Privacy Policy

Hanford Journal ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website and use our services.

Hanford Journal is operated from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We process personal data in accordance with Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA). Where we process personal data of individuals in the European Economic Area, we also comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

By accessing or using our services, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services.

We use the information we collect to:

• Process and manage manuscript submissions
• Facilitate the peer review process
• Communicate with you about your submissions
• Publish accepted articles with proper attribution
• Send notifications about journal updates and publications
• Generate usage statistics and analytics
• Improve our services and user experience
• Comply with legal obligations
• Prevent fraud and ensure security

We process your personal data on the following lawful bases:

• Contractual necessity: Processing manuscript submissions, managing your account, and facilitating peer review
• Legitimate interests: Improving our services, generating analytics, preventing fraud, and maintaining security
• Consent: Sending marketing communications and newsletters (you may withdraw consent at any time)
• Legal obligation: Complying with applicable laws and regulations

We may share your information with:

• Peer Reviewers: Limited manuscript information for review purposes (single-blind review protects reviewer anonymity)
• Editorial Board: Submission details for editorial decisions
• Service Providers: Third-party services that help us operate (e.g., hosting, email, payment processing)
• Indexing Services: Published article metadata for discoverability (Crossref, DOAJ, etc.)
• Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect our rights

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside Malaysia, including through our use of cloud hosting, email delivery, and payment processing services. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for such transfers, including standard contractual clauses and adequacy assessments where applicable.

You have the right to:

• Access and download your personal data
• Correct inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your account
• Opt out of marketing communications
• Control profile visibility settings
• Withdraw consent where applicable

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information below. Note that some data may be retained for legal or legitimate business purposes.

If you are unsatisfied with our handling of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. In Malaysia, this is the Department of Personal Data Protection (JPDP). In the European Union, you may contact your local supervisory authority.

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information, including:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Secure authentication mechanisms
• Regular security assessments
• Access controls and audit logging
• Secure data centres with physical security measures

However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but strive to protect your information using industry best practices.

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep you signed in
• Remember your preferences
• Analyse website usage and performance
• Improve user experience

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some functionality of our website.

We use artificial intelligence tools to assist with manuscript pre-screening and review. AI-assisted reviews are always supplemented by human editorial oversight. Authors are informed when AI tools are used in the evaluation of their submissions. You have the right to request human review of any decision made with the assistance of automated processing.

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide our services
• Comply with legal obligations
• Resolve disputes
• Enforce our agreements

Published articles and associated author information are retained permanently as part of the scholarly record.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us: