Who we are
GDS Holdings, LLC runs greatdebateshow.com, the live voting app at vote.greatdebateshow.com, our shows, Fantasy Camp and the Partner Portal. For the information described here we are the “controller” (the business responsible for it).
Privacy questions and requests: use our privacy request form.
What we collect and why
We only collect what we need to run the show, the game and the site. The legal basis we rely on under the GDPR and UK GDPR is shown for each.
| Who | What we collect | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience members who sign up to play | First and last name, email and/or mobile number, optional screen name, age range and home ZIP code, your votes, points and badges, and your marketing choices (with the exact text-message consent wording and time). | To run the live vote and game (one vote per person, leaderboards), send your sign-in code, and, only if you opted in, send show news by email or text. | Performing the service you asked for; consent for marketing. |
| Anyone who votes | A random participant ID stored in a cookie, your votes, how you arrived (for example TV, QR code or web), and a salted, one-way hash of your IP address. We never store raw IP addresses. | To count each vote once, prevent abuse with rate limits, and report audience totals. | Legitimate interests in running a fair vote and keeping the service secure. |
| People who use our website forms | What you type into the form: for example name, email, phone, company, venue, event details and your message, plus a hashed IP address for abuse prevention. | To reply to your inquiry, booking, camp, press or partner request. | Taking steps at your request before a contract; legitimate interests in answering inquiries. |
| People who contact support | Your name, email, the topic, and what you tell us (plus any order or show reference). This becomes a ticket in our helpdesk (Zendesk), which emails you from there. | To answer and resolve your support request. | Performing the service you asked for; legitimate interests in supporting our customers. |
| Partners (Partner Portal) | Name, organization, email, sign-in history (visit count and last visit) and which private files you download. | To give approved partners access to private production material and keep it secure. | Performing our agreement with you; legitimate interests in protecting confidential material. |
| Website and app visitors who accept analytics | Pages viewed, approximate location (city level, from your IP address, which Google Analytics does not store), device and browser type, how you found us, and actions such as ticket clicks, video plays, votes on the site's interactive features and form submissions (not what you typed). | To understand which shows, pages and campaigns work, and improve the site. | Consent, which you can withdraw at any time in Cookie settings. |
| Shoppers and ticket buyers | When you tap a shop, ticket or camp registration button we count the click and, if you're signed in to play, note it on your profile. Checkout happens on the seller's own site under their privacy policy. | To measure which shows and products people are interested in. | Legitimate interests; consent for any marketing follow-up. |
We don't use your information to make decisions about you that have legal or similarly significant effects, and we don't collect sensitive categories of data. Audience polls are for entertainment and aren't scientific.
Marketing emails and texts
We only send marketing if you tick the box for it. Text-message sign-ups are confirmed and we keep the exact wording you agreed to. Every email has an unsubscribe link; reply STOP to any text. Our emails may measure whether they were opened and which links were clicked, so we can send fewer, better messages. People who tell us they're under 18 can play but are never added to marketing.
International transfers
Our systems are hosted in the United States. If you're in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland, your information is transferred there under safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK addendum) in our providers' data processing terms, or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where a provider is certified.
How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Audience accounts (name, contact details, profile) | Until you ask us to delete them, or 3 years after your last vote |
| Votes and results | Kept as show records; votes stay linked to your account until you delete it, then are kept only as anonymous totals |
| Marketing consent records | For as long as you're subscribed, plus 4 years as proof of consent |
| Website form submissions and partner requests | Up to 2 years after we last reply, unless they lead to an agreement |
| Partner Portal access and download logs | For the length of the partnership plus 1 year |
| Hashed IP rate-limit records | About 24 hours |
| Security audit log | Up to 2 years |
Security
We protect your information with encryption in transit, hashed IP addresses and sign-in codes, strict access controls and an audit log. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you we'll tell you and the regulators as the law requires. More on our Trust & security page.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you can ask to see, correct, delete or download your information, object to or restrict how we use it, withdraw consent, and opt out of any sale, sharing or targeted advertising. We won't treat you differently for using these rights. You can also complain to your data protection authority.
Make a privacy request (GDPR, UK GDPR, California and other US state laws).
Children
Our services are for a general audience and aren't directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13 (or under 16 in the EU/EEA without a parent's consent). If you think a child has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.
Changes and contact
If we change this policy we'll update the date at the top, and tell you directly if the change is significant.
Questions: use our privacy request form, or contact support for anything else.