1 Who We Are (Data Controller)
The data controller responsible for your personal data is:
Pollitix
Based in Hertfordshire, England
Email: pollitix99@gmail.com
As a data controller, we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data. If you have any questions about this policy or your data, contact us at pollitix99@gmail.com.
2 What Personal Data We Collect
Data you provide directly
| Data | When collected | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name / username | Registration | Account identification |
| Email address | Registration | Account security, notifications |
| Password (hashed) | Registration | Account security |
| Date of birth | Registration | Age verification |
| Profile photo | Optional — profile setup | Profile display |
| Bio | Optional — profile setup | Personalisation |
| Political leaning (e.g. Left, Centre, Right — see Special Category note below) | Optional — profile setup | Profile display & personalisation — you choose whether to share this publicly |
| Location / constituency | Optional — onboarding | Local content |
| Posts, comments, poll votes | During platform use | Core platform functionality |
| Messages | Direct messaging | Communication feature |
| Reports submitted | Moderation reporting | Safety and moderation |
Data collected automatically
- Log data: IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, time and date of visits
- Cookies: Session cookies and preference cookies (see Section 8)
- Usage data: Features used, content viewed, interactions with polls and discussions
Special category data
Under UK GDPR, political opinions are classed as special category data and are subject to stricter protections. Pollitix includes an optional "Political Leaning" feature on your profile where you can choose to share your broad political stance (for example, Left-Wing, Centrist, or Right-Wing).
This data is entirely optional and user-controlled — you are never required to provide it, and you can change or remove it at any time from your profile settings. If you choose to display a political leaning, it will be visible on your public profile. We do not use this information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond displaying it on your profile as you have chosen. Our lawful basis for processing this data is your explicit consent, given when you actively select and save a leaning on your profile.
We do not otherwise seek to collect political opinions, racial or ethnic origin, health data, or any other special category data. Any such information shared voluntarily in posts or discussions is done entirely at your own discretion.
3 Lawful Bases for Processing
Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following bases:
4 How We Use Your Personal Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- To create and manage your account
- To provide access to all Pollitix platform features (discussions, debates, polls, news, communities)
- To send you important service notifications (account security, policy updates)
- To personalise your content feed based on your stated interests and location
- To moderate content and enforce our Community Standards and Terms of Service
- To detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, spam, and abuse
- To comply with our legal obligations under the Online Safety Act 2023 and other applicable laws
- To improve the platform through analytics and usage data
- To send you marketing communications (only with your consent — you can opt out at any time)
- To respond to your queries, appeals, and support requests
5 Who We Share Your Data With
We do not sell your personal data. We may share it in the following limited circumstances:
Service providers (data processors)
We use trusted third-party companies to help operate Pollitix. They only process your data on our instructions and are bound by data processing agreements:
- Hosting & infrastructure: Cloud hosting provider for storing data securely in the UK/EEA
- Email delivery: For sending account and service notifications
- Analytics: Aggregated, anonymised usage analytics to improve the platform
- Content moderation tools: Automated tools to assist in detecting harmful content
Legal and regulatory disclosures
We may disclose your data to law enforcement, regulatory bodies (such as Ofcom or the ICO), or courts where we are legally required to do so — for example in response to a court order, to comply with the Online Safety Act 2023, or where necessary to prevent serious harm.
Business transfers
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of Pollitix, your data may be transferred to the new owner. We will notify you in advance and you will retain your rights.
Public content
Content you post publicly on Pollitix (comments, poll votes, debate contributions) is visible to all users and may be indexed by search engines. Please think carefully about what you share publicly.
6 How Long We Keep Your Data
| Data type | Retention period | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Account data | Duration of account + 30 days after deletion | To allow account recovery |
| Posts and comments | Duration of account (or until deleted by you) | Platform functionality |
| Moderation records | Up to 7 years | Legal obligation, appeals, audit trail |
| Log data / IP addresses | 90 days | Security and fraud prevention |
| Direct messages | Duration of account (or until deleted by both parties) | Communication feature |
| Financial records (if applicable) | 7 years | Legal obligation (HMRC) |
| Marketing consent records | Until consent withdrawn + 3 years | Proof of consent |
After the retention period, data is securely deleted or anonymised. Some data may be retained longer where required by law or for legitimate legal proceedings.
7 Your Rights Under UK GDPR
You have the following rights regarding your personal data. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at pollitix99@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.
🏛️ Right to complain to the ICO: If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — the UK's data protection authority.
ICO website: ico.org.uk · ICO helpline: 0303 123 1113
We would always appreciate the chance to address your concerns first — please contact us at pollitix99@gmail.com before escalating to the ICO.
8 Cookies & Tracking
Pollitix uses cookies to keep the platform working and to remember your preferences. A cookie is a small text file stored on your device. We do not use third-party analytics, advertising, or marketing cookies — we only use the cookies described below.
Types of cookies we use
| Cookie type | Purpose | Can you opt out? |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Keep you logged in, maintain your session, and protect account security. Set by our authentication provider (Supabase). | No — these are required for the platform to work. Without them you cannot log in. |
| Preference | Remember your accessibility settings, theme choice, and cookie consent decision. | Yes — but some features such as accessibility settings may not persist. |
We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any other third-party tracking tools. Pollitix is ad-free and we have no commercial reason to track your behaviour beyond what is needed to run the platform.
You can manage your cookie preferences at any time via your browser settings. Note that disabling essential cookies will prevent you from logging in to Pollitix.
9 International Data Transfers
We aim to store and process your data within the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA). In limited circumstances, some of our third-party service providers may process data outside the UK/EEA.
Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK's International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), Standard Contractual Clauses, or transfers to countries with an adequacy decision from the UK government.
10 Children's Privacy
Pollitix is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. Users aged 13–17 should only use Pollitix with parental consent.
If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from a child under 13 without appropriate consent, we will delete that data promptly. If you believe a child has registered without consent, please contact pollitix99@gmail.com.
11 How We Protect Your Data
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. These include:
- Encryption of data in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest
- Password hashing using industry-standard algorithms
- Access controls limiting who within Pollitix can access personal data
- Regular security reviews and vulnerability assessments
- Two-factor authentication available for all accounts
In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and inform affected users without undue delay, in accordance with UK GDPR Article 33–34.
12 Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email and/or prominent in-app notice at least 14 days before changes take effect. For minor changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
Continued use of Pollitix after the effective date of any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.
13 Contact & Data Requests
For any privacy-related enquiries, data subject access requests, or to exercise your rights: