Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with PollFlux, we collect information in the following categories:

• Registered Account Data: When poll creators or comment moderators register an account, we collect an email address, display name, and securely hashed password credentials managed via ASP.NET Core Identity.
• Voting Integrity Telemetry (No-Login Voters): When an individual votes on a public or private poll, we record technical parameters to ensure that each person votes only once within the creator's configured cooldown period. This includes a salted, one-way hash of the voter's IP address and client browser entropy (fingerprint), the selected option identifier, and the timestamp. We do NOT link anonymous vote hashes to real-world identities or sell them to data brokers.
• Public Comments & Feedback: If you use our embedded threaded comment widgets, we collect your display name, avatar choice, message content, and timestamp. Public comments are visible to all visitors viewing that topic.
• Standard Web Server Logs: Like virtually all web servers, our infrastructure logs incoming HTTP requests, user-agent strings, referring URLs, and error codes for cybersecurity defense, DDoS mitigation, and server health monitoring.

2. Google AdSense & Third-Party Advertising

We display third-party advertisements served by Google AdSense on our public editorial and landing pages to support the free operation of the PollFlux platform. To comply with Google AdSense program policies, please take note of the following mandatory disclosures:

We configure our advertising pipeline to never display intrusive pop-ups, auto-playing video overlays with audio, or deceptive ad units. Ad tags are strictly disabled on authentication screens, account dashboards, administrative tools, and embedded vote widgets.

3. Web Analytics (Google Analytics 4)

We utilize Google Analytics 4 ("GA4") to analyze aggregate visitor metrics, such as page load speed, popular topic categories, geographical audience distribution, and device viewports. GA4 anonymizes IP addresses by default and does not log precise individual locations. You can prevent Google Analytics from identifying you on visits by downloading and installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

4. Cookies & Local Storage Usage

PollFlux uses first-party cookies and local browser storage strictly for security, session continuity, and voting integrity:

• PollFlux_Voted_{PollId}: A first-party cookie storing a timestamped token indicating that you have voted in a specific poll, preventing accidental or deliberate double-voting.
• __RequestVerificationToken: An essential cryptographic token protecting forms and vote submissions from Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
• pollflux_cookie_consent: Remembers your cookie preferences so you do not see the consent banner repeatedly.

For a full audit of all cookies and management instructions, please consult our dedicated Cookie Policy.

5. Legal Bases for Data Processing (GDPR)

For visitors residing in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, PollFlux processes personal data under the following legal frameworks established by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Legitimate Interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): Necessary to maintain platform security, prevent fraud and automated voting bots, and ensure reliable polling outcomes.
• Contractual Necessity (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR): Necessary to provide account management, poll authoring, and comment moderation services requested by users.
• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR): Where required by applicable law, such as non-essential third-party advertising cookies, based on explicit user consent via our banner.

6. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR & CCPA/CPRA)

Regardless of your geographic location, PollFlux affords you full control over your personal data:

• Right to Access & Portability: You may request a copy of any personal data linked to your account in a machine-readable format.
• Right to Rectification: You may update or correct inaccurate profile details at any time from your account settings.
• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may request full deletion of your registered account, associated polls, and authored comments.
• California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA): California residents have the right to know what personal categories we collect, request deletion, and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. PollFlux does NOT sell personal data to data brokers.

7. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

PollFlux is an audience engagement and polling utility intended for general audiences, professionals, educators, and event organizers. We do not knowingly solicit, collect, or store personal information from children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in the European Union). If we become aware that an individual under this age threshold has registered an account or provided identifiable data without verified parental consent, we will immediately purge such data from our databases.

8. Data Retention & Security Protections

We employ modern cryptographic and operational safeguards to protect user data. All data transmissions are encrypted in transit via modern Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.2 / TLS 1.3) with HTTPS enforcement and HSTS. Account passwords are salted and hashed using industry-standard PBKDF2/Argon2 algorithms. Transient vote logs used for duplicate detection are retained for a rolling period of up to 30 days before being purged or permanently anonymized into aggregate statistics.

9. Policy Revisions

We may periodically update this Privacy Policy to reflect platform features, security upgrades, or evolving international regulatory requirements. When material changes occur, we will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

10. Contact Us & Data Inquiries

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please reach out to our dedicated privacy desk: