Privacy Policy

Marginalia (readmarginalia.com) is operated by 4xxi Software Ltd. (“we”, “us”, “our”). For the purposes of UK data protection law, we are the data controller.

Contact: [email protected]

Marginalia is a platform that displays curated collections and digests of scientific and academic articles. We use content from publicly available academic databases for scientific and educational purposes, presenting it in structured, expert-annotated formats.

We collect minimal data.

Account data. When you register for an account, we collect your name and email address. This is used for authentication, account management, and to deliver newsletter emails if you subscribe to updates.

Subscription preferences. If you subscribe to newsletter updates, we store your subscription preferences (topics and collections you follow). You can unsubscribe at any time using the links in every newsletter email or by managing your subscriptions on the Website.

Server logs. When you visit Marginalia, our hosting provider automatically collects standard server log data. This may include your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and timestamps. This data is collected for security, performance monitoring, and error diagnosis. Server logs are retained for up to one year.

Strictly necessary cookies. We use only cookies that are essential for the website to function (e.g., session management, security tokens). We do not use marketing cookies, advertising cookies, analytics cookies, or any third-party tracking cookies.

Voluntary correspondence. If you contact us by email, we will process the personal data you provide (such as your name and email address) for the purpose of responding to your enquiry.

We process personal data on the following lawful bases under UK GDPR:

• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): server logs for website security and performance.
• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)): if you voluntarily contact us, your correspondence is processed on the basis of your consent to communicate with us.
• Contract performance (Article 6(1)(b)): delivering newsletter emails to you based on your subscription preferences.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

If you subscribe to newsletter updates, we use Resend (a US-based email delivery service) to send newsletter emails to your registered email address. Your email address and name are shared with Resend solely for the purpose of delivering these emails.

Resend processes your data as a data processor on our behalf. We do not use Resend's marketing or audience features. Each email is sent individually as a transactional message based on your explicit subscription.

Every newsletter email contains unsubscribe links. You may unsubscribe from individual topics or collections, or from all emails at once. Unsubscription is immediate and does not require authentication.

Marginalia uses artificial intelligence, specifically Large Language Models, as part of its editorial and content workflow. AI tools are used for:

• Monitoring and filtering scientific manuscripts from public databases.
• Generating summaries, data extractions, and assessments of scientific articles.
• Assisting with content preparation for collections and digests.

Some content published on the Website may be AI-generated or AI-assisted. Where possible, AI-generated content is reviewed by human expert curators, but this is not guaranteed for all content.

Where open access PDF files are available, we may download and extract text content to assist with automated annotation. Extracted text is sent to our AI provider for analysis.

AI is also used in automated filtering to determine which articles are selected or rejected for inclusion. This automated processing applies to publicly available bibliographic data and does not involve personal data of Website visitors.

We use third-party AI services, currently OpenAI (a US-based company), to process article metadata and generate content. Data sent to AI providers is limited to publicly available information such as titles, abstracts, and DOIs. No personal data of Website visitors is sent to AI providers.

Article metadata displayed on Marginalia (such as titles, authors, abstracts, publication dates, and DOIs) is sourced from publicly available academic databases and APIs, including but not limited to:

• NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
• OpenAlex
• arXiv
• CrossRef (for DOI lookups)
• Unpaywall (for open access PDF discovery)

We use this content for academic and scientific purposes to display structured collections and digests. We do not host or redistribute full-text articles unless they are published under open access licences.

Our website is hosted on infrastructure that may process data outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area. Where this occurs, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK GDPR requirements.

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectify inaccurate personal data.
• Erase your personal data (“right to be forgotten”).
• Restrict processing of your personal data.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Data portability where applicable.
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within one month.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Marginalia is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “last modified” date.

For any privacy-related questions or requests:

Email: [email protected]