Privacy Policy

Overview

HistoAtlas is a publicly accessible, non-commercial research tool for exploring morphological patterns in solid tumors derived from TCGA whole-slide images. We are committed to transparency about what data we collect and how we use it.

No User Accounts or Personal Data

HistoAtlas does not require user accounts, logins, or registration. We do not collect names, email addresses, or any other personally identifiable information. There are no user profiles, saved preferences, or authentication mechanisms.

Server Logs

Our web server records standard operational logs that may include IP addresses, browser user-agent strings, requested URLs, and timestamps. These logs are used solely for infrastructure monitoring, debugging, and abuse prevention. They are retained for a limited period and are not shared with third parties.

Cookies and Tracking

HistoAtlas does not use cookies for tracking, advertising, or analytics. No third-party tracking scripts (e.g., Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel) are embedded on the site. We do not fingerprint browsers or track users across sessions.

Data Served by HistoAtlas

All data displayed in HistoAtlas is derived from publicly available datasets, primarily The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) via the Genomic Data Commons (GDC). The data we serve consists exclusively of:

• Precomputed morphological features and statistical summaries
• Embedding coordinates for visualization
• Aggregated survival, molecular, and immune association results
• Histology tile images fetched on demand from GDC

No protected health information (PHI) is stored or served. TCGA identifiers are treated as research identifiers only and cannot be linked back to individual patients.

Third-Party Services

Tile images may be fetched from the NCI Genomic Data Commons (GDC) servers when you view slide details. These requests are subject to GDC's own policies. Beyond this, HistoAtlas does not integrate with any third-party analytics, advertising, or social media services.

Data Exports

HistoAtlas allows you to export precomputed statistical results in CSV, JSON, and Parquet formats. These exports contain only derived, non-identifying research data. No personal information is included in any export.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as the project evolves. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date above.

Contact

For questions or concerns about this policy, please open an issue on our GitHub repository.