Privacy & Data

MolProbity Next is a free, public structure-validation service. This page explains what happens to the files you upload and the data the service records.

In short: MolProbity Next has no user accounts. Uploaded structures and their validation results are stored temporarily and automatically deleted 7 days after upload. We do not sell or share your data. Please do not upload confidential or embargoed structures you are not comfortable storing on our server.

What we store

Your uploaded structure: The PDB or mmCIF file you upload (or fetch by PDB ID), kept so results can be recomputed and viewed.
Generated files: Two derived files produced during analysis — a hydrogen-added structure and a multi-criterion kinemage — used by the downloads and 3D viewers.
Validation results: The computed per-structure and per-residue validation metrics, plus the upload timestamp and basic file information (name, size, and header fields such as title and resolution).
Abuse-prevention records: To keep the service available, we briefly record the IP address of upload attempts and of classroom sessions for rate limiting. These are not linked to accounts.
Bug reports: If you submit a bug report, we store the text you enter along with your browser user-agent, your IP address, and which page you were on. When the report is filed against a specific analysis, we also attach that analysis’s file name, status, and technical error details (the error message and traceback) so we can diagnose the problem. We keep that diagnostic copy after the analysis itself is deleted, but the uploaded structure and its coordinates are still deleted on the normal schedule below. Bug reports are not linked to accounts and are reviewed only by the MolProbity Next team.

How long we keep it

Uploaded structures, generated files, and validation results are automatically deleted 7 days after upload. You can also delete a result yourself at any time using the Delete button on its results page.

We retain anonymous, non-identifying performance statistics (how long each analysis phase took, correlated with structure size) even after the structure itself is deleted, so we can improve time estimates. These records contain no structure coordinates and are not linked to you.

Cookies

MolProbity Next uses only the standard Django session and CSRF cookies required for the site to work. There are no advertising or third-party tracking cookies, and we do not run third-party analytics.

Sharing

We do not sell your data or share uploaded structures with third parties. Results are accessible only via the unique link generated for your analysis — they are not listed or published. Anyone who has that link can view (and delete) the result, so treat it as private to you.

Requesting deletion or asking questions

To request earlier deletion of an upload, or for any question about data handling, contact molprobity.bugreports@gmail.com. You can also use the Report a Bug link in the footer.

See also the Acknowledgements page for authorship, citations, and license information.