Privacy Policy

Civik Platform (“Civik,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the civik.us website and related services. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have concerning your data.

We treat your participation on this platform as an act of civic consequence. Your data is handled with the same seriousness.

1. Information we collect

Account information

When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and a password (stored as a one-way cryptographic hash, never in plain text).

Address and district data

If you create a constituent profile, we collect your residential address. This address is used solely to determine your legislative districts (U.S. Congressional, state house, and state senate) and match you with your elected representatives. Your full street address is stored securely and is never shared with other users, legislators, or third parties. Legislators see only aggregated, district-level data.

Legislative stance data

When you take a position on legislation (support or oppose), that stance is recorded and associated with your account. Stances are aggregated by district and presented to legislators without personally identifying information. Individual stances are visible on your own profile but are not publicly displayed with your name unless you choose to make them public.

Survey responses

If you respond to a legislator-created survey, your answers are associated with your account and presented to the survey creator in aggregate. Individual responses are not shared with other users.

Usage data

We collect standard server logs including IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps. This data is used for platform security, performance monitoring, and aggregate analytics. It is not sold or shared with advertisers.

2. How we use your information

• To verify your identity and match you with your legislative districts
• To display relevant legislation based on your state and district
• To aggregate constituent sentiment for legislators (without personal identification)
• To deliver survey results to their creators
• To communicate account-related information (password resets, security notices)
• To maintain platform security and prevent abuse
• To improve the platform through aggregate usage analytics

3. Data sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share your personal data with advertisers. We do not provide your personal information to political campaigns.

Legislators on the platform see aggregated stance data from their districts. They see how many verified constituents in their district support or oppose a given bill. They do not see your name, address, or contact information through the aggregation.

We may share data with service providers who help us operate the platform (hosting, email delivery, error monitoring), subject to confidentiality agreements. We will disclose information when required by law or valid legal process.

4. Data retention

Account data is retained for as long as your account is active. Legislative stances are retained as part of the historical record of constituent engagement. If you delete your account, your personal information is removed, but previously submitted stances may be retained in anonymized, aggregate form as part of the legislative record.

5. Security

Passwords are hashed using bcrypt. Sessions are managed through encrypted JWT tokens. All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Database access is restricted and monitored. We take reasonable measures to protect your data, but no system is perfectly secure.

6. Your rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate personal data
• Request deletion of your account and personal data
• Export your data in a machine-readable format
• Withdraw consent for optional data processing

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@civik.us.

7. Cookies

We use essential cookies for authentication and session management, and a preference cookie to store your theme selection. We do not use third-party tracking cookies or advertising cookies. For details, see our Cookie Policy.

8. Children

Civik is not directed at individuals under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated through the platform or by email. Your continued use of Civik after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

10. Contact

For questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, contact us at privacy@civik.us.