Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to www.samyrad.com (the "Website"), operated by SAMYRAD ("we," "us," or "our"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our Website or interact with our services, in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA), and the Federal Law on Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties of Mexico (Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares, LFPDPPP) and its Regulations, as applicable.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you disagree with its terms, please discontinue use of the Website.

This Privacy Policy applies to information we collect on the Website. It does not apply to third-party platforms or services you may access through links on our Website, including ConfTool, Stripe, Cvent, and Google. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you use.

This Privacy Policy forms part of a suite of legal documents governing your relationship with SAMYRAD, alongside the Legal Notice (www.samyrad.com/legal-notice), which sets out the terms of use of this Website, and the Terms and Conditions (www.samyrad.com/terms-and-conditions), which govern Conference participation. Participants who register for, submit work to, or attend SAMYRAD 2026 should read all three documents together, as each addresses a distinct aspect of your rights and obligations. Where this Privacy Policy addresses data protection matters that are also referenced in the Terms and Conditions, this Privacy Policy shall be the governing document on those matters.

2. Important Notice Regarding External Platforms (ConfTool)

Our Website serves as an informational portal. We host an external platform via ConfTool for user registration and scientific paper submissions. ConfTool is a separate, third-party service and is not part of our main Website architecture.

When you navigate to ConfTool to register for an event or submit an abstract/paper, your data is processed through their system. We access this data strictly for managing conference logistics, peer review, and registrations. Any personal information you submit through ConfTool is governed exclusively by ConfTool's own privacy policy and terms of service. We are not responsible for the data practices of ConfTool or any other third-party service.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Voluntarily Provide

We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you:

- Subscribe to or opt in to receive our emails or newsletters

- Contact us directly

- Register for or participate in the SAMYRAD Conference through authorized third-party platforms (such as ConfTool)

- Submit an abstract, paper, or other material for review (note: registration and submission are handled exclusively by ConfTool and are not retained by SAMYRAD)

- Act as a peer reviewer, sponsor, or institutional partner

The types of personal information collected may include:

- Identity data: full name, institutional affiliation, job title, professional biography

- Contact data: email address.

- Academic data: submission content, co-author lists, review assignments, and publication history relevant to submissions

- Financial data: payment confirmation records (note: full payment card details are processed exclusively by Stripe and are not retained by SAMYRAD)

- Communications data: email correspondence with SAMYRAD and notifications from Cvent

- Media data: photographs, video, and audio recordings taken at or during Conference activities (see Section 11 of the Conference Terms and Conditions)

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you browse our Website, we may automatically collect certain technical and usage information through cookies and analytics tools, including:

• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Referring URLs
• Date and time of your visit
• Other diagnostic and usage data

This information is collected via Google Analytics (see Section 5) and is used solely to understand how visitors interact with our Website and to improve your experience. We do not directly collect or log personal identifying information through browsing.

3.3 Payment Information

SAMYRAD does not process payments directly through this Website. All Conference registration fees are paid exclusively through official Stripe payment links published at www.samyrad.com/registration. Stripe, Inc. is aPayment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliant third-party payment processor. SAMYRAD does not collect, view, store, or process your payment card details or financial credentials at any point. Stripe processes this information directly and exclusively in accordance with their own privacy policy.

SAMYRAD retains only payment confirmation records (amount paid, date, and registration category) for accounting and registration management purposes.

For more information, please review Stripe's Privacy Policy at: https://stripe.com/privacy 

3.4 Information We Do Not Collect

We do not collect any personal information from you simply by browsing our Website. We do not collect information from children under the age of 13 (see Section 12). We do not display advertisements or use remarketing services for targeted marketing or advertising purposes.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following lawful purposes:

• To operate, maintain, and improve our Website
• To analyze usage patterns and optimize the user experience (via Google Analytics)
• To send you transactional or marketing emails, you have opted into receiving (via ActiveCampaign and Brevo)
• To process payments for our products and services (via Stripe)
• To respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
• To manage event registrations, attendee data, and conference logistics (via Cvent)
• To comply with applicable legal obligations and respond to valid legal requests
• To detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities

We do not show advertisements on our Website, and we do not use remarketing services for targeted marketing or advertising purposes.

5. Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, to collect and analyze information about how visitors use our Website. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect standard internet log information and visitor behavior in an anonymous form.

The information generated by the cookie about your use of the Website is transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google may also transfer this information to third parties when required by law or when such third parties process the information on Google's behalf.

