Privacy Policy

We collect the minimum information required to operate the platform safely. What we collect depends on how you interact with us.

All users

• Email address and password (or third-party OAuth token) used to create your account.
• Log data — IP address, browser type, pages visited, timestamps — retained for security and abuse prevention.
• Cookie identifiers used to maintain your session.

Verified reviewers (additional)

• Professional role and institution, as declared during the verification application.
• Verification method and supporting data (institutional email domain, LinkedIn URL, or a copy of a government-issued ID submitted via email).
• The content of accounts you submit, linked to your identity in our internal records.
• Application status and moderation decisions relating to your reviewer account.

Profile subjects (additional)

• Claim verification method and data (institutional email, LinkedIn URL, or indication that a government ID was submitted).
• The content of right-of-reply responses you post.
• The content of dispute submissions you file, including stated reasons and explanations.

Visitors (no account)

• Log data as described above.
• We do not use tracking cookies or third-party advertising pixels.

The central privacy commitment of HonestRemarks is that reviewer identities are never linked to published accounts in a way visible to the public or to the person reviewed. Here is exactly how that works at a technical level:

We use information we collect for the following purposes only:

• Operating the platform. Authenticating your account, displaying profiles and accounts, processing votes, replies, and disputes.
• Verification and moderation. Confirming reviewer credentials, reviewing submitted accounts against our Content Guidelines, and enforcing our Terms of Use.
• Security and abuse prevention. Detecting and preventing fraudulent accounts, coordinated campaigns, and platform abuse.
• Legal compliance. Retaining records as required by applicable law and responding to valid legal process as described in Section 4.
• Service communications. Notifying you of dispute outcomes, application decisions, and material changes to these policies. We do not send marketing email.

We do not sell personal data. We do not use personal data for targeted advertising. We do not share personal data with third parties except as described in Sections 4 and 5.

If we receive a subpoena, court order, search warrant, or other legally binding demand for reviewer identity records, we will:

1. 1Review the request for legal validity and seek to narrow or challenge requests we consider overbroad or legally deficient.
2. 2Notify the affected reviewer before disclosing, where we are legally permitted to do so and where doing so will not compromise an ongoing investigation.
3. 3Disclose only the minimum information required to comply with the specific legal demand.
4. 4Log all disclosures made under legal compulsion.

We cannot guarantee that we will be able to give advance notice in all cases — for example, where a gag order accompanies the legal demand. By using the platform as a reviewer, you acknowledge and accept this risk. If you are concerned about your specific legal exposure, obtain independent legal advice before posting.

We use a small number of third-party services to operate the platform. These are:

We do not use analytics platforms, advertising networks, social media trackers, or any other third-party service that receives personal data about our users.

We retain data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, subject to the following policies:

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal data:

Note that a right to deletion does not override our legitimate interests in retaining content for legal accountability. If your deletion request conflicts with an ongoing legal matter or our minimum retention obligations, we will explain this to you and retain only what is necessary.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address in Section 8. We will respond within 30 days. We may ask you to verify your identity before processing the request.

For privacy-related questions, data requests, or concerns about how your information is handled, contact us at:

We aim to respond to all privacy enquiries within 5 business days. For urgent legal requests or valid law enforcement demands, please contact legal@honestremarks.com with the subject line "Legal Process."