This policy was last updated on 28th of October 2024. This is the privacy policy (“policy”) for navigator.nature.com which is run and provided by Springer Nature Limited (we, us and our). Springer Nature Limited is located at The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London N1 9XW. We can also be contacted at navigator@nature.com. We will only use the personal data gathered over this website as set out in this policy. Below you will find information on how we use your personal data, for which purposes your personal data is used, with whom it is shared and what control and information rights you may have.
We will only use the personal data gathered over this website as set out in this policy. Below you will find information on how we use your personal data, for which purposes your personal data is used, with whom it is shared and what control and information rights you may have.
We use such information only to assist us in providing an effective service (e.g. to adapt our website to the needs of your device or to allow you to log in to our website), and to collect broad demographic information for anonymised, aggregated use.
If you are identified by IP or equivalent method as belonging to a customer organisation such as university or a company then we will also collect the identity of that organisation and use it to create usage reports which show the organisation how much of the content we publish is being read by their students, members or employees. This information does not contain anything related to a personal login unless (a) you are a nominated administrator for that organisation or (b) your organisation specifically requires it as a part of a usage-based access contract.
The personal data automatically collected is necessary for us to provide the website, Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. b GDPR, and for our legitimate interest to guarantee the website’s stability and security, Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR.
Access to our service and content is provided via a variety of mechanisms such as a personal account and eventually IP site licenses, login via third party federated identity providers or other. Using the federated authentication method institutional selection data may be stored locally in your browser and shared with third party websites that you visit to ease the process of institutional authentication. If your access to our content is provided by an organisation or an institution like a university or a company then they may choose the access method on your behalf. A personal account is always required to use the service, including viewing and creating content, or to receive personal services like newsletters and alerts.
If you need to create a personal login with us then we will store and process the following:
The information that is necessary for the performance of the service is labelled accordingly. All further information is provided voluntarily.
We will process the personal data you provide to:
For this, the legal basis is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. b GDPR.
We use the personal data and contact data you provide by registration to inform you directly about our additional products and services. The use of your personal data for directly advertising related products and services or for behavioural advertising and profiling is with consent, Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. a GDPR.
You can object to the use of your personal data for direct marketing at any time. We will then refrain from any processing to the extent it is related to such purposes. You may opt-out of direct marketing via opt-out links in any marketing communication or via user profile pages on the website (where available). You can also inform us about your objection by contacting our customer service at customerservice@springernature.com.
Registration data is kept until such time as an account deletion request is made. If such a request is received we will erase your data within 30 days. Statutory storage obligations or the need for legal actions that may arise from misconduct within the services or payment problems can lead to a longer retention of your personal data. In this case, we will inform you accordingly.
Nature Research Intelligence processes published personal data collected by research data aggregators such as Dimensions, Crossref, OpenAlex and others in order to generate aggregated research overviews of different research fields and topics. This includes data categories such as:
You can be part of these data collections as an author because of your publication history with a scientific publisher (exceeding Springer Nature). The use of your personal data in relation to our generation of research overviews is based on our legitimate interest to develop our products and services that benefit the research community by providing them with research intelligence.
Please refer to our more detailed and non-technical description of this processing on this webpage.
To use these services in parts or total you might have to set up an account as described under IV. You can delete the personal data as well as the account in your account’s settings. This processing is based on Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. b.
When creating any content on the service you are stored as the creator of that content. We might contact you with respect to the content you created to ensure that it is working correctly, clarify questions, improve it or delete it. Furthermore, we reserve the right to display data that identifies (such as, but not limited to your name and affiliation) you as the creator to other users of your organisation as well as other organisations. When creating content, you will need to specify on behalf of which of your affiliated organisations you create the content. Access to content you created is subject to the entitlement agreement with the selected organisation.
When accessing content we use your account and its affiliation to organisations to ensure that you are entitled to view the respective content.
When personalising and/or saving content within the system, we need to store your account identifier against the respective content. In case, you share any of such personalised and/or saved content with selected users or organisations we might display information such as your name to the users with whom the content is shared.
