Future Sark privacy and cookies policy
Last updated: 12 May 2026
About Future Sark
Future Sark is a community conversation about the island’s future.
The project is commissioned by Chief Pleas of Sark. Question Factory Ltd is supporting Chief Pleas by managing the engagement process and handling information on its behalf. Little Lion Research will support survey design, delivery or analysis.
This policy explains how personal information will be used if you take part in Future Sark, contact the project team, use the website, complete a survey, attend a workshop, submit an idea or follow the Future Sark WhatsApp Channel.
Future Sark will use a mix of online and offline communication channels, including the website, posters, printed materials, social media, WhatsApp updates, workshops and surveys.
Who is responsible for your information
Chief Pleas of Sark is the data controller for the Future Sark project. This means Chief Pleas is responsible for deciding why and how personal information is used.
Question Factory Ltd is acting on behalf of Chief Pleas to help deliver the project. Little Lion Research will also handle information under agreed research governance and data handling arrangements.
Some services used for the project, such as the website, email, survey tools and WhatsApp, are provided by third-party platform providers. These providers may process information under their own privacy policies.
What information we collect
You can use the Future Sark website without deliberately giving us personal information.
We may collect personal information if you choose to:
complete a survey
submit an idea, comment or response
contact the project team by email or another route
attend a workshop or engagement event
follow or interact with the Future Sark WhatsApp Channel
This may include your name, contact details, survey answers, comments, ideas, workshop contributions, basic demographic information, technical website data and WhatsApp Channel information available to administrators, such as aggregate views, reactions or poll responses if those features are used.
We do not want to collect more personal information than is necessary. Please avoid including sensitive personal information in comments, emails, WhatsApp messages or survey responses unless it is directly relevant and you are comfortable sharing it.
Sensitive personal information may include information about health, political opinions, religious beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other highly personal matters. If this information is provided, we will treat it carefully, limit its use, and anonymise or remove it wherever possible.
How we use your information
Information provided through Future Sark will be used to:
understand people’s views about Sark’s future
identify common themes, issues and priorities
design and support workshops, surveys and engagement activities
prepare analysis, reports and updates for Chief Pleas
show how people’s views have informed the Future Sark process
respond to enquiries or requests
manage the project safely, fairly and effectively
Where possible, responses will be combined and anonymised. Comments may be reflected in reports, but names and direct identifiers will not be used unless permission has been given or there is a clear and lawful reason to do so.
Future Sark is intended to identify common themes and priorities. It is not intended to publish identifiable individual views.
Lawful basis for using your information
Chief Pleas uses personal information for Future Sark because it is carrying out a public engagement process connected to its public functions and future decision-making.
Where you ask to receive updates, we will use your contact details to provide those updates. You can ask to stop receiving updates at any time.
Where you contact the project team, we will use your information to respond to your enquiry and manage the project.
Where sensitive personal information is provided, we will only use it where this is necessary and lawful, and we will minimise, anonymise or remove it wherever possible.
WhatsApp Channel
Future Sark may use a WhatsApp Channel to share project updates. The Channel is for broadcast updates only. It is not intended to collect consultation responses, receive private messages, discuss individual circumstances or gather personal information.
If you follow the Future Sark WhatsApp Channel:
other followers should not be able to see your phone number through the Channel
the Channel administrator should not be able to see your phone number simply because you follow the Channel
other followers should not be able to see that you follow the Channel
WhatsApp may provide Channel administrators with information such as total views, reactions, poll responses or other Channel metrics
WhatsApp may process information about your use of Channels under its own privacy policy
Future Sark will not use Channel questions or polls to collect consultation responses unless this policy is updated and people are clearly told how their information will be used.
Please do not send personal information by WhatsApp. If you send a direct WhatsApp message to the Future Sark account, the project team may be able to see your phone number, profile name, profile picture and message content. This is separate from following the Channel. The team may send a standard reply directing you to the correct contact route, then delete the message unless it needs to be retained for a specific project or legal reason.
