Website Privacy Policy & Data Protection Notice

01About Unqual Pvt Limited & This Policy

Welcome to Unqual Pvt Limited. We are an Indian enterprise dedicated to advancing global healthcare through cutting-edge medical research, clinical studies, scientific peer-reviewed publications, and academic journal dissemination. Because our operational core intersects medical sciences and public scholarly exchange, we treat data privacy, medical ethics, and individual confidentiality with uncompromising rigor.

This Privacy Policy outlines how Unqual Pvt Limited collects, processes, uses, stores, shares, and protects your Digital Personal Data when you access our official website, submit scientific manuscripts, participate in peer review, subscribe to medical journals, or interact with our digital research services.

This Policy is formulated in strict adherence to India's legal privacy framework, specifically The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act). Under the provisions of this Act:

• Unqual Pvt Limited acts as the 'Data Fiduciary': determines the purpose and means of processing digital personal data collected through this platform.
• You are the 'Data Principal': refers to you — the individual user, author, peer reviewer, researcher, clinician, or general visitor whose personal data is processed.

02Key Definitions

To ensure total clarity, the key legal terms used throughout this document have the meanings assigned under the DPDP Act, 2023:

• Digital Personal Data: Any data about an individual who is identifiable by or in relation to such data, rendered in digital form (or digitized subsequently).
• Data Principal: Any individual to whom the personal data relates. In the case of a child (under 18 years) or a person with a disability, this includes their parent or lawful guardian.
• Data Fiduciary: Any person or legal entity who alone or in conjunction with others determines the purpose and means of processing personal data.
• Data Processor: Any person or entity who processes digital personal data on behalf of a Data Fiduciary under a valid contract.
• Consent Manager: A single-point platform registered with the Data Protection Board that enables Data Principals to manage, review, give, and withdraw consent seamlessly.
• Personal Data Breach: Any unauthorized processing, accidental disclosure, acquisition, sharing, use, alteration, destruction, or loss of access to personal data that compromises confidentiality, integrity, or availability.

03Categories of Personal Data We Collect

We collect personal data strictly necessary to facilitate scientific publishing, maintain peer review integrity, and deliver website functionality. The categories of data collected depend on your specific interactions with our platform:

A. Authors, Researchers & Contributors

• Identity & Credentials: Full name, title, medical/academic qualifications (e.g., MD, PhD, MBBS), institutional affiliation, department, ORCID iD, and professional bio.
• Contact Information: Professional email address, postal mailing address (for physical journal delivery), phone number, and country of practice.
• Submissions & Editorial Records: Manuscript drafts, co-author details, cover letters, conflict of interest declarations, ethics committee disclosures, and copyright assignment forms.
• Financial & Transaction Logs: Invoicing address, GST number (where applicable), transaction history, and payment status for Article Processing Charges (APCs) or subscriptions. Financial card/banking details are handled directly by PCI-DSS compliant payment gateways; Unqual Pvt Limited does not store raw payment card data.

B. Peer Reviewers & Editorial Board Members

• Peer Review & Expertise Data: Academic specialization, research history, publication index, referee evaluations, review reports, and editorial board correspondence.

C. General Website Visitors & Journal Readers

• Account & User Profile: Login credentials (username/encrypted password), saved search queries, downloaded papers, subscription preferences, and reading history.
• Technical & Usage Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, referral URLs, page view metrics, and time spent on scientific articles collected automatically via session cookies.

D. Special Note on Medical Research & Patient Data

Unqual Pvt Limited publishes medical research articles that may discuss clinical trials, case studies, or medical data. However:

• No Public Collection of Patient Records: We do NOT collect unanonymized patient medical records or personal health information (PHI) through our open website.
• Anonymization & Ethics Compliance: All medical case studies or clinical trial data submitted for publication must be fully anonymized, de-identified, and accompanied by explicit Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) / Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, along with verifiable patient informed consent as mandated by medical publishing ethics.

04Lawful Grounds for Data Processing

In accordance with Section 4 of the DPDP Act, 2023, Unqual Pvt Limited processes your digital personal data exclusively under two lawful bases: Consent and Certain Legitimate Uses.

A. Processing Based on Consent (Section 6)

Most of our data processing relies on your clear, affirmative consent. This includes:

• Processing submitted manuscripts, coordinating blind peer reviews, and editorial evaluation.
• Publishing accepted research papers and publicly attributing authorship, academic credentials, and institutional affiliations.
• Creating user accounts, enabling digital access to subscription journals, and managing billing.
• Sending call-for-papers, scientific journal alerts, newsletter updates, and conference invitations (where you have explicitly opted in).

B. Processing Based on Legitimate Uses (Section 7)

We may process personal data without seeking fresh consent only under specific statutory grounds recognized under the Act:

• Voluntary Disclosures: When you voluntarily provide your data to us for a specific, self-initiated request (e.g., submitting an inquiry to support, requesting editorial assistance) and have not indicated non-consent.
• Public Health & Emergencies: To take necessary measures or provide medical/health data during public health emergencies, epidemics, disease outbreaks, or threats to public safety.
• Legal & Regulatory Compliance: To comply with statutory legal mandates, judicial decrees, court orders, or requests from law enforcement agencies under applicable Indian laws.
• Employment & Security Safeguards: To handle employment matters, safeguard intellectual property, or prevent corporate espionage and unauthorized data access.

05Consent Notice, Multilingual Access & Withdrawal

A. Clear & Transparent Notice

Every request for your consent is accompanied or preceded by an explicit, easy-to-read notice informing you of:

• The specific personal data items requested and the exact purpose of processing.
• How you can exercise your legal rights (correction, erasure, grievance, nomination).
• Contact details of our Data Protection Officer / Authorized Representative.
• How to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Board of India if required.

