with the applicable editorial policy.

5. Data Processed for Index Academic Repository

For deposit requests, we may process:

  • depositor’s name;
  • email address;
  • affiliation;
  • ORCID;
  • capacity in which the deposit is made;
  • names and bibliographic information of authors;
  • uploaded files;
  • title, abstract, and keywords;
  • discipline;
  • document type;
  • language;
  • information concerning previous publication;
  • DOI, ISBN, ISSN, and other identifiers;
  • copyright information;
  • license;
  • information concerning deposit rights;
  • embargo information;
  • communications with Repository administrators.

Some of this information becomes public if the material is accepted into the Repository.

6. Public Bibliographic Data

By the nature of academic publishing and repositories, certain information must be public.

This may include:

  • names of authors;
  • affiliation;
  • ORCID;
  • title of the work;
  • abstract;
  • keywords;
  • publication date;
  • document type;
  • discipline;
  • language;
  • DOI;
  • ISBN;
  • ISSN;
  • license;
  • original publication;
  • other bibliographic information.

These data may be indexed and redistributed through academic services, search engines, libraries, and aggregators.

Their publication supports the identification, citation, discovery, and preservation of academic outputs.

7. Forms and Correspondence

When a user completes a form or contacts Index Academic, we may process:

  • name;
  • email address;
  • institution;
  • content of the message;
  • submitted files;
  • date and time of communication;
  • correspondence history.

These data are used to handle the request and maintain appropriate administrative records.

8. Technical Data

During use of the platform, certain technical information may be collected automatically, such as:

  • IP address;
  • browser type;
  • device type;
  • operating system;
  • pages accessed;
  • date and time of access;
  • server log files;
  • error and security information.

These data may be used for:

  • platform security;
  • prevention of abuse;
  • diagnosis of technical issues;
  • operation of services;
  • aggregate usage analysis.

9. Cookies

The platform may use cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies are strictly necessary for:

  • authentication;
  • security;
  • WordPress functionality;
  • OJS functionality;
  • retaining user preferences.

Other cookies may be used for analytics or other functions, to the extent permitted by law and in accordance with user choices.

Further information is available in the Cookie Policy.

10. Purposes of Processing

Personal data may be processed for:

  • account administration;
  • receiving and managing manuscripts;
  • organizing peer review;
  • communication with authors, reviewers, and editors;
  • publication of articles;
  • Repository management;
  • verification of deposit requests;
  • publication of metadata;
  • registration and maintenance of DOIs;
  • administration of rights and licenses;
  • management of applications for editorial roles;
  • responding to requests;
  • prevention of fraud and abuse;
  • platform security;
  • preservation of the scholarly record;
  • compliance with legal obligations;
  • improvement of service operation.

11. Legal Basis for Processing

Depending on the context, personal data may be processed on the basis of:

  • performance of a service requested by the user or steps necessary before providing that service;
  • legitimate interests in operating an academic platform, maintaining security, editorial integrity, and the scholarly record;
  • compliance with legal obligations;
  • consent, where required;
  • another legal basis applicable to the relevant situation.

Where processing is based on consent, consent may be withdrawn for the future without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

12. Mandatory and Optional Data

Some data are necessary in order to provide the requested service.

For example:

  • an email address is necessary for editorial communication;
  • authors’ names are necessary for publication and citation;
  • certain metadata are necessary for DOI registration;
  • information regarding rights may be necessary for accepting a material into the Repository.

If mandatory information is not provided, the relevant request may not be processed.

Other information is optional and is marked accordingly.

13. Who May Access the Data

Access to data is limited, according to necessity, to:

  • platform administrators;
  • journal editors;
  • authorized editorial staff;
  • reviewers, to the extent necessary for peer review;
  • authorized technical service providers;
  • other persons with a legitimate need for access in order to provide the services.

Data are not sold to third parties for advertising purposes.

14. External Providers and Services

External services may be used for operation of the platform, including for:

  • web hosting;
  • email;
  • security;
  • backup;
  • DOI services;
  • ORCID;
  • traffic analytics;
  • anti-spam services;
  • other technical services.

Where such services process personal data, access should be limited to what is necessary for provision of the relevant service.

15. DOI and Academic Services

For DOI registration and administration, certain bibliographic metadata may be transmitted to DOI infrastructure and services such as Crossref.

This information may include:

  • authors’ names;
  • title;
  • ORCID;
  • date;
  • publication;
  • DOI;
  • URL;
  • other academic metadata.

By the nature of the DOI system, these metadata are intended to be public and reusable for academic identification and citation.

16. Academic Indexing and Aggregation

Public metadata may be accessed, collected, or indexed by:

  • search engines;
  • Google Scholar and other academic services;
  • OpenAlex;
  • libraries;
  • catalogues;
  • databases;
  • aggregators;
  • bibliometric services;
  • other research infrastructures.

Index Academic cannot control all subsequent reuse of information that has been lawfully made public as part of the scholarly record.

