Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 12, 2026

Public Forum ("the Platform," "we," "us") operates a civic question-and-answer service that hosts town halls and public forums for various organizing bodies ("Event Hosts"). This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices available to you.

1. Information we collect

Submitted content. When you submit a question, we collect the question text, your chosen theme/category, and, if you provide them, your name and city/state or province. You may submit anonymously; if you do, we do not collect your name.

Optional email address. If you choose to be notified when your question is answered, we collect the email address you provide for that single purpose.

Voting activity. To prevent duplicate votes, we store a device-level identifier (not tied to your name or account) that records which questions you have upvoted on that device or browser.

Staff account information. Event moderators and administrators sign in with an email address and password, managed through our authentication provider. We store your assigned role and the event(s) you are authorized to moderate.

Basic technical data. Like most web services, our hosting and infrastructure providers automatically log standard technical information (e.g., IP address, browser type, timestamps) for security and reliability purposes.

2. How we use this information

To display approved questions publicly and publish official responses
To notify you by email if you requested notification and your question is answered
To prevent duplicate voting on the same question from the same device
To manage staff access and permissions for event moderation
To maintain the security, integrity, and reliability of the Platform
To produce aggregate, non-identifying statistics (e.g., vote counts by theme) for Event Hosts

3. Public nature of submitted content

Important: Any question you submit that is approved by an Event Host's moderation team becomes publicly visible on the Platform, along with any name and location you provided (unless submitted anonymously) and the published response. Once published, this content forms part of a public record and may remain visible indefinitely, even after the event concludes.

Please do not include sensitive personal information (financial account details, medical information, national ID numbers, or similar) in a submitted question. We are not responsible for information you choose to include voluntarily in public-facing content.

4. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only as follows:

With the relevant Event Host. Questions submitted for a given event are visible to that event's assigned moderators and administrators only — not to moderators of other events on the Platform.
With service providers. We use third-party infrastructure providers (including our database, authentication, and hosting providers) to operate the Platform. These providers process data on our behalf and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes.
Linked third-party services. The Platform may link to independent tools operated by Event Hosts or their partners (for example, event logistics or registration platforms such as IntraForms). These are separate services with their own privacy practices; we encourage you to review their policies before using them.
Legal requirements. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of the Platform, its users, or the public.

5. Data retention

Public event records (approved and answered questions) are retained indefinitely as part of the public record of an event, unless an Event Host removes an event or specific content. Staff account data is retained while an account remains active and is removed upon request or when access is revoked. Optional email addresses collected for notification purposes are retained only as long as needed to send that notification, and may be deleted on request.

6. Your choices and rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, or request deletion of personal information you have submitted. To make such a request, contact us at support@publicforum.global. Note that we may be unable to remove content that has already been incorporated into a published public record without affecting the integrity of that record, but we will remove personally identifying details (such as a name) on request where feasible.

7. Children's privacy

The Platform is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the relevant minimum age in your jurisdiction). If you believe a child has submitted personal information, contact us and we will take appropriate action.

8. International use

This is a global platform, and information may be processed in countries other than your own, including the United States. By using the Platform, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in such locations.

9. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information submitted to the Platform. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by an updated effective date at the top of this page.

11. Contact us

Questions about this policy can be directed to support@publicforum.global.