If you are using Nature Navigator as an affiliate to a subscribing institution, we are required to communicate certain details with the responsible contact person at your organisation to be able to fulfil the licence agreement, e.g. seat-based limitation and topic creation quotas. Therefore, we need to enable administrative users at your organisation to see your account to adjust permissions and roles granted to you, like ‘view-only access’ and ‘create access’. In addition, we enable administrators to see how many topics you created to be able to use the topic quota of your organisation appropriately. The topics you create on behalf of your subscribing institution can be subject to organisation-wide analytics to help research management functions understand the activities of your organisation better. For that purpose admins and authorised research managers might see the topics you create as part of an organisational overview. This processing is based on Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR.
We process your data, such as your name, job title and affiliation where available, to analyse the interest in our service. Based on your registration type and usage we might contact you to improve your experience of the service or offer you additional services. This processing is based on Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR.
In addition, your anonymised data (unless you consent to full disclosure of your data) might be used in conversation with your affiliated organisation during prospecting and evaluation of new services.
To provide the requested service your data may be stored in a ticketing system and/or on a support platform to enable data access by the relevant customer support team member. In order to communicate and follow-up we may store and process your name and email address in ticketing systems and/or ask you to create an account. In addition, we might store data around the geographical area from which you contact us to aid and speed up issue resolution, e.g. to rule out local issues. Where appropriate the data will also be forwarded to a different team to fulfil the request (e.g. to update your data) or be used on physical data records, e.g. invoices.
We use different systems as a ticketing system to store and process your requests.
We do not process any sensitive data unless provided by you because you e.g. need support in coping with access issues due to a disability or reveal any protected characteristics during communication. For this, the legal basis is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. a GDPR.
We share anonymous, aggregated data within the business. We forward emails internally, or provide access to tickets for other teams to e.g. share positive feedback with a stakeholder, or for review by internal teams seeking to improve the products and services. For this the legal basis is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR and represents our legitimate interest to improve our service quality and provide tailored solutions to the users.
We store your data until completion of the request and, if applicable, as long as required by statutory retention requirements (e.g. for 3 years after completion to prove adequate handling of service requests or subject access requests made under the GDPR).
We do not use your personal data for automated decision making which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you; however we do use your personal data to offer you content and services which we believe may be of interest.
SMC uses cookies, Google Analytics, and a pseudonymized user ID to aggregate user behavior on the website and in emails in order to personalize the content that is provided to newsletter subscribers. Google Analytics does not receive individual email addresses or other personal data, only a number. That number can only be connected to a specific user on Springer Nature's own SMC system. The legal basis for this process is your consent to the use of cookies on our website (Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. a GDPR.). You can always unsubscribe from this process by rejecting the cookies that measure website use.
We work with Faculty AI, Level 6, 160 Old Street, London, EC1V 9BW, UK, to provide you with personalised content surfaced online as well as in email form. We base this on previous activity on our website in conjunction with non-essential cookies you’ve accepted via our CMP. Faculty AI act as a data processor on our behalf and we have data processing agreement in place to support this. For this activity the legal basis to process your data is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. a GDPR. This reflects your consent to non-essential cookies that help with communications and marketing. You can update or withdraw your consent by clicking Your Privacy Choices/Manage cookies in the page footer.
We use the cloud-based AdTec platform Permutive, which is operated by Permutive Ltd (Permutive Ltd, 2nd floor, 8, 10 Charterhouse Bldgs, London EC1M 7AN, UK). Permutive acts as a data processor in this context and processes data in the UK, the EU and the USA. We only share pseudonymized data with Permutive. We use Permutive to recommend relevant content to you based on your reading and usage behaviour on our websites and to display programmatic and targeted advertising and content in this context. The legal basis for the processing of your data in this context is Article 6 (1) sentence 1 lit. a GDPR and requires your consent to non-essential cookies used for communication and marketing purposes. You can update or revoke your consent at any time by clicking on “Manage cookies” in the footer of the page.
On this website we use a Consent Management Platform ("CMP") developed by Springer Nature to provide information about the cookies and other tracking technology used on our website and to manage user preferences on that behalf.
Our CMP places the following cookie on your computer: - sncc
This allows us to identify if the cookie banner is displayed, which choices you made and how to act upon those choices (Opt-in or Opt-out of cookie categories). This cookie is necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. This is usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
You can set your browser to block non-essential cookies, but some parts of the site may then not perform as designed. Click on the “Your Privacy Choices/Manage cookies” link in the footer of the page to review and change your current settings.
