N‑World Academic Publishing Agency ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and personal data. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, process, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you use our website, services, and platform. By accessing or using our services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy.

Data Controller: N‑World Academic Publishing Agency, located at Hatigaon, 781038, Guwahati, Assam, India, is the data controller responsible for your personal information.

Effective Date: This Privacy Policy is effective as of January 21, 2026, and applies to all information collected by us or provided to us on or after this date.

1.1 Personal Identification Information: When you create an account, register for our services, or contact us, we collect personal information that can identify you, including:

• Full name and title
• Email address (primary and alternative if provided)
• Phone number (including WhatsApp number if provided)
• Mailing address (country, city, postal code, street address)
• Office address (if provided)
• Account credentials (username, password - stored in encrypted form)
• Profile photograph or avatar (if uploaded)

1.2 Academic and Professional Information: To provide specialized academic publishing services, we collect professional and academic information, including:

• Institution or organization name
• Department or division
• Academic title or position (e.g., Professor, Researcher, PhD Student)
• Designation or job title
• Research area and specialization
• ORCID ID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID)
• Google Scholar profile URL
• ResearchGate profile URL
• LinkedIn profile URL
• Previous publications and academic achievements
• Research interests and expertise areas

1.3 Financial and Payment Information: When you make payments for our services, we collect payment-related information:

• Payment method preferences
• Billing address
• Transaction history and payment records
• Currency preferences
• Payment gateway transaction IDs (processed securely through third-party payment processors)
• Note: We do not store full credit card numbers or sensitive payment credentials. All payment processing is handled by secure, PCI-compliant payment gateways (e.g., Razorpay).

1.4 Manuscript and Research Content: When you submit manuscripts, research papers, or documents for our services, we collect:

• Manuscripts, research papers, articles, and academic documents
• Supporting files, figures, tables, and supplementary materials
• Author information and co-author details
• Research data and datasets (if provided)
• Publication preferences and journal selection information
• Formatting requirements and style preferences

1.5 Service Usage and Transaction Information: We collect information about your use of our services, including:

• Order history and service requests
• Service preferences and selections
• Communication records (emails, support tickets, chat logs, phone call records)
• Feedback, reviews, testimonials, and ratings
• Publication status and timeline information
• Document versions and revision history
• Service delivery confirmations and completion records

1.6 Technical and Usage Data: We automatically collect technical information when you interact with our platform:

• IP address and geolocation data
• Browser type, version, and settings
• Device information (type, operating system, screen resolution)
• Pages visited, time spent, click patterns, and navigation paths
• Search queries and filters used
• Referral sources and entry points
• Log files, error reports, crash data, and performance metrics
• Cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, and similar tracking technologies
• Session information and authentication tokens

1.7 Information from Third Parties: We may receive information about you from third-party sources, including:

• Social media platforms (if you connect your account)
• Payment processors (transaction confirmations)
• Journal publishers and indexing databases (publication status)
• Academic databases (for verification purposes)
• Publicly available academic and professional information

We process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:

2.1 Contractual Necessity: We process your information to perform our contract with you, including processing orders, delivering services, managing your account, and communicating about your services.

2.2 Legitimate Interests: We process information for our legitimate business interests, such as improving our services, preventing fraud, ensuring security, conducting analytics, and marketing our services (where permitted by law).

2.3 Consent: We process certain information based on your explicit consent, such as marketing communications, optional profile information, and sharing data with specific third parties. You may withdraw consent at any time.

2.4 Legal Obligations: We process information to comply with legal obligations, such as tax requirements, regulatory compliance, responding to legal requests, and maintaining records as required by law.

2.5 Vital Interests: In rare circumstances, we may process information to protect your or another person's vital interests, such as in emergency situations.

