Privacy Policy

1. Scope & Applicability

This Privacy Policy applies globally to all interactions with the Pollz Platform, including but not limited to:

• Poll Creators: Individuals or entities who register an account to create, distribute, and manage polls, surveys, quizzes, or forms.
• Poll Respondents: Any individual who participates in or responds to a poll, survey, or form created via the Platform, whether logged into an account or not.
• Corporate/Enterprise Users: Administrators, employees, and members of organizations utilizing Pollz's team, business, or enterprise plans.
• Visitors: Individuals who browse our marketing website or public-facing pages.

Our data processing activities are designed to comply with stringent data protection frameworks, primarily aligned with:

• India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA)
• The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where applicable to data subjects in the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom (UK).
• Other applicable national and state-level privacy laws (e.g., California Consumer Privacy Act / CPRA) to the extent they apply.
• General international data protection best practices and principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

A. Poll Creators

When you sign up, create content, or manage your account, we collect:

• Identity & Contact Data: Full name, email address, phone number, profile picture, organization name, job title, and billing address.
• Account Credentials: Username, hashed password, and authentication tokens.
• User-Generated Content: All poll/survey questions, answer options, settings, configurations, logic paths, branding elements, and instructional text.
• Communication Data: Records of your correspondence with our support teams, feedback submissions, and survey responses you provide to us
• Payment Data: For paid plans, our secure third-party payment processors (e.g., Stripe, Razorpay) handle card details. We only receive and store anonymized transaction identifiers and billing information necessary for invoicing.

B. Poll Respondents

The data collected from respondents is entirely controlled and configured by the Poll Creator. Pollz acts as a processor of this data on the Creator's instructions. We may collect and process:

• No Personal Data: For anonymous polls, we collect only the response choices and technical metadata (timestamp, duration).
• Identified Response Data: If enabled by the Poll Creator, we may collect and link responses to:
  • Name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Employee ID
  • Department
  • Custom identifier fields (e.g., "Employee ID")
• Poll Responses: All answers, free-text responses, ratings, and uploaded files submitted by the respondent.

C. Corporate/Enterprise Administrators:

For team and enterprise accounts, we collect additional data to administer the account:

• Administrator Data: Names, work emails, and roles of team administrators.
• Member Directory Data: Employee/team member lists (name, work email, department, role) imported or added to facilitate poll distribution and access control.
• Single Sign-On (SSO) Data: If using SSO (e.g., Google), we receive a unique identifier and basic profile information as permitted by your identity provider.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically (Technical & Usage Data)

We automatically collect certain information when you use the Platform:

• Device & Connection Information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, unique device identifiers, mobile network information.
• Log Data: Server logs recording your requests, access times, pages viewed, features used, and crash reports.
• Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, pixels, and similar technologies for essential operation, security, analytics, and performance. For details, see our separate Cookie Policy.
• Platform Analytics: Metadata about poll interactions (e.g., response rates, completion times, drop-off points, geolocation at country/region level derived from IP).
• Referral Data: Information about the website or source that referred you to our Platform.

3. Legal Bases & Purposes of Processing

We process your personal data only when we have a valid legal basis to do so. Our primary bases and purposes are:

Important Clarification: Pollz does not use the content of poll responses (yours or your respondents') for advertising purposes, nor do we sell this data to third parties for their marketing. Aggregate, anonymized analytics may be used internally to improve platform features.

4. Data Controller vs. Data Processor: Critical Distinction & Limitation of Liability

This section is fundamental to understanding responsibilities and liability.

Pollz Disclaims Responsibility for Creator Content and Actions: Pollz does not monitor, verify, or endorse the content of polls created by users. We are not responsible for decisions made by Poll Creators or any third party based on poll results. The Poll Creator indemnifies and holds Pollz harmless from any claims, liabilities, or damages arising from their poll content, their failure to obtain proper consents, or their misuse of respondent data.

5. Data Retention & Deletion

• Creator Account Data: Retained for the duration your account is active. You may delete your account, which triggers the deletion of your profile and personal data, except where retention is necessary for: (i) compliance with legal obligations (e.g., tax records); (ii) resolving disputes; (iii) enforcing our agreements; or (iv) protecting our legal rights.
• Poll and Response Data: Retained as long as the poll/survey exists in the Creator's account or as specified in the contractual agreement for corporate accounts. Creators can delete polls and responses at any time. Upon account deletion, all associated poll data is scheduled for permanent deletion from our active systems within 90 days, though it may persist in secure, encrypted backups for up to 12 months before final eradication.
• Technical & Log Data: Retained for a limited period necessary for security, auditing, and platform improvement, typically not exceeding 12-24 months.

