How We Use Data

What Data We Collect

When you use ThoughtCove, we collect two types of information: account information and poll response data. Account information includes your name, email address, and password. Poll response data includes your votes, any demographic information you voluntarily provide, and technical data like your IP address and browser fingerprint used to verify the authenticity of your responses.

Your Account Information

Your personal account information — name, email address, and any profile details — is never sold, rented, or shared with third parties for marketing purposes. We use it solely to operate your account, send you verification and transactional emails, and communicate with you about ThoughtCove.

Poll Responses Are Anonymous

Your individual poll responses are never attributed to you personally. When you vote on a poll, your response is aggregated with all other responses and displayed as part of the collective result. Demographic information you provide — such as age range, income bracket, or gender — is used only to show how different groups answered, never to identify you individually.

How We Use Poll Data

Poll data is the core of what ThoughtCove does. We use it to display results, generate insights articles, and understand public opinion on topics that matter. Aggregate, anonymized poll data — meaning results and trends with no personally identifiable information attached — may be shared with or sold to researchers, media organizations, businesses, and other interested parties. This data reflects what people think, not who specifically thinks it.

What We Will Never Do

We will never sell your name, email address, or any information that could be used to identify you personally. We will never share your individual vote history with anyone outside ThoughtCove. We will never use your data to target you with advertising from third parties.

Data Retention

We retain poll response data indefinitely as part of the public record of opinion. Account information is retained for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your personal information is removed from our systems. Your poll responses, stripped of any account association, may remain as part of our anonymized dataset.

Contact

Questions about how we handle your data? Reach us at privacy@thoughtcove.app.