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STACKS JOURNAL’S PRIVACY POLICY

Effective Date: January 19th, 2026

STACKS DOES NOT SELL OR RENT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Stacks Journal (“we,” “us,” “our,” or “Stacks”) is committed to protecting personal data and supporting transparency, integrity, and openness in scholarly publishing. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard personal information in connection with our website, editorial processes, and publishing activities. By agreeing to participate in Stacks Journal, authors and reviewers acknowledge and consent to the public release of review reports and associated identity information as described in this policy.

1. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal data collected through:

  • Stacks Journal’s website
  • Manuscript submission, peer review, and editorial systems
  • Publication of articles and peer review materials
  • Communications with authors, reviewers, editorial staff, and readers

     


2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal data.

a. Information You Provide Directly

  • Name, affiliation, country, and contact details
  • Email address and account credentials
  • ORCID iD, institutional identifiers (ROR), or other researcher identifiers
  • Manuscript content and associated metadata
  • Peer review reports, comments, and correspondence
  • Biographical information or social media handles

b. Information Collected Automatically

  • IP address and general location (e.g., country or region)
  • Browser type, device information, and operating system
  • Website usage data collected via cookies or similar technologies

     


3. How We Use Personal Data

We process personal data only for legitimate scholarly and operational purposes, including:

  • Managing manuscript submission, peer review, and editorial decision-making
  • Publishing open-access research articles and associated materials
  • Communicating with authors, reviewers, editors, and readers
  • Supporting open and transparent peer review practices
  • Ensuring research integrity through plagiarism detection and image manipulation screening services
  • Utilizing AI-assisted editorial tools for formatting, language and grammar checks, plagiarism detection, and reviewer matching. We do not use fully automated decision-making to make final editorial or acceptance decisions.
  • Maintaining the integrity, transparency, and permanence of the scholarly record
  • Operating, securing, and improving our website and services
  • Complying with legal, ethical, and regulatory obligations

Stacks does not use personal data or unpublished manuscript content to train third-party artificial intelligence models.

 

4. Transparent Peer Review

Stacks Journal operates using a transparent peer review model. Under this model:

  • Peer review reports and author responses are published alongside the final article after publication.
  • Reviewer names are blinded during peer review but disclosed upon publication.
  • Published peer review materials form part of the scholarly record and are publicly accessible.
  • Reviewers are informed during the review process about how reports and reviewer identities are published with the articles.

By agreeing to review for Stacks Journal, reviewers acknowledge and consent to the public release of their review reports and associated identity information as described in this policy. Personal data included in published peer review materials is made public intentionally as part of our commitment to transparency. Personal data not published remains confidential and protected.

 

5. Open Access and Creative Commons Licensing

Stacks Journal publishes all articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

  • Articles may be shared, reused, adapted, and redistributed by others for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate credit is given.
  • Author names, affiliations, article metadata, peer review reports, reviewer identities, and other information intentionally included in published articles are made publicly available as part of the scholarly record.
  • Personal data not included in the published article or peer review materials is handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

     


6. Legal Basis for Processing (International Users)

Where required under applicable data protection laws, including the EU GDPR, we process personal data based on:

  • Consent
  • Performance of a contract (e.g., publishing and editorial services)
  • Legitimate interests (e.g., preventing duplicate submissions, verifying researcher identity via ORCID)
  • Compliance with legal obligations

     


7. Sharing and Disclosure of Personal Data

We do not sell personal data. We may share personal data only where necessary with:

  • Editors, reviewers, and editorial board members
  • Research integrity services (e.g., iThenticate)
  • Indexing services, repositories, and scholarly databases
  • Payment processors for secure transaction handling (e.g., Stripe, PayPal)
  • Marketing platforms via hashed data (Lookalike Audiences)

     

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to support editorial activities and the permanence of the scholarly record. Published articles, peer review materials, and associated metadata may be retained indefinitely and archived in long-term digital preservation repositories (e.g., CLOCKSS).

 

9. Cookies and Website Analytics

We may use cookies or similar technologies (such as Google Analytics) to ensure website functionality and improve performance. You may control or disable cookies through your browser settings.

 

10. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data. In the event of a significant data breach, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by law.

 

11. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

  • Access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data (subject to scholarly record limitations)
  • Object to or restrict processing
  • Withdraw consent at any time

     

12. Children’s Privacy

Our services are not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware of such collection, we will take steps to delete it.

 

13. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to external sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party websites.

 

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

 

15. Contact Information

For questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact:

Stacks Journal
Email: contact@stacksjournal.org
Website: https://stacksjournal.org
Address: Stacks Journal, Inc., 16409 SE Division St, Ste 216 PMB 1098, Portland, OR 97236, USA

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