Privacy
This page covers two things: the website at interactivedemocracy.eu, and the Interactive Democracy platform (the app where you read a brief, see the strongest case against your view, and contribute). Both are run by Interactive Democracy. Questions and requests: id@zedia.org.uk.
The platform
The platform has no accounts, sets no cookies, and runs no analytics or tracking scripts. Nobody is asked for a name, email address or any other identifier.
- Your values model stays on your device. As you use the platform, a summary of your positions (which scenario, which way you leaned, whether you shifted, which values came up) is stored in your browser's local storage. It is never uploaded. You can see it on the agent page and erase it there, or by clearing site data in your browser.
- A temporary session code. A random code is created when you open the platform and discarded when you close the tab. It lets contributions from the same sitting be grouped. It is not a login, is not stored on your device between visits, and is not linked to anything about you.
- What is sent, and when. Reading a brief sends nothing about you; briefs are prepared in advance. Asking to see the strongest opposing case sends the scenario and the leaning you selected, so that the case can be composed for that leaning — no name, no account and no free text, unless you typed some. Pressing submit sends the text you wrote, the scenario, whether the opposing case was shown to you, and whether you reported changing or refining your position. Nothing else is sent, and your values model, your session history and your device identity are never sent.
Submitted text is processed to build the aggregate picture of what contributors concluded, and may be processed by Google's AI models acting under instruction for that purpose. Only the processed output — a short third-person summary, value tags, a closest-viewpoint label and a version of your text with personal details removed — is stored. The platform and its stored data are hosted on Google Cloud in London (region europe-west2). Requests to the AI model are handled by Google’s Gemini API, which may process them in other countries. We use the paid tier of that API, under which Google does not use prompts or responses to improve its products and acts as our data processor under its data processing addendum. Nothing sent to the model identifies you. No identifier is stored with a contribution. Processed contributions to a demonstration scenario are kept for no longer than 12 months after the scenario closes, then deleted or reduced to anonymous aggregates; contributions to a real decision run with a named host are kept for the period stated on that scenario’s page. Anonymous aggregates may be published or used in research.
Please do not include your name, contact details, or information about other people in what you write, or details that would single you out in a small community — your job, your street, your role. The platform asks for your reasoning, not your identity: personal details are removed before storage, contributions are never linked to people, and nothing on the aggregate dashboard leads back to an individual contribution.
The website
- Hosting logs. The site is hosted by GoDaddy. Like any web server, it records the IP address, browser type and pages requested for each visit, for security and to keep the site running. These logs are kept for a short period and are not used for anything else.
- Analytics. The site uses Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are read, so the site can be improved. It is configured for statistics only: no advertising features, no Google Signals, no data sharing with Google's other products, and 2-month retention. The cookies page lists exactly what is set and has a one-tap switch to turn it off for your browser.
- Email. If you write to id@zedia.org.uk, your message is kept for as long as needed to reply and follow up.
Legal basis and what this is not used for
Information is processed on the basis of legitimate interests: running and securing the service, improving it, and evaluating the method it implements. Because a contribution may express political opinions, the platform is designed so that it never holds one against an identifiable person: no name, account or identifier is stored with a contribution, personal details are removed before storage, and the hosting provider’s server logs, which contain IP addresses, are kept separately for a limited period and are not used to identify contributors. Nothing here is sold, shared with advertisers, or used for advertising or profiling. The platform never advocates for any policy, party or candidate, and information from it is never used to target anyone.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask what information is held about you, ask for it to be corrected or deleted, object to its processing, or ask for a copy. Write to id@zedia.org.uk. One honest limit: because no identifier is stored with a contribution, it is usually impossible to tell which contribution was yours, and therefore to single it out for deletion.
If you have a complaint about how information has been handled, email the same address; you will get a reply within 30 days. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Changes
If the platform starts collecting anything new, this page changes first and the date at the top moves.