Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-05-23

Polaris Research is committed to protecting the privacy of survey respondents and client portal users. This document describes what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights.

1. Information we collect

1a. From survey respondents

• Voter file records. Polaris samples likely voters from the Alaska Division of Elections statewide voter registration file. The voter file contains publicly available registration data including name, address, party affiliation, gender, date of birth, and vote history. Polaris obtains the file through standard data requests authorized under Alaska Stat. § 15.07.195.
• Phone numbers (when used). Phone numbers are appended via licensed third-party vendors and used solely for contact attempts for the specific project.
• Survey responses. Answers respondents provide are stored alongside an opaque token tied to their voter-file record.
• Technical metadata. IP address and user agent are collected at survey start for quality control (speeder/duplicate detection only) and are not shared with clients.

1b. From client portal users

• Name, email address, organization, and password (hashed).
• Session cookies for authentication.
• Standard server access logs.

2. How we use information

• Conduct survey research. Voter file data + phone numbers are used only to contact respondents for the specific project they were sampled into.
• Produce aggregate research findings. Survey responses are aggregated into weighted toplines and crosstabs. Individual respondents are never named in deliverables.
• Maintain methodology transparency. AAPOR-style methodology disclosures are published per project at /methodology/.
• Operate the platform. Server logs and access metadata are used to keep the service running and secure.

3. What we don't do

• We don't sell respondent contact information to anyone.
• We don't share individual respondent identities with clients.
• We don't use SMS contacts for marketing or political advocacy.
• We don't track respondents across the web or use third-party advertising trackers.

4. Opt-out

Respondents may opt out of further contact at any time by replying STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, CANCEL, or QUIT to any SMS from Polaris. Opt-outs are honored globally across all future Polaris projects. Email opt-out requests can be sent to [email protected].

5. Data retention

Raw response data and any associated audio recordings are retained for one (1) year, after which they are deleted or fully anonymized. Aggregated, weighted poll results may be retained indefinitely as part of Polaris's public methodology archive.

6. Security

Polaris stores all data on encrypted disks in DigitalOcean's San Francisco data center, behind HTTPS-only access and an in-host firewall that restricts inbound traffic to ports 22 (SSH), 80, and 443. Database credentials are never stored in source code and are rotated on each re-provisioning of the host.

7. Your rights

You may request a copy of the data Polaris holds about you, or request deletion, by emailing [email protected]. Polaris will respond within 30 days.

8. Changes to this policy

Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Substantive changes affecting client portal users will also be communicated by email.

Polaris Research · operates AAPOR-Transparency compliant · Anchorage, Alaska, USA.