Policies

  1. Scope
    This Privacy Policy describes how Lingua Trends (hereinafter, the “Journal”), managed by the Institute of Modern Languages of the Technical University of Manabí (UTM), collects, uses, stores, and protects the personal data of authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and users who register or interact with its website and editorial platform.

  2. Applicable legal framework
    The Journal will process personal data in accordance with Ecuadorian legislation in force on personal data protection, in particular the Organic Law on Personal Data Protection (LOPDP), and any other applicable regulations.

  3. Personal data that may be collected
    Depending on the type of interaction with the Journal, the following categories of data may be collected:
    a) Account registration: first and last name(s), username, email address, institutional affiliation, country, roles (author, reviewer, reader), academic identifiers (e.g., ORCID if provided), and notification preferences.
    b) Submission and editorial management: manuscript metadata (title, abstract, keywords), authorship information, uploaded files (manuscript and appendices), editorial statements (originality, conflicts of interest, CRediT contributions, or others), and communications associated with the editorial process.
    c) Peer review: comments, reports/decisions, review files, and communications related to evaluation.
    d) Technical data: IP address, access logs, browsing data, and cookies necessary for the operation and security of the site.

  4. Purposes of processing
    Personal data will be used exclusively for purposes inherent to the Journal, such as:
    a) Managing user registration and access authentication.
    b) Handling submissions, organizing peer review, editorial decisions, revisions, copyediting/layout, and publication.
    c) Maintaining the academic integrity of the editorial process, including communications with authors and reviewers.
    d) Generating internal usage and editorial management statistics, and ensuring the technical operation of the platform.
    e) In the event of publication, disseminating article metadata (e.g., authorship, affiliation, abstract) as an inherent component of scholarly communication.

In line with common practices on UTM editorial platforms, registered names and emails will be used only for the purposes established by the Journal and not for unrelated purposes.

  1. Confidentiality of the editorial process
    The Journal maintains the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and the peer-review process. Review reports, as well as identifying information associated with review, are handled under confidentiality within the framework of the editorial policy.

  2. Lawful bases for processing
    Where applicable, data processing is based on: (i) the data subject’s consent when registering and/or submitting a manuscript; (ii) the necessity to manage the editorial relationship (submission handling and evaluation); and (iii) the legitimate institutional interest in ensuring the quality, traceability, and integrity of editorial processes, in accordance with applicable regulations.

  3. Recipients, processors, and transfers
    Data may be accessible—only when necessary for the purposes described—to:
    a) The Journal’s editorial team and authorized technical support staff.
    b) External reviewers (within the evaluation system and subject to confidentiality rules).
    c) Service providers essential to operating the site (hosting, maintenance, backups).
    d) Indexing, digital preservation, and/or persistent identifier registration services (e.g., DOI), where applicable, limited to the necessary information (primarily publication metadata).

If international data transfers occur due to technological or indexing services, the Journal will seek to apply appropriate safeguards in accordance with applicable regulations.

  1. Retention periods
    a) Account data: retained while the account remains active or as long as needed for legitimate editorial and administrative purposes.
    b) Editorial records (submissions, reviews, decisions): retained as part of the editorial history and for traceability and academic integrity purposes.
    c) Published articles: published content and metadata will remain available indefinitely as part of the scholarly record, unless otherwise required by applicable law.

  2. Data subject rights
    Data subjects may exercise the rights provided under the LOPDP, including access, rectification/updating, erasure, objection, restriction of processing, and any other applicable rights.
    To exercise these rights, users must contact the Journal through the official contact channel published on the website (it is recommended to specify an institutional email address in this section). If a data subject considers that their rights have not been duly addressed, they may обратиться to the competent authority in Ecuador, the Superintendency of Personal Data Protection (SPDP).

  3. Information security
    The Journal applies reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, alteration, misuse, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, activity logging, backups, and security practices in platform administration.

  4. Cookies and similar technologies
    The site may use technical cookies necessary for the operation of the editorial platform (login, security, preferences) and, where applicable, analytics cookies to understand site use and improve the service. Users can manage cookies through their browser settings; however, disabling them may affect the functionality of some sections.

  5. Changes to this policy
    The Journal may update this Privacy Policy to reflect regulatory, technical, or editorial changes. The current version will be the one published on the website, including its corresponding update date.