Privacy Policy

Last updated: 15 September 2026 — Data Controller: Polymer Institute of Nigeria (PIN), Suite 29 & 30, Decent Plaza, Behind G.S.S. Gwarimpa, Life Camp, Abuja, FCT, Nigeria — [email protected]

1. Who We Are

The Nigerian Journal of Polymer Science and Technology (NJPST) is published by the Polymer Institute of Nigeria. This policy explains how we handle personal data when you visit journal.zabdiel.me/njpst, submit a manuscript, review, or register an account in OJS 3.5.

2. What Data We Collect

• Account data: given name, family name, affiliation, country, email, ORCID, username, password hash
• Submission data: titles, abstracts, keywords, author contributions, files, cover letters, funding statements
• Review data: reviewer identities visible only to editors (blind peer review), review comments, recommendations
• Usage data: IP address, device/browser, pages visited, download counts (via OJS UsageEvent + server logs)
• Payment data (if applicable): processed via Flutterwave — we never store card numbers

3. How We Use It

• Manage submission, peer review, editing, publishing and archiving
• Create publication metadata (Highwire Press tags) for Google Scholar / Crossref / DOAJ discovery
• Send editorial notifications (submission received, decision, copyediting)
• Generate DOIs via Zenodo/Crossref when an article is published
• Security, anti-abuse and legal compliance

Legal basis: consent (you provide it on registration/submission), contract (publishing agreement), legitimate interest (journal operation), legal obligation (retention).

4. Where Data Is Stored

OJS database (MySQL on pxxl.app, Frankfurt region), uploads in /var/www/ojs-uploads on droplet journal.zabdiel.me (Ubuntu 24.04, 68.183.17.96). Backups are encrypted and retained 90 days. Zenodo stores only public publication metadata + PDF when you publish — never reviewer identities.

5. Who We Share With

• Editors & reviewers — only the minimum necessary for peer review
• Indexing services — Crossref, Zenodo (DOI), Google Scholar, AJOL — public metadata only (title, authors, abstract, affiliation, DOI)
• PKP PN / LOCKSS — for preservation (same public metadata)
• Payment processor — Flutterwave (when you pay APC/fees)

We never sell data and never share reviewer identities with authors.

6. Retention

Published articles + metadata: permanently preserved (LOCKSS/PKP PN). Account data: while your account is active + 5 years after last activity. Review records: 5 years. Logs: 90 days. You may request deletion of unpublished submission data.

7. Your Rights (NDPA & GDPR)

• Access, rectify, erase, restrict, object, portability, withdraw consent
• To exercise: email [email protected] with subject “Data Request” — we reply within 30 days
• Right to lodge complaint with Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) or your EU supervisory authority

8. Cookies

OJS sets essential cookies: OJSSID (session, HttpOnly, SameSite Lax), cookies_consent (if banner enabled). No analytics cookies are currently set. If we add analytics (e.g., Plausible), we will show a consent banner and list cookies here, and no tracking will fire before consent. See also OJS Privacy Statement in user registration.

9. Security

HTTPS with HSTS, HttpOnly cookies, bcrypt password hashing, role-based access, daily encrypted DB dumps. Despite this, no system is 100% secure — report vulnerabilities to [email protected].

10. Children

NJPST does not knowingly collect data from children under 16.

11. Changes

We will post updates here and bump “Last updated”. Continued use after change = acceptance.

12. Contact

Data Controller: Polymer Institute of Nigeria, Suite 29 & 30, Decent Plaza, Behind G.S.S. Gwarimpa, Life Camp, Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Email: [email protected] | Phone: +234 803 547 2743
For DPO/privacy queries add subject “Privacy — DPO”.

This policy is provided for transparency and does not constitute legal advice. For the OJS built-in privacy statement see Author Guidelines → Privacy Statement or your registration form.