This Privacy Notice explains how Heavy Metal Index handles personal data when you visit heavymetalindex.com or contact the Paleo Foundation about the site.
Controller
Heavy Metal Index is operated by the Paleo Foundation, Cyprus. Contact routes for privacy, legal, licensing, and editorial inquiries are listed on the contact page.
Summary
Heavy Metal Index is a public reference site. It does not offer user accounts, comments, checkout, subscriptions, or direct newsletter signup. Analytics are not enabled in the site configuration. The site may still process limited technical data through hosting, security, browser-storage, assistant, and correspondence workflows.
Data Processed
Technical Data
When you visit the site, hosting and security infrastructure may process technical data such as IP address, user agent, requested URL, referrer, date and time of request, error logs, and security-event data. This data is used to deliver the site, diagnose errors, maintain security, and prevent abuse.
Local Browser Storage
Some interface preferences may be stored in your browser, such as dark-mode preference, graph or navigation state, and local checkbox state. This storage is used to make the site work better for you. It is not used for advertising or cross-site tracking.
Correspondence Data
If you contact the Paleo Foundation about corrections, licensing, media, regulatory, privacy, or legal matters, the Foundation may process the contact details and message content you provide, including your name, email address, organization, role, attachments, and correspondence metadata.
Assistant Data
If you use Ask the Index, the site processes the question you submit, the current page context, retrieved Heavy Metal Index excerpts, generated answers, cited source links, and technical request metadata. The assistant is designed for public-reference questions. Do not submit confidential, private, regulated, or sensitive information through the assistant.
Licensing and Legal Data
For commercial licensing, legal process, or regulatory inquiries, the Foundation may process business contact information, matter details, negotiation records, contract records, and related communications.
Purposes and Legal Bases
The site processes personal data for the following purposes:
- to publish, deliver, secure, and maintain the site;
- to diagnose technical problems and prevent abuse;
- to retrieve relevant Heavy Metal Index pages and generate citation-backed assistant answers;
- to respond to correction reports, editorial inquiries, licensing requests, privacy requests, and legal or regulatory matters;
- to maintain editorial, legal, and commercial records;
- to protect the Foundation’s rights, database rights, site integrity, and lawful interests.
Depending on the context, processing may be based on legitimate interests, steps taken before entering into a contract, performance of a contract, legal obligations, consent, or another lawful basis under applicable data-protection law.
Cookies and Analytics
Heavy Metal Index does not currently use advertising cookies, behavioral advertising, or third-party analytics. Site search runs from the public site index in your browser. Browser-storage features may remember interface preferences, but they are not used to build advertising profiles.
Sharing
Personal data may be shared with infrastructure providers, hosting providers, security providers, email or correspondence providers, professional advisers, contractors, or public authorities where necessary for the purposes described above or where required by law.
Assistant questions and retrieved site excerpts may be processed by an AI model provider for the purpose of generating a response. The assistant is configured to use Heavy Metal Index content as its evidence boundary, but users should avoid entering sensitive or confidential information.
The public GitHub repository contains site code and public content. Do not submit private, confidential, or personal data through public repository channels unless you intend it to be public.
International Transfers
The site is available globally, and service providers may process data outside Cyprus or the European Economic Area. Where required, the Foundation relies on appropriate safeguards or other lawful transfer mechanisms.
Retention
Technical logs are retained for the period needed for hosting, diagnostics, security, and abuse-prevention purposes. Correspondence and correction reports are retained as needed to respond, preserve editorial provenance, maintain business records, or comply with legal obligations. Licensing, regulatory, and legal records may be retained for longer where necessary.
Your Rights
Depending on applicable law and your location, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, objection to processing, and withdrawal of consent where processing is based on consent.
You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. For Cyprus, the supervisory authority is the Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection.
Children’s Privacy
Heavy Metal Index is a public scientific and regulatory reference. It is not directed to children and does not knowingly collect personal data from children through accounts, forms, or user profiles.
Changes
The Paleo Foundation may update this Privacy Notice as the site, infrastructure, or legal requirements change. The updated date at the top of this page identifies the latest published revision.