Terms of Service

Effective as of: 3/9/2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Civie ("the Service"), operated by Civie LLC ("we," "us," or "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree, you may not access the Service. These Terms apply to all visitors, users, and others who access or use the Service.

2. Description of Service

Civie is a civic engagement platform that enables individuals to answer daily questions on civic and political topics and explore anonymized, aggregated results over time. Questions are released daily at 6:00 AM PT (9:00 AM ET) and are available for 24 hours.

The Service allows users to:

  • Create an account with basic identity verification (phone number and email required for all accounts)
  • Optionally verify identity using government-issued ID documents via Persona (opt-in)
  • Answer daily civic and political questions (up to 3 questions may be presented per day) or skip questions
  • View anonymized, aggregated results and demographic breakdowns in real-time and historically
  • Explore historical questions and trends with search and filtering capabilities
  • Maintain a personal account to track participation (but not specific answers, for anonymity)
  • Download aggregated data in CSV format for research and analysis
  • Receive optional email or SMS reminders about daily questions when you haven’t answered yet
  • Filter aggregated results by verification status (verified users only)

The Service is currently in beta and may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time.

3. User Accounts and Eligibility

Beta Access: The Service is currently in beta and access may be restricted. You may need to join a waitlist or obtain a beta access code to create an account. We reserve the right to limit access during the beta period and may modify or discontinue beta access at any time.

To access certain features, you must register for an account using:

  • Email address (required for account creation)
  • Phone number (required for identity verification via SMS)
  • Demographic information (required to participate: full name, birth date, gender, race/ethnicity, zip code, state)

You agree to:

  • Provide accurate, current, and complete information
  • Maintain and update your information to keep it accurate
  • Maintain the security of your credentials and account
  • Accept responsibility for all activity under your account
  • Notify us immediately of any unauthorized access or security breach
  • Not share your account credentials with others
  • Not create multiple accounts to influence outcomes or circumvent restrictions

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or engage in fraudulent or abusive behavior.

4. Identity Verification and Demographic Information

Civie offers optional identity verification to support data integrity, prevent abuse, and enable accurate demographic aggregation. Identity verification is opt-in - you may choose to verify your identity or skip verification and still participate in the Service.

Basic Account Requirements:

  • Phone number verification via SMS (managed by Twilio) - required for all accounts
  • Email address for account creation (managed by Firebase Authentication) - required for all accounts

Mobile and SMS data: No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes at any time. Our Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and protect your phone number and SMS consent in full.

Optional Identity Verification:

If you choose to verify your identity, Civie uses Persona, a third-party identity verification service, to verify your identity using government-issued identification documents. When you opt-in to identity verification:

  • You will be asked to provide government-issued ID documents (such as a driver's license or passport) through Persona's verification flow
  • Persona processes and verifies your identity documents according to their privacy policy
  • Civie does not store copies of your identity documents - Persona processes them and provides verification results
  • Civie stores only the Persona inquiry ID and verification status (approved, pending, failed, etc.)
  • Your verification status (verified: true/false) is tracked in your account and may be included in anonymized, aggregated data

If you choose to skip identity verification, you can still use the Service by providing demographic information manually. Your account will be marked as unverified (verified: false), but you can participate in all Service features.

You agree to provide accurate demographic information including:

  • Full name
  • Birth date (used to calculate age)
  • Gender category (from predefined options)
  • Race/ethnicity (from predefined categories)
  • Zip code (5-digit US postal code)
  • State (2-letter US state abbreviation)

This demographic information is required to participate and can be collected either through Persona verification (if you opt-in) or manually (if you skip verification). It is used solely for verification purposes and anonymized demographic aggregation. It is stored in your user account document and is also included (without identifiers) in anonymous response records for aggregation purposes.

5. User Conduct

You agree not to:

  • Violate applicable laws or regulations
  • Manipulate, game, or abuse the Service or its results
  • Create multiple accounts to influence outcomes
  • Use automated systems or scripts
  • Attempt to access systems or data without authorization
  • Impersonate others or misrepresent affiliation

6. Anonymity and Data Architecture

Civie is designed to support anonymous participation. The Service uses a dual-storage architecture specifically engineered to prevent individual responses from being associated with user accounts or directly identifiable personal information.

6.1 Technical Architecture

When you answer a question, two separate data records are created:

  • User Account Record: Stores only that you participated (a boolean value per question, keyed by question date and number, indicating you answered or skipped that question). This record does NOT store which answer you selected, whether you skipped, or when you answered.
  • Anonymous Response Record: Stores the specific answer selected, demographic data, and timestamp, but contains NO user identifiers, account IDs, email addresses, phone numbers, or names.

These records are stored in separate Firestore collections with no technical mechanism to link them. This means that even with full database access, it is not possible to determine which specific answer any individual user selected.

6.2 Participation Tracking

Your account tracks only participation status (whether you engaged with a question), not your specific answers. Selecting an answer option and skipping are both recorded identically as "answered" - we do not distinguish between them in your account. This design ensures maximum anonymity while still allowing you to track your participation history.

6.3 Limitations

No system can guarantee absolute anonymity. Theoretical risks include correlation attacks using demographic combinations, timing analysis, or future advances in re-identification techniques. However, Civie is intentionally designed to minimize these risks and prevent practical re-identification. By using the Service, you acknowledge these inherent limitations.

7. Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content are owned by Civie LLC and protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

You retain ownership of content you submit. By submitting content, you grant Civie LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use that content solely for operating, improving, and analyzing the Service, including in anonymized, aggregated form.

