Privacy Policy & Data Collection

Event Renaissance Feedback

Effective Date: February 6, 2026

Last Updated: September 30, 2026

Overview

Event Renaissance Feedback is designed with privacy as a core principle. The feedback form does not ask for and does not store any attendee identity: no name, no email, no account, no cookie tying a submission back to a person. It does record the submitter's IP address and browser user agent string with every submission, for abuse protection -- see below for why and how that is used.

Data Collection Summary

✅ What We Collect

The feedback form collects the following data, per submission:

The five rating questions and the free-text comment above are the current (v1) question set, wired up in database-seed-v3.sql and served by GET /api/questions; wording matches the NASBA Statement on Standards for CPE Programs evaluation criteria. An earlier version of this document described a different set of fields (Module ID, Speaker Knowledge, Content Depth, Module Satisfaction) from a prior release -- those fields no longer exist in the schema or the form.

Why IP address and user agent are recorded

POST /api/feedback is a public, unauthenticated endpoint that accepts public URLs derived from a session's QR code, and organizers announce sessions to rooms of hundreds of attendees sharing the venue's network. The IP address and user agent are recorded solely to rate-limit and detect scripted or abusive submission patterns; they are not linked to any attendee identity, not displayed alongside feedback in the admin UI's normal reporting views, and not used for tracking, profiling, marketing, or any purpose beyond abuse protection.

❌ What We DO NOT Collect

The feedback form does not collect:

• ❌ Names
• ❌ Email addresses
• ❌ Phone numbers
• ❌ Device identifiers (beyond the user agent string noted above)
• ❌ Browser fingerprints
• ❌ Geographic location
• ❌ Any cookies (zero document.cookie usage anywhere in the codebase)
• ❌ Any account, login, or other identity linking a submission to an attendee

Live counter — organizer view

The live counter screen (count.html) is an organizer-facing display. It shows aggregate feedback counts and a QR code that points submitters to the feedback form. The live counter:

• Does not collect any data about the organizer or any submitter
• Does not use cookies of any kind (zero document.cookie usage anywhere in the codebase)
• Stores user-display preferences (theme, sound on/off, refresh interval, celebration level) in browser sessionStorage only — these are erased when the browser session ends and never sent to a server
• Includes a session switcher that lets the organizer change which session is displayed without reloading the page; this affects display only and does not introduce any new data collection or persistence

How Data is Used

Primary Purpose

Feedback data is used exclusively to:

1. Improve Session Quality - Identify strengths and areas for improvement in session content and delivery
2. Evaluate Speaker Performance - Provide constructive feedback to speakers
3. Optimize Content Depth - Ensure technical level matches audience needs
4. Aggregate Analytics - Generate statistical insights on conference programme effectiveness

Data Access

• Administrators - Authorized event organizers and administrators can view aggregated and individual feedback
• Speakers - May receive anonymized feedback summaries relevant to their sessions
• Analysts - Statistical reports may be generated for program evaluation

Data Sharing

• Feedback data is not sold to third parties
• Feedback data is not shared outside Event Renaissance and the organizers of the event it was collected for
• Aggregate statistics (with no identifying information) may be included in reports

Data Retention

User Rights:

• Feedback is anonymous, so individual deletion requests cannot be processed
• Event organizers can delete all feedback associated with an event
• Bulk deletion capabilities are available to administrators

Technical Security

Data Protection Measures

1. Encryption in Transit

• All data transmitted via HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Secure connections between frontend and backend

2. Encryption at Rest

• Azure SQL Database with encryption enabled
• Secure storage of all feedback data

3. Access Control

• Admin panel requires authentication
• Role-based access control (RBAC)
• Session management with expiration

4. Database Security

• Parameterized queries (SQL injection prevention)
• Azure SQL firewall rules
• Regular automated backups

Anonymous Feedback Guidelines

For Feedback Providers

Please DO:

• ✅ Provide honest, constructive feedback
• ✅ Comment on content quality and delivery
• ✅ Suggest improvements

Please DO NOT:

• ❌ Include your name or contact information
• ❌ Include names of other attendees
• ❌ Include sensitive or confidential information
• ❌ Include any personally identifiable information

Note: The form itself does not ask for attendee identity, but the free-text comment field is unmoderated -- users are responsible for not voluntarily including their own or others' personal information there.

Compliance

Regulatory Alignment

This application is designed to comply with:

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) - Anonymous data collection
• CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) - No personal information collected
• FERPA (if applicable to educational contexts) - No student records
• Internal Privacy Policies - Organization-specific requirements

Data Classification

All collected feedback is classified as:

• Public or Internal Use Only - No confidential or sensitive data
• Non-Personal Data - Cannot be used to identify individuals
• Aggregate Statistical Data - When used in reports

User Rights

Feedback carries no attendee identity, so an individual submission cannot be traced back to a specific person by anything the form collects:

• Right to Access - Not applicable to feedback content (no attendee identity is collected); the IP address and user agent recorded for abuse protection are not attendee-identifying on their own
• Right to Deletion - Feedback is not linked to an identity, so a per-person deletion request cannot be fulfilled; event organizers can delete all feedback for an event
• Right to Correction - Not applicable (no personal profile is stored)
• Right to Portability - Not applicable (no personal profile is stored)

Event-Level Deletion:

• Event organizers can delete all feedback for specific events
• Bulk deletion available through admin panel

Changes to This Policy

We reserve the right to update this privacy policy. Changes will be:

• Documented with effective dates
• Communicated to users through the application
• Posted in the repository and documentation

Version History:

• v1.0 (Feb 6, 2026) - Initial privacy policy, PII collection removed

Contact Information

For questions about this privacy policy or data practices:

This feedback application is operated by Event Renaissance, which is responsible for the data described above. If you have a question about this policy, or about feedback you submitted, contact Event Renaissance through the organisers of the event you attended.

Transparency Commitment

This document describes exactly what the feedback form collects, what it does not collect, and why -- including the IP address and user agent recorded for abuse protection, which are the only two values that are not supplied deliberately by the person submitting.

The source code for this application is not public. Where this policy makes a factual claim about what the software does, that claim is maintained against the code by the people who operate it; the sections above are written to be specific enough to hold the operator to it.

Summary

• 🔒 No identity requested: No name, email, account or cookie
• 📊 Answers are not linked to you: Feedback is stored without attendee identity
• 🛡️ IP and browser recorded for abuse protection only: Never shown beside your answers, never used to identify you
• 🔐 Secure storage: Encrypted in transit and at rest
• ✅ Aligned with GDPR and CCPA principles

This privacy policy is part of the Event Renaissance Feedback documentation.