Privacy Policy

An update to this policy was made on October 2022, and is available at https://www.kbase.us/about/terms-and-conditions-v2/

The DOE Systems Biology Knowledgebase Project (KBase) is provided as a public service. KBase reserves the right to monitor any and all use of kbase.us. This Privacy Policy describes the ways KBase collects, stores, uses, discloses and protects the personal information about users and how they use KBase. A link to this policy appears in the footer of kbase.us webpages and other prominent locations such as the Sign Up page where it must be acknowledged to obtain a KBase User Account. KBase never collects information for commercial marketing or any purpose unrelated to KBase functions. KBase is managed by and also subject to Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s privacy policy.

Information KBase collects

Some functions of KBase may be used without a KBase User Account, in which case KBase does collect some information about your visit to the website to help understand how it is used and might be improved. If you choose to have a KBase User Account you are asked to provide your name and an email address so we may contact you if needed. This information is also in your personal profile, which is private unless you choose to make it public.

KBase Account Names are not treated as personal information and it is recommended that you not include personal information in your account name.

User-provided personal information and data

You may at your discretion also provide in your personal profile further biographical information including a profile image, your real name, education, position, affiliations (both institutional and interpersonal, i.e., colleagues), funding, phone numbers, email addresses, publications, group membership, user external account references (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, home page), user KBase account status, KBase activity, followers/following.

KBase does not track information in your personal research data other than to provide indexing to support your searches, and verify that the data and its use adheres to the KBase Use Agreement. Access to this information is strictly under your control to share or make public.

Once data or Narratives are designated as shared or public, you should be aware that other users of KBase will be able to use them.

User behavioral profile

When you visit KBase or use its services, usage information is automatically recorded by your account name including what services you used as well as information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and operating system, the web page you were visiting and visit over time on kbase.us, information searched for, access times and dates, what resources are consumed (CPU, disk, etc); all acts of creating Narratives and data, sharing Narratives or resources, uploading data files, input and output from KBase services, user input to Narrative cells, input to any future rating systems or ‘liking’, linking to or citing other Narratives, URLs, or references; user comments; and information learned from user activity such as common parameters for services, frequently used services, combinations of services, frequently used datasets, and the number of times a Narrative is copied, cloned, or referenced by others.

How information collected by KBase is used

Private personal information is only accessible to KBase staff and will only be used individually in the event we need to contact you. If you choose to provide that information to KBase independently (for example when emailing to request help), again it will only be used by KBase staff for the purpose of responding. KBase will produce project reports that include aggregate information such as the number of help requests, statistics on the topics of requests and resolutions, and analyses of the institutions and types of users such as can be derived from email addresses. Additionally, the ways users interact with the system are analyzed when errors occur and in aggregate for analysis of KBase operation and improvement.

Aggregated usage information based on user behavior is used by KBase to produce overall statistics such as to show users which Apps are most popular. Usage information is also used by KBase for internal purposes such as to manage and improve capabilities and services, the website and related features and content, and to enable users to easily and productively navigate the website and utilize KBase capabilities for research benefit.

Aggregated usage analyses do not link to individual personal information but may include results broken down by aggregated personal information for example geographic region or type of institution of those users who have shared their profile publically.

Users should also understand that once their research data is made public that KBase reserves the right to integrate this information into meta-analyses that the KBase system might perform.

Information KBase discloses

KBase is committed to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and security of users’ personal private information and data. KBase considers this information to be private and held in confidence or shared as designated under user control until a user makes it public.

Usage information is used for privately reporting to our funding agency, the Genomic Science Program of the Biological Systems Science Division of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), for the purpose of evaluating the performance of the overall project. No individually identifiable information is reported or disclosed.

How information KBase collects is protected

KBase restricts access to nonpublic, personal information to those staff and service providers involved in administering and servicing user accounts. Physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards are in place that comply with federal standards to protect such information.

Changes

This KBase Privacy Policy may change from time to time. Your rights under this policy will not be reduced without your explicit consent. Changes will be posted on this page, and if significant will be provided more prominently via email or notification when you sign in.

Users may at any time review, update, correct or delete the personal information in their profiles by signing in to their KBase account and using the edit or remove functions available from their personal profile page.

Terms & Conditions

This Privacy Policy is part of KBase’s Terms and Conditions.