Privacy Policy

How the Business Fights Poverty website and its AI assistant handle your information, and how we protect your privacy.

Our Commitment

Business Fights Poverty is committed to protecting your privacy in compliance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK GDPR. This policy explains what information this website and its AI assistant, Aura, handle when you use them, and how we protect your privacy. We designed the AI assistant so that you can use it without providing any personal information.

This policy, together with our Terms & Conditions, sets out how information you provide will be processed by us. We do not use advertising cookies. Optional analytics and third-party media cookies are used only with your consent, as described in the Cookies section below.

Cookies

We use a small number of cookies. Strictly necessary cookies are always on because the website cannot work without them. Analytics cookies (Google Analytics) and third-party media cookies (set by the SoundCloud and Vimeo players) are used only if you opt in via the cookie banner. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the "Cookie settings" link in the footer of every page.

  • member_session: keeps you signed in as a member (strictly necessary; session / up to 30 days; Business Fights Poverty).
  • cf_clearance and related Turnstile cookies: bot protection when submitting forms (strictly necessary; up to 1 year; Cloudflare).
  • sidebar_state: remembers whether you keep the sidebar open or collapsed (strictly necessary; 7 days; Business Fights Poverty).
  • bfp_cookie_consent: remembers your cookie consent choice (strictly necessary; 6 months; Business Fights Poverty).
  • _ga, _ga_*: Google Analytics, distinguishes visitors and sessions so we can understand how the website is used (analytics, opt-in only; up to 2 years; Google).
  • SoundCloud player cookies: set by the embedded SoundCloud podcast player once you allow media embeds or click to load a player (third-party media, opt-in only; varies, set by SoundCloud).
  • Vimeo player cookies (e.g. vuid): set by the embedded Vimeo video player once you allow media embeds or click to load a player (third-party media, opt-in only; up to 2 years, set by Vimeo).

Google Analytics. If you accept analytics cookies, we use Google Analytics 4 to collect pseudonymous statistics about page views and visits. Google LLC processes this data on our behalf and may transfer it to servers outside the UK/EEA, including in the United States, under appropriate safeguards (the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses). We do not use Google Analytics for advertising.

SoundCloud and Vimeo. If you allow media embeds (or click to load an individual player), the SoundCloud or Vimeo player loads directly from those providers, who may set their own cookies and process your IP address under their own privacy policies, including transfers outside the UK/EEA. Without your consent, these players are not loaded and no such cookies are set.

What We Collect

  • A random session ID stored in your browser when you use the AI assistant. It is a random code that lets us count sessions and group questions from the same visit. It is not linked to your name, account, or device identity.
  • Your questions to the AI assistant: only after automatic redaction of personal information (see below). Answer metadata such as response time, sources cited, and processing usage is stored alongside them.
  • Pseudonymous usage analytics: for example when a session started, how many questions were asked, and which cited sources or pages were visited. This is used to understand how the website is used and to improve it.
  • Feedback and messages you choose to send, including an optional name and email address if you provide them so we can respond.
  • Account information, if you sign in as a member, which is used to recognise you and provide member features.

The AI Assistant and Personal Information

Please do not enter personal information (names, contact details, ID or account numbers) in the assistant's question box. The assistant answers general questions and does not need any details about you.

Every message passes through an automatic privacy filter before it is processed, sent to our AI provider, or logged:

  • Detected personal information (such as names, email addresses, phone numbers) is redacted (masked) before any further processing.
  • Messages that appear to contain identity or financial numbers are blocked, and you are asked to remove the information and try again.
  • Where redaction occurs, our logs record only the category of information detected (e.g. "email address"), never the value itself.
  • The original, unredacted text is processed only in memory and is not retained.

No automated filter is perfect, which is why we also ask you not to enter personal information in the first place.

Why We Process This Information

  • To operate the website and generate answers to your questions.
  • To understand how the website and assistant are used and improve their content and quality.
  • To respond to feedback and messages you send us.
  • To keep the service secure and prevent abuse.

Third Parties (Sub-Processors)

  • OpenAI: your (redacted) question text is sent to OpenAI over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection to generate answers and, if you use voice input, to transcribe audio. Under OpenAI's API policy, API data may be retained by OpenAI for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring and is not used to train their models.
  • Hosting and database providers: the website and its database are hosted on managed cloud infrastructure that stores the data described above on our behalf.
  • Email delivery: if you submit feedback or a contact request with contact details, an email service is used to deliver the notification to our team.

How Long We Keep Data

AI assistant data is retained for 90 days unless deleted earlier. Feedback and contact messages are kept for as long as needed to respond to and follow up on them.

Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict the processing of personal data relating to you, and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Because the AI assistant is designed not to store personal information from your questions, most data we hold cannot be linked to you, but if you have shared personal details (for example in feedback or a contact message), you can exercise these rights by contacting us.

Contact

Use the contact form on this website, or the Send Feedback option in the AI assistant, to reach us, including for any privacy question or request.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Continued use of the website constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.