Privacy Policy

The data controller is PoliticaHub, a service operated under Swedish law. For privacy questions, access requests, erasure requests, or other data protection inquiries, contact North@politicahub.com.

PoliticaHub is designed to work primarily as a read-only public reference site. We collect minimal data:

• Standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages visited) needed to keep the service available, secure, and performant.
• An essential HTTP-only session cookie for authenticated administrators.
• If you consent: analytics data via Google Analytics (GA4), advertising-related data via Google AdSense, and local storage for features such as recent visit history, bookmarks, quiz scores, and study progress.

User-initiated data such as bookmarks and study progress stays in your browser and is not transmitted to our servers unless you actively submit it.

Operational data is used to run the site, diagnose errors, monitor abuse, enforce security controls, and improve reliability.

Analytics data (when consented) helps us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve content and performance. Advertising data (when consented) supports the free public service financially. We do not operate PoliticaHub as a social network, do not build user profiles for targeting, and aim to avoid unnecessary collection of personal data.

If you subscribe to the PoliticaHub newsletter, we process your email address, your selected topic interests, the signup source, and a record of the consent text/version you accepted at signup.

Newsletter subscriptions use a double opt-in flow: we store a temporary pending record until you confirm through the verification link sent to your inbox. Pending confirmation records expire automatically after 24 hours if not confirmed.

Once confirmed, we store subscription status, topic preferences, and manage/unsubscribe token hashes so you can update preferences or unsubscribe later. If you unsubscribe, we keep a minimal suppression record as needed to honor that choice and prevent accidental resubscription or future sends.

Newsletter delivery and automation may use service providers acting as processors on our behalf. They are used only to send, automate, or manage the newsletter and are covered by the processor and international-transfer disclosures in this policy.

We categorise cookies and storage into three groups. Only essential cookies load without consent; analytics and advertising require your opt-in.

Analytics and advertising cookies are disabled until you consent. Personalized advertising is not enabled unless you opt into advertising storage. If you later withdraw consent, PoliticaHub clears its own optional storage. Third-party cookies may persist until they expire or you clear them via your browser settings.

PoliticaHub uses the following third-party services that may process personal data:

• Google Cloud / Firebase (hosting, database) — data may be processed in the United States and other Google data centre locations.
• Google Analytics (GA4) (usage statistics, consent required) — data is processed by Google LLC in the United States.
• Google AdSense (advertising, consent required) — data is processed by Google LLC in the United States.
• Wikimedia Commons — images loaded from Wikimedia servers on public pages. No personal data is sent by PoliticaHub, but your browser connects directly to Wikimedia servers.

Where personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), these transfers rely on the European Commission's adequacy decisions, Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), or the service provider's compliance with equivalent safeguards. Google's data processing terms include SCCs for international transfers.

We process data on the following legal bases under GDPR:

• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) — operational logging, security monitoring, and abuse prevention.
• Necessity (Art. 6(1)(b)) — essential admin session cookies for authenticated access.
• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) — analytics, advertising, and optional browser-side storage that are not strictly required.

Operational logs are retained for approximately 30 days unless a longer period is required for a specific incident. Analytics data retention is governed by Google's settings (default 14 months). Browser-side storage remains on your device until it expires, is overwritten, or you clear it.

If GDPR or similar privacy laws apply to you, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification — request correction of inaccurate data.
• Erasure — request deletion of your data where there is no compelling reason to continue processing it.
• Restriction — request that we limit how we use your data.
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent — withdraw consent at any time via the privacy settings in the site footer, without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
• Lodge a complaint — complain to your local data protection supervisory authority.

To exercise any of these rights, contact North@politicahub.com. We will respond within 30 days.

PoliticaHub is an educational reference site. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. The classroom and quiz features store data locally in the browser and do not require an account. If you believe a child has submitted personal data to us, contact North@politicahub.com and we will delete it promptly.

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The effective date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised. Material changes will be communicated via a notice on the site.

For privacy questions, data requests, or policy concerns, contact North@politicahub.com.