Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains how OphthalmoEducate ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information. It applies to all users of this website and platform, including visitors who have not created an account.

This policy is written in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). We are committed to handling your personal information responsibly and transparently.

By using this platform you agree to the collection and use of your information as described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform.

OphthalmoEducate is an independent interactive educational platform focused on neuro-ophthalmology case-based learning. The platform is developed in collaboration with Sight For All, an Australian-based international eye health organisation, and is curated under the guidance of specialist neuro-ophthalmologists based in Australia.

For any privacy-related enquiries, please contact us using the contact details provided at the end of this policy.

We collect the following categories of personal information:

Account Information

If you create an account, we collect:

• Your email address
• Your name or display name (if provided)
• Your method of login (email and password, or Google sign-in)
• The date and time your account was created

Learning Activity Data

If you are logged in, we record:

• Which cases you have attempted and completed
• Your answers to quiz questions and investigation selection questions
• Your scores and attempt history
• The date and time of each activity

Feedback and Survey Responses

If you complete the optional post-case feedback questionnaire, we collect:

• Your ratings and selected responses
• Any free text feedback you choose to provide
• Your self-reported training level and country (collected once only, on first submission)

These responses are linked to your account if you are logged in, or stored anonymously if you are not.

Technical Information

We automatically collect certain technical information when you use the platform, including:

• Browser type and version
• Device type and operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on the platform
• IP address (used for security and analytics only, not stored against your account)

We do not collect sensitive information as defined under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), such as health information, racial or ethnic origin, or financial information.

We collect personal information for the following purposes:

• To allow you to create and manage an account
• To save your progress and display it in your personal dashboard
• To personalise your experience by remembering your preferences
• To improve the quality and content of the platform based on aggregated usage patterns
• To respond to feedback and support requests you send us
• To conduct educational research into neuro-ophthalmology learning outcomes, using aggregated and de-identified data only

We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is incompatible with the above without obtaining your separate consent.

This platform may be used as the basis for academic research into medical education. Any research use of platform data will involve only aggregated, de-identified information - meaning no individual user can be identified from the data used.

If we seek to use personally identifiable information for research purposes in the future, we will:

• Seek separate informed consent from affected users
• Obtain appropriate ethics approval through an accredited Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023)
• Notify users of the research and their right to withdraw

Your personal information is stored securely using Supabase, a database platform hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure located in Australia. This means your data is stored within Australian borders.

We protect your information through:

• Encryption of all data in transit using HTTPS/TLS
• Encryption of data at rest within the database
• Row-level security controls ensuring users can only access their own data
• Access controls limiting database access to authorised personnel only

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active. If you request account deletion, all personal information associated with your account will be permanently deleted within 30 days.

Aggregated, de-identified feedback and usage data may be retained indefinitely for research and improvement purposes, as it cannot be used to identify you.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party.

We may share limited information with the following parties only where necessary to operate the platform:

• Supabase (database and authentication services)
• Google (if you use Google sign-in, your Google account email and name are shared with us by Google in accordance with Google's privacy policy)

We may also disclose your information if required to do so by law, or in response to a valid request from a government or law enforcement authority.

We do not share your personal information with Sight For All or any other partner organisation. Sight For All's involvement is in an advisory and collaborative capacity only and they do not have access to user data from this platform.

This platform uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep you logged in between sessions
• Remember your light or dark mode preference
• Store temporary session information for anonymous users completing feedback

We do not use advertising cookies or share tracking data with advertising networks. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, however doing so may affect your ability to log in and use the platform.

Under the Australian Privacy Principles you have the right to:

ACCESS: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. We will respond to access requests within 30 days.

CORRECTION: Request that we correct any inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date personal information we hold about you.

DELETION: Request deletion of your account and all associated personal information by contacting us using the details below.

COMPLAINT: Lodge a complaint if you believe we have breached your privacy. We will respond to complaints within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at www.oaic.gov.au or by calling 1300 363 992.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

This platform may contain links to external websites including sightforall.org and other reference resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any external site you visit.

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or legal requirements. We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page when changes are made. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

For significant changes that affect how we use your personal information, we will notify logged-in users by email or by displaying a notice on the platform.

For any privacy-related questions, requests, or complaints, please contact:

OphthalmoEducate
aomo0606@uni.sydney.edu.au

We aim to respond to all privacy enquiries within 30 days.