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Fibrenamics’s mission is design and implement integrated and customized solutions for research and technological development in textile fibers and composites, contributing to the differentiation and competitiveness of the business fabric. Any natural or legal person who, as a user of the Service, accesses or uses the Service for any purpose is a User (“User”, “you”). Our registered Users (“Members”) share their professional identities and credentials, display their academic publications, engage and collaborate with their networks, exchange knowledge and professional insights, post and view relevant content, and discover business and career opportunities. Some content is also visible to unregistered or logged-out Users (“Visitors”). This Privacy Policy is intended to demonstrate and explain our commitment to protecting your privacy online with integrity, transparency, and security.
This Privacy Policy sets forth the collection and use practices of Fibrenamics, University of Minho - Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal (“Fibrenamics”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) for Personal and Business Information (defined below) we obtain and use in the course of providing the services rendered to you through the Fibrenamics website available at https://fibrenamics.com, and through any of its web pages and associated applications which may be available on multiple devices, including mobile applications (“Service”). This Privacy Policy may refer to the Users of Fibrenamics Service as “Members”, “Visitors”, or “you” or through any second-person pronouns, such as “yours”, etc.
Fibrenamics reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, in particular, to reflect changes in market conditions affecting Fibrenamics’s activities, changes in technology, changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements, and changes in Fibrenamics’s system capabilities. In the event we modify this Privacy Policy, any new version shall be effective 30 days immediately after the posting of such revised Privacy Policy on the Service, unless stated otherwise. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify Members by email or other reasonable means, including through notifications on our Service. If you object to the new version, you should stop using our Service and/or close your account. If you pretend continue using our Service after having been provided with such notice you will be asked to accept the update to the Privacy Policy.
In order for the Service to function, we need to collect from you and process certain data and/or information about your person or your scientific involvement (“Personal Information”) or about your company (“Business Information”).
All these information will be kept for a maximum period of 2 years, after which they will be subject to a renewal of consent.
There are a number of ways in which we collect Personal Information from or about you. These may include, without limitation:
All these information will be kept for a maximum period of 2 years, after which they will be subject to a renewal of consent.
We and service providers acting on our behalf store log files and use tracking technologies such as cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, and local shared objects, also known as flash cookies, to collect information relating to you and your use of the Service.
“Cookies” are small files that enable us to store and collect specific information related to you and your use of the Service on your computer or other end devices. They help us to analyze the number of people who use the Service, usage frequency, User behavior, advertising effectiveness, to increase security and tailor our Service to your needs and preferences.
After you have logged in to your account on the Service, we use so-called “session cookies” to identify you during the course of your session. Upon the termination of your session, the session cookie is automatically deleted.
We also use “persistent cookies” to record information about repeat Users of the Service. Persistent cookies are designed to help us continually improve the products and services we offer you. Persistent cookies do not contain Personal or Business Information such as your name, IP address, etc.
You can edit the settings of your browser to prevent cookies from being stored, to limit the storage of cookies to certain websites, or such that your browser informs you every time a cookie is sent. You can also delete cookies from your computer’s hard drive at any time. However, please note that if cookies are deactivated you will not be able to take advantage of some of Fibrenamics’s features.
In addition to cookies, Fibrenamics uses so-called pixels, web beacons, clear GIFs, and other similar mechanisms (“Pixels”). A Pixel is an image file or link to an image file added to the website code but not sent to your end device (e.g. PC, smartphone, etc.). Pixels are largely used for the same reasons as cookies, i.e. to analyze the number of people who use our Service or, if the User's email program allows HTML, to determine whether and when an email was opened. Pixels help us to check and optimize the effectiveness of our Service and offers as well as advertising campaigns served on Fibrenamics. Pixels do not provide us with Personal or Business Information and do not enable us to track Users. Pixels are usually used in conjunction with cookies. If you have deactivated the use of cookies in your browser, then Pixels will only report an anonymous website visit.
We also use pixel-based and cookie-based conversion tracking technologies to, for example, measure the success of advertising campaigns served on Fibrenamics. To this end we use technologies provided by Google.
The information we automatically collect about you and your use of the Service includes:
We receive information about you and your activities on and off the Service from third party partners, such as information from advertisers about your experience or interactions with them. We also obtain information about you from publicly available sources, such as information regarding previous research published by you and affiliations that may be associated with your profile.
For more information about our use of cookies, and how to modify or delete them, see our Cookie Policy.
Fibrenamics reserves the right to use certain Google services, operated by Google, Inc., California, USA (“Google”). Google services may include Google Analytics, a web analytics service, Google Analytics Advertising Features, namely for remarketing with Google Analytics, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting, and integrated services that require Google Analytics to collect data via advertising cookies and anonymous identifiers, and Google’s DoubleClick Services. Any information generated by the cookies about your use of the Service (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States of America. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the Service, compiling reports on website activity for us, and providing other services relating to website activity and Internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law. More information about Google’s data privacy and security can be found here. Please see Google’s page on ‘How Google uses data when you use our partners' sites or apps’, and Google’s terms and policies for further information.
