Privacy Policy
At VoteStack, we take your privacy seriously. This policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our platform.
Introduction
VoteStack ("we", "our", or "us") operates an online voting platform. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information. Please read it carefully. Continued use of the platform constitutes acceptance of this policy.
Information We Collect
Information You Provide
We collect information you give us directly, including:
- Account details - name, email address, hashed password
- Election data - titles, candidate names, voter ID lists
- Voting records - participation status and vote timestamps
- Profile preferences and settings
Automatically Collected Information
When you access the platform we automatically collect:
- IP address and device identifiers
- Browser type and operating system
- Page visit timestamps and navigation paths
- Error logs and diagnostic data
Biometric Data
VoteStack offers an optional face verification feature that election organizers may choose to enable. When this feature is active for an election:
- Reference photos submitted by the organizer are processed by our AI service (InsightFace) to generate a mathematical face embedding (512-dimensional vector)
- Original photos are immediately discarded - only the mathematical embedding is stored, encrypted, in the database
- At voting time, a live camera capture is processed to generate a new embedding, which is compared against the stored one using cosine similarity
- The live capture frame is processed in memory and never stored
- Face embeddings cannot be used to reconstruct the original photo
- Embeddings are stored per-election and are deleted when the election or voter record is deleted
Consent: Election organizers are responsible for obtaining explicit consent from voters before enrolling their biometric data. VoteStack does not verify that consent has been obtained.
Legal basis: Processing of biometric data is based on explicit consent under GDPR Article 9(2)(a) or equivalent applicable law. Organizers must ensure they have a valid legal basis before enabling this feature.
How We Use Your Information
We use collected information to:
- Provide, maintain, and improve our voting services
- Authenticate users and prevent fraudulent voting
- Process elections, record votes, and deliver results
- Send security alerts and administrative notices
- Analyze usage patterns to improve the platform
- Comply with applicable laws and enforce our terms
- Respond to support requests
Data Protection & GDPR Compliance
We are committed to compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and equivalent data protection laws. As a data subject you hold the following rights:
- Right to Access - Request a copy of your personal data
- Right to Rectification - Request correction of inaccurate data
- Right to Erasure - Request deletion of your personal data
- Right to Restrict Processing - Request limited processing of your data
- Right to Data Portability - Request transfer of your data
- Right to Object - Object to processing of your personal data
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@votestack.com. We will respond within 30 days.
Data Security
We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect your data:
- TLS/HTTPS encryption for all data in transit (enforced by Cloudflare)
- PBKDF2-SHA256 password hashing (100,000 iterations) via OpenSSL - not plain bcrypt
- Session tokens generated via RAND_bytes (32 bytes, 64 hex chars) stored in Redis with 24h TTL
- Per-user data isolation on every database query - no cross-account data leakage
- Rate limiting via Redis INCR/EXPIRE (100 requests per IP per 60 seconds)
- Face embeddings stored encrypted - raw biometric photos are never persisted
- CORS origin validation - only whitelisted domains can call the API
- Request size cap (1MB) and 5-second receive timeout to prevent abuse
- INSERT ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING for vote writes - eliminates duplicate-vote races at DB level
While we strive to protect your information, no transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but commit to notifying you of any breach without undue delay.
Data Retention
We retain your data only as long as necessary:
- Account data - retained while your account is active
- Election and voter data - per your settings plus any legal requirements
- Voting records - retained for audit and compliance purposes
- Server logs - typically 90 days for security purposes
You may request deletion of your account and data at any time, subject to legal obligations.
Data Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal data. We share information only in these limited cases:
- With Your Consent - When you explicitly authorise sharing
- Service Providers - Trusted vendors under strict confidentiality agreements
- Legal Requirements - When required by law or valid government order
- Business Transfers - In connection with a merger, acquisition, or asset sale
- Rights Protection - To enforce our terms or protect user safety
Cookies and Tracking
We use cookies strictly for platform operation:
- Essential Cookies - Required for authentication and core functionality
- Security Cookies - Protect against fraudulent activity
- Performance Cookies - Help us understand usage patterns to improve the platform
You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect functionality.
International Data Transfers
Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence. We ensure appropriate safeguards - including standard contractual clauses - are in place for all such transfers in compliance with applicable law.
Children's Privacy
Our platform is not directed at users under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
Your Privacy Choices
- Update your account details at any time in your profile settings
- Request a copy of your personal data by contacting us
- Delete your account and associated data via account settings
- Opt out of non-essential communications via email preferences
- Control cookies through your browser settings
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy here and updating the "Last updated" date. For significant changes we will also send an email notice. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
Contact Us
Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy: