BRIDGE-AD Explorer
Privacy notice
Last updated: 24 September 2026
This notice explains what personal information is handled when you use BRIDGE-AD Explorer, why it is used, how long it is kept, and the rights available to you.
Who is responsible for the website
harryconvey is the data controller for personal information processed through BRIDGE-AD Explorer. Privacy questions and rights requests can be sent to [email protected].
Information we process
- Website and security information: IP address, browser and device information, requested pages, timestamps, referring page, and security events recorded in server logs.
- Search information: selected genes and analysis settings. These are used to generate results and may be present in the requested URL and associated server logs.
- Country activity: for homepage loads and submitted gene searches, the server estimates a country from the request's IP address or a trusted proxy's country header. It immediately adds one to a count for that country, minute, and activity type. The activity counts do not contain IP addresses, browser identifiers, or gene selections. If the country cannot be determined, the count is recorded as unknown.
- Account information: for users who are given access, the service stores a username, a securely hashed password, permissions, sign-in timestamps, and related authentication records.
- Messages: information you choose to provide when contacting the project team.
Please do not enter names, health records, or other personal or confidential information into the gene search.
Why we use the information
| Purpose | UK GDPR lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Provide searches, visualisations, downloads, and account access. | Our legitimate interests in operating and making the research explorer available. |
| Protect the service, investigate faults, prevent misuse, and maintain availability. | Our legitimate interests in running a secure and reliable service and, where applicable, compliance with legal obligations. |
| Understand aggregate use of the explorer by country and improve the service. | Our legitimate interests in measuring and improving the research explorer. |
| Respond to questions and rights requests. | Our legitimate interests in supporting users and compliance with legal obligations. |
We do not use information from the website for advertising, profiling, or decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
Who receives the information
Information is available only to authorised project personnel and trusted technical suppliers where needed to operate, secure, host, or deliver the website. The page currently obtains software assets from content-delivery providers, which receive normal connection information such as an IP address and browser details. We do not sell personal information.
Some technical suppliers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where UK data-protection law requires it, restricted transfers must be covered by an adequacy decision or appropriate contractual and organisational safeguards. You may ask for more information using the privacy contact above.
How long information is kept
- Generated plots and gene selections are not retained as user profiles by the application. Requests may remain in routine server logs, normally for no more than 30 days, unless needed to investigate a security incident or legal issue.
- Country activity counts are kept in aggregate form for the lifetime of the dashboard. They cannot be used to identify a unique visitor or to connect multiple visits. Older searches recorded before country counting began have no country data.
- Account records are kept while access is authorised and then deleted or anonymised when they are no longer required for security, audit, or legal purposes.
- Authentication sessions expire after up to 14 days. Expired server-side session records are removed during routine maintenance.
- Correspondence is retained only for as long as needed to answer and document the request.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to access, correct, erase, or restrict the use of your personal information, to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to receive certain information in a portable form. You may also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
To exercise a right, use the privacy email above. We may need to verify your identity. The ICO can be contacted through its complaints service.
Cookies and similar technologies
The service uses only strictly necessary cookies for security and authenticated sessions. Country activity is counted on the server from ordinary requests without an analytics cookie or browser storage. Details are in the cookie notice.
Changes to this notice
We will update this page when the service or its processing changes. Material changes will be highlighted on the website and the date above will be revised.