6. Data Sharing & Third Party Disclosures

We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

• With Your Explicit Direction: To other users within your corporate team or as configured in your poll (e.g., sharing results with co-collaborators).
• Service Providers (Processors): With trusted vendors who provide essential services under strict contractual data processing agreements (DPAs). These include:
• Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud)
• Analytics and performance monitoring services
• Customer support and communication platforms
• Payment processors
• mail delivery services
• Corporate Successors: In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of substantially all of our assets, user information may be transferred as a business asset.
• For Legal Compliance & Protection: Where required by law, subpoena, or other legal process; to investigate potential violations of our Terms; to protect the rights, property, or safety of Pollz, our users, or the public; or to defend against legal claims.
• With Your Consent: For any other purpose disclosed to you with your prior permission.

We DO NOT sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties for their commercial marketing purposes.

7. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including India and the United States, where our servers and primary data centers are located. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from your jurisdiction. We ensure all such transfers are governed by appropriate safeguards, including:

• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission.
• Compliance with the DPDPA's provisions on cross-border transfers.
• Ensuring our third-party providers offer equivalent protection through contractual commitments or certifications like the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

8. Security: Our Commitment and Your Acknowledgement

Pollz implements a robust, multi-layered security program designed to protect your data, incorporating:

• Encryption: Data in transit using TLS 1.2+ and data at rest using AES-256 encryption.
• Access Controls: Strict role-based access controls, principle of least privilege, and mandatory authentication for all internal access.
• Infrastructure Security: Hosting on SOC 2 Type II / ISO 27001 compliant cloud providers with continuous network monitoring, intrusion detection, and DDoS protection.
• Organizational Measures: Regular security training for employees, vendor risk assessments, and a documented incident response plan.

Your Acknowledgement: Despite our rigorous measures, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities under your account.

9. Your Rights (Data Subject Rights)

Depending on your geographical location and applicable law, you may have rights regarding your personal data, which may include:

• Right to Access & Know: Request a copy of your personal data we hold.
• Right to Correction: Update or correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to Deletion/Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data under certain conditions.
• Right to Restrict/Object to Processing: Object to our processing of your data based on legitimate interests.
• Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent.
• Right to Nominate: Under the DPDPA, the right to nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the event of death or incapacity.

To Exercise Your Rights: Please submit a verifiable request by contacting us at admin@pollz.ai. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law (e.g., 30 days under CCPA/CPRA, 30 days under DPDPA). We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.

For Poll Respondents: If you are a respondent to a poll and wish to exercise rights over your response data, you must contact the Poll Creator who collected your data directly, as they are the Data Controller for that information. Pollz will support legitimate requests from Controllers to fulfill their obligations.

10. Corporate/Enterprise Account Specifics

For accounts under a corporate subscription:

• The subscribing organization is the Controller of all data related to its employees and poll respondents within its domain.
• Pollz is a Processor under the organization's instructions.
• The organization's administrators may have access to, and control over, all data within their company account, including employee and poll response data.
• It is the organization's responsibility to ensure its use of the Platform complies with employment and data protection laws and to inform its employees of such monitoring or data collection.

11. Children's Privacy

The Pollz Platform is not intended for, directed at, or designed to be used by individuals under the age of 18 (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal data, we will take steps to delete such information. If you believe a child has provided us with data, please contact us immediately.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update, amend, or modify this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. The "Last Updated" date at the top will indicate the latest revision. Material changes that affect your rights will be communicated to you via email (for account holders) or through a prominent notice on the Platform prior to the change becoming effective. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of the revised Policy constitutes your acceptance of the terms.

13. Contact Information & Grievance Officer

For any privacy-specific questions, concerns, requests, or to lodge a complaint regarding this Policy or our data practices, please contact our designated point of contact:

Email: admin@pollz.ai

Mailing Address: Bistell Technologies Private Limited, 003, Tetra Grand Green Planet, Chokkanahalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka - 560064, India.

Attention: Grievance Officer / Data Protection Officer

We are committed to working with you to resolve any complaints. If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to contact your local data protection supervisory authority.

Final Acknowledgement

By using Pollz AI, you affirm that you have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement, have read this Privacy Policy in its entirety, and fully understand its contents, including the critical distinctions between data controller and processor responsibilities and the associated limitations of liability. You agree to be bound by the terms of this Policy as a condition of your use of the Service.