Privacy Policy

Last Updated: February 24, 2026

1. Our Commitment to Transparency

GovChat is an independent civic-tech platform dedicated to making local government data accessible. We operate on a principle of "Privacy by Design," ensuring that while we make public records searchable, your personal engagement with those records remains private and secure.

2. Information We Process

We categorize data into two distinct streams:

Public Records

Documents, minutes, and agendas ingested from official local authority sources. This data is processed to provide insights and is fundamentally public.

User Data

Personal information provided during account creation (e.g., email address) and transactional data related to your token usage or subscriptions.

3. Data Usage & AI Guardrails

GovChat utilizes advanced generative models to summarize and analyze complex government documents.

No Training on Personal Data
We do not use your personal search history, queries, or account information to train third-party AI models.
Contextual Integrity
AI is used strictly for the transformation of public text into readable insights. All AI-generated content is clearly labeled and cross-referenced to original official sources.

4. Security & Infrastructure

We maintain a proprietary, self-hosted infrastructure to ensure maximum control over data integrity.

UK-Based Processing

We prioritize data residency and processing within the UK and jurisdictions with equivalent data protection standards.

Minimal Retention

We only retain the data necessary to provide our services. If you choose to delete your account, your personal data is purged from our active systems in accordance with legal requirements.

5. Your Rights (UK GDPR & DUAA 2025)

As a UK-based platform, we fully adhere to the Data Use and Access Act 2025. You have the right to:

Access a portable copy of your account and transaction data.

Request the immediate deletion of your personal information.

Opt-out of automated digests or alerts at any time.

6. Third-Party Service Providers

We partner with secure industry leaders for essential functions:

Payments

All financial transactions are handled via encrypted, PCI-compliant payment processors.

Authentication

Secure identity management providers ensure your login credentials remain hashed and protected.

Note to Users

GovChat is not an official government body. We provide an intelligence layer on top of official data to improve civic engagement.