About The SAFE Society

The SAFE Society, Inc. ("SAFE Society", "we", "our", or "us") is an international nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to advancing research, education, innovation, and global collaboration in the fields of Agriculture, Food Security, Sustainable Energy, Environmental Sustainability, and One Health. Through our website, we provide scientific resources, educational content, research publications, professional networking opportunities, membership services, conferences, training programs, and community engagement initiatives. We also publish the SAFE Journal of One Health, support international chapters, and facilitate collaboration among researchers, educators, students, professionals, policymakers, and organizations worldwide.

We are committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of everyone who interacts with our website. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and safeguard your personal information when you visit our website, register as a member, subscribe to newsletters, submit forms, participate in our activities, or otherwise use our services.

By using our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to the collection and use of your information as described herein.

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Data We Collect

The SAFE Society collects personal and non-personal information necessary to operate our website, provide our services, communicate with users, and fulfill our nonprofit mission. The information we collect depends on how you interact with our website and services.

Personal Information

Depending on your interaction with our website, we may collect the following personal information:

• Full name
• Username or account name
• Email address
• Telephone number (if voluntarily provided)
• Organisation, institution, or company affiliation (if provided)
• Professional title or position (if provided)
• Country or region of residence (if provided)
• Mailing address (where applicable)
• Profile information submitted during membership registration
• Information you voluntarily provide through contact forms, membership applications, event registrations, surveys, newsletters, or other online forms

Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Device type
• Operating system
• Language preferences
• Referring website
• Pages visited
• Date and time of access
• Session information
• Cookies and similar technologies (see our Cookie Policy)

Information Collected Through Website Services

To provide and secure our website, certain information may be processed through trusted third-party services that support website functionality, including website security, spam protection, form submissions, email delivery, website performance, and content management. These services process only the information necessary to perform their respective functions in accordance with their applicable privacy policies.

Information You Voluntarily Provide

You may voluntarily provide additional information when you contact SAFE Society, apply for membership, register for conferences or webinars, participate in surveys, submit research or publication materials, volunteer or join regional chapters, or communicate with us through email or online forms. We collect only the information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services, improve user experience, comply with legal obligations, and support the mission and activities of The SAFE Society.

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Membership Registration

The SAFE Society offers membership opportunities to individuals who wish to participate in our scientific community, professional activities, educational programs, publications, conferences, regional chapters, and other organisational initiatives.

When you register for membership or create an account on our website, we may collect and process information necessary to establish, maintain, and administer your membership. This information may include:

• Full name
• Username
• Email address
• Password (stored in encrypted form and never accessible in plain text)
• Organisation or institutional affiliation (if provided)
• Professional title or position (if provided)
• Country or region of residence (if provided)
• Profile information voluntarily submitted by the member
• Membership preferences and communication preferences

Membership information is used to create and manage your member account, authenticate your identity, provide access to member-only resources, communicate updates and announcements, process membership applications and renewals, facilitate participation in SAFE Society programs and activities, and maintain accurate membership records.

Members are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their account credentials. If you believe your account has been accessed without authorisation, please notify us immediately.

You may review, update, or correct your membership information at any time by logging into your account or by contacting us. The SAFE Society does not sell member personal information to third parties.

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Newsletter Subscriptions

The SAFE Society offers newsletters and email communications to keep subscribers informed about scientific publications, research highlights, conferences, workshops, training opportunities, membership updates, events, and other activities related to our mission.

When you subscribe to our newsletter, we may collect your full name (if provided), email address, and subscription preferences. This information is used to deliver newsletters and organisational updates, share announcements about events and publications, and improve the relevance and quality of our communications.

Newsletter subscriptions are entirely voluntary. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link in our emails or by contacting us at info@thesafesociety.com. We do not sell, rent, or trade subscriber information to third parties.

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Contact Forms

Our website provides contact forms that allow visitors, members, researchers, students, partners, volunteers, and other users to communicate with The SAFE Society. When you submit a contact form, we may collect the information you voluntarily provide, including your full name, email address, telephone number (if provided), organisational affiliation (if provided), and the subject and message content.

