Privacy Policy
Introduction
We are so happy that you have shown an interest in our project, Skopiem. Skopiem ("we", "us", "our") is a science communication platform for school students and moderated by university students. Data protection is of the highest importance for Skopiem, especially as many of our contributors are young people. This policy explains in detail what data we collect through skopiem.org, why we collect it, how we store it, and what rights you have over it.
If you have any questions about this policy, you can contact us at hello@skopiem.org.
Who we are
Skopiem is a student-led science communication platform, founded and run by university students. For the purposes of data protection law, Skopiem (contactable via hello@skopiem.org) is the "controller" of the personal data described in this policy — meaning we decide why and how it's used.
What information we collect
The use of Skopiem is possible without giving any personal data; however, we collect information when you:
Submit an article or idea pitch through our contributor form
Apply to join the university team
Contact us directly by email
Depending on the form, this may include:
Your full name
Your school/university email address
Your teacher/admin contact (under 16)
Your school or university
Your age or year group
The content of your submission or message
Consent confirmation
We use this to review submissions, communicate with you during editing, and consider team applications. We don't share this information with third parties, and we don't use it for any purpose beyond running Skopiem.
You don't have to give us this information, but we won't be able to process your submission or application without it.
We do not knowingly collect more information than we need for the purpose above. We do not collect financial information, and Skopiem does not run a payment or e-commerce service.
If you contact us by email or message via the contact form, you can object to the storage of your personal data at any time by contacting us by email.
Visitor data and cookies
Our website is built using Squarespace. Simply by visiting skopiem.org, some technical information is automatically collected by Squarespace to make the site work correctly, and to provide us with basic analytics (for example, how many people visit the site, and which pages are most popular). This works through small files called cookies, which are stored in your browser.
We do not use cookies for advertising or marketing purposes, and we do not sell any data collected through our site.
When you visit our site, you’ll see a cookie banner where you can manage your preferences.
If you would like to know more about how Squarespace itself processes this data, you can read Squarespace's own Privacy Policy.
Why we collect this information
We use the information above to:
Review and respond to article submissions
Communicate with contributors during the editing process
Consider applications to join the Skopiem team
Understand how our website is used, so we can improve it
Information from younger contributors
Skopiem welcomes contributors aged 11–18. Where a contributor is under 16, it is required confirmation form a teacher or school admin (via their school email) before any work begins on their submissions. We do not proceed until this is received. All contributors, regardless of age, use their school email address to communicate with us, not a personal one.
We do not publish a contributor's full name, contact details, home addresses, or any other personal information beyond a first name, surname initial and year group (e.g. Joe B. Year 10).
Who we share information with
We do not sell or rent personal information to third parties.
Information may be seen by:
Skopiem's student editorial team, for the purpose of reviewing submissions
Skopiem’s operations team, for the purposes of delegating work to the editorial team
Squarespace, as our website hosting provider, who process data on our behalf to run the site
We do not share personal information with advertisers or use it for marketing to third parties.
Data retention policy
We keep contributor submissions and related correspondence for as long as necessary to complete the editing and publication process, and for as long as the article is live on the website after.
If you start the contributor route with us and midway decide you wish to stop the process, we will immediately delete all information we have related to your work.
If you apply to be part of the team, we will keep your application details for as long as you are a member, and 4 months after you finish your work with us.
If your article is not accepted for content or quality reasons (for example, factual accuracy issues or the piece not fitting our scope), we will delete your submission and any related correspondence within 1 month of that decision.
If a submission is not accepted due to a conduct concern, for example, a breach of our Safeguarding Policy, a limited record may be kept for longer, in line with our incident log (see Safeguarding Policy), so that we have an accurate account should a concern arise again or need to be referred to a school.
If you would like your information deleted sooner, you can contact us at hello@skopiem.org.
Social media
To provide up-to-date information and interact with our target audience, we create content for our own social media accounts on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Social media buttons of our social media networks are integrated on our website and lead our pages. The providers of the social platforms whose buttons we have integrated on the website are not operated by us. We are not responsible or liable for compliance with the respective data protection regulations and safe handling of your personal data on these websites operated by third parties.
For more information on each social media networks privacy policies, refer to the links below:
Legal basis for processing
Under UK GDPR, we rely mainly on:
Legitimate interests — to run and improve the Skopiem platform, and to keep it secure.
Consent — where you've actively given us information (e.g. submitting an article or applying to join the team). You can withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
Access the personal data we hold about you
Rectify it if it's inaccurate or incomplete
Erase it ("right to be forgotten")
Restrict how we process it
Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent
Data portability — receive your data in a common, machine-readable format
To exercise any of these rights, contact hello@skopiem.org. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you're unhappy with how we've handled your data.
Data security
We rely on Squarespace's built-in security measures (including SSL encryption) to protect data transmitted through our site. No internet-based system can guarantee absolute security, but we don't collect payment or financial information, which reduces the risk associated with what we do hold.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as Skopiem develops. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.
Review and Ownership
Written and approved by: Emily Dann
Date created: 09/09/2026
Last reviewed: 09/09/2026
Next review due: 09/01/2027