Privacy & Cookie Policy
Which information the platform collects
"User Personal Information" refers to any information about our Users which, alone or in combination with other data, could personally identify them or could reasonably be linked to them. Examples of “User Personal Information” include username and password, email address, real name, IP address, and photograph.
User Personal Information does not include aggregated or non-identifying data that cannot be used to identify a User or reasonably link them to such data. We may use this aggregated, non-identifying information for research purposes and to operate, analyze, improve, and optimize our Website and Services.
Information provided directly by users to the platform
Registration information
We require some basic information when you create an account. When you choose a username and password, we also ask for a valid email address.
Profile information
You may choose to provide additional information for your Account profile, such as your full name, an avatar (which may include a photograph), your bio, your geographic location, your organization/company, and a URL to a third-party website. This information may include personal data. Please note that profile information may be visible to other Users of our Service.
How the platform uses your information
We may use your information for the following purposes:
- We use registration information to create your account and provide the Service.
- We use personal information, in particular your username, to identify you on the portal.
- We use your email address to communicate with you, only if you have authorized us and only for the purposes you have approved.
- We use personal information to respond to support requests.
- We may use personal information to invite you to participate in surveys, beta programs, or other research projects, subject to your consent where required.
- We may use personal information for security purposes or to investigate possible fraud or attempts to harm the portal or our Users.
- We may use personal information to comply with legal obligations, protect our intellectual property, and enforce our Terms of Use.
We limit the use of personal information to the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. If we need to use it for other purposes, we will first ask for your consent. You can always check in your user profile what information we hold, how we are using it, and what permissions you have granted.
Our legal bases for processing information
To the extent that the processing of your personal information is subject to international laws (including, but not limited to, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR), Citizen Science Italia ETS is required to inform you of the legal basis for processing. We process personal information based on the following legal grounds:
Performance of a contract
When you create an Account on the portal, you provide registration information. This data is necessary to enter into and fulfill the Terms of Service with us. In addition, we process your username and email address on other legal bases, as described below.
Consent
We rely on your consent to use personal information in the following cases: when you complete your user profile; when you choose to participate in a research project, a beta program, or a survey; and for marketing purposes, where applicable. This information is entirely optional and you can access, modify, or delete it at any time. You cannot completely remove your email address, but you can make it private. You may withdraw your consent at any time.
Legitimate interests
Other processing of personal information that we carry out is generally necessary to pursue our legitimate interests, for example for legal compliance purposes, for security, or to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and resilience of the portal’s systems, Website, and Services.
If you wish to request the deletion of data processed on the basis of consent or object to our processing of personal information, please send an email to info@citizenscience.it.
How you can access and control the information we collect
If you are already a user of the portal, you can access, update, modify, or delete your basic information from your user profile. As a user, you always have the ability to take your data with you.
Our use of cookies and tracking technologies
The platform uses cookies to make interactions with our service simple and meaningful. Cookies are small text files that websites often store on visitors’ computer hard drives or mobile devices. We use cookies (and similar technologies, such as HTML5 localStorage) to keep you logged in, remember your preferences, and collect information useful for the future development of the platform.
For security reasons, we also use cookies to identify a device. By using our Website, you agree that we may place these types of cookies on your computer or device. If you disable your browser’s or device’s ability to accept cookies, you will not be able to access or use the platform’s services.