On this page
What we collect
We collect only information needed to operate the platform, review contributions, manage datasets and support scientific traceability. This may include account information, institutional affiliation, field observations, files and location data.
How information is used
Information is used for platform operation, scientific quality control, moderation, provenance, research workflows and decision-support activities consistent with the permissions and access conditions attached to each record.
Location privacy
Precise coordinates are treated as controlled scientific data. Public maps use only explicitly published, privacy-safe geometry. Permission to store a coordinate is not permission to publish it.
Photos and files
Contribution files and institutional source datasets are private by default. Public release requires a separate governed decision, and access-controlled files are delivered only after authorization.
Retention and integrity
Scientific records may need to be retained for reproducibility, audit and provenance. Retention decisions should balance scientific integrity, contractual obligations, contributor rights and applicable law.
Corrections and requests
Contributors and data providers may request correction or review of information associated with them. Some scientific records may be preserved with an audit trail rather than silently overwritten.
Privacy contact
A dedicated institutional privacy contact will be published before production launch. Until then, this page describes the platform policy baseline and should not be interpreted as a substitute for applicable legal requirements.
Policy baseline prepared for WATER4ALL-Africa v0.9.0. It will be reviewed before public production launch.
See also: Data policy