Privacy Policy

Effective: July 2026 · Product: Bantuity Research (research.bantuity.com)

1. Introduction

Bantuity Research is an open scientific concept registry. This policy explains what information is involved when you use the product. It is operated in connection with Bantuity; where you use other signed-in Bantuity tools, those products’ privacy notices also apply.

2. What Bantuity Research is (and is not)

  • ORCID-based identity. Sign-in uses ORCID OAuth so contributions can be attributed to a verified scholarly identity.
  • Public registry content. Concepts and discussions you post to the public registry are visible to other users by design.
  • Not a journal. We do not peer-review submissions as a publisher of record.
  • Optional AI features. The Intelligence Engine may process text you enter to evaluate concepts or suggest collaborators.

3. Information we process

  • Account and identity: ORCID identifier, name and profile fields returned by ORCID or you provide, and verification status on our side.
  • Registry content: concept abstracts, metadata, claims, lineage actions, and discussion posts you create.
  • Technical data: standard server and browser logs (e.g. IP address, user agent, pages viewed) for security, reliability, and debugging.
  • Optional AI inputs: prompts and research text you send to chat or evaluation tools; these may be processed by AI providers under their terms to generate responses.

4. How we use information

  • To operate the registry, attribution, and collaboration features.
  • To authenticate you via ORCID and protect accounts.
  • To moderate spam, abuse, and fraudulent claims of authorship.
  • To improve the Intelligence Engine and site reliability.
  • To keep the service secure and available.

5. Sharing

We do not sell personal information. Public registry content is public by design. We may use hosting, database, authentication, and AI providers to run the service. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect users and the platform.

6. Cookies and analytics

We may use essential cookies or similar technology for session and basic site function. If analytics are enabled, they help us understand aggregate usage, not to build advertising profiles of individuals.

7. Your rights

Depending on applicable law (including POPIA in South Africa), you may request access, correction, or deletion of personal data we hold about you. Contact us via the Contact page or email below. Note that public concept records may remain necessary for attribution integrity even after account changes; we will explain what can and cannot be removed.

8. Contact

Privacy questions about Bantuity Research: [email protected] or Contact.