3.1 Service Provision and Fulfillment: We use your information to:

• Process, fulfill, and deliver your orders for publication and academic services
• Provide editing, proofreading, formatting, and peer review services
• Submit manuscripts to journals and manage the publication process
• Conduct plagiarism checking and similarity analysis
• Provide thesis writing, book writing, and other writing assistance services
• Handle patent and copyright filing services
• Manage publication timelines, deadlines, and delivery schedules
• Generate invoices, receipts, and transaction records

3.2 Account Management and Authentication: We use your data to:

• Create, maintain, and manage your user account
• Authenticate your identity and secure access to your account
• Verify your email address and phone number
• Reset passwords and recover accounts
• Maintain your profile information and preferences
• Provide personalized service recommendations based on your profile
• Track your order history and service usage

3.3 Communication: We use your contact information to:

• Send order confirmations, updates, and status notifications
• Deliver completed services and deliverables
• Respond to your inquiries, support requests, and feedback
• Provide customer support and technical assistance
• Send important service announcements, policy updates, and security alerts
• Share information about new services, features, or opportunities (with your consent)
• Send newsletters, promotional materials, and marketing communications (with your consent)
• Conduct surveys and collect feedback to improve our services

3.4 Payment Processing: We use payment information to:

• Process payments for services through secure payment gateways
• Verify payment transactions and prevent fraud
• Handle refunds, cancellations, and payment disputes
• Maintain financial records and comply with accounting requirements
• Calculate taxes and fees as applicable

3.5 Quality Assurance and Service Improvement: We use your information to:

• Monitor and improve service quality and user experience
• Conduct internal research and analytics (using anonymized data where possible)
• Develop new features, services, and functionality
• Train our staff and improve service delivery processes
• Analyze usage patterns to optimize platform performance
• Test new features and conduct A/B testing

3.6 Legal Compliance and Protection: We use your information to:

• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal obligations
• Respond to legal processes, court orders, and government requests
• Enforce our Terms and Conditions, Copyright Agreement, and other policies
• Protect our rights, property, and business interests
• Protect the safety, rights, and property of our users and third parties
• Prevent, detect, and investigate fraud, abuse, security threats, and unauthorized access
• Comply with tax, accounting, and financial reporting requirements
• Maintain records as required by law or professional standards

3.7 Academic and Publication Services: We use manuscript and research information to:

• Process and review submitted manuscripts
• Coordinate with journal editors and editorial boards
• Facilitate peer review processes (maintaining anonymity when required)
• Submit manuscripts to journals and publishing platforms
• Track publication status and indexing information
• Maintain publication records and academic history
• Provide DOI assignment and citation management services

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

4.1 Service Providers and Business Partners: We share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our platform and delivering services:

• Payment Processors: We share payment information with secure, PCI-compliant payment gateways (e.g., Razorpay, Stripe) to process transactions. These processors have their own privacy policies governing the use of your payment information.
• Cloud Storage and Hosting: We use cloud services (e.g., Supabase, AWS, Vercel) to store and manage your data securely. These providers implement industry-standard security measures.
• Email and Communication Services: We use SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to send transactional and marketing emails directly through email servers. Email content is processed for delivery purposes.
• Analytics and Monitoring: We may use analytics services (e.g., Google Analytics, Sentry) to understand website usage, monitor performance, and identify errors. These services process anonymized or aggregated data.
• Customer Support Tools: We may use customer support platforms to manage inquiries and provide assistance.

All service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify. They are prohibited from using your information for their own purposes.

4.2 Publication Partners and Academic Institutions: When you submit manuscripts for publication, we share necessary information with:

• Journal editors, editorial boards, and editorial staff
• Peer reviewers (manuscripts are shared in anonymized form when double-blind review is required)
• Publishing platforms and journal management systems
• Indexing databases (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, Embase) for indexing purposes
• DOI registration agencies for Digital Object Identifier assignment
• Academic databases and repositories (as required for publication)

4.3 Legal and Regulatory Requirements: We may disclose your information if required or permitted by law, including:

• In response to valid legal processes (subpoenas, court orders, search warrants)
• To comply with applicable laws, regulations, or government requests
• To enforce our Terms and Conditions, Copyright Agreement, or other agreements
• To protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users or others
• To prevent or investigate fraud, security breaches, or other illegal activities
• In connection with legal proceedings or potential legal claims
• To comply with tax, accounting, or financial reporting obligations

