Welding and Welded Structures (WWS) Journal is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and protect your information, and your rights regarding that data, especially for users within the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA), in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and for users worldwide.
Journal Name: Welding and Welded Structures (WWS) Journal Location: Belgrade, Serbia Website: https://wwsjournal.org.rs
1. Data Controller
The Data Controller responsible for your personal data collected through this website is:
WWS Journal Editorial Team
Grčića Milenka 67
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Contact Email for Privacy Matters: duzs011[a]gmail.com; editor-in-chief[a]wwsjournal.org.rs
2. Information We Collect
We collect personal data that you voluntarily provide to us when you register an account on our website. The types of personal data collected include:
- Username: To identify you within our system and for login purposes.
- Email Address: For all official communications, including registration approval, password resets, notifications regarding submissions, reviews, and general journal updates.
- ORCID iD: A persistent digital identifier used to distinguish you from other researchers and link your professional activities.
- Selected Role: (Editor, Author, Reviewer) To assign appropriate permissions and facilitate your participation in journal activities.
- Timestamp of Registration: To record when your registration request was submitted.
- IP Address: Automatically collected during registration for security and bot prevention purposes.
3. How We Collect Your Information
Your personal data is collected directly from you through the online registration form on our website.
4. Legal Basis for Processing (for EU/EEA Users – GDPR)
For users residing in the EU/EEA, our legal basis for collecting and processing your personal data is primarily:
- Consent: By ticking the “I have read and agree to the Privacy policy and data processing” checkbox, you provide explicit consent for us to process your personal data for the purposes outlined in this policy. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time (see Section 8).
- Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for the legitimate interests pursued by the WWS Journal, such as managing user accounts, facilitating manuscript submission and peer review processes, maintaining the security and integrity of our platform, and communicating with our community. These interests are balanced against your rights and freedoms.
- Performance of a Contract: For authors and reviewers, processing may be necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract (e.g., managing your submission, facilitating your review duties).
5. How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information for the following purposes:
- Account Creation and Management: To create and manage your user account within the WWS Journal system.
- Role Assignment: To assign you the appropriate user role (Editor, Author, Reviewer) and provide access to relevant sections of the journal platform.
- Communication: To send you important notifications related to your registration, account status, password resets, manuscript submissions, review invitations, and other journal-related updates.
- Identity Verification: To verify your identity and prevent duplicate registrations or fraudulent activities.
- Peer Review Process: For authors, to facilitate the submission and peer review of your manuscripts. For reviewers, to invite you to review manuscripts based on your expertise. For editors, to manage the editorial workflow.
- Security and Bot Prevention: To protect our website and users from spam, malicious attacks, and unauthorized access.
- Compliance: To comply with legal obligations and industry standards.
6. How We Store Your Information
Your registration data is stored in plain text JSONL files on our secure web server, specifically in the /wp-content/uploads/registrations/ directory.
registration-requests.jsonl: Stores pending registration requests.approved.jsonl: Stores records of approved registrations.declined.jsonl: Stores records of declined registrations.
These files are accessible only by authorized personnel (e.g., Editor-in-Chief, system administrators) for the purpose of managing user accounts and processing requests. We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active and necessary to provide you with journal services, or as required by applicable laws and regulations. If your registration is declined, we retain the record in declined.jsonl for a limited period for auditing and to prevent repeated fraudulent attempts. If your account becomes inactive or you request deletion, we will securely delete or anonymize your data, subject to any legal or operational requirements.
8. Your Rights (Especially for EU/EEA Users – GDPR)
As a data subject, you have the following rights concerning your personal data:
- Right to Access: You have the right to request copies of your personal data held by us.
- Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or complete information you believe is incomplete.
- Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
- Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
- Right to Object to Processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
- Right to Data Portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at editor-in-chief[a]wwsjournal.org.rs. We will respond to your request within one month.
9. International Data Transfers
The WWS Journal is based in Serbia. If you are accessing our website or providing personal data from outside Serbia, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in Serbia, regardless of your geographic location (e.g., within the EU/EEA, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, or any other continent). Serbia has an adequate level of data protection as determined by the European Commission, ensuring that your data is protected under standards equivalent to GDPR.
By using our services and providing your information, you explicitly consent to the transfer of your data to Serbia for processing and storage as described in this policy.
10. Data Security
We implement reasonable and appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include, but are not limited to, secure server configurations, access controls, and regular security audits.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Last Updated” date.
12. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal data, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact us:
Emails: duzs011[a]gmail.com; editor-in-chief[a]wwsjournal.org.rs
Last Updated: July 8, 2025