You may opt out of Google Analytics tracking by:

• Installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout 
• Adjusting your cookie preferences through your browser settings
• Enabling "Do Not Track" in your browser settings

For more information on how Google uses your data, please visit: https://policies.google.com/privacy

6. Email Communications - ActiveCampaign & Brevo

We send emails to users using two email service providers:

• ActiveCampaign, LLC (activecampaign.com)
• Brevo SAS, formerly Sendinblue (brevo.com)

You may receive emails from us if you have opted in to our mailing list or in connection with transactions you have undertaken with us. Each marketing email we send will include an unsubscribe link, allowing you to opt out of future communications at any time. You may also contact us directly at info@samyrad.com to be removed from our mailing list.

Please Note: If you opt out of promotional emails, we may still send you necessary transactional or administrative messages (such as payment receipts or critical updates regarding an event you registered for).

These service providers may collect and process data such as your email address, name, open and click rates, and related metadata to facilitate email delivery and measure campaign performance. Both providers act as data processors on our behalf and are bound by contractual data protection obligations.

For more information, please review:

• ActiveCampaign Privacy Policy: https://www.activecampaign.com/legal/privacy-policy 
• Brevo Privacy Policy: https://www.brevo.com/legal/privacypolicy/ 

Please note: participants who provide an email address in connection with Conference registration, paper submission, review assignment, sponsorship, or any other Conference-related activity will be added to the SAMYRAD mailing list and may receive future communications, including announcements of upcoming events, publication opportunities, and partner initiatives. This processing is carried out on the basis of SAMYRAD's legitimate interest in maintaining contact with its academic community. You may withdraw from this mailing list at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting info@samyrad.com. Opting out of promotional communications does not affect the receipt of essential transactional messages related to your registration or submission.

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our Website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies. Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Necessary for the Website to function properly.
• Analytics Cookies: Used by Google Analytics to collect anonymous usage data to help us improve our Website.

You can control cookie settings through your browser. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent. However, disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our Website.

8. Sharing and Disclosure of Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We only share data with trusted third-party service providers who help us operate our Website and deliver services, under strict data protection agreements:

• Google LLC - Website Analytics
• ActiveCampaign, LLC & Brevo - Email Delivery and Marketing Automation
• Stripe, Inc. - Payment Processing
• Cvent - Event Management

We may also disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government regulation.

9. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, this section applies to you. For the purposes of GDPR, SAMYRAD acts as the Data Controller for the information collected via the Website.

9.1 Legal Bases for Processing

We process your personal data only when we have a lawful basis to do so, including:

• Consent: Where you have given us explicit consent (e.g., opting into email communications or agreeing to analytics cookies). You can withdraw this consent at any time.
• Contract: Where processing is necessary to perform a contract with you (e.g., processing a payment).
• Legitimate Interests: Where we have a legitimate interest that is not overridden by your rights (e.g., website analytics to improve our services and maintain security).
• Legal Obligation: Where processing is necessary to comply with applicable law.

9.2 Your Rights Under GDPR

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of Access: The right to obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to receive a copy.
• Right to Rectification: The right to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected.
• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): The right to request deletion of your personal data under certain circumstances.
• Right to Restriction of Processing: The right to request that we limit how we use your personal data.
• Right to Data Portability: The right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Right to Object: The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, the right to withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: The right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority. For participants located in Spain or connected to Conference activities held in Spain, the competent supervisory authority is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) - www.aepd.es. For participants in other EEA member states, complaints may be lodged with the supervisory authority of the member state of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@samyrad.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

Note: SAMYRAD does not maintain or operate an official Facebook Fan Page.

9.3 International Data Transfers

Some third-party platforms used during the registration process, such as ConfTool, Cvent, and Google LLC, are based outside the EEA. When interacting with these platforms directly, participants are subject to their respective privacy policies.

For more information, please review Stripe's Privacy Policy at: https://stripe.com/privacy; ConfTools’s Privacy Policy at: https://www.conftool.net/en/about-conftool/privacy.html, Cvent’s Privacy Policy at: https://www.cvent.com/en/cvent-global-privacy-policy, and Google LLC’s Privacy Policy at: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

9.4 Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, or as required by applicable law. Analytics data is subject to Google Analytics' standard retention settings. Email subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.

10. Mexican Data Protection (LFPDPPP) - Aviso de Privacidad