Privacy Policy

Information we collect

When you create an account, we collect your email address, date of birth, postcode, gender, and employment status. Your postcode is used solely to determine your parliamentary constituency. We also record the votes you cast, the referendums you create, and the timestamps of those actions.

How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate your account and authenticate your identity
• Generate demographic analysis on referendum results — for example, showing how people in different age groups, genders, or employment categories voted
• Calculate your political leaning profile based on the positions you express through your votes
• Surface constituency-level and national-level political trends across the platform
• Prevent duplicate votes and detect abuse
• Improve the platform and understand how it is being used

What is public

Your username and the referendums you have created are visible to other users. Your individual votes are private — only aggregated, anonymised results are displayed publicly. Your personal details (name, email, postcode, date of birth) are never shown to other users.

Sharing your information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for advertising. Your information is only shared where strictly necessary to operate the platform — for example, with infrastructure and security providers who process data on our behalf under confidentiality obligations.

Data retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active. If you close your account, your personal details are deleted. Anonymised vote data may be retained to preserve the integrity of historical referendum results.

Security

We take the security of your data seriously. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access to personal data is strictly limited to authorised personnel. We regularly review our security practices to protect against unauthorised access, disclosure, or loss.

Cookies

We use strictly necessary cookies to keep you signed in. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. See our Cookie Policy for full details.

Your rights under UK GDPR

As a UK resident, you have the following rights over your personal data:

• Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (a Subject Access Request).
• Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your personal data. We will do so unless we are required to retain it by law.
• Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to pause the use of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability — you can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object — you can object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@refnation.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — the UK's independent data protection authority — at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

Lawful basis for processing

We process your personal data under the following lawful bases as defined by UK GDPR:

• Contract — processing necessary to provide the service you have signed up for.
• Legitimate interests — generating anonymised demographic analysis, improving the platform, and preventing abuse, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Consent — where you have explicitly agreed, such as optional profile fields.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by a notice on the platform. Your continued use of Refnation after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this policy or how we handle your data, contact us at privacy@refnation.co.uk.