8. Aggregated Data

Civie may publish anonymized, aggregated data derived from user responses, including:

  • Answer option counts and percentages
  • Demographic breakdowns (by age, gender, race/ethnicity, geographic area (H3 cell))
  • Verification status (whether respondents completed identity verification or skipped)
  • Response timelines and patterns
  • Statistical insights and trends
  • CSV files containing aggregated response data (including verification status)

Once responses are aggregated, they become part of a dataset that cannot reasonably be associated with individual users. Aggregated data may be published on the Service, made available for download, shared with researchers, or provided through APIs.

By participating in the Service, you acknowledge that your responses (in anonymized, aggregated form) may be published and used for research, journalism, and public understanding purposes.

9. Sponsored Questions

Some questions on Civie may be sponsored by external organizations. A Sponsored Question is a neutral, issue-based question funded by an external organization, written and moderated by Civie, and not explicitly branded in the question itself.

Editorial Control: Civie retains full editorial control over all questions, including sponsored questions. Sponsors support the inclusion of a topic in the lineup but do not control:

  • Question wording or framing
  • Answer options or choices
  • Interpretation or presentation of results
  • Whether the question runs at all
  • Whether results are published publicly

Transparency: Sponsored questions are clearly disclosed in the user interface. The disclosure indicates that a question was sponsored and may include the sponsor's name if provided. Sponsored questions appear identical to non-sponsored questions in layout and user experience.

Data and Results: Sponsors receive only anonymized, aggregated data (the same aggregated data that is publicly available). Sponsors do not receive individual responses, personal information, or any data that could identify users. All responses to sponsored questions contribute to Civie's public, aggregated data set and are handled identically to responses to non-sponsored questions.

By participating in the Service, you acknowledge that some questions may be sponsored and that aggregated results from sponsored questions may be shared with sponsoring organizations in anonymized, aggregated form.

10. Open Data and Research Use

Civie's mission includes making anonymized, aggregated civic data publicly accessible for research, journalism, and public understanding.

Aggregated datasets may be:

  • Published publicly
  • Shared with researchers or media organizations
  • Provided via visualizations, downloads, or APIs

These datasets do not contain personally identifiable information and are designed to reduce re-identification risk.

11. Service Availability

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service at any time without liability.

12. Termination

We may suspend or terminate accounts for violations of these Terms, fraudulent activity, abuse of the Service, or any other reason we deem necessary to protect the integrity of the Service.

You may request account deletion at any time through the Service. Upon account deletion:

  • Your user account document and all associated data will be permanently deleted
  • Your Firebase Authentication account (email, phone number) will be deleted
  • Anonymous response records cannot be deleted because they contain no user identifiers and are essential for maintaining aggregated datasets
  • Previously published aggregated data will not be altered

This design protects both anonymity and dataset integrity. Once your account is deleted, there is no way to link you to any specific responses in the anonymous collection.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CIVIE LLC SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM USE OF THE SERVICE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF PROFITS, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION.

IN NO EVENT SHALL CIVIE LLC'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US, IF ANY, IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100), WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so the above limitations may not apply to you.

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Civie LLC, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to your use of the Service, violation of these Terms, or infringement of any rights of another.

16. Dispute Resolution

16.1 Informal Resolution

Before initiating any formal dispute resolution, you agree to first contact us and attempt to resolve the dispute informally. We will make good faith efforts to resolve any disputes within 60 days.

16.2 Binding Arbitration

If informal resolution is unsuccessful, any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in the State of Washington, United States.

16.3 Class Action Waiver

You agree that disputes will be resolved individually and not as part of a class, consolidated, or representative action. You waive any right to participate in class actions, class-wide arbitrations, or consolidated proceedings.

16.4 Exceptions

This arbitration agreement does not prevent you from: (1) bringing claims in small claims court if your claims qualify, (2) seeking injunctive relief in court for intellectual property violations, or (3) bringing claims that cannot be arbitrated under applicable law.

17. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

18. Beta Service Disclaimer

The Service is currently in beta and may contain errors or limitations. Use is at your own risk.

19. Third-Party Services

The Service relies on third-party services to operate, including:

  • Google Firebase / Google Cloud Platform: For authentication, database, and storage services
  • Twilio: For SMS verification and reminder services
  • Persona: For optional identity verification services (when users opt-in to verify their identity)
  • Vercel: For application hosting and analytics

These third-party services have their own terms of service and privacy policies. Your use of these services is subject to their respective terms. Civie is not responsible for third-party content, practices, or service interruptions. However, we select service providers that align with our privacy commitments and require them to process data only as necessary to provide services to us.

20. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated to you through:

  • Email notification to the address associated with your account
  • Notice displayed on the Service
  • Updated "Last updated" date at the top of this page

Your continued use of the Service after such modifications constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the modified Terms, you must stop using the Service and may delete your account.

We encourage you to review these Terms periodically to stay informed about how we operate the Service.

21. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms will otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. The unenforceable or invalid provision will be replaced with a valid provision that comes closest to the intent underlying the invalid provision.

22. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Civie LLC regarding the use of the Service and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, negotiations, and discussions, whether oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof.

23. Assignment

You may not assign, transfer, or delegate these Terms or your rights or obligations hereunder without our prior written consent. We may assign, transfer, or delegate these Terms and our rights and obligations hereunder without restriction, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

24. Waiver

No waiver of any term or condition of these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other term or condition, and any failure to assert a right or provision under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

25. Force Majeure

We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance under these Terms which is due to causes beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, riots, embargoes, acts of civil or military authorities, fire, floods, accidents, pandemics, network or infrastructure failures, or any other cause beyond our reasonable control.

26. Contact and Dispute Resolution

Questions about these Terms may be directed to:

Civie LLC

Email: chris@civie.org

State of Washington, United States

Notice of Disputes: If you have a dispute with Civie LLC, you agree to first contact us at the email address above and attempt to resolve the dispute informally before initiating any formal proceedings.

Governing Entity: These Terms are entered into between you and Civie LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Washington.