Last updated: May 10th, 2026
What information is collected?
When collecting publication metadata from publicly accessible sources such as but not limited to Crossref, public research repositories, and publication landing pages or fulltexts, Kaukotieto may collect the following published data about you: name; title; affiliation with organization, unit, project and funding entities and items; Orcid identifier and other publicly available relevant identifiers such as but not limited to those from Google Scholar, LinkedIn, Scopus, Web of Science, Converis, Pure, SoleCris and Dimensions; and email address.
If you choose to communicate with Kaukotieto via the contact form or other means of communication, Kaukotieto may collect the information you provide, such as your name, email address, phone number, LinkedIn profile, and your message.
Kaukotieto does not collect or process any sensitive data. Kaukotieto does not engage in automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals (GDPR 22). Kaukotieto does not set tracking or analytics cookies on your browser, but strictly necessary technical cookies may be set to provide functionality and security.
How is the information used?
The information is used to provide metadata about publications to Kaukotieto's customers. The customers are universities and other research organizations, research funders, government agencies involved in research and innovation, and organizations providing services to the research sector.
Your email address collected from public sources is not used for unsolicited emailing, but only to link the publication metadata to you, and by extension to your current affiliation organization.
The information you submit when contacting Kaukotieto is used solely to respond to your inquiry, to maintain records of incoming interest for services, and to follow up on the services you request to be informed about.
Kaukotieto does not sell, rent, or share your information with any third parties.
Data retention
Information collected from publicly available sources is stored securely on private, two-factor authentication-controlled servers controlled by Kaukotieto and located inside EU, for as long as it is relevant for services Kaukotieto provides to its customers. If Kaukotieto ceases to provide these services, the information will be deleted or anonymized.
Personal data will not leave the EU. Kaukotieto does not use any third-party services that would transfer your data outside the EU.
Information sent by you to us is stored securely on private, two-factor authentication-controlled servers controlled by Kaukotieto and located inside EU. Inquiries and related data are deleted within six (6) years of the last contact, or sooner upon request, except where retention is required by law (e.g., the Finnish Accounting Act).
Legal basis
Processing is based on Kaukotieto’s legitimate interest in providing metadata about publications to its customers, as well as in responding to business inquiries. Kaukotieto's Legitimate Interest Assessment document is available upon request.
Notifying each author personally about this use of publicly available information would be disproportionate (GDPR 14(5)(b)) and would just add to the amount of unsolicited email scholars receive every day. Therefore this public Privacy Policy is where we notify you about the processing of your information.
Your rights
You have the right under GDPR 21 to object to processing of your information at any time, and you can exercise this right by contacting Kaukotieto via email at info@kaukotieto.com. We will cease processing your information as soon as possible, unless compelling legal requirements prevent us from doing so.
You also have the right to access, correct, restrict use, or delete your information, by contacting Kaukotieto via email. If you have given consent to process your data previously, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. You have the right to be informed, through this privacy policy, about the processing of your information. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, The Finnish Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman (https://tietosuoja.fi/en/home).
Changes to this policy
Kaukotieto may update this privacy policy from time to time. Changes to this privacy policy are effective from the "last updated" date indicated at the top of this policy.
Controller
The controller of data is Kaukotieto Ltd, a company registered in Finland.
Company ID: 3583157-6
Email: info@kaukotieto.com
Address: Kaukotieto Ltd, Janakantie 21, 40800 Vaajakoski, Finland.