Our CMP will also automatically collect additional information about you which will contain personal data only in limited cases and which is automatically recognised by our server (as per Section III, above). It is used to collect broad demographic information based on your IP address for anonymised, aggregated use. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest in optimising our service by monitoring the effectiveness of our CMP, Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR.
For statistical analyses we use web analytics services such as Google Analytics, collect information about the use of this site.
We use the information we get from the providers to determine the most useful information you are looking for, and to improve and optimise this website.
We will track your behaviour online for the purposes described above; this data will not be shared outside of Springer Nature. You can stop this tracking by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices/Manage cookies” link in the footer of the page. The legal basis for this processing via Google Analytics is consent, Art. 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit.a GDPR, to analyse our website’s traffic, improve the user’s experience and optimise the website in general.
We will track your behaviour online for the purposes described above; this data will not be shared outside of Springer Nature. You can stop this tracking by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices/Manage cookies” link in the footer of the page. The legal basis for this processing via Google Analytics is consent, Art. 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit.a GDPR, to analyse our website’s traffic, improve the user’s experience and optimise the website in general.
Depending on the provider the information generated about your use of the website may be transferred to and processed in third countries, e.g. the United States. For further information about the potential risks of a cross border data transfer please refer to section XI. The tools collect only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit this site, rather than your name or any other identifying information. The provider will use this information in order to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activities and to provide other services relating to website and internet use to us.
We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”). The cookie set by Google Analytics on your device causes your web browser to transmit corresponding information to Google each time our website is called up. For example, Google Analytics collects data about the website from which a data subject has accessed a website (so-called referrer URL), which subpages of the website have been accessed or how often and for how long a subpage has been viewed. On our behalf Google will use the information generated by the cookie for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet activity in connection with the use of the website and according to your consent preferences. The processing affects the following data categories:
We use the addition "_gat._anonymizeIp" for web analysis via Google Analytics. By means of this add-on, your IP address is shortened and anonymized by Google before transmission to the USA if our website is accessed from a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there.
The legal basis for the data transfer is Art. 28 GDPR in conjunction with the data processing agreement. The transfer of your personal data is subject to your consent according to Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. a GDPR. You can consent to the processing of your data by Google Analytics using our Consent Manager, prevent the collection of your data or revoke consent once given. For revocation, call up the cookie settings again at the bottom of our website.
The information processed by Google about your use of this website may be transmitted to a Google server outside the EEA and processed there. The cross-border transfer is safeguarded by the Standard Contractual Clauses 2021. Your personal data will be anonymized by Google 14 months after your last activity, unless there is a legal obligation to retain it.
You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser or by amending your preferences. In addition to that you may prevent the collection of the information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including you IP address) and the processing of this data by Google if you download and install the browser plug-in available at the following link:http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. You can access the Google Analytics privacy policy here
In addition to the above, we use historic pseudonymised Google Analytics data to recommend content to you based on your website activity, particularly suggesting articles that may be of interest. We work with Faculty AI, Level 6, 160 Old Street, London, EC1V 9BW, UK, who act as a data processor on our behalf in this activity, a data processing agreement is in place to support this. The data transfer to Faculty AI in the UK is secured by the adequacy decision of the EU Commission. Faculty AI are an AI service delivery company, find out more about Faculty AI here. The legal basis to process your data in this instance is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR, our legitimate interest to improve and increase the use of our website as well as your interest in discovering content that is relevant to you.
This website may contain links to third party websites. We are not responsible for the content and the data collection on respective third party websites; please check the privacy policy of respective websites for information of respective websites’ data processing activities.
Where personal data is disclosed to third parties for the purposes mentioned above the legal basis for the transfer of your personal data is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. b and f GDPR. Some of the recipients may reside outside the EEA. For further information about cross border transfer in general and transfers outside of the EEA see section on Cross border data transfers.
We may disclose your personal data to contractors who assist us in providing the services we offer through the website. Such a transfer will be based on data processing agreements (Art. 28 GDPR). Therefore, our contractors will only use your personal data to the extent necessary to perform their functions and will be contractually bound to process your personal data only on our behalf and in compliance with our requests. In the event that we undergo re-organisation or are sold to a third party, any personal data we hold about you may be transferred to that re-organised entity or third party in compliance with applicable law.