4.4 Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity or successor organization. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

4.5 With Your Explicit Consent: We may share your information with third parties when you explicitly consent to such sharing, such as:

• Sharing testimonials or reviews publicly (with your permission)
• Participating in research studies or surveys
• Connecting your account with third-party services
• Other specific sharing arrangements you authorize

4.6 Aggregated and Anonymized Data: We may share aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you. This information may be used for research, analytics, or business purposes.

5.1 Security Measures: We implement comprehensive technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction:

• Encryption: We use industry-standard encryption (TLS/SSL) for data in transit and encryption at rest for sensitive data stored in our databases
• Access Controls: We implement role-based access controls, authentication mechanisms, and authorization procedures to limit access to personal information to authorized personnel only
• Secure Infrastructure: Our servers and databases are hosted on secure, monitored cloud infrastructure with regular security updates and patches
• Payment Security: All payment processing is handled through PCI-DSS compliant payment gateways. We do not store full credit card numbers or sensitive payment credentials
• Regular Security Audits: We conduct regular security assessments, vulnerability scans, and penetration testing to identify and address security weaknesses
• Employee Training: Our staff receive regular training on data protection, privacy, and security best practices
• Incident Response: We have procedures in place to detect, respond to, and recover from security incidents
• Backup and Recovery: We maintain regular backups of data and have disaster recovery procedures to ensure data availability and integrity

5.2 Data Retention: We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law:

• Account Information: Retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period after account closure to comply with legal obligations
• Transaction Records: Retained for at least 7 years to comply with tax, accounting, and financial reporting requirements
• Manuscripts and Research Content: Retained for the duration necessary to provide services and maintain publication records, typically for the lifetime of the publication plus additional years as required by academic standards
• Communication Records: Retained for customer support and legal purposes, typically for 3-5 years
• Marketing Data: Retained until you withdraw consent or opt-out, after which we will stop using it for marketing purposes
• Legal Requirements: Some information may be retained longer if required by law, regulation, or professional standards

When we no longer need your personal information, we will securely delete or anonymize it, except where we are required to retain it for legal, regulatory, or legitimate business purposes.

5.3 Data Breach Notification: In the unlikely event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will:

• Notify affected users without undue delay (typically within 72 hours of becoming aware)
• Notify relevant data protection authorities as required by applicable law
• Provide information about the nature of the breach, potential consequences, and measures taken to address it
• Take immediate steps to contain and remediate the breach

5.4 Your Role in Security: You also play an important role in protecting your information:

• Use a strong, unique password for your account
• Do not share your account credentials with others
• Log out of your account when using shared devices
• Notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access to your account
• Keep your contact information up to date so we can reach you about security matters

Depending on your location and applicable data protection laws (such as GDPR, CCPA, or other regional laws), you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

6.1 Right of Access: You have the right to request access to your personal information and receive a copy of the data we hold about you, including information about how we use it and who we share it with.

6.2 Right to Rectification: You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information. You can update much of your information through your account settings, or contact us for assistance.

6.3 Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You have the right to request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances, such as when:

• The data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected
• You withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing
• You object to processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds
• The data has been unlawfully processed

Note: We may be required to retain certain information for legal, regulatory, or contractual reasons, such as transaction records for tax purposes or published manuscripts for academic integrity.

6.4 Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to transmit that data to another controller where technically feasible.

6.5 Right to Object: You have the right to object to processing of your personal information based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests.

6.6 Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, such as when you contest the accuracy of data or object to processing.

6.7 Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

6.8 Right to Opt-Out of Sale (CCPA): If you are a California resident, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information. We do not sell your personal information.

