Describe the problem you would like to solve
At the moment editors can freely access incomplete submissions and see all the data and files the author has entered before the author actually submits. This can be a good thing if the author happens to be stuck in the submission process. However, the author might not expect that the data is already visible and available for the editors and some authors might not want to show their data until they actively complete the submission.
This may be seen as a data risk, where editors are having data made available to them when the author has not actively given it to them. For example, the author may have decided to submit the article to a different journal, so the Editor will have access to still-confidential information.
Describe the solution you’d like
We need to have a discussion of which requirement is more important: providing editors access to the submission in case they need to assist the author OR keep the author’s data hidden before they do the final submission.
It is suggested that the ‘log in as’ function allows Editors/Journal Managers to help authors with a problematic submission, and thus Editors do not need additional access
Who is asking for this feature?
Editor’s in general, probably with a different point of view
Authors - probably, if they knew that non-submitted files/data was so accessible to a journal team without actively submitting it