17. International Transfers

Some service providers or academic infrastructures may process data outside Romania or the European Economic Area.

Where required by law, appropriate legal mechanisms are used for international data transfers.

Public academic metadata may be accessed globally by the nature of publishing, DOI, indexing, and academic discovery services.

18. Retention Period

Data are retained only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which they were collected, unless legal, academic, or archival reasons require longer retention.

The retention period may vary depending on the type of data.

For example:

  • administrative data may be retained for as long as necessary to manage the service;
  • correspondence may be retained to document editorial processes;
  • technical logs may be retained for a limited period;
  • data relating to published articles may be retained long term;
  • Repository metadata may be retained to preserve the scholarly record;
  • DOIs and associated metadata are, by their nature, intended to persist.

19. Scholarly Record and the Right to Erasure

The right to erasure is not absolute.

In academic publishing, some data may need to be retained for:

  • integrity of the scholarly record;
  • identification of authors;
  • maintenance of citations;
  • maintenance of DOIs;
  • documentation of the editorial process;
  • prevention of fraud;
  • compliance with legal obligations.

For example, deletion of an account does not automatically mean removing an author’s name from a lawfully published article.

Requests are assessed according to the specific circumstances and applicable law.

20. Reviewer Data

Reviewer identities are handled in accordance with the double-anonymous peer review policy.

Review reports and related correspondence may be retained for:

  • documenting the editorial process;
  • resolving appeals;
  • verifying editorial integrity;
  • preventing abuse;
  • maintaining the journal record.

Reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors or the public unless there is an explicit legal or procedural basis allowing this.

21. Data Relating to Minors

Index Academic services are primarily intended for authors, researchers, academics, and other users in the academic environment.

Index Academic does not intentionally seek to collect personal data from children who are not legally able to provide such data.

If data are identified as having been improperly submitted by a minor, they may be reviewed and, where appropriate, deleted or restricted.

22. Sensitive Data

Index Academic does not normally ask users to provide special categories of personal data.

Authors and depositors should avoid unnecessarily including sensitive or confidential data relating to identifiable persons in forms, manuscripts, files, or supplementary materials.

For research involving human participants, authors are responsible for complying with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

23. Data Security

Index Academic uses reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect data against:

  • unauthorized access;
  • loss;
  • alteration;
  • unauthorized disclosure;
  • destruction;
  • misuse.

These measures may include:

  • access controls;
  • authentication;
  • software updates;
  • backups;
  • security tools;
  • restriction of administrative access;
  • monitoring of technical incidents.

No internet-connected system can guarantee absolute security.

24. Personal Data Breaches

In the event of a security incident involving personal data, the situation is assessed to determine the risks and necessary measures.

Where applicable law requires notification of the supervisory authority or affected individuals, such notification will be made in accordance with the relevant legal obligations.

25. Rights of Data Subjects

Subject to applicable law, individuals may have the right:

  • to access their personal data;
  • to rectify inaccurate data;
  • to complete incomplete data;
  • to erasure;
  • to restriction of processing;
  • to object to certain processing;
  • to data portability, where applicable;
  • to withdraw consent, where processing is based on consent;
  • to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority.

These rights may be subject to legal limitations, including where retention of certain information is necessary for integrity of the scholarly record or compliance with legal obligations.

26. Exercising Your Rights

To exercise rights relating to personal data, users may contact Index Academic through the official contact details.

The request should contain sufficient information to identify the person and the data concerned.

To protect personal data, verification of the requester’s identity may be required before the request is processed.

27. Complaints

Individuals who believe that their data have been processed contrary to applicable law may first contact Index Academic to clarify the matter.

They also have the right to contact the competent data protection supervisory authority.

In Romania, the competent authority is the National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing (ANSPDCP).

28. Automated Decision-Making

Index Academic does not normally use solely automated processes to make editorial decisions that have significant effects on authors.

Decisions concerning:

  • acceptance or rejection of a manuscript;
  • acceptance of a material into the Repository;
  • withdrawal of a material;
  • resolution of integrity concerns,

are subject to human involvement.

Technical or AI tools may be used for support, but they do not replace editorial or administrative responsibility.

29. Links to Other Websites

Index Academic may include links to external websites and services.

This Privacy Policy does not govern the way those third parties process personal data.

Users should consult the privacy policies of external services they access.

30. Changes to the Privacy Policy

This Policy may be updated to reflect:

  • legislative changes;
  • technical changes;
  • new services;
  • changes to editorial processes;
  • development of the Repository;
  • changes concerning providers or infrastructure.

The version published on the website represents the policy currently in force.

For significant changes, the date of the update may be indicated and, where necessary, additional information may be provided to users.

31. Contact

For questions relating to privacy, data protection, or exercise of rights, users may contact:

MultiMedia Publishing / Index Academic
Bucharest, Romania
Email: contact@indexacademic.ro

Last updated: 16 September 2026