Privacy Policy

HowIVoted.com ("we," "us," "our," or "the Site") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. By using HowIVoted.com, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

• Account information — name, email address, and password (encrypted) when you register
• Voting data — the choices you record on polls within the Site, tied to your private account
• Optional location data — a self-reported U.S. state, if you choose to provide one when voting
• School verification data — if you apply for a free school account, the school name, your role, and a school-issued email or website you provide for eligibility verification
• Payment information — if you purchase a subscription, payment is processed by our third-party payment processors (Stripe and/or PayPal). We do not store your full credit card number on our servers
• Usage data — standard technical data such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited, collected automatically for security and site performance purposes

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and maintain your account
• To let you log votes and view your personal voting history
• To generate aggregate, anonymized public statistics
• To process subscription payments
• To send you account-related communications (password resets, billing receipts, service updates)
• To maintain the security and integrity of the Site

3. How We Protect Your Vote Privacy

Your individual votes are never displayed publicly. Public charts and reports on HowIVoted.com show only aggregate totals, for example the number or percentage of users who selected each option on a poll, nationally or by state. We do not publish, sell, or share any information that identifies how a specific individual voted.

3a. Public Historical Data

The election records shown in our data Explorer are compiled from public historical sources and reflect past election results. This historical data is not connected to any user account and contains no personal information about HowIVoted.com members.

4. Who Can See Your Data

Your individual vote records are visible only to you, through your private account dashboard. Site administrators have technical access to the underlying database for operational and support purposes, but do not publicly disclose individual voting records.

5. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell your personal information. We share limited data with the following categories of third-party service providers, solely to operate the Site:

• Payment processors (Stripe, PayPal) — to process subscription payments
• Hosting and infrastructure providers — to store and serve Site data securely
• Security services — to protect against fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access

We may disclose information if required by law, such as in response to a valid subpoena or court order.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account and voting history for as long as your account remains active. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within a reasonable period, except where retention is required for legal, security, or fraud-prevention purposes.

7. Your Choices and Rights

• You may access, update, or delete your account information at any time through your account settings
• You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you by contacting us
• You may request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us
• If you are located in the EEA, UK, or other jurisdictions with similar data protection laws, you may have additional rights, including data portability and the right to object to certain processing
• If you are a California resident, you may have rights under the CCPA, including the right to know what personal information we collect and the right to request deletion

8. Children's Privacy

HowIVoted.com is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete it.

9. Security

We use industry-standard security measures, including encryption, firewalls, and access controls, to protect your information. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. International Users

HowIVoted.com is operated from the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise any of your rights, contact us at support@howivoted.com.