Privacy Policy
Effective date: November 6, 2026
Delphi Studio (“we,” “our,” or “us”) operates a research-grade platform for structured Delphi and consensus studies. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. It applies to researchers, panelists, and anyone else who interacts with our service.
This policy has not yet been reviewed by legal counsel and should not be relied upon as legal advice. It is provided for transparency and will be updated before public launch.
1. Information We Collect
Account information
We collect your email address when you sign in. Authentication is handled via a secure, single-use magic link; we never store a password. We also hold your name and, if your workspace records them, your role and institutional affiliation.
Contact messages
When you write to us through the contact form or by email, we receive the name, email address, subject, and message you send. The form stores nothing on the platform; your message lives only in our inbox, and we keep it for as long as we need it to answer you.
Early-access requests
If you choose to join the waitlist, we store your name and email, optional institution, role and study timing, and the request and review history. We use these details to confirm your mailbox, review your request and send request updates. Joining does not create an account or guarantee access, and it is not a marketing subscription. You can withdraw using the management link we email, or request a fresh link on the request-access page. Withdrawal stops waitlist messages without removing an existing account.
Study data
Researchers create studies, configure rounds, and import panelist lists. Panelists submit survey responses. All of this content is stored on your behalf and is yours; see “Data Ownership” below.
Usage and logs
We automatically collect server logs, timestamps, IP addresses, browser type, and interaction events (e.g., round opened, response submitted). These are used for security, debugging, and maintaining audit trails that support research reproducibility. Logs and error reports are scrubbed of names, email addresses, tokens, and cookies before they are stored.
Communications
When we send you transactional emails (magic links, study invitations, round reminders, and result notifications), our email provider may log delivery metadata. We do not send marketing email, and open and click tracking are switched off.
2. How We Use Your Information
- Authenticate you and manage your session securely
- Operate and deliver the Delphi study platform
- Send study invitations, reminders, and result notifications to panelists
- Maintain immutable audit trails for research reproducibility
- Diagnose bugs and monitor platform health
- Respond to support requests
- Comply with applicable law
We do not sell your personal data. We do not use study response data to train AI models without explicit written consent.
3. Data Ownership
Study data, including questionnaire designs, panelist responses, and exported results, belongs to the organization that runs the study. That organization is the controller of the study data. We act as its processor. For this pilot the organization is UC Davis Health. Delphi Studio is the controller of staff accounts, early-access requests and the contact mailbox. The public name stays Delphi Studio. A postal address and a representative will be named here when counsel supplies them. You may export your data at any time, and you may ask us to delete your account and associated data.
Researchers are responsible for ensuring their use of Delphi Studio complies with applicable IRB or ethics board requirements, participant consent obligations, and institutional data governance policies. We do not serve as your IRB and do not provide legal or compliance advice.
4. Panelist Confidentiality
Panelist identities are handled with care. Names and email addresses are stored apart from responses and encrypted at rest. Individual responses are visible only to the study team, to the extent the study's approved consent form says, and results are reported in groups no smaller than the study's stated minimum. Panelists are identified to each other only to the extent the researcher configures. We do not publish panelist email addresses or response data to third parties.
Researchers must inform panelists of their data practices as required by applicable consent and privacy regulations.
5. Sharing and Disclosure
We share data only in these circumstances:
- Service providers: We use subprocessors (cloud hosting, database hosting, transactional email, error monitoring) who are contractually bound to process data only as directed by us.
- Legal requirements: We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our users or the public.
- Business transfers: If Delphi Studio is acquired or merges, data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you in advance.
- With your consent: We share data in other cases only with your explicit permission.
6. Data Retention
We retain account data while the account is active, and for 12 months after it is deactivated. The name and email are then removed, or replaced with a pseudonym if that account authored an audit entry. Each study sets a retention period for identifiable research data before it launches, prints it into the consent form, and locks it. When the period ends, deletion happens only on a recorded request approved by a second investigator, never automatically. Study answers are not deleted on a timetable. The full text of emails sent to panelists is purged after 90 days. The delivery record is kept for the life of the study and then follows the same deletion as the study's identities. Audit log entries are kept for at least three years and have no end date, because they are the integrity record. Expired sign-in sessions are kept for 30 days after they expire or are revoked. Verification messages are kept for 7 days after they expire. An application from someone who is never enrolled is kept for 12 months after that decision. A directory entry has no end date; the person may ask to be removed. Sealed contact and results lists are kept until the study is deleted, and for no longer than two years after the study is completed. Messages sent through the contact form are not stored in the app; the inbox keeps them for 24 months. The scheduled deletion of sessions, verifications, applications, sealed lists and deactivated accounts is not running yet. Until it is, write to us and we will carry out those deletions within 30 days. That request does not delete study answers.
Early-access request retention
Scheduled maintenance removes unconfirmed request details 30 days after submission, confirmed undecided details 365 days after confirmation, and approved, declined or withdrawn request details 30 days after that decision. Resending a link does not extend these periods. We remove names, emails, optional details, internal free-text reasons and expired tokens; minimal decision and delivery records remain. An approved account follows the account retention policy above. Mail-suppression records are separate so we can honor bounces and complaints.
7. Security
We use industry-standard security measures including TLS encryption in transit, encryption at rest, single-use authentication tokens, and role-based access controls. No system is perfectly secure; please notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access. Our security page describes these measures.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal data. If you are in the European Union or the United Kingdom, the rights in the GDPR and the UK GDPR are available to you. The Delaware law and arbitration clause in the terms of service does not remove those rights. You may complain to the supervisory authority where you live. We have not named one authority, because the country is not yet recorded, and a representative will be named here when counsel appoints one. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@delphistudio.org. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Cookies and Tracking
We use session cookies required for authentication. Choosing the waitlist from sign-in also sets an encrypted, HttpOnly email-handoff cookie that expires after ten minutes. We do not use third-party advertising cookies, cross-site tracking, or product analytics, and no tracking script is loaded on the pages panelists use or on request-access pages.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as the platform evolves. Material changes will be announced via email and a notice on the platform at least 14 days before taking effect. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy? Email info@delphistudio.org or use our contact form.