Privacy Policy

Last Updated: November 7, 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to The PoliMap. We are committed to transparency and the protection of your privacy. This policy explains what data we process, why, how we keep it secure, and your rights under UK data protection law.

The operator of this website, is the "Data Controller" for the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

2. A Note on "Special Category Data"

The PoliMap quiz is designed to calculate your position on the political spectrum. To do this, we must process your answers to the 20 propositions. Under UK GDPR, this information, when processed to determine your coordinates, is legally defined as "political opinions".

"Political opinions" are a "special category" of personal data, which are given a higher level of legal protection. We are prohibited from processing this data unless you give us your explicit consent.

You provide this explicit consent by ticking the consent box. The processing is limited to the single, instantaneous act of calculating your (Economic, Social) coordinates. We do not store your individual answers or your final coordinates.

You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time, but as we do not store the data, this right is exercised by simply not taking (or re-taking) the quiz.

3. Summary of Data We Process

We are committed to data minimisation. This table summarises the only three processing activities we perform.

ActivityData We ProcessOur Lawful Basis (UK GDPR)Why We Do It (Purpose)
Taking "The PoliMap" QuizYour 20 quiz responses and the resulting (Economic, Social) coordinates.Explicit Consent (Article 9, UK GDPR)To perform the calculation you have requested and display your final coordinates on the political map.
Counting Website Visits (Analytics)Anonymised data from your request (e.g., device type, country). Vercel Analytics does not store IP addresses.Legitimate Interests (Article 6, UK GDPR)To understand how many people visit the website, which helps us maintain and improve the service.
Counting Quiz CompletionsServer log data (Your IP address is ephemerally processed to handle the request, but not stored).Legitimate Interests (Article 6, UK GDPR)To store an anonymous, aggregate count of how many times the quiz is completed (e.g., "500 quizzes taken").

4. How We Process Your Data

Quiz Data ("Political Opinions"):

When you submit your 20 answers, our server performs the calculation as described in our Methodology. This processing is "ephemeral"—it happens in real-time. Your individual answers and final score are never written to a database or stored. They cease to exist the moment you close your browser, and we cannot link them to you.

Website Visit Analytics:

We use Vercel Analytics to count website visitors. This is a privacy-first service that does not use cookies and does not track you across the internet. It provides us with a simple, aggregate count of visitors.

Quiz Completion Counter:

When you complete the quiz, our server increments a simple, anonymous counter in our database (e.g., "Total Quizzes Taken: 501"). This process ephemerally involves your IP address to handle the web request, but the only data stored is the final, aggregate, anonymous number. No personal data is stored as part of this action.

5. Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) require user consent for all "non-essential" cookies.

We use cookies necessary for site functionality. We don't use advertising or tracking cookies.

  • We do not use tracking cookies.
  • We do not use advertising cookies.
  • Our website visit analytics (Vercel Analytics) are cookie-less.
  • Our quiz completion counter is a server-side function that does not require cookies.

Because we only use essential cookies, we are not required to show you a cookie consent banner under PECR. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.

6. Your Data Protection Rights

As a UK user, you have specific rights under UK GDPR.

  • Right to be Informed: This Privacy Policy fulfils that right.
  • Right of Access: You can request a copy of the data we hold about you. (As we do not store any personal data, there is no personal data to provide).
  • Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate data.
  • Right to Erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal data.
  • Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data.
  • Right to Object: You can object to our processing, particularly where we rely on "Legitimate Interests."

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@thepolimap.com.

7. Data Security and Transfers

We take security seriously. Our website uses HTTPS, encrypting all data between your browser and our server. All analytics data is processed anonymously.

Our website is hosted by Vercel, Inc., which processes data in compliance with the UK GDPR, including using the UK Addendum as a valid data transfer mechanism.

8. How to Complain

If you have any concerns about how we handle your data, please contact us first at hello@thepolimap.com.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page.