Sentam Research
and Publishing
Privacy Policy
1. Introduction and Scope
Sentam Research and Publishing ("Sentam", "we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect information about you when you use our website at sentam.org and its associated subdomains, including our online submission and author portal at journals.sentam.org (collectively, "the Services").
This Policy applies to:
- Visitors to our website
- Authors submitting manuscripts
- Peer reviewers and editorial board members
- Subscribers to our communications
- Any other person whose personal data we process in connection with our publishing activities
We act as the data controller for all personal data described in this Policy. Where we engage third-party service providers, they act as data processors under our instruction.
2. Who We Are
Sentam Research and Publishing
Email: privacy@sentam.org
General Support: support@sentam.org
Phone: +1 (757) 987-7576
For all privacy-related enquiries or to exercise your data subject rights, contact us at privacy@sentam.org.
3. Data We Collect and Why
3.1 Information You Provide Directly
| Data | Context | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Account registration, manuscript submission | Identifying authors, reviewers, and editorial contacts |
| Email address | Registration, correspondence | Account access, editorial communications, notifications |
| Institutional affiliation | Author profile, manuscript | Attribution, editorial assessment |
| ORCID iD | Author profile | Persistent author identification and indexing |
| Postal/country address | Author profile | Geographic reporting, invoice generation |
| Phone number | Author profile | Internal use only; not published |
| Manuscript content | Submission | Peer review, publication |
| Cover letter, CV, supporting documents | Submission | Editorial screening |
| Payment details | APC payment | Transaction processing (not stored by us; handled by payment processors) |
| Correspondence with editors | Email, submission portal | Editorial record-keeping |
3.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, we may collect:
- IP address (anonymised for analytics)
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Referring URL
- Pages visited and time on page
- Device type
This data is collected via cookies and similar technologies. See our Cookie Policy for full details.
3.3 Information From Third Parties
We may receive information about you from:
- ORCID — if you link your ORCID account during registration
- CrossRef — for DOI registration and metadata exchange
- Payment processors (PayPal, Stripe, M-Pesa) — transaction confirmation only; we do not receive full card details
- Institutional repositories — where manuscripts are submitted via institutional channels
4. Legal Basis for Processing
We process your personal data on the following legal bases under the GDPR and equivalent legislation:
| Processing Activity | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| Account registration and management | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Manuscript submission and peer review | Performance of a contract / legitimate interests |
| Publication of accepted articles (name, affiliation) | Legitimate interests — academic record (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Sending editorial decisions and notifications | Performance of a contract |
| Analytics cookies (GA4) | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) |
| Functional cookies | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) |
| Fraud prevention and security | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Legal compliance (tax, regulatory) | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
| Marketing communications | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) |
You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
5. How We Use Your Data
We use your personal data to:
- Create and manage your author or reviewer account
- Process manuscript submissions through the editorial workflow
- Facilitate double-blind peer review (reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors)
- Communicate editorial decisions, revision requests, and acceptance notices
- Process article processing charge (APC) payments
- Assign and register Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) with CrossRef
- Publish accepted articles with author names, affiliations, and ORCID iDs
- Index published content in academic databases
- Generate anonymised usage and impact statistics
- Send service-related notifications (not marketing unless you have consented)
- Comply with legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations
- Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security threats
6. Publication of Personal Data
When an article is accepted and published, the following author information becomes part of the permanent public academic record:
- Author name(s) and order
- Institutional affiliation(s)
- Country
- Email address of the corresponding author
- ORCID iD (if provided)
- Acknowledgements as submitted
This processing is based on legitimate interests in maintaining an accurate and citable academic record, consistent with international scholarly publishing norms. Authors are informed of this at the point of submission.
Reviewer identities remain confidential and are never published.
7. Data Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell your personal data. We may share data with:
7.1 Service Providers (Data Processors)
| Provider | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Google LLC (Google Analytics) | Website analytics | USA (SCCs in place) |
| PayPal Holdings, Inc. | Payment processing | USA (SCCs in place) |
| Safaricom PLC (M-Pesa) | Payment processing | Kenya |
| Tawk.to Inc. | Live chat support | USA |
| CrossRef | DOI registration and metadata | USA |
| ORCID Inc. | Author identifier lookup | USA |
| Web hosting provider | Server infrastructure | [EU/US — disclosed on request] |
All processors are bound by Data Processing Agreements and may only process data under our documented instructions.