If you want to contact the project team, please use the email address below.
Public nature of WhatsApp updates
Future Sark WhatsApp Channel updates are public project updates.
Channel updates may be visible to people who find or follow the Channel. They may also be forwarded, screenshotted or saved by users, depending on WhatsApp settings and user behaviour.
Deleting a Channel update or deleting the Channel may not remove copies that users have already saved, forwarded or captured. WhatsApp says Channel updates are stored on its servers for up to 30 days in the ordinary course of providing Channels, may remain on followers’ devices for longer, and deletion of Channel information can take up to 90 days for technical reasons.
Who we share information with
Personal information may be shared with:
Chief Pleas of Sark, as data controller
Question Factory Ltd, as project delivery partner
Little Lion Research, for survey work or analysis
approved members of the project team who need access
service providers used for the website, email, surveys, file storage or communications
professional advisers, if needed
regulators or public authorities, where required by law
Findings from Future Sark may be shared publicly, but this will normally be in aggregated or anonymised form.
At the end of the project, relevant project information will be transferred to Chief Pleas. This will usually be in aggregated or anonymised form. Identifiable personal information may be transferred where it is needed for project governance, responding to enquiries, complaints or rights requests, legal compliance, audit trail or official records.
Storage, security and retention
Information will be stored using appropriate systems and access controls. Only people who need access for the Future Sark project will be able to view personal information.
Personal information will only be kept for as long as necessary for the project. In general:
contact details provided through enquiries will be kept only for as long as needed to respond and manage the project
survey and engagement responses will be kept for the period needed to analyse and report on the project
workshop notes and engagement materials will be anonymised or aggregated wherever possible
direct WhatsApp messages will not be used as an engagement route and will normally be deleted once dealt with, unless retention is required for a specific reason
project records may be retained by Chief Pleas as part of its official records
The project is expected to be complete before the end of 2026. At the end of the project, relevant project data will be transferred to Chief Pleas. Identifiable personal information held by Question Factory will then be securely deleted unless there is a lawful reason to retain it or another arrangement is agreed with Chief Pleas.
International transfers and third-party platforms
Some third-party platforms used for the project may process information outside Sark, Guernsey, the UK or the European Economic Area.
This may include services used for the website, email, survey tools, cloud storage or WhatsApp.
WhatsApp states that it shares Channels information globally and that its Channels Privacy Policy supplements the general WhatsApp Privacy Policy.
Where third-party services are used by the project team, appropriate care will be taken to use recognised providers and to limit the personal information shared through those services.
Cookies and links
Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website.
The Future Sark website uses minimal cookies. Some cookies may be necessary for the website to work properly.
If analytics tools are used, they may collect basic information about how the website is used, such as visitor numbers, pages viewed and time spent on the site. This information will be used to understand how the website is working and how people are accessing project information.
The website is hosted using Google services. Google explains that cookies and similar technologies may be used for functionality, security, analytics and other purposes, depending on the service and user settings.
You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings.
The Future Sark website may include links to external websites, such as survey platforms, WhatsApp, social media pages or partner organisations. Those websites and platforms have their own privacy policies.
Your rights and complaints
You have rights over your personal information. These may include the right to:
ask for access to information held about you
ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
ask for your personal information to be deleted, where appropriate
ask for use of your information to be restricted, where appropriate
object to certain uses of your information, where appropriate
withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, such as optional update emails
make a complaint to the Office of the Data Protection Authority for the Bailiwick of Guernsey
Some rights may depend on the circumstances and the lawful basis for using the information.
To exercise your rights, or to ask a question about this policy, please contact:
Future Sark team
hello@futuresark.com
If you are unhappy with how your personal information has been handled, please contact the Future Sark team first so the issue can be reviewed. You can also contact the Office of the Data Protection Authority for the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The ODPA is the independent supervisory authority for data protection in the Bailiwick.
Updates to this policy
This policy may be updated during the course of the project. Any changes will be published on this page.