The short version
We collect only what we need to make Hope & Wonder work. We do not sell your data. We do not share it with advertisers. We do not use it to build a commercial profile of you. We do use a small number of named service providers — including AI tools — to run the platform, and we describe them below.
Who we are
Hope & Wonder is an initiative of Panahpur, a registered charity (number 1130367) based in the United Kingdom. When this policy refers to "we", "us", or "Hope & Wonder" it means Panahpur operating the Hope & Wonder platform at hopeandwonder.space.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, Panahpur is the data controller. If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, write to us at info@hopeandwonder.space.
What information we collect
When you create an account
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your password (stored securely and never visible to us)
- A profile photo if you choose to add one
- Any additional profile information you choose to add such as your location, organisation, or bio
When you share a hope or wonder
- The content of your story — spoken audio, transcribed text, or written text
- The title, short card line, and tags (including any AI suggestions you accept or edit)
- Any links you include
- The date and time of sharing
When you use the platform
- Basic usage data such as which pages you visit and how you navigate the site
- Your device type and browser
- Your approximate location based on IP address — we use this only to understand which regions our community comes from, never to identify you individually
- On the public website, Google Analytics data if you accept analytics cookies (see our cookie policy)
- Questions you type into Help search, which we may store when the assistant is unsure so we can improve the docs
When you contact us or donate
- Your name and email address and the content of your message
- If you donate, Zeffy collects payment details. We do not see your card number.
Lawful bases
We process personal data under UK GDPR on these bases:
- Contract — creating your account, publishing content you choose to share, and providing the service you asked for.
- Consent — analytics cookies (Google Analytics) and optional communications you can turn off.
- Legitimate interests — keeping the platform safe, moderating content, improving help documentation, and understanding aggregated use of the service. You can object to this processing.
- Legal obligation — where the law requires us to keep or share information.
What we do not collect
We do not collect payment card details — donations are processed by Zeffy.
We do not collect data about your behaviour on other websites, except that Google Analytics (if you consent) uses cookies on our public pages as described in the cookie policy.
We do not build advertising profiles.
We do not collect data about your political views, religious beliefs, or any other sensitive personal characteristics — though you may choose to share these in your stories, in which case they are yours to share and ours to protect.
How we use your information
We use the information we collect for these purposes:
To run the platform
Creating and managing your account, displaying your profile and stories, and enabling network pages to function.
To transcribe and suggest (AI)
If you record a spoken story, we send the audio to Mistral to create a transcript you can edit. When you continue from a draft, we send the text to Anthropic (Claude) to suggest a title, a short card line, and tags. You review and can change all of this before anything is published. Claude also does an initial pass against our community guidelines; humans make the final call.
To answer help questions (AI)
The Help search box is an assistant. It looks up our help articles and uses Anthropic (Claude) to draft a short answer. It is not a companion, counsellor, or crisis service.
To improve the platform
Understanding how people use Hope & Wonder so we can make it better. This analysis is based on anonymised and aggregated data wherever possible.
To communicate with you
Sending you notifications about your account, responses to your messages, and occasional updates about the platform. You can unsubscribe from non-essential communications at any time.
To keep the platform safe
Reviewing flagged content, investigating potential violations of our community guidelines, and protecting the integrity of the space.
To comply with the law
We will share information with authorities if required to do so by law, but we will always tell you if this happens unless we are legally prevented from doing so.
We do not sell your information, trade it, or share it with third parties for advertising.
Your stories and your profile
Your Hope & Wonder profile and the stories on it are yours. By sharing them on the platform you give us permission to display them on your profile, on any network page you are part of, and in the hopes and wonders feed. You can delete any story or your entire account at any time.
If you share a story publicly it may be seen by anyone who visits Hope & Wonder. If you share within a specific network page it will be visible to other members of that network. Please share only what you are comfortable with others seeing.
Audio and transcription
If you choose to record a spoken story, the audio is transcribed to text by Mistral. We then store the recording in a private storage bucket so it can play on your story page alongside the transcript. Playback uses time-limited signed links; the files are not listed for the public.
You can edit the transcript before publishing. If you delete the story or your account, we delete the audio file as well.
Who we share your data with
We share data with the organisations that help us run the platform. They may only use it to provide their service to us:
Supabase
Hosts our database, authentication, and file storage (profiles, photos, and voice recordings).
Vercel
Hosts the website and application.
Mistral
Transcribes spoken stories to text.
Anthropic
Provides the Claude model we use for draft titles, card lines, tags, an initial moderation pass, and Help search answers.
Amazon Web Services
Sends account and update emails (Amazon SES).
Google Analytics
Measures visits to the public website, only if you accept analytics cookies. The member dashboard does not load Google Analytics.
Zeffy
Processes donations, including monthly gifts. We never see your card details. To cancel a recurring donation, use the link in your Zeffy receipt or contact us.
We require these providers to handle your data securely and in accordance with applicable data protection law. We do not allow them to use your data for their own advertising.
We do not share your data with social media platforms, advertising networks, or data brokers.
International transfers
Some of our providers process data outside the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area — in particular in the United States (Anthropic, Google, Vercel) and Canada (Zeffy). Mistral is based in the EU. Where we transfer personal data internationally we rely on the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision, as applicable.
How long we keep your data
We keep your account data for as long as your account is active.
If you delete a story, we remove it from the public platform immediately and delete the associated audio file. If you delete your account from settings, we remove your profile, stories, photos, and voice recordings, and close your login. Residual copies in backups or operational logs are removed within 30 days. Some information may be retained for longer where required by law — for example donation records — but only for as long as necessary.
Anonymised and aggregated analytics data may be retained indefinitely as it cannot be used to identify you.
Your rights
Under UK and European data protection law you have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction — ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Deletion — ask us to delete your personal data. You can also do this yourself by deleting your account in settings.
- Portability — request your data in a format you can take elsewhere.
- Objection — object to certain uses of your data.
- Restriction — ask us to limit how we use your data while a concern is being resolved.
- Withdraw consent — where we rely on consent (for example analytics cookies), you can withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these rights write to us at info@hopeandwonder.space. We will respond within 30 days.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Young people and educational use
Hope & Wonder is intended for individual users aged 16 and over. However we actively welcome the use of Hope & Wonder Hacks in schools, colleges, and other educational settings for young people of all ages, where a teacher, facilitator, or responsible adult oversees the activity. In these contexts the educational organisation takes responsibility for the appropriate safeguarding framework. If you are an educator interested in bringing Hope & Wonder into your school or college please get in touch at info@hopeandwonder.space and we will work with you to make it happen safely and well.
Security
We take the security of your data seriously. We use industry-standard encryption for data in transit and at rest, secure password storage, and regular security reviews. Voice recordings are stored privately and served with signed links. No system is completely secure but we are committed to protecting your information to the best of our ability.
If we become aware of a data breach that affects your personal data we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.
Changes to this policy
If we make significant changes to this privacy policy we will update this page, note the date at the top, and where appropriate notify you by email. We will not use your data in new ways without telling you first.
Contact
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal data please write to us at:
Hope & Wonder c/o Panahpur, registered charity number 1130367, United Kingdom.