7.2 Academic Indexing Services
Metadata for published articles (title, authors, abstract, DOI) is shared with academic indexing services, databases, and repositories as part of standard scholarly publishing practice.
7.3 Legal Disclosure
We may disclose personal data when required by law, court order, or competent regulatory authority, or where necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Sentam, our users, or the public.
8. International Data Transfers
We operate internationally and some of our service providers are located outside your home country. Where we transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission
- UK International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTAs) where applicable
- Adequacy decisions where the destination country has been deemed adequate
Residents of Kenya: data transfers are conducted in accordance with the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019 and the Data Commissioner's guidance on cross-border transfers.
9. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for the following periods:
| Data Type | Retention Period | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Author account data | Duration of account + 5 years after closure | Dispute resolution, legal compliance |
| Manuscript submission records | 10 years | Academic integrity, audit trail |
| Peer review records | 10 years | Editorial accountability |
| Published article metadata | Indefinitely | Permanent scholarly record |
| Payment records | 7 years | Tax and financial regulation |
| Analytics data | 26 months | Year-on-year trend analysis |
| Marketing consent records | Until consent withdrawn + 3 years | Legal compliance |
| Security logs | 90 days | Fraud detection |
When data is no longer needed for its stated purpose and no legal obligation requires retention, we securely delete or anonymise it.
10. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:
- Encryption in transit (TLS/HTTPS across all pages)
- Encryption at rest for sensitive data stores
- Access controls — data accessible only to authorised personnel on a need-to-know basis
- Regular security assessments of our infrastructure and third-party processors
- Incident response procedures — in the event of a data breach, we will notify affected individuals and relevant supervisory authorities within 72 hours where required by law
No transmission over the internet is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we take all reasonable precautions to protect your data.
11. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you have the following rights:
GDPR / UK GDPR (EU and UK residents)
| Right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Access | Receive a copy of personal data we hold about you |
| Rectification | Have inaccurate data corrected |
| Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten") | Request deletion — subject to legal and scholarly record obligations |
| Restriction | Restrict how we process your data while a dispute is resolved |
| Portability | Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format |
| Objection | Object to processing based on legitimate interests |
| Withdraw Consent | Withdraw any consent at any time |
| Automated Decision-Making | Not be subject to solely automated decisions with significant legal effect |
CCPA / CPRA (California residents)
- Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
- Right to delete personal information
- Right to opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal data)
- Right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights
Kenya Data Protection Act 2019
- Right of access, rectification, erasure, and objection in line with the Act
- Right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
To exercise any right, contact us at privacy@sentam.org with your full name, email address on file, and a description of your request. We will respond within 30 days (extendable by a further 30 days for complex requests, with notice).
We may ask you to verify your identity before processing a request.
12. Children's Privacy
Our Services are intended for researchers, academics, and professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under the age of 16. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a minor, please contact us immediately at privacy@sentam.org and we will delete the data promptly.
13. Marketing Communications
We will only send you marketing or promotional communications if you have given explicit consent. You may unsubscribe at any time by:
- Clicking "Unsubscribe" in any marketing email
- Emailing support@sentam.org with the subject line "Unsubscribe"
Unsubscribing from marketing does not affect service-related communications such as editorial decisions or account notifications.
14. Links to Third-Party Websites
Our website contains links to external websites, including journal databases, CrossRef, ORCID, and funding agencies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any external site you visit.
15. Cookies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies. Full details are in our Cookie Policy, including how to manage your preferences.
16. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, technology, or our practices. When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the "Last Reviewed" date at the bottom of this page
- Post a notice on our website for 30 days
- Notify registered users by email where the change materially affects how we handle their data
Continued use of our Services after any update constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy to the extent permitted by law.
17. Complaints
If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data or your rights request, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority:
- EU: Your national Data Protection Authority (edpb.europa.eu)
- UK: Information Commissioner's Office — ico.org.uk — Tel: 0303 123 1113
- Kenya: Office of the Data Protection Commissioner — odpc.go.ke
- USA (California): California Privacy Protection Agency — cppa.ca.gov
We would, however, welcome the opportunity to address your concerns directly before you approach a regulator. Please contact privacy@sentam.org in the first instance.
Effective Date: 18 June 2026 · Last Reviewed: 18 June 2026 · Policy Version: 1.0