Privacy Policy
GDPR Compliant

1. Who We Are

MeritPeer.com is operated by MeritPeer Ltd, a company providing expert pre-submission peer review and manuscript editing services for academic researchers worldwide.

Data Controller Contact: legal@meritpeer.com

2. Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• • Identity data: First name, last name, academic title, institutional affiliation
• • Contact data: Email address, phone number (optional)
• • Manuscript data: Uploaded files, research content, target journal information
• • Payment data: Billing information (processed by third-party payment processors — we do not store card details)
• • Usage data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, time stamps (anonymised)

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your data to:

• • Deliver the peer review and editing services you requested
• • Match your manuscript with qualified reviewers
• • Send service-related communications (quotes, delivery notifications)
• • Send optional newsletter content (only with explicit consent)
• • Comply with legal obligations
• • Improve platform quality through anonymised analytics

We never sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Manuscript Confidentiality

Your manuscript is your intellectual property. We treat it with the highest level of confidentiality:

• • Every reviewer signs a mandatory NDA before accessing your manuscript
• • Files are encrypted in transit (AES-256 SSL) and at rest
• • Manuscript files are permanently deleted within 15 days of review completion
• • Reviewer identities are never disclosed to authors
• • Your manuscript is never used for AI training, published, or disclosed to third parties

5. Data Retention

We retain different categories of data for different periods:

• • Manuscript files: Deleted within 15 days of delivery
• • Review reports: Retained for 30 days for quality assurance, then deleted
• • Account and billing records: Retained for 7 years as required by UK financial regulations
• • Newsletter subscribers: Until you unsubscribe

6. Your Rights (GDPR)

Under UK and EU GDPR, you have the right to:

• • Access the personal data we hold about you
• • Rectify inaccurate personal data
• • Erase your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• • Object to processing of your personal data
• • Data portability — receive your data in a structured format
• • Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent

To exercise any right, contact: legal@meritpeer.com. We respond within 30 days.

7. Cookies

We use essential cookies only — no advertising or tracking cookies. Essential cookies include session management and security tokens. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, though this may affect site functionality.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy periodically. Material changes will be notified via email to registered users and displayed prominently on this page. Continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact

For privacy-related queries: legal@meritpeer.com
For general inquiries: hello@meritpeer.com