Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

1. Controller

The party responsible for the processing of personal data on this website within the meaning of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other data protection regulations is:

no fluff
Dr. Julian Börger
Dr. Jannik Nitz
Klosterstr. 79b, 50931 Cologne, Germany
E-mail: contact@disie.online

A data protection officer is not legally required and has not been appointed.

2. Categories of personal data we process

Operating the DISIE platform (www.disie.online and review.disie.online) involves the following categories of personal data:

• Server log files (IP address, user agent, timestamp, requested resource)
• User accounts on the submission and review platform (name, e-mail, optionally ORCID iD, affiliation)
• Manuscript submissions including files, metadata, and correspondence
• Review reports, comments, and editorial decisions
• Publication metadata (author names, affiliations, DOI, publication date)
• Pseudonymous access statistics via Matomo
• Billing data where an Article Processing Charge (APC) applies
• Newsletter subscriptions (e-mail address, optionally name)

3. Hosting and server log files

The platform is hosted on servers operated by IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Straße 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany. A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is in place with the hosting provider.

Each request to a page generates technically necessary log data: IP address, date and time of access, browser, operating system, requested URL, and referrer. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in secure and stable operation). Logs are deleted or sufficiently shortened after 7 days at the latest unless security-relevant incidents require longer retention.

4. Cookies and similar technologies

DISIE uses only technically necessary cookies and session storage required to operate the platform: login session, CSRF protection for forms, and language preference. These are deleted at the end of the session or after a short retention period. Legal basis: § 25 (2) (2) TDDDG (German implementation of the ePrivacy directive) and Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. We do not use advertising, tracking, or cross-site profiling cookies; consent via a cookie banner is therefore not required.

5. Web analytics with Matomo

We use Matomo, an open-source analytics tool, on a self-hosted instance at stats.no-fluff.de in Germany (IONOS infrastructure). The configuration is privacy-preserving:

• IP addresses are truncated before storage (anonymisation)
• No tracking cookies are set
• The Do-Not-Track setting of your browser is respected; matching requests are not recorded
• Data is not shared with third parties; everything stays on our own infrastructure

Purpose: anonymous reach measurement and improvement of the service. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest). Anonymous statistics are deleted or aggregated after 24 months.

6. User accounts on the submission and review platform

A user account is required to submit a manuscript or to participate in the review process on review.disie.online. We process: name, e-mail address, optionally ORCID iD, affiliation, academic website, and the time and IP of each login (for account security).

Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of the contract with authors and reviewers) and Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in account security). Retention: for the duration of the contractual relationship; inactive accounts are deleted 5 years after the last activity unless retention obligations from published material apply.

7. Manuscript submissions and peer review

Submitted manuscripts, files, cover letters, and correspondence during peer review are used exclusively for editorial processing.

• Manuscripts are visible to the assigned reviewers and the editor in pseudonymised form.
• DISIE operates a double-anonymous review process: authors and reviewers do not learn each other's identities during the review.
• Subject to the participants' consent, reviews, author responses, and decision letters are published alongside the article as transparent peer review. Consent can be withdrawn at any time; in that case the corresponding documents are not published.

Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of the review process) and, for transparent peer review publication, Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent).

Retention: rejected submissions are deleted 24 months after the decision. Accepted manuscripts are retained permanently in line with scientific archival obligations.

8. Publication and DOI registration

Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, the following data become permanently public:

• Title, abstract, full text (open access)
• Author names, affiliations, optionally ORCID iD
• Keywords, section, publication date, DOI

To register the DOI we transmit these metadata to Crossref (Crossref, 50 Salem Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940, USA), the central authority for issuing and resolving scholarly DOIs. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in permanent citability and discoverability). The transfer to the USA is based on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46 (2) (c) GDPR) and any additional safeguards.

9. ORCID integration

Authors may voluntarily link an ORCID iD to their account. Signing in via ORCID exchanges data with ORCID Inc. (10411 Motor City Drive, Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA). Which fields are transmitted depends on your ORCID privacy settings. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent). The third-country transfer is based on your consent and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

10. E-mail communication

System notifications (account verification, review invitations, status updates, editorial decisions) are sent by our platform through the mail server of our e-mail provider, STRATO GmbH, Otto-Ostrowski-Straße 7, 10249 Berlin, Germany. STRATO also receives and stores e-mails sent to @disie.online addresses. We do not use a separate e-mail dispatch or newsletter service. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of the contract); for the newsletter see section 11.

11. Newsletter

The DISIE newsletter brings new articles, calls for papers, news from the journal, and pointers from the field of digital innovation in special and inclusive education. For it we process your e-mail address, optionally your name, how you joined the list, and the times of sign-up, confirmation and, where applicable, unsubscription.

• Sign-up: You subscribe at www.disie.online/site/newsletter/; the form hands your address to our review platform (review.disie.online), which keeps the list and sends the mails. We first send a confirmation link to the address (double opt-in); nothing else is sent until you click it. Sign-ups that are not confirmed are deleted after 30 days. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent).
• Reviewers and authors: People who review for DISIE or have submitted a manuscript to DISIE also receive the newsletter, using the address they gave us for that purpose. Every issue says why it was sent. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in keeping the journal's reviewers and authors informed about the journal). You can object at any time with effect for the future, by the unsubscribe link or by e-mail.
• Unsubscribing: Every issue has an unsubscribe link, and most mail programs also show an unsubscribe button next to the sender. You can also write to contact@disie.online. After you unsubscribe we keep your address and the time of unsubscription for one purpose only: so that you are not added to the list again. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.

The newsletter is sent through the same mail server as all other DISIE mail (see section 10). We do not use a newsletter service; issues contain no tracking pixels and we do not record whether you open them or click links in them.

12. Recipients and processors

Personal data are shared with the following processors:

• IONOS SE, Montabaur, Germany — hosting, infrastructure for Janeway, the typesetter, and the Matomo instance. A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is in place.
• STRATO GmbH, Berlin, Germany — e-mail: the mailboxes of the @disie.online addresses and the sending of all DISIE mail, including the newsletter.

Transfers to third countries occur only in the context of DOI registration with Crossref (USA) and the optional ORCID integration (USA); see sections 8 and 9.

13. Retention overview

14. Your rights

You have the right to:

• access (Art. 15 GDPR)
• rectification (Art. 16 GDPR)
• erasure (Art. 17 GDPR)
• restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
• data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
• object to processing (Art. 21 GDPR)
• withdraw any consent with effect for the future (Art. 7 (3) GDPR)

Please direct any such request to contact@disie.online.

15. Right to lodge a complaint

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority about the processing of your personal data. The competent authority is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia (LDI NRW), Kavalleriestraße 2-4, 40213 Düsseldorf — www.ldi.nrw.de.

16. Status and changes

This privacy notice was last updated on 9 October 2026. Adjustments may become necessary if we change our service or if the legal framework changes; the current version is always available at https://www.disie.online/site/privacy/.