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Privacy Policy

Effective date: [2026-03-02] | Last updated: [2026-03-02]

1) Overview

Referendum.social (NZ edition available at nz.referendum.social) is an online public opinion polling platform operated by a private individual based in Ukraine (“we”, “us”, “our”). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices and rights you have.

We aim to handle personal information in line with applicable New Zealand privacy requirements, including the Privacy Act 2020, where it applies to our service and users in New Zealand.

Age requirement: This platform is intended for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect or process personal information from individuals under 18 years of age.

Privacy contact: mail@nz.referendum.social

2) What Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information (Registered Users)

When you create an account, we may collect the following information you provide:

Email address
Username
Password (stored in hashed form)
Date of birth or age
Gender
Location (for example, country/region/city, if you choose to provide it)

2.2 Poll Participation Data

When you vote in a poll (as a registered user or as a guest), we may store:

Your selected answer option
Timestamp of your vote
Whether the vote was submitted by a registered user or by a guest

Votes are intended to be anonymous. We display poll results publicly, but we do not publish a public list that links individual votes to specific user accounts.

2.3 Comments and Poll Content (User-Generated Content)

If you post comments, create polls, or submit other content, that content may be publicly visible. Please do not include sensitive personal information (about you or anyone else) in poll questions, answer options, or comments.

2.4 Automatically Collected Technical Data (Server Logs)

Like most websites, our servers may automatically process limited technical data when you access the site, such as:

IP address
Basic device and browser information (for example, user-agent)
Approximate location derived from IP (typically at a country/region level)
Pages visited and referring URLs
Dates and times of requests

3) Public Nature of Polls and Results

Referendum.social is designed to make poll results openly viewable. Poll questions, answer options, and aggregated results (such as total votes and percentages) are publicly displayed by default.

We do not collect poll responses in order to privately sell or secretly distribute them. Because results and content can be public, you should treat anything you publish on the platform (poll content and comments) as public information.

4) How We Use Information

We use collected information to:

Provide and operate the platform (accounts, voting, displaying results)
Maintain platform integrity and security (for example, prevent abuse, troubleshoot issues)
Respond to support requests and privacy requests
Display advertising (see Section 6), if enabled on this subdomain

5) What We Do Not Do

We do not sell your personal information.
We do not run Google Analytics or other third-party analytics trackers on this subdomain unless we explicitly disclose it in an update to this policy.
We do not send marketing email newsletters.

6) Advertising

This site may display advertising via third-party ad providers (for example, Google AdSense). Ad providers may use cookies or similar technologies to serve, personalise, and measure ads. You can usually control personalised advertising through your device/browser settings and the ad provider’s settings.

7) Sharing and Disclosure

We do not share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing. We may disclose information only in limited circumstances:

Service providers: hosting/infrastructure providers that process data on our behalf to operate the site
Advertising providers: only to the extent needed to display ads (see Section 6), if enabled
Legal requirements: if required by law, regulation, or valid legal process
Security: to protect the rights, safety, and security of the platform and its users

8) International Processing and Cross-Border Disclosure

The service is operated from Ukraine, and data may be processed in other countries depending on our hosting and advertising providers. These countries may have different privacy laws than New Zealand. We take reasonable steps to work with providers that maintain appropriate safeguards.

9) Data Retention

We keep personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including operating the platform, maintaining security, and complying with legal obligations.

Account data: retained until you delete your account (subject to limited retention where required for security or legal reasons)
Poll data: retained to preserve the integrity and continuity of public poll results
Server logs: typically retained for a limited period for security and operational purposes

10) Security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect information. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If a privacy breach occurs that we are required to notify under applicable law, we will take reasonable steps to notify affected individuals and/or relevant authorities where required.

11) Your Rights (New Zealand)

If New Zealand privacy law applies, you may have the right to request access to personal information we hold about you and to request correction of that information. You can submit requests by emailing mail@nz.referendum.social.

If you believe we have not addressed your concern, you may contact the New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner via their website privacy.org.nz.

12) Account Deletion

You can delete your account using the platform’s account deletion functionality (if available in your account settings). If you need assistance, contact mail@nz.referendum.social.