Information submitted through contact forms is used solely to respond to your inquiry and provide the requested assistance. We retain contact form submissions only as long as necessary to respond to inquiries or comply with applicable legal obligations.

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How We Use Your Information

The SAFE Society uses the personal information we collect for legitimate organisational purposes, including:

• Providing, operating, maintaining, and improving our website and services
• Creating and managing member accounts and providing access to member resources
• Communicating with users regarding membership, publications, events, newsletters, and updates
• Processing membership applications, renewals, and related administrative activities
• Facilitating participation in conferences, webinars, workshops, and other SAFE Society programs
• Supporting journal submissions, peer review, editorial processes, and publication activities
• Maintaining website security and preventing fraud, spam, and unauthorized access
• Analysing website traffic and user behaviour to improve website performance and user experience
• Complying with applicable legal, regulatory, and reporting obligations
• Supporting the mission, programs, and activities of The SAFE Society

We do not use personal information for purposes incompatible with those described in this Privacy Policy without your knowledge or consent, except where required by applicable law.

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Sharing of Personal Information

The SAFE Society does not sell, rent, or trade personal information to third parties. We may share personal information in the following limited circumstances:

• Trusted service providers: We may share personal information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website, delivering services, processing payments, managing email communications, and supporting our organisational activities. These providers are required to handle personal information in accordance with applicable privacy laws and our instructions.
• Legal obligations: We may disclose personal information where required by applicable law, regulation, court order, or governmental authority.
• Protection of rights: We may disclose personal information where necessary to protect the rights, property, safety, or interests of The SAFE Society, our members, or others.
• Organisational changes: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or transfer of substantially all of our assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable legal requirements.

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Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to provide essential website functionality, improve user experience, analyse website traffic, and support website security. Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.

We may use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for the basic functioning of the website, including user authentication, security, and session management.
• Functional cookies: Used to remember your preferences and personalise your experience on our website.
• Analytics cookies: Used to collect information about how visitors use our website, which helps us improve website performance and user experience.
• Security cookies: Used to help protect the website from spam, bots, and malicious activity.

You may manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or through our Cookie Consent Banner or Opt-out Preferences page. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

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Third-Party Services

Our website may use trusted third-party services to support website functionality, security, communications, and analytics. These services may process certain information as necessary to perform their respective functions and are governed by their own privacy policies.

We encourage users to review the privacy policies of any third-party services referenced on our website or used in connection with our services.

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Cloudflare

The SAFE Society uses Cloudflare, Inc. to enhance the performance, availability, and reliability of our website. Cloudflare provides content delivery, website optimisation, traffic management, and security services that help protect our website and its users from malicious activity, unauthorised access, spam, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be processed by Cloudflare in order to deliver website content securely and efficiently. This information may include IP address, browser type and version, device and operating system information, date and time of access, requested web pages and resources, referring website information, security-related event logs, and other technical information necessary to provide website security and performance services.

We also use Cloudflare security technologies, including Cloudflare Turnstile or similar verification mechanisms, to protect our online forms, user accounts, and website from spam, automated submissions, bots, and other malicious activities.

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Google Analytics

The SAFE Society may use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, to better understand how visitors interact with our website and to improve the performance, functionality, accessibility, and user experience of our online services.

If enabled, Google Analytics may collect and process information such as IP address (which may be anonymised where applicable), browser type and version, device type and operating system, language preferences, pages visited and navigation patterns, time spent on pages, date and time of visits, referral sources, approximate geographic location, and website interaction and engagement data.

Where required by applicable law, Google Analytics will only be activated after you have provided your consent through our cookie consent banner. You may withdraw or modify your consent at any time through our Cookie Preferences or Opt-out Preferences page.

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Data Retention

The SAFE Society retains personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, provide our services, comply with legal, regulatory, contractual, accounting, and reporting obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our policies, and protect the security and integrity of our website and organisation.

