Last updated: 22 October 2026
Privacy
This policy explains what personal data Controversy collects in its app and on controversy.so, why, how long we keep it, who receives it and how you can use your rights. It applies under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and French law.
Who is responsible
Controversy is the controller of the data described here. Our full legal details are in the legal notice. For any question or request about your data, write to [email protected].
What we collect in the app
Your account: when you sign in with Apple or Google, the email address they share with us (with Apple, it may be a private relay address) and the name you gave them. Your profile: your first name, last name, date of birth and username and, if you add them, a profile photo, your occupation and the topics that interest you. Your activity: your Yes or No votes, your arguments and comments, the reactions you give, your connections, the reports you send and the people you block. Your messages: the texts and photos you exchange in private conversations. Your device: a notification token if you allow notifications, an advertising identifier if you allow tracking, and the technical data needed to run the app and keep it secure (device model, system version, app version, IP address, crash reports). We strip the metadata of profile photos, location included, before storing them.
What you must provide
Your name, date of birth and a way to sign in are required to create an account: without them, we cannot check your age or run your account. Everything else is optional.
Your political opinions
Many questions on Controversy are political or social, so your votes and arguments can reveal your political opinions, which the GDPR treats as a special category of data (Article 9). We process your votes only with your explicit consent, which the app asks for separately before your first vote. Arguments and comments you choose to post are made public by you; we also process them on the basis of that consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by removing your votes, deleting your posts or deleting your account. Withdrawal does not affect what was done before. Your opinions are never used to target ads, never sold and never shared with advertisers.
What others can see
Public: your username, profile photo, occupation, points, badges, place on the leaderboard, and the arguments and comments you post. Your vote is shown only next to an argument or comment you post, because each one takes a side. If you vote without posting, others only see overall totals. Reactions are shown as counts. Never shown: your first name, last name, date of birth and email address. Your messages are visible only to the people in the conversation.
Why we use your data and on what legal basis
To create and run your account, publish what you post, deliver your messages and notifications and provide paid features: performance of our contract with you (Article 6(1)(b)). To check that you are old enough to use Controversy: our contract and our legal obligations. To process votes and other data revealing your political opinions: your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)). To show personalised ads and measure them: your consent (Article 6(1)(a)). Without it, you may still see non-personalised ads. To moderate content, handle reports, answer requests from authorities and keep the data the law requires us to keep: our legal obligations (Article 6(1)(c)). To keep Controversy secure, prevent fraud, abuse and manipulation, fix bugs, defend our rights and improve the service with usage statistics: our legitimate interest in running a safe and reliable service (Article 6(1)(f)). These statistics never include your votes.
Your right to object
When we rely on our legitimate interest, you can object at any time, for reasons relating to your situation, by writing to [email protected]. We will stop unless we have compelling legitimate grounds or need the data to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Personalisation
Your feed is ordered using the topics you chose and your activity. This never produces decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on you.
Advertising in the app
The app is free and funded by ads. Paid members see none. Our advertising partner, Google, may use your device's advertising identifier (only if you allow tracking when your iPhone asks), your approximate location derived from your IP address, information about your device and the app, and your interactions with ads. Ads are personalised only with your consent. How Google uses this data: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the app asks for your choice before showing personalised ads. You can change it at any time in the app's Settings, and withdraw tracking permission in your iPhone's Settings.
Payments
Paid features are sold through Apple. Apple handles the payment: we never see your card details. We only receive what we need to know whether your subscription is active.
Website and waitlist
If you join the waitlist, we collect your email address, the username you reserve, the language you used, your approximate location (country, region, city) derived from your IP address, your browser and device type, and the page or campaign that brought you here. We use them to tell you when the app launches and to hold your username (the request you make when signing up), and to understand where interest comes from and protect the waitlist from abuse (our legitimate interest).
Website: cookies and audience measurement
The site sets no advertising cookies. Without your consent, we only measure visits anonymously, without cookies, and use one strictly necessary cookie that keeps your vote on the daily question counted once (13 months at most). With your consent, given on the banner, our analytics tool also keeps an identifier in your browser and records how you use the pages so we can improve them. Anything you type in forms is masked. You can refuse just as easily, and nothing on the site depends on it.
Who receives your data
We never sell or rent your data. Only the people at Controversy who need it, and the providers who work for us under contract and only on our instructions, receive it: hosting, database and storage providers; email delivery and notification services; analytics and crash-reporting tools; Apple and Google, for sign-in, payments and notifications, and Google for ads; authorities and courts, when the law requires it. The news outlets whose stories we summarise receive nothing about you.
Transfers outside the European Union
Our main database is hosted in the European Union. Some providers may process data outside the European Economic Area. In that case, the transfer is covered by a European Commission adequacy decision or by the European Commission's standard contractual clauses. You can ask us for a copy of these safeguards.
How long we keep your data
Account: for as long as your account exists. After you delete it, everything is purged within 30 days, backups included. Data that identifies who posted content: one year after the content or account is deleted, as French law requires of services that host user content. Content removed for breaking the law or our terms, and related reports: up to one year, to handle appeals and requests from authorities. Waitlist: until the app launches and you create an account, and at most three years after your last contact with us. You can leave at any time. Website statistics: 25 months at most. Session recordings: 30 days. Consent records: for as long as we need to prove your choice.
Deleting your account
You can delete your account at any time in the app: Settings › Account › Delete my account. Your profile is deleted and what you posted is deleted or anonymised so that debates stay readable. If you sign in again within 30 days, your account is restored.
Your rights
You can access, correct and delete your data, restrict or object to its use, receive the data you gave us in a portable format, and withdraw your consent at any time. Under French law, you can also give instructions about what happens to your data after your death. Write to [email protected]. We reply within one month, which may be extended by two months for complex requests. To protect your account, we may ask you to confirm your identity. We may refuse requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive, as the GDPR allows. You can lodge a complaint with your data protection authority. In France, it is the CNIL (www.cnil.fr).
Security
We use technical and organisational measures suited to the risks: encrypted connections, access limited to those who need it, and minimal data. No system is risk-free; if a breach is likely to put your rights at high risk, we will tell you as the law requires.
Children
Controversy is for people aged 16 and over, or older if the law of your country sets a higher minimum age to sign up. We use your date of birth to check this when you create your profile. If you think someone under the required age is using Controversy, write to us: we will review it and take action if needed.
Changes
We may update this policy as Controversy evolves or the law changes. If a change significantly affects how we use your data, we will tell you in the app before it applies. The date at the top shows the current version.