Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 15, 2026
This Privacy Policy describes the policies and procedures of Sqripta (“we”, “us”, or “our”) regarding the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of personal data when you use our services, visit our websites (including sqripta.com and all journal subdomains), or interact with us as an author, reviewer, editor, or reader.
 
We operate in strict compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and applicable Croatian data protection laws. By utilizing our services, you acknowledge the collection and use of information in accordance with this Policy.
Data Controller Information

The data controller responsible for your personal information under this Privacy Policy is:

  • Legal Entity Name: Sqripta
  • Registered Address: Dobrise Cesarica 47, 10090 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Contact Email: contact@sqripta.com
Open Access Policy (Diamond Model)
Sqripta is a Diamond Open Access publisher. We are committed to the permanent, free, and unrestricted availability of scholarly research.
  • No Fees: All content published by Sqripta is free of charge for both authors and readers. There are no Article Processing Charges (APCs), submission fees, or access charges.
  • Licensing (CC BY-SA 4.0): All content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution – ShareAlike 4.0 International license. This allows users to share and adapt the material for any purpose, including commercially, provided appropriate credit is given and any derivative work is distributed under the same license.
  • Authors’ Rights: Authors retain full ownership of the copyright for their content while granting Sqripta the right of first publication.
Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data
We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation):
  • Performance of a Contract (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR): Necessary to manage manuscript submissions, administer the peer-review process, and fulfill our publication agreements with authors.
  • Legal Obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR): Necessary for compliance with statutory financial obligations, tax laws, and official scientific archiving regulations in Croatia.
  • Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR): Necessary to maintain academic and research integrity, prevent plagiarism or fraud, identify appropriate subject-matter experts for peer review, and secure our digital infrastructure.
  • Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR): Applied when you voluntarily subscribe to our newsletter, opt-in to marketing communications, or accept non-essential analytical cookies.
Categories of Data We Collect
Information You Provide to Us:
  • Contact and Identity Data: Full name, email address, physical/institutional address, and telephone number.
  • Professional and Academic Data: Institutional affiliation, department, country, ORCID ID, educational background, research expertise, and biographic statements.
  • Manuscript and Correspondence Data: Any personal data contained within submitted manuscripts, cover letters, metadata sheets, or editorial correspondence.
Information Collected Automatically:
  • Usage and Technical Data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, and details about how you navigate our websites.
  • Cookies and Tracking:
    • Necessary Cookies: Mandatory for secure user authentication, session management, and website stability.
    • Analytical/Performance Cookies: Used to evaluate traffic patterns and enhance user experience. These are deployed only with your prior, explicit consent.
Information from Third Parties:
  • We may verify or collect public academic information (e.g., via ORCID, Crossref, DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science, or institutional websites) to invite qualified experts to join editorial boards or conduct peer reviews.
Purposes of Data Processing

Sqripta processes your personal data to:

  • Administer, track, and execute the peer-review process and manage everyday editorial workflows on our platforms.
  • Verify research integrity and academic standards (e.g., using iThenticate or similar plagiarism detection software).
  • Publish scholarly articles, volumes, and associated metadata online and in print.
  • Communicate with you regarding your submission, review assignments, or editorial decisions.
  • Distribute newsletters, journal announcements, and calls for papers (subject to your consent).
  • Comply with international standards of publication ethics (e.g., COPE guidelines).
Data Sharing and Third-Party Disclosure

To fulfill our mission as an academic publisher, data may be shared with:

  • The Public: In accordance with the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, author names, affiliations, email addresses (where required), and ORCID IDs are permanently made available globally upon publication.
  • Academic Indexing and Archiving Repositories: Metadata is systematically distributed to third-party databases (e.g., Crossref, DOAJ, Hrčak, HAW) to guarantee global discoverability and long-term digital preservation.
  • Data Processors (Service Providers): Trusted IT providers, web hosting services, and database administrators that operate our proprietary website infrastructure under strict data processing agreements.
  • Legal and Regulatory Authorities: When required by law, court order, or to defend our legal rights.
  • No Commercialization: Sqripta will never sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties for commercial marketing purposes.
Data Retention and the Permanent Scientific Record
  • The Published Scientific Record: Scholarly publishing requires the preservation of a permanent, unalterable historical record. Personal data that forms a core part of a published manuscript (such as author names, co-author lists, affiliations, and acknowledgments in a PDF/XML Version of Record) cannot be erased or modified under standard GDPR requests, as this processing is necessary for public interest, scientific research, and archiving purposes (Art. 17(3)(d) GDPR).
  • Administrative and Editorial Data: Data relating to unpublished drafts, rejected submissions, and general inquiries will be retained only as long as necessary to complete the editorial process, resolve potential academic disputes, or satisfy local statutory limitation periods.
International Data Transfers

To ensure global visibility, academic metadata is shared with international scholarly repositories. Some of these infrastructure providers may be located outside the European Economic Area (EEA), such as the United States. In such instances, Sqripta ensures that appropriate safeguards are implemented—specifically the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or relying on European Commission adequacy decisions—to maintain a level of protection equivalent to the GDPR.

Technical and Organizational Data Security

We implement robust technical, physical, and administrative safeguards (including SSL/TLS encryption, restricted access controls, and firewalls) to secure your data against unauthorized access, loss, or misuse on our website servers.

In the unlikely event of a personal data breach that poses a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP) within 72 hours of discovery, in compliance with Articles 33 and 34 of the GDPR.

Your Rights Under the GDPR
As a data subject, you possess the following rights, which you can exercise at any time:
  • Right of Access: Request details and a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to Rectification: Request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
  • Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): Request deletion of your data, provided it does not conflict with the preservation of the permanent scientific record (Section 7) or statutory retention laws.
  • Right to Restrict Processing: Request that we temporarily suspend the processing of your data under specific statutory conditions.
  • Right to Data Portability: Request the transfer of your data to another controller in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
  • Right to Object: Object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is consent-based (e.g., newsletters), you may withdraw consent at any time via the “unsubscribe” link or by emailing us.
  • No Automated Decision-Making: We guarantee that all editorial, peer-review, and acceptance decisions are made exclusively by human experts. We do not use automated profiling.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact@sqripta.com.

Third-Party Links and Plugins

Our website features links to external platforms, digital identifiers, and social networks (e.g., LinkedIn, ResearchGate, ORCID). Interacting with these external elements is entirely voluntary and is governed strictly by the privacy policies of those independent platforms.

Protection of Minors

Our scientific publications and website services are strictly tailored for professional and academic audiences. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the age of 18. If we discover that a minor has provided us with personal data without verifiable parental consent, we will delete that data immediately.

Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you believe that our management of your personal data violates data protection laws, you have the right to lodge a formal complaint with a competent supervisory authority. The lead authority for Sqripta is:

  • Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP)
  • Address: Selska cesta 136, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Website: www.azop.hr
  • Email: azop@azop.hr
Updates to this Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy periodically to align with changing operational practices or evolving legal frameworks. Updates will become effective immediately upon being posted on this webpage. For significant changes, we will issue a prominent notice on our homepage or notify registered users via email.
Contact Us

For any privacy-related inquiries, legal requests, or feedback, please contact us at:

  • Email: contact@sqripta.com