Privacy Policy
Introduction
At Citizens Draft, we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of our users. This privacy policy outlines how we collect, use, and safeguard the information you provide to us while using our legislative engagement platform.
Information We Collect
We collect the following types of information:
- Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your email address and optional profile information.
- Bill Interaction Data: We track how you interact with bills, including viewing, voting, and commenting activities.
- Voting Information: Your votes on bills (Support, Needs Changes, Oppose) and any reasoning you provide.
- Bill Content: Any content you create when drafting bills or suggesting changes to existing bills.
- Device Information: For anonymous users, we create a device fingerprint to prevent duplicate voting while maintaining privacy.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide and improve our platform services
- Process and display your votes and bill contributions
- Generate aggregated statistics about bill engagement
- Track public opinion on legislation over time
- Prevent duplicate voting and maintain platform integrity
- Send you updates about bills you follow or have created (if you opt in)
Anonymous Participation
Citizens Draft is designed to allow meaningful participation while respecting privacy:
- You can browse bills and vote without creating an account
- Anonymous votes are tracked using device fingerprinting to prevent duplicate voting
- Anonymous user data is stored for 30 days after last activity
- Vote counts are publicly visible, but individual votes can remain anonymous
Bill Types and Data Usage
How we use your data varies by bill type:
- Historic Bills: Your votes help create a longitudinal record of public opinion over time
- Current Bills: Your votes and feedback may be used in aggregated form for the upcoming email template feature (with your consent)
- Future Bills: Your votes and suggestions help creators improve their proposals
Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your information, including:
- Secure authentication through Firebase
- Data encryption in transit and at rest
- Regular security audits and updates
- Minimization of personal data collection
Third-Party Sharing
We may share your information with:
- Service providers who help us operate our platform (hosting, analytics, etc.)
- Bill creators may receive aggregated, anonymized feedback about their bills
- For Current bills, with your explicit consent, your feedback may be included in email templates for contacting legislators
We do not sell your personal information to third parties.
Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Request deletion of your account and personal data
- Object to certain processing of your information
- Download your data in a portable format
To exercise these rights, please contact us at privacy@citizensdraft.com.
Data Retention
We retain your information as follows:
- Account information: Until you request deletion
- Anonymous user data: 30 days after last activity
- Public bills and votes: Indefinitely as part of the public record
- Deleted bills: 30-day soft deletion period before permanent removal
Changes to this Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the updated policy on our platform and, if appropriate, via email.
Related Policies
Please also review our Editors Policy if you plan to contribute content to Citizens Draft, and our Terms and Conditions for overall platform usage guidelines.