Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Ballot is operated by Oliver Flint, based in the United Kingdom. We can be contacted at hello@getballot.app.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under registration number ZC178153.

2. Our approach to privacy

Ballot is designed to be anonymous by default. We do not ask for your name, email address, or phone number. You are identified only by a randomly generated device ID stored on your device. We cannot link your votes or opinions back to you as an individual.

3. What data we collect

• Device ID — a randomly generated UUID created when you first open the app, stored securely on your device. This is never linked to your identity.
• Demographic bands — during onboarding you may provide age range, region, education level, and political leaning. These are stored as broad bands (e.g. "25–34", "London") never as precise values.
• Special category data — religion and ethnicity are collected as bands and are entirely optional. You may skip these questions. Under UK GDPR Article 9, we process this data only with your explicit consent, for the purpose of producing representative UK opinion data for research and commercial purposes.
• Vote responses — your yes/no/skip answers to questions, linked only to your device ID.
• Political opinions — your voting patterns constitute political opinion data under UK GDPR. This is processed only in aggregate and never linked back to you individually. Aggregated results may be shared with commercial research clients.
• Push notification token — if you enable notifications, your Expo push token is stored to deliver daily window alerts. It is not linked to your identity.
• Usage data — streak count, last active date, and onboarding status, linked to your device ID only.

4. What we do not collect

We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, precise location, IP address (beyond standard server logs), or any social media identifiers. We do not use advertising trackers or sell individual-level data to third parties.

5. How we use your data

• To display live polling results and demographic breakdowns within the app
• To produce weighted, aggregated opinion data for research and media clients (B2B) — this data is always aggregated and never contains individual responses
• To send push notifications about the daily voting window and streak reminders
• To maintain your streak and voting history within the app

6. Legal basis for processing

• Demographic bands (non-sensitive) — legitimate interests: producing representative UK opinion data
• Special category data (religion, ethnicity) — explicit consent, given when you choose to answer those questions during onboarding. This includes consent for use in aggregated commercial research.
• Vote data and political opinions — explicit consent, given when you cast your first vote. This includes consent for aggregated commercial research use.
• Push notifications — consent, given when you enable notifications in your device settings

7. Data retention

Raw vote data is deleted after 18 months. Aggregated results are kept indefinitely. Demographic bands are kept for as long as your device ID is active. You can request deletion at any time (see section 9).

8. Data sharing

We share aggregated, anonymised opinion data with research and media clients on a commercial basis. This data cannot be used to identify you. We do not sell individual-level data.

Some questions published on Ballot may be sponsored by third-party organisations. Sponsors receive aggregated results only — never individual responses or any data that could identify you.

We use the following third-party processors:

• Supabase — database and backend (EU/US data centres)
• Expo Push Service — push notification delivery
• Vercel — web hosting

All processors are bound by data processing agreements and appropriate safeguards for international transfers.

9. Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of data held about your device ID
• Erasure — request deletion of all data linked to your device ID
• Rectification — correct inaccurate demographic data
• Withdraw consent — for special category data at any time
• Object — to processing based on legitimate interests
• Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@getballot.app with your device ID (found in the app under your Ballot ID). We will respond within 30 days.

10. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via an in-app notice. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent update.