Privacy Statement

Applicable Regulatory Framework

This Privacy Statement is drafted in compliance with the following data protection laws and frameworks, which apply based on the location of the data subject and the nature of the data processed:

???????? Swiss nDSG — New Federal Act on Data Protection Revised Federal Act on Data Protection (revFADP / nDSG), in force since 1 September 2023. Primary applicable law as our registered office is in Zurich, Switzerland.		???????? EU GDPR — General Data Protection Regulation Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Applies to data subjects located in the European Economic Area (EEA). Switzerland maintains an EU adequacy decision for data transfers.
???????? UU PDP Indonesia — Personal Data Protection Law UU No. 27 Tahun 2022 tentang Pelindungan Data Pribadi, effective October 2024. Applies to personal data of Indonesian data subjects processed through our platform.		???? International Standards OECD Privacy Guidelines (2013), ISO/IEC 29101 Privacy Framework, and applicable personal data protection laws of other Asian jurisdictions where data subjects are located.

1. Data Controller

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect personal data only to the extent necessary for the operation of Asia Book Registry and the services we provide. The categories of data collected depend on your relationship with us:

Registered Users & Authors Full name · Email address · Institutional affiliation · Country · ORCID iD · Academic title · Profile photo (optional) · Username & password (encrypted) · Correspondence address

Book Submission Data Book title · ISBN · Publisher · Year · Abstract · Keywords · Table of contents · Cover image · Chapter files · Co-author names & affiliations · Funding information

Technical & Usage Data IP address · Browser type & version · Device type · Operating system · Pages visited · Session duration · Referring URL · Login timestamps · Download logs

3. Purpose of Processing & Legal Basis

We process personal data only for specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes. The legal basis for each processing activity is stated below (Art. 6 GDPR / Art. 31 nDSG / Art. 20 UU PDP):

Purpose	Data Used	Legal Basis
Account registration & platform access	Name, email, username, password	Contract
Processing book submissions & editorial review	All submission data, author information	Contract
Publishing bibliographic metadata in the registry	Name, affiliation, book metadata	Legitimate Interest
Sending platform notifications & editorial decisions	Email address, username	Contract
Platform security, fraud prevention, audit logs	IP address, login timestamps, device data	Legitimate Interest
Statistical analysis & platform improvement	Anonymized/aggregated usage data	Legitimate Interest
Optional newsletter or platform updates	Email address	Consent

4. Artificial Intelligence & Automated Processing

4.1 AI Tools Currently in Use

Grammarly® Premium AI-Assisted Used to verify the language quality of English-language abstracts and metadata submitted by authors. Grammarly's AI analyzes text for grammar, spelling, clarity, and tone. Text submitted for checking is processed by Grammarly's servers. Grammarly's own privacy policy applies: grammarly.com/privacy-policy. We do not use Grammarly in a manner that allows it to retain author content for model training.

Turnitin AI-Assisted Used for plagiarism detection and, where applicable, AI-generated content detection in submitted manuscripts. Turnitin processes submitted text against its database of academic works. Turnitin's privacy policy applies: turnitin.com/privacy. Authors are notified when their submission will be processed by Turnitin.

4.2 AI-Generated Content Detection

In accordance with growing scholarly publishing standards, Asia Book Registry reserves the right to screen submitted manuscripts and metadata using AI-content detection tools (including Turnitin's AI Writing Detection feature). Authors are required to declare the use of generative AI tools in the preparation of their submitted content in accordance with our Author Guidelines. Undisclosed use of AI-generated content may result in rejection or removal from the registry.

4.3 Automated Decision-Making

Asia Book Registry does not make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on individuals, as defined under Article 22 of the GDPR and Article 20 of Switzerland's nDSG. All AI-assisted quality checks (language quality, plagiarism screening) serve as advisory inputs to a human editorial process. Final decisions on acceptance or rejection are always made by a human editor.

