ADAMS Lab · Mechanical Engineering · University of Alberta

Privacy and data handling

adamslab.engineering.ualberta.ca

This notice covers Thermal Data Analysis Phase Recognition
Part A · Short-form collection notice

Collection of personal information

When you use this website, the University of Alberta's web server records your IP address together with technical information about your request: the time, the page requested, the response, your browser's user-agent, and the page you came from.

This information is collected to operate and secure the service, to detect and investigate misuse, and to diagnose faults. It is kept for 90 days and then deleted automatically.

This collection is authorized by section 4(c) of the Protection of Privacy Act.

No personal information collected through this website is entered into any automated system to generate content, or to make decisions, recommendations or predictions.

Questions about this collection may be directed to khmohamm@ualberta.ca, ADAMS Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta.

Part B · Full privacy notice

01 Scope

This notice describes what the adamslab.engineering.ualberta.ca website collects, why, and how long it is kept. It applies to this site only.

The University of Alberta publishes a general privacy statement for its websites at ualberta.ca/privacy.html. This notice describes practices specific to this service.

02 Who we are

This site is operated by the ADAMS Lab (Additive Design and Manufacturing Systems Laboratory), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta.

The University of Alberta is a public body under Alberta's Protection of Privacy Act, and this site is subject to that Act.

Personal information collected through this website is collected in accordance with section 4(c) of the Protection of Privacy Act, on the basis that it relates directly to and is necessary for an operating program or activity of the University. It is protected in accordance with section 10, and used and disclosed in accordance with sections 12 and 13 of the Act.

03 What this site does

The site provides two browser-based tools for metal additive manufacturing research. One analyses sensor recordings from print runs. The other identifies material phases in microscope images of printed metal samples.

All processing and storage happen on a server the lab operates, on University premises. Nothing is installed on your computer. Your browser receives only a rendered interface.

There are no user accounts. No registration, no login, no passwords, and no identity verification of any kind.

04 What we collect

Automatically, on every request

Our web server writes a log entry recording your IP address, the time, the method and path of your request, the response status, the number of bytes sent, your browser's user-agent string, the page you came from, and the request purpose your browser declares.

When you upload a file

We record the filename, file type, size, the time, a randomly generated upload identifier, where the file was stored, and whether the request came from inside the University network or outside it.

The content you upload

Sensor recordings, video, and microscope images of metal specimens. This is machine and materials data. It is not about people, and you are asked not to upload information about identifiable individuals.

One cookie

Phase Recognition sets a single cookie named phase_session. It holds a random identifier and nothing else: no name, no address, and nothing that identifies you. Its only purpose is to keep your work separate from other people using the tool at the same time. It expires after 7 days. Thermal Data Analysis sets no cookies at all.

We use no analytics, tracking, advertising or profiling of any kind. There is no Google Analytics or equivalent, no advertising network, no social media embed, and no external API.

This site makes no third-party requests. Loading any page on this site causes your browser to contact no server other than ours.

05 Why we collect it

The server log is collected to secure and operate the service. Specifically, to detect and block abuse of a tool that can be used without signing in, to enforce limits on how many requests a single address may make, to investigate why a request or an upload failed, and to confirm that our network access restrictions are working. The logs are kept for ninety days.

The upload record is collected to maintain a lasting catalogue of the lab's research data, so that analyses can be traced back to their source files.

The cookie is collected solely to distinguish concurrent users. Without it the application cannot keep two people's uploads apart. It is not used to recognise you on a later visit, to build a profile, or to measure anything.

06 Automated systems

No personal information collected through this website is entered into any automated system to generate content, or to make decisions, recommendations or predictions.

Phase Recognition does train a machine-learning model. It is trained exclusively on the microscope images of metal specimens that a user uploads, within that user's own session. IP addresses, log entries, cookies and upload records are never used as model input, training data, or features, and no automated process makes any decision, recommendation or prediction about a person.

07 How long we keep it

DataHow long
Server log entries, including your IP address90 days, then deleted automatically
The phase_session cookie7 days
Phase Recognition working sessionsDeleted after 7 days without activity, and also lost when the application is updated
Thermal Data Analysis session stateHeld in memory only, lost when the application restarts
Uploaded filesPermanent
Upload records (filename, type, size, time)Permanent

Your IP address is kept in one place only, for 90 days. It is not stored with your uploaded file, it is not in the folder the file is kept in, and it is not part of the permanent upload record.

There is no backup of any kind. Nothing on this server is backed up, so no copy of any of the above exists elsewhere.

08 Deletion

This service provides no way to delete an upload. There is no self-service deletion and no delete button. If you need something removed, contact the lab using the details in section 13. Requests are handled case by case, and we cannot guarantee removal. Please consider this before uploading.

Server log entries are deleted automatically after 90 days, and are not deleted individually on request.

Uploaded files are kept permanently. The server log entry is the only record here that points to you rather than to the file, and it deletes on its own after 90 days.

09 Who can reach this site

SectionWho can reach it
Landing pageAnyone
Thermal Data AnalysisPrivate
Phase RecognitionAnyone, from any network, with no authentication
Administrative log viewerPrivate

10 Where information is held

All processing and all storage happen on University of Alberta hardware, on University premises, in Alberta.

Nothing is shared with any third party. There is no analytics provider, no advertising network, no external processor, and no cloud service holding any of this data.

We do not sell personal information.

11 Third-party requests

None. Loading any page on this site causes your browser to contact no server other than ours.

12 Changes

This notice will be updated if our practices change.

Last updated: 27 August 2026

13 Contact

Questions about this notice, or about personal information collected through this site:

khmohamm@ualberta.ca
ADAMS Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

For University-wide privacy matters, contact the Information, Privacy + Records Management Office at privacy@ualberta.ca.

For the limits of what these tools can tell you, and what you should not rely on them for, see the Disclaimer shown when you open either tool.

ADAMS Lab · Department of Mechanical Engineering · Edmonton, Alberta