We may disclose your personal data if legally entitled or required to do so (for example if required by law or by a court order). The legal basis for this will be Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. c GDPR (in conjunction with the respective national law).
We may disclose anonymous aggregate statistics about users of the website in order to describe our services to prospective partners, advertisers and other reputable third parties and for other lawful purposes, but these statistics will include no personal data. We also supply standardized usage reports to institutional customers, also known as Counter Reports. For more information on Counter Reports - https://www.projectcounter.org/code-of-practice-sections/usage-reports/
When you access portfolio content, we will process your personal data to create usage reports. This will include your full text HTML and PDF downloads, your IP address and potentially your email address. This data is necessary for the usage report as it provides information on the usage and overall interest in a particular topic.
The legal basis is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR. We have a legitimate interest to assess and evaluate the use of our content to be able to improve our services. We will retain this data securely for ongoing internal analysis and future reference.
We may share the usage data with licensee under whose license you are accessing and using our services, (e.g. your employer, the institution you are a member to, your university etc. “Licensee”). The legal basis is Article 6 sec. 1 sent. 1 lit. f GDPR. The Licensee has a legitimate interest in using the usage data to assess and evaluate the economic efficiency of its license for our content. Based on this evaluation, the Licensee will be able to determine e.g. the necessity to obtain more licenses or reduce the number of licenses or to allocate costs internally. Further, the usage data may allow the Licensee to request contributions or funding. The Licensee is contractually limited to using the usage data for no other purposes than these economic efficiency assessment purposes.
In addition, we ourselves have a legitimate interest in enabling the Licensee to use the usage data to conduct respective evaluation and assessments is also in our interest as it makes our service more attractive for the Licensees.
If the Licensee resides outside the EEA, the transfer is safeguarded by a Commission’s adequacy decision such as EU Standard Contractual Clauses. You can find further information about the aforementioned safeguards by contacting onlineservice@springernature.com
You may object to the transfer of the usage data to the Licensee at any time without reason by sending an email to onlineservice@springernature.com.
Within the scope of our information sharing activities set out above, your personal data may be transferred to other countries (including countries outside the EEA) which may have different data protection standards from your country of residence. Please note that data processed in a foreign country may be subject to foreign laws and accessible to foreign governments, courts, law enforcement, and regulatory agencies. However, we will endeavour to take reasonable measures to maintain an adequate level of data protection when sharing your personal data with such countries.
In the case of a transfer outside of the EEA, this transfer is safeguarded by EU Model Clauses in accordance with Article 46 GDPR. You can find further information about the aforementioned safeguards by following this link https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection_en or contact our Group Data Protection Officer via dataprotection@springernature.com for specific information on respective safeguards.
We have reasonable state of the art security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of personal data under our control. For example, our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary and only authorised personnel have access to personal data. Whilst we cannot ensure or guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration of information will never occur, we use all reasonable efforts to prevent it.
You should bear in mind that submission of information over the internet is never entirely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of information you submit via our website whilst it is in transit over the internet and any such submission is at your own risk.
We strive to keep our processing activities with respect to your personal data as limited as possible. In the absence of specific retention periods set out in this policy, your personal data will be retained only for as long as we need it to fulfil the purpose for which we have collected it and, if applicable, as long as required by statutory retention requirements.
Under the legislation applicable to you, you may be entitled to exercise some or all of the following rights:
You may (i) exercise the rights referred to above or (ii) pose any questions or (iii) make any complaints regarding our data processing by contacting us using the contact details set out below.
Please submit any questions, concerns or comments you have about this privacy policy or any requests concerning your personal data by email to our Group Data Protection Officer. You can contact our Group Data Protection Officer via dataprotection@springernature.com
The information you provide when contacting us at customerservice@springernature.com will be processed to handle your request and will be erased when your request is completed. Alternatively, we will restrict the processing of the respective information in accordance with statutory retention requirements.
We reserve the right to change this policy from time to time by updating our website respectively. Please visit the website regularly and check our respective current privacy policy.