Privacy Policy

The Society of Neurological Initiatives (“SNI”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use SNI Publications (sni.pubs.brian-labs.com), including any related services, publications, and interactions (collectively, the “Platform”).

By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the Platform.

1. Who We Are

SNI Publications is the official open-access publishing platform of the Society of Neurological Initiatives, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing research in neuroscience and neurological sciences. We publish peer-reviewed research articles, reviews, and other scholarly content.

For questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at sni.pubs.support@brian-labs.com.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Full name and display name
• Email address
• Institutional affiliation and department
• Professional biography (optional)
• ORCID iD (if you choose to link it)
• Role (author, reviewer, or editor)

2.2 Submission and Manuscript Data

When you submit a manuscript, we collect:

• Manuscript files (text, figures, supplementary materials)
• Title, abstract, keywords, and category
• Cover letter
• Author metadata (names, affiliations, contributions)
• Conflict of interest disclosures
• Manuscript tracking identifiers and status history

2.3 Peer Review Data

If you participate as a reviewer, we collect:

• Review reports and recommendations
• Editorial correspondence related to reviews
• Review completion timelines

2.4 Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information when you visit the Platform, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring URLs. We use analytics services to help us understand how the Platform is used.

2.5 Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to maintain your session, remember your preferences, and analyze Platform usage. You can control cookie settings through your browser. Disabling cookies may affect Platform functionality.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate and maintain the Platform
• Process manuscript submissions and manage the peer review workflow
• Communicate with you about your submissions, reviews, and account
• Assign and manage editorial decisions
• Register DOIs and push publication metadata to ORCID
• Send email notifications related to your activities (e.g., review assignments, decisions, publication)
• Generate usage analytics to improve the Platform
• Comply with legal obligations
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or unauthorized access

4. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information with:

• Other users as part of the publishing process. Author names, affiliations, and editorial correspondence are visible to editors and reviewers. Reviewer identities are confidential unless a review is published openly.
• Service providers. We use third-party services for hosting (Vercel), database management (Supabase), file storage (Cloudflare R2), email delivery (Mailtrap), DOI registration (Crossref), and content management (Sanity). These providers process data on our behalf and are contractually obligated to protect it.
• ORCID. If you link your ORCID iD, we may push publication metadata to your ORCID record upon publication.
• Crossref. We register DOIs for published articles, which involves sharing bibliographic metadata (title, authors, abstract, DOI) with Crossref for indexing and discoverability.
• Legal authorities. We may disclose information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information, including encrypted data transmission (TLS), authentication controls, and role-based access restrictions. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. Manuscript files, peer review records, and publication metadata are retained indefinitely as part of the scholarly record. You may request deletion of your account by contacting us, though we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

7. Your Rights

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

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• Delete your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Export your data in a portable format
• Object to or restrict certain processing of your data
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at sni.pubs.support@brian-labs.com.

8. International Data Transfers

Our servers are located in the United States. If you access the Platform from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the Platform, you consent to such transfers.

9. Children’s Privacy

The Platform is not directed at individuals under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on the Platform with a revised “Last Updated” date. Your continued use of the Platform after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact: