Privacy policy
This page explains what Internet Democracy collects, why, and which third-party technologies run on the site — especially Google advertising and analytics. It is a publisher disclosure, not formal legal advice.
Who operates this site
Internet Democracy (the Democracy Dashboard) is an independent UK site operated by James Edwards. It is not a public authority. Contact details are at the end of this page.
Google ads, analytics, and cookies
Production pages on this site use Google products that set or read cookies and similar technologies (including pixels and local device storage) on your browser.
How Google uses data on this site. Third parties, including Google, may place and read cookies on your browser, or use similar technologies, to serve ads and measure how the site is used. Google explains this in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services (also titled “How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps”).
Google AdSense
This site uses Google AdSense to show advertising (publisher ID
ca-pub-6238011582523485). AdSense and participating
advertisers / ad-tech partners may:
- place or read cookies and similar technologies on your device
- collect device and request information (for example IP address, user agent, and the page you are viewing)
- use that information to serve, limit, and measure ads, including ads based on your visits to this site and other sites
Google’s partner-sites page above is the primary explanation of that processing. You can also review Google’s privacy policy and Google ad settings.
Google Analytics
This site uses Google Analytics 4 via the Google tag (gtag.js),
measurement ID G-NTWZK7NQF7. Analytics uses cookies and
similar technologies to collect information about how visitors use the
site (pages viewed, approximate location derived from IP, device/browser
information, and similar usage data). Google may process that data as
described in the partner-sites document and Google’s privacy policy.
Cookies we set ourselves
The site also uses first-party cookies and browser storage to run the application:
- a session cookie so you stay signed in while you browse (Flask-Login)
- an optional “remember me” cookie if you use that option
- a theme preference in
localStorage(id-theme) so light/dark mode persists in this browser
These are needed for login, settings, and basic site operation. You can delete cookies and site data in your browser; doing so will sign you out and reset local theme preference.
Accounts and login
You can use much of the site without an account. If you create one, we store the details needed to run that account.
Local account
Registration collects a username, display name, email address, and a password. The password is stored as a hash, not in plain text. We send a one-time email with a verification link before answers can be saved (unless you later sign in with Google). That email is sent through the site’s configured outbound mail, when mail is enabled.
Google sign-in
“Continue with Google” uses Google OAuth (Flask-Dance). Google asks you to share basic profile and email (OpenID, userinfo.email, userinfo.profile). We store the Google account id, email, and name so we can recognise you on later visits. We do not receive your Google password.
Signing in with Google is also subject to Google’s privacy policy.
What we collect and why
- Account data — username, name, email, optional Google id, email-verification state, admin flag, and theme preference. Used to operate your account and remember settings.
- Your question answers — which canonical option you chose, and when it was last updated. Used to show your comparisons and aggregate counts on the site.
- Technical logs — ordinary web-server and application logs (time, path, errors). Used to keep the site running and debug faults. These are not a marketing profile.
- Google advertising and analytics data — collected by Google as described above, for ads and usage measurement on the production site.
We do not ask for payment card details. We do not sell your account answers as a standalone data product. Public pages may show aggregate counts of how many users picked each option.
Legal basis, in plain language for UK / EU readers: we process account and answer data because you asked us to provide the service (a contract-like request), and we use cookies / Google tags for site operation, audience measurement, and advertising as described on this page. If you want a specific request handled under UK GDPR (access, correction, deletion), use the contact route below.
Retention and your choices
- Account and saved answers are kept while the account exists.
- Session cookies last for the browsing session unless you use a longer “remember me” cookie.
- Theme preference stays in this browser until you change it or clear site data.
- Operational logs are kept only as long as they are useful for running the site.
- Google Ads and Analytics retention follows Google’s settings and policies, not a separate clock we control on this page.
You can stop using the site, sign out, and clear cookies at any time. To correct or delete an account, contact the operator (below). There is no self-serve account-delete button in the current app; requests are handled manually.
Browser controls: most browsers let you block or delete cookies. Blocking all cookies will break sign-in. Google’s ad settings and the partner-sites page explain additional advertising choices.
Contact
Operator: James Edwards, United Kingdom.
The most reliable public contact route today is the project repository: github.com/jamedwards1-gpt/internet-democracy.co.uk (open an issue). If a dedicated email is published later, it will be added here.
Related pages: About and Methodology.