6.9 Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

6.10 How to Exercise Your Rights: To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at legal@nwapaofficial.com with "Privacy Request" in the subject line. Please include:

• Your full name and email address associated with your account
• A clear description of the right you wish to exercise
• Any additional information that may help us process your request

We will respond to your request within 30 days (or as required by applicable law). We may request additional information to verify your identity before processing your request. If we cannot fulfill your request, we will explain why.

6.11 Right to Lodge a Complaint: If you believe we have not adequately addressed your privacy concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority or supervisory authority.

7.1 What Are Cookies: Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit our website. They help us provide, protect, and improve our services.

7.2 Types of Cookies We Use:

• Essential Cookies: Required for the website to function properly. These include authentication cookies, security cookies, and cookies that remember your preferences. These cannot be disabled.
• Functional Cookies: Enhance functionality and personalization, such as remembering your language preferences, currency selection, and display settings.
• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. This helps us improve our website and services.
• Performance Cookies: Collect information about how you use our website to help us improve performance and user experience.
• Marketing Cookies: Used to track visitors across websites to display relevant advertisements. These are only used with your consent.

7.3 Cookie Duration:

• Session Cookies: Temporary cookies that are deleted when you close your browser. These are used to maintain your session while using our website.
• Persistent Cookies: Remain on your device for a set period (e.g., 30 days, 1 year) or until you delete them. These remember your preferences and settings.

7.4 Managing Cookies: You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:

• View and delete cookies
• Block cookies from specific sites
• Block all cookies
• Delete all cookies when you close your browser

However, disabling cookies may limit your ability to use certain features of our platform, such as staying logged in or maintaining your preferences.

7.5 Third-Party Cookies: Some cookies are placed by third-party services we use (e.g., analytics providers, payment processors). These third parties have their own privacy policies governing the use of cookies.

7.6 Do Not Track Signals: Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature that signals websites you visit that you do not want to have your online activity tracked. Currently, there is no standard for how DNT signals should be interpreted. We do not currently respond to DNT signals.

Your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws than your country.

8.1 Transfer Safeguards: When we transfer your information internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws, including:

• Standard contractual clauses approved by data protection authorities (e.g., EU Standard Contractual Clauses)
• Adequacy decisions recognizing that certain countries provide adequate data protection
• Binding corporate rules or other legally recognized transfer mechanisms
• Certification schemes and codes of conduct

8.2 Service Provider Locations: Our service providers may be located in various countries. We ensure all service providers are contractually bound to protect your information to the same standards as required by applicable data protection laws.

8.3 Your Consent: By using our services, you consent to the transfer of your information to countries outside your country of residence, subject to the safeguards described above.

Our services are intended for researchers, academics, and professionals who are at least 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 years of age.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18 without parental consent, we will take steps to delete such information promptly.

If you are between 13 and 18 years of age, you may use our services only with the consent and supervision of a parent or guardian.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, journals, publishing platforms, or services that are not operated by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of these external sites.

When you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's website. We strongly encourage you to review the privacy policy of every site you visit.

Our inclusion of links to third-party sites does not imply endorsement of their privacy practices or content. Your interactions with third-party sites are governed by their privacy policies, not this Privacy Policy.

11.1 Opt-In: We will only send you marketing communications (such as newsletters, promotional emails, or service updates) if you have opted in to receive them or if we have another legal basis for doing so.

11.2 Opt-Out: You can opt-out of receiving marketing communications at any time by:

• Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email
• Updating your communication preferences in your account settings
• Contacting us at legal@nwapaofficial.com

11.3 Transactional Communications: Even if you opt-out of marketing communications, we may still send you transactional or service-related communications, such as:

• Order confirmations and updates
• Service delivery notifications
• Account security alerts
• Important policy updates
• Responses to your inquiries

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of significant changes by:

• Posting the updated policy on our website with a new "Last updated" date
• Sending an email notification to registered users (for material changes)
• Displaying a prominent notice on our platform

The "Last updated" date at the bottom of this page indicates when the policy was last revised. Your continued use of our services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information. If you do not agree with any changes, you may close your account or discontinue use of our services.