Privacy Policy.
What we collect when you use this site, why, and what we do with it: in plain language.
Last updated: July 28, 2026
1. What we collect
When you sign up for updates, vote on a location, use the discount-notify form, or fill out our interest survey, we collect the email address you provide, the language you were browsing in, the timestamp, and your IP address. If you fill out the interest survey, we also collect your answers to it and, if you choose to share it, your first name. If you share a location preference in the survey, it's recorded the same way as voting directly on our Location page, and appears in that page's public, name-free running tally. We don't use cookies, analytics, or ad-tracking scripts on this site: the only thing we save in your browser is your language and light/dark theme preference (via localStorage), which never leaves your device.
2. How we use it
We use your email to send the emails you signed up for: a confirmation, a notice when courses or membership open, or a note about your location vote or survey response. Survey answers help us understand what people actually want from a space like this and shape what we build; we don't share individual responses outside the team running Spore Symposium. We use IP addresses and timestamps for basic spam prevention and recordkeeping, alongside the hidden honeypot fields on our forms. We don't sell or rent your information, and we don't use it for advertising.
3. Where it's stored
Signup and discount-notify submissions are appended to a log file on our web host, stored outside the publicly accessible part of the site so it can't be downloaded by visitors. Location votes and survey responses are stored in a database on the same host, one row per email address: voting or resubmitting the survey again updates your existing entry rather than creating a new one. Emails are sent through our hosting provider, IONOS, which acts as our data processor for hosting and email delivery.
4. How long we keep it
While Spore Symposium is pre-launch, we keep signup, vote, and survey records for as long as they're useful for reaching founding members and shaping what we build. Once the lab is operating, member data will be governed by the separate membership agreement you sign at that point. You can ask us to delete your information at any time: see below.
5. Your rights
As an Ontario business, we handle personal information under Canada's federal privacy law (PIPEDA). You can ask us what information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, at any time. Email hello@sporesymposium.org and we'll take care of it.
6. Children's privacy
This site isn't directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.
7. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the project develops; we'll update the "last updated" date above when we do.
8. Questions
Reach out any time at hello@sporesymposium.org.
This is a plain-language, good-faith summary of what we actually do with your data, not a substitute for professional legal review: treat it as transparency, not legal advice.