B. Multilingual Notice Option (Section 5(3))

You have the option to access our Privacy Notice and consent requests in English or in any of the 22 official languages specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. You can switch your preferred language in your website profile settings or by contacting our Data Protection Officer.

C. Ease of Consent Withdrawal (Section 6(4))

You have the absolute right to withdraw your consent at any time. We ensure that withdrawing consent is just as simple as giving it (e.g., via a single click in your account preferences or sending an email request).

Consequences of Withdrawal: Upon receiving your withdrawal request, we will stop processing your personal data within a reasonable timeframe and cause our Data Processors to cease processing, except where continued processing/retention is required or authorized under Indian law.

06Data Sharing & Third-Party Processors

Unqual Pvt Limited does not sell, lease, or trade personal data to third-party marketers. We share digital personal data only on a strict need-to-know basis with trusted partners under valid legal contracts, as permitted by Section 8(2) of the DPDP Act:

07Protection of Children's Data & Persons with Disability

Unqual Pvt Limited operates a scientific research and medical publication portal intended strictly for adult healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, and university students.

• Age Limitation: We do not knowingly collect, process, or store personal data of children (individuals under 18 years of age) or persons with disabilities without verifiable legal guardian consent.
• Verifiable Consent (Section 9(1)): In the event that any research project involving minors is processed for publication, verifiable consent from the parent or lawful guardian must be obtained prior to processing.
• Prohibition on Tracking/Profiling: We strictly prohibit tracking, behavioral monitoring, targeted advertising, or profiling directed at children on our website.

08Data Security Safeguards & Breach Notification

Under Section 8(5) of the DPDP Act, 2023, Unqual Pvt Limited maintains robust technical, physical, and administrative security measures to prevent personal data breaches, unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure:

• Encryption Standards: HTTPS/TLS encryption for all web traffic, AES-256 bit encryption for databases storing user personal data and submitted manuscripts.
• Access Controls: Strict role-based access controls (RBAC), multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative staff, and regular vulnerability assessments.
• Processor Security: Comprehensive data protection contracts with all cloud service vendors and Data Processors.

Personal Data Breach Intimation (Section 8(6))

In the unlikely event of a personal data breach affecting your information, Unqual Pvt Limited will promptly intimate the Data Protection Board of India and each affected Data Principal. The intimation will outline the nature of the breach, potential impact, and remedial steps implemented.

09Data Retention & Erasure Policy

We store your digital personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the specified purpose for which it was collected, or to comply with applicable statutory laws:

• Active Accounts: User profile data and account records are retained for the duration of your active account.
• Data Erasure (Section 8(7)): When the specified purpose is complete, or when you withdraw consent, we erase your personal data from our active databases and direct our Data Processors to erase their copies.
• Statutory Retention Exceptions: We retain statutory records (e.g., GST invoices, audit logs, financial transactions, legal dispute documentation, and scientific authorship records) for periods required under Indian tax, corporate, and academic archiving laws.

10Rights of Data Principals

As a Data Principal under the DPDP Act, 2023, you enjoy full control over your digital personal data. You may exercise the following statutory rights through our website portal or by emailing our Data Protection Officer:

• 1. Right to Access Information (Section 11): Obtain a summary of the personal data we hold about you, processing activities undertaken, and identities of all Data Fiduciaries/Processors with whom your data has been shared.
• 2. Right to Correction & Completion (Section 12(1)): Request the correction of inaccurate or misleading data, completion of incomplete records, or updating of outdated personal information.
• 3. Right to Erasure (Section 12(3)): Request erasure of your personal data when it is no longer necessary for the specified purpose or upon consent withdrawal.
• 4. Right of Grievance Redressal (Section 13): Access an efficient, readily available grievance redressal mechanism provided by us.
• 5. Right to Nominate (Section 14): Nominate another individual to exercise your privacy rights in the event of your death or physical/mental incapacity.

11Duties & Responsibilities of Data Principals

To ensure a safe, authentic, and legally compliant research community, the DPDP Act, 2023 specifies certain duties for Data Principals (Section 15):

• Legal Compliance: Comply with all applicable Indian laws while exercising your privacy rights.
• No Impersonation: Do not impersonate another person when providing personal data for research, author profiles, or user registration.
• Complete Information: Ensure you do not suppress material information when registering or submitting identification details.
• Authentic Data: Furnish only verifiably authentic and accurate information when requesting correction or erasure.
• No Frivolous Complaints: Refrain from registering false, frivolous, or malicious grievances with Unqual Pvt Limited or the Data Protection Board. Under Section 33 read with the Schedule of the Act, registering false or frivolous complaints may attract statutory monetary penalties.

12International Data Transfers

Unqual Pvt Limited primarily processes and stores data on secure servers located within India. However, because medical research is global, published research metadata and author details may be transmitted to international indexing services (e.g., CrossRef, international editorial reviewers).

Cross-border transfers are conducted in full compliance with Section 16 of the DPDP Act, 2023, ensuring that data is not transferred to any country or territory restricted by notifications issued by the Central Government of India.

13Grievance Redressal & Contact Information

We have established a dedicated Grievance Redressal Mechanism to promptly handle any inquiries, privacy concerns, or exercise of Data Principal rights.

Escalation to the Data Protection Board of India

In accordance with Section 13(3) of the Act, you must first exhaust the grievance redressal mechanism provided by Unqual Pvt Limited. If you remain unsatisfied with our response or resolution, you have the right to file a complaint before the Data Protection Board of India (DPB).

14Updates & Changes to This Policy

Unqual Pvt Limited reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our medical research offerings, website functionality, or updates to the DPDP Act rules and notifications. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Revised" date. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.