Privacy Policy

Overview/Introduction

The Saint's International Dental Journal, in collaboration with the Official Society of Dental Research & Education, prioritizes your privacy and is deeply committed to safeguarding your personal information. We emphasize the importance of maintaining your trust and ensuring that your privacy is respected and protected. This policy outlines how we collect, store, and use your data, including its purposes, potential sharing, and your rights. We encourage you to read it carefully and contact us with any questions or concerns.

Privacy policies in the publishing are often structured to ensure compliance with relevant regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States, Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA) in India and various local legislations like the Personal Information Protection Act and the Bioethics and Safety Act. These policies prioritize the safeguarding of identifiable information to mitigate risks associated with data breaches, legal repercussions, and ethical infractions.

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, commonly known as the DPDP Act or DPDPA-2023, came into effect in November 2025 is a piece of legislation enacted by the Parliament of India. This Act governs the processing of digital personal data by acknowledging both individuals' rights to protect their personal information and the necessity of processing such data for legitimate purposes. Significantly, this is the first Act in the Indian Parliament to incorporate "she/her" pronouns, moving away from the traditional use of "he/him" pronouns.

Summary of Key Points for Author Information in Data Collection

Secured with global compliance framework; rights via privacy support Hub.

Data Collection: Publishers gather author data during both the account creation and manuscript submission phases. This data collection involves critical fields such as author names, email addresses, institutional affiliations, and ORCID IDs. Additionally, optional or automated usage data may be collected, potentially including IP addresses, search queries, device specifications, publication history, and voluntarily supplied demographic information for the purpose of diversity tracking, such as gender and ethnicity.

For authors, the information retained encompasses not only manuscript content but also payment details. Reviewers’ data includes their specialized areas of expertise and historical review contributions. For readers, the collected data consists of their preferences regarding alerts and institutional access credentials. In the context of dental journals, although sensitive information that could indicate specific health specialties might be inferred, it is not generally collected unless pertinent to editorial responsibilities.

Data Use: Information plays a vital role in enhancing core publishing workflows, which encompass the processing of submissions, reviewer assignments, plagiarism detection, and the alignment of reviewers with manuscripts. Additionally, it facilitates the transfer of articles between journals, the issuance of royalties, and the customization of communications such as Journal Alerts. Data processing is carried out in accordance with contractual obligations, legitimate business interests, or user consent. In the domains of medical and dental publishing, strict adherence to ethical standards—such as those established by ICMJE, WAME, and COPE—is critical. These guidelines promote transparency in the peer review process while allowing for the public acknowledgment of authors, as their contributions need not be anonymized. Moreover, this information supports enhancements in service delivery, assists in conducting surveys, and ensures compliance with legal requirements.

Data Sharing: Author information—including names, institutional affiliations, and email addresses—is often published in articles and indexed in databases such as PubMed and DOAJ. This data may also be shared with service providers, including editorial teams and IT vendors responsible for hosting, as well as institutions that monitor subscription usage metrics. Furthermore, third parties may access this information for various purposes, such as fulfilling legal obligations or adhering to service agreements, including archiving. Since this information is generally public and indexed by search engines, it is easily discoverable. In the realm of biomedical publishing, author data may be shared with credentialing organizations for continuing education purposes, with the understanding that sensitive information is anonymized to protect privacy. Additionally, review processes may transfer between different journals, potentially influencing the visibility and traceability of pre-publication peer reviews.

Data Protection & Retention: Publishers implement a variety of security protocols to minimize the risk of data breaches, including encryption, stringent access controls, and routine audits. Data retention policies are developed based on the necessity for service delivery, compliance with legal requirements, or archival purposes, which may involve indefinite retention of published materials. It is essential for authors to be aware of the inherent risks involved, as no system can provide absolute security.

What Are Your Rights?

We are committed to upholding your rights in accordance with the relevant legal frameworks. In light of existing data protection regulations, including those established by European Union legislation, your rights may encompass the following aspects, as permitted by applicable local laws:

Right of access (‘an overview of your personal information’): the right to get an overview of your personal information that we process.
Right to rectification (‘correct your personal information’): if your personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, the right to ask us to rectify or complete your personal information.
Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’): Individuals possess the right to request the deletion of their personal data as permitted by relevant legal frameworks. Nevertheless, there may be circumstances where we cannot comply with such requests, particularly when it is necessary to fulfill legal obligations or contractual commitments. Furthermore, some personal information is essential for the delivery of our Services. The absence of this data may limit access to or functionality of certain features.
Right to data portability (‘transfer your personal information’): the right to ask us to transfer your personal information directly to you. This applies to certain personal information if processed by automated means and with your consent, or based on a contract you have with us. On your request, and where technically feasible, we will transfer your personal information to another party of your choice.
Right to restrict processing: the right to request that we restrict or stop the processing of your personal information held by us for a certain period of time, or for an indefinite period. In certain circumstances, it may not be possible for us to accept your request; for example, when the processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, or if we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds otherwise.
Right to object: the right to object to the processing of your personal information. The reasons for an objection should relate to your particular situation and be related to processing based on the legitimate interest condition. We will then no longer process the personal information, unless we can demonstrate compelling reasons otherwise. In certain circumstances, you have the unconditional right to object; for instance, in the context of direct marketing activities.
Withdrawal of Consent: the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal information at any time; for instance, after you consented to us keeping you informed about our Services, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time. Withdrawal of your consent will not affect the lawfulness of the processing of your personal data prior to the withdrawal.

Enhanced Author Responsibilities in ICMJE Recommendations

Updated in January 2025, the ICMJE guidelines introduce stricter accountability. Authors are now solely responsible for verifying references accuracy & attesting their appropriateness, reduce reliance on editors. A novel prohibition on citing AI-generated material aims to curb misinformation. Other additions include warning against predatory journals (lacking transparent peer review) and emphasis on preserving dignity in images to avoid biases or stereotypes, particularly in patient-related content.

Revisions to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to periodically amend this Privacy Policy. Any modifications will be communicated through postings on our website or via email notifications for substantial changes. These modifications shall take effect upon your subsequent interaction with us following the notification.