• Membership Information: Retained for the duration of an active membership and for a reasonable period thereafter to maintain administrative records and respond to legal obligations.
• User Account Information: Retained while an account remains active. Users may request account deletion, subject to applicable legal or administrative requirements.
• Contact Form Submissions: Retained only as long as necessary to respond to inquiries or comply with legal obligations.
• Newsletter Subscription Information: Retained until a subscriber unsubscribes or requests deletion, unless a longer retention period is required by law.
• Journal and Publication Records: Information relating to manuscript submissions, peer review, editorial decisions, and published articles may be retained indefinitely as part of the permanent scholarly record.
• Technical Logs and Security Records: Retained for a limited period as necessary to maintain website security, investigate incidents, prevent fraud or abuse, and comply with legal obligations.
• Cookies: Retained in accordance with their respective expiration periods or until deleted by the user.

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International Visitors

The SAFE Society is an international nonprofit scientific organisation that serves a global community of researchers, educators, students, professionals, policymakers, institutions, and organisations. Individuals who access or interact with our website may be located in different countries and jurisdictions.

By using our website or submitting personal information, you acknowledge that your information may be collected, processed, stored, and transferred in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable laws. Where personal information is transferred across international borders, we strive to ensure that appropriate safeguards are implemented in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

If you are accessing our website from outside the United States, you acknowledge that your personal information may be transferred to, processed, and stored in the United States or other countries where our service providers operate. If you have questions regarding international data transfers, please contact us using the information provided below.

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Children's Privacy

The SAFE Society's website, services, publications, and membership programs are intended primarily for researchers, educators, professionals, university students, policymakers, and institutions. Our website is not directed toward children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age.

If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under the age of 13 without appropriate parental or legal guardian consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete such information as soon as practicable. Parents or legal guardians who believe that their child has provided personal information through our website are encouraged to contact us.

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Security

The SAFE Society is committed to protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the personal information entrusted to us. We implement appropriate administrative, technical, and organisational safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, loss, misuse, or destruction. Our security measures may include:

• SSL/TLS encryption for data transmitted between your browser and our website
• Secure user authentication and encrypted password storage
• Website security and access controls to help prevent unauthorised access
• Spam prevention and automated bot protection for online forms and user accounts
• Website monitoring, logging, and security measures to detect and respond to suspicious activity
• Regular software, plugin, and security updates to maintain website integrity
• Access restrictions to ensure personal information is available only to authorised personnel

While we take reasonable steps to protect personal information, no method of electronic transmission or internet-based communication is completely secure. Users are also responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their account credentials and notifying us promptly if they suspect unauthorised access.

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Your Privacy Rights

The SAFE Society respects your privacy and is committed to providing individuals with reasonable control over their personal information. Subject to applicable legal requirements and verification of your identity, you may have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction or updating of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information
• Request deletion of your personal information where retention is no longer necessary
• Request restriction of the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
• Object to the processing of your personal information where permitted by applicable law
• Request a copy of your personal information in a structured, commonly used format where applicable
• Withdraw your consent at any time where our processing is based on your consent
• Unsubscribe from newsletters and other non-essential communications
• Manage your cookie preferences through our Cookie Consent Banner or Opt-out Preferences page

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information provided in this Privacy Policy. We will respond to privacy-related requests within a reasonable period and in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

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Governing Law

This Privacy Policy and any matters relating to the collection, use, processing, protection, or disclosure of personal information through The SAFE Society website shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Indiana, United States, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

Any disputes arising from or relating to this Privacy Policy or the use of our website shall, to the extent permitted by applicable law, be subject to the jurisdiction of the appropriate state or federal courts located in the State of Indiana. Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit any rights that individuals may have under applicable privacy or data protection laws in their jurisdiction.

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Changes to This Privacy Policy

The SAFE Society reserves the right to update, revise, or modify this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our website, services, organisational activities, legal obligations, or applicable privacy and data protection laws.

When material changes are made, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the end of this Privacy Policy. Where required by applicable law, we may also provide additional notice through our website or by other appropriate means. We encourage users to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed.

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Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the way The SAFE Society collects, uses, processes, or protects your personal information, please contact us:

If your inquiry relates to a specific service such as membership, newsletters, journal submissions, conferences, or technical support, please include relevant details to help us direct your request to the appropriate department.