With respect to Google Analytics, the following additional safeguards apply: we have activated IP anonymization so that your IP address will be shortened by Google within the European Economic Area before the data is forwarded and stored in the USA; only in exceptional cases are IP addresses sent to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. Google will not combine your IP address collected via Google Analytics with other data that Google holds.
To opt out from Google Analytics, please click here.
Many communications that you initiate through our Service (for example, a new message sent to another member) will list your name in the header of the message. Messages you initiate may also provide the recipient with aggregate information about your Member profile. Other communications that you initiate through the Service, like opening a new topic in the forum, will list your name as the initiator but will not include your personal email address. Once you have connected with an individual, regardless of who sent the invitation, your contact information that you choose to include in your researcher profile will be shared with that individual.
The Personal or Business Information that you provide to us may reveal or allow others to identify aspects of your life that are not expressly stated on your profile (for example, your picture or your name may reveal your gender).
We use the Personal or Business Information described above to:
Generally, Fibrenamics does not share the Personal or Business Information collected - or that you provide to Fibrenamics - with third parties unless we have obtained your prior consent. Note, however, that Fibrenamics reserves the right to share the Personal or Business Information it has about you with vendors, agents, and contractors who assist Fibrenamics in administering the Service and in providing benefits to you.
We may also share Personal or Business Information in response to legal process or when the law requires it (for example, in response to a court order) or, to the extent permitted by applicable law, to protect the rights, property or safety of Fibrenamics, the Service, Users of the Service (including you), and others.
Fibrenamics may also disclose Personal or Business Information as is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against a person or entity who may be violating Fibrenamics’s Terms of Use, or who may be causing harm to, or interfering with, other Users of the Service.
In addition, in the event that assets of Service are transferred or sold to another entity, Personal or Business Information may be transferred to the acquiring entity and/or to potential acquiring entities to the extent permitted by applicable law and we will seek your consent where required.
The Personal or Business Information that Fibrenamics collects from you and that you provide to Fibrenamics is processed in Portugal and is stored on servers in Portugal, providing adequate protection to the European Economic Area.
Your Personal or Business Information may also be transferred to any third parties as described in this Privacy Policy. Some of these third parties with whom your Personal or Business Information will be shared are located outside of the European Economic Area, in countries whose data protection laws may not be as extensive as those which apply to us.
If we transfer your Personal or Business Information to countries outside of the European Economic Area or which do not offer adequate and similar protection, we will ensure that we do this in accordance with applicable data protection regulations (for example, by putting in place an appropriate data transfer agreement). We will do this with a view to ensuring the level of protection which applies to your Personal or Business Information processed in these countries is similar to that which applies within the European Economic Area.
We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure your Personal or Business Information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable law. We use appropriate security measures to protect against unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, and disposal of your Personal or Business Information.
All pages are secured using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology, which encrypts data between our computer and your end devices. To make sure your Internet browser is using the latest security features, you may want to download the most recent version of it, which should have full SSL support.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your User ID and password which relate to your access to certain pages of the Service and/or any account you set up with us. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities which occur in relation to the same. You should not permit other people to use your User ID or your password. Please contact us promptly if you believe your User ID or password may have been compromised. We will not be responsible to you if there is unauthorized access to your login details or unauthorized activity on the Service as a result of your login details becoming known by someone else, unless this was due to our negligence.
Despite our efforts regarding security it is important to bear in mind that the Internet is not a secure means of communication. Personal or Business Information communicated through the Internet may be intercepted by other people. We cannot guarantee the security of Personal or Business Information sent to us through the Service. You accept that you use the Service at your own risk, but we can guarantee the existence of measures that allow a quick detection and mitigation of eventual violations and / or damages.
If you have created an account through the Service, we will close your account upon your request. We may also close or disable inactive accounts or accounts that are used in violation of our Terms of Use or any applicable law.
We will retain Personal or Business Information from closed or inactive accounts to the extent and as long as it is necessary and relevant for our operations and/or to comply with law, prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our Terms of Use, and/or take other actions otherwise permitted by law.
In general, Personal or Business Information from closed or inactive accounts will be deleted or anonymized one year after the account is closed or deactivated unless we have reasonable grounds to believe that the Personal or Business Information should be retained for one of the purposes identified above.
Under the Data Protection legislation, data subjects have the following rights with regards to their personal information:
You may be entitled to exercise some or all of the following rights free of charge (such rights may vary depending on the requirements of the applicable legislation):
You may (i) exercise the rights referred to above or (ii) pose any questions or (iii) make any complaints regarding the data processing by contacting us here.
You have the right to object, at any time, to the processing of your Personal or Business Information on legitimate grounds by contacting us here.
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please email our Data Protection Officer at [email protected], contact us here, or send a letter to:
Data Protection Officer
Fibrenamics
University of Minho - Campus de Azurém
4800-058 Guimarães
In the event you still have requests or complaints, please contact the Portuguese Data Protection Authority.