4.4 Your Data & AI Model Training

5. Third-Party Services & Data Processors

To operate our platform and services, we work with the following third-party processors. Each processes personal data only on our documented instructions and is bound by data processing agreements or equivalent contractual safeguards:

Service / Provider	Purpose	Data Location
PKP / Open Journal Systems (OJS)	Platform software powering the registry	Self-hosted (our servers)
Turnitin LLC (USA)	Plagiarism & AI-content detection	USA / EU (SCCs apply)
Grammarly Inc. (USA)	Language & grammar quality verification	USA / EU (SCCs apply)
Google LLC (Google Scholar)	Metadata indexing & citation tracking	Global (Google infrastructure)
Web Hosting Provider	Server infrastructure & data storage	EU/CH region (preferred)
CrossRef / DOI Foundation	DOI registration & metadata deposit	USA / Global

6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Our platform uses cookies and similar tracking technologies. By using Asia Book Registry, you consent to the use of strictly necessary cookies. For non-essential cookies, we request your explicit consent.

Strictly Necessary Session cookies for OJS login, CSRF protection tokens. Cannot be disabled — essential for platform function.

Functional Remembers language preference, display settings. Enabled with your consent.

Analytics Anonymized traffic statistics via OJS built-in stats. No cross-site tracking. Enabled with your consent.

Third-Party Google Scholar crawl tags embedded in metadata headers. Not used for advertising. Consent-based.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this statement, or as required by law:

8. Your Data Subject Rights

Under applicable data protection law (GDPR Art. 15–22, Swiss nDSG Art. 25–32, UU PDP Art. 5–8), you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

???? Right of Access (Art. 15 GDPR) Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you, including purposes, categories, recipients, and retention periods.		✏️ Right to Rectification (Art. 16 GDPR) Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data. Most profile data can be updated directly in your account settings.
????️ Right to Erasure (Art. 17 GDPR) Request deletion of your personal data where there is no longer a lawful basis for processing. Note: published bibliographic records may be retained for scholarly integrity purposes.		⏳ Right to Restriction (Art. 18 GDPR) Request that we temporarily halt processing of your data — for example, while a rectification request is being assessed.
???? Right to Data Portability (Art. 20 GDPR) Receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format (e.g., JSON or XML) for transfer to another service, where technically feasible.		???? Right to Object (Art. 21 GDPR) Object to processing based on legitimate interests. We will cease processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests.
???? Right re: Automated Decisions (Art. 22 GDPR) The right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing. As stated in Section 4, all our AI-assisted checks involve human editorial oversight.		???? Right to Withdraw Consent Where processing is based on consent (e.g., newsletter), you may withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at contact@explorerfrontier.com. We will respond within 30 days (extendable by 2 months for complex requests, with notice). We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. There is no fee for exercising your rights unless requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive.

9. International Data Transfers

Some of our third-party processors are located outside Switzerland and the European Economic Area. When we transfer personal data to countries not providing an adequate level of protection, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:

10. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These include SSL/TLS encryption for all data in transit, password hashing using bcrypt, server-level access controls and firewalls, regular security audits, and documented incident response procedures. In the event of a personal data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours (as required by Art. 33 GDPR / Art. 24 nDSG) and affected individuals without undue delay.

11. Children's Privacy

Asia Book Registry is an academic platform intended solely for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under the age of 18. If we become aware that personal data of a minor has been collected without appropriate consent, we will promptly delete it. If you believe we may have collected data from a minor, please contact us immediately at contact@explorerfrontier.com.

12. Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority:

Switzerland (Primary) Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) Feldeggweg 1, 3003 Berne, Switzerland www.edoeb.admin.ch

Indonesia (UU PDP) Kementerian Komunikasi dan Digital (Komdigi) Direktorat Jenderal Aptika — Pengawasan PDP www.kominfo.go.id

We encourage you to contact us first at contact@explorerfrontier.com so we can resolve your concern directly before escalation to a supervisory authority.

13. Changes to This Privacy Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement periodically to reflect changes in our practices, applicable law, or the services we provide. The date at the top of this document indicates when the current version was last revised. For material changes, we will notify registered users via email and/or a prominent notice on the platform at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of Asia Book Registry after the effective date constitutes your acknowledgement of the updated statement.