Information used by COMET

An application contains your name, email, a password stored as a hash, career stage, institution, selected goals and consent timestamps. Optional signup details include location, research fields and referral source. The platform records signup progress, application status and limited security information such as a hashed submission IP and browser information. Optional profile details, contributions, messages and activity are stored when you use those features.

Why this information is used

COMET uses these details to review applications, authenticate members, operate discussions and messaging, suggest relevant people and opportunities, and support moderation. Application details are available to authorised registration reviewers. Review notes are not displayed on the public application-status page.

Visibility and providers

The community requires sign-in. Profile visibility can be adjusted in Settings; visibility labels do not turn the private network into a public member directory. Email delivery uses the configured email provider. Embedded images and videos are loaded from their external hosts, which can receive connection information when you view them.

For membership or saved-card setup, Stripe collects and stores card details on its own pages. COMET stores Stripe customer, checkout and subscription references, consent records, membership status, trial and billing-period dates, and renewal/cancellation status. COMET does not receive or store the full card number or security code. Stripe's own privacy notice applies to its processing.

Your controls

You can edit your profile and visibility, manage communication preferences, request an export of your data and request account deletion in Settings. A deletion request has a grace period displayed in the application. Connected Stripe customer records require a separate operator deletion step. Security logs and backups follow the operator's retention arrangements.

Final policy details

The operator must confirm applicable legal bases, retention periods, service providers, international-transfer arrangements and rights-request process in the final